Visiting Blacksburg for a funeral, we had some extra time so we took a ride through the Virginia Tech campus.Lane Stadium.Statue of former football coach Frank Beamer.April 16 Memorial.32 Virginia Tech students and faculty members were murdered on campus on April 16, 2007. This memorial honors those who were killed.Miller’s Cabin at Historic Springfield, built around 1850. Private residence not open for tours.“The Merry Oak”. This tree was already present when the Preston family built Smithfield Plantation in 1774. It is probably more than 500 years old.The Smithfield Plantation house was built 1772-1773 for Colonel William Preston, and was the home of three governors of Virginia, James Patton Preston, John Floyd Jr. and John Buchanan Ford.Blacksmith shop.Slave cabin, circa 1820.Cross section of the trunk of a walnut tree that was planted here in 1852. The rings track to the history of Virginia Tech.
Luray Caverns is the largest cavern in the Eastern US. It was discovered by Andrew Campbell in 1878. Its most famous features are the stalactites and stalagmites. Definitely worth a visit. We visited on Thanksgiving Day.X marks the spot of the original discovery of the caverns. So many different formations throughout the caverns. It is amazing.Stalactites hang from the ceiling.The famous stalacpipe organ.Stalagmites grow up on the bottom of a cavern from the same drip-water source, the mineral from which is deposited after the water droplet falls across the open space in the rock.Underwater lake reflects like a mirror the stalactites.Another reflective lake. Pretty cool.
At the end of our Deltek ProjectCon conference, we were treated to live entertainment. First up was Sixwire.Sister Hazel.Sara Evans.Gary LeVox, formerly of Rascal Flatts.Steve Augeri, formerly of Journey. They played quite a few of Journey’s hits. Pretty cool.
So by November 15th, it’s Christmas at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.So. Much. Christmas.Very impressive nativity scene. Figures are larger than life-size.Entrance foyer at the Opryland Hotel.Jack is here.They dress up all their shops and cafe’s with Christmas names.So they had a Parade of Trees fundraiser going on. Several stars donated trees to be raffled off, with other pretty nice prizes as well. This is the tree donated by Jordan Davis.Donated by Maddie and Tae.Donated by Little Big Town.Donated by Reba McIntyre.Donated by Brad Paisley.Donated by Tyler Hubbard.Donated by Luke Bryan.Donated by Kacey Musgraves.Donated by Keith Urban.Donated by John Pardi.Donated by Sam Hunt.Donated by George Strait.Donated by Alan Jackson.Big tree made of poinsettias.
Covenant Presbyterian Church. We went to worship service here Sunday morning.Beautiful sanctuary. The pipe organ is magnificent.Downtown Nashville. The AT&T building, AKA The Batman Building.Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators hockey team.Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, next to Bridgestone Arena.Historic Ryman Auditorium, former home of the Grand Ole Opry.Loretta Lynn statue.Bill Monroe statue.Legends Corner on Broadway. Can you name all of the legends? (Answer at the bottom of this post).So we had lunch at Paula Deen’s. Plenty of country style food. Delicious!Christmas at Bass Pro Shops at Opry Mills Mall.Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans.Nashville skyline from the west.
The Legends on Legends Corner (left to right): Tim McGraw, Loretta Lynn, Charlie Pride, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, Johnny Cash, Keith Urban, Merle Haggard, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Luke Bryan, George Strait, Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert and Garth Brooks.
