The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere is an interesting and educational walk through park with habitats for over 800 exotic animals and endangered species. The 50 acres of rolling countryside features African Savannah, Valley of the Cats, Reptile House, Petting Zoo and Education Center. A recent addition to the zoo is the largest community built playground in the state. It boasts a jungle gym over piles of safe wood chips with treehouse, swinging bridges, secret passages, giant tunnels, walkways, spiraling slides, rope ladders and animal figures .

There are sight-seeing tours, parade of homes, Arts & Crafts festivals, and a wide ever-changing variety of acts & events featured at different hotels, restaurants, or night clubs. In addition, there are seasonal parades, enactments, church and school carnivals.

Nashville Municipal Auditorium, built in 1962, has hosted concerts, circuses, Harlem Globetrotters, school functions, auto shows, competitions, sports events, evangelical crusades, trade shows (food, computer, home improvement, etc.) and exhibits. The newer downtown Nashville Convention Center is another location for business and entertainment events. In November, The Longhorn World Championship Rodeo, held at the Nashville Arena, is a full-scale rodeo for Professional cowboys and cowgirls to win championships.

If you prefer more active participation, there is ice skating, roller skating, volleyball, motor biking, hot air ballooning, hiking, baseball, camping, bicycling, tennis, jogging, chess, minature golf, racquetball, billiards, bowling, climbing, hunting, basketball, pingpong, skydiving, soccer, football, yoga, hockey, and fencing. There are 21 public golf courses in convenient locations in addition to many private golf courses and country clubs.

It is not much of a drive to reach the mountains for snow skiing. For spelunking, Tennessee has more discovered caves than any other state. Cumberland Caverns in nearby McMinnville is Tennessee's largest cave containing towering formations, waterfalls, the Hall of the Mountain King (the biggest cave room in the eastern U.S.) and the Underground Banquet Hall which features a 3/4-ton crystal chandelier.

If you are not too tired after all that exercise, there are tons of specialized stores. Fashion shows held at the malls are interesting. In the Opryland area, there are several outlet malls. Popular with the kids is the nearby Grand Old Golf with three miniature golf courses, bumper boats, and a video arcade. Downtown Nashville Arcade, modeled after an arcade in Italy, is one of the few covered shopping streets in the United States. Mostly it has lots of restaurants for the downtown working crowd to eat lunch. My favorite shopping would be the thrift shops and yard sales which are in abundance in Nashville. On the fourth weekend of every month, there is a gigantic flea market at the fairgrounds. It is rumoured to be one of the largest and best in the south.

In Nashville, water travel can be a romantic and charming form of transportation. The elegant spacious General Jackson, a $12 million four deck paddlewheeler that is capable of holding 1,200 passengers, was named after the very first riverboat to arrive in Nashville in 1819. Together with the Belle Carole and Music City Queen, this trio of riverboats bring back the bygone days of riverboat entertainment, combining elaborate musical stage productions, dancing, and three course dinners with scenic Cumberland River cruises. Strolling entertainers and bands play outside on the boat's four decks in the summer. The Music City Queen is the newest riverboat, offering sightseeing cruises or Sunday brunch live entertainment. Opryland in the Music Valley area provides privately owned trolleys for local rides and two river taxis, Miss Minnie and Mister Roy, for a fun method of ferrying across the Cumberland River.

Broadway Dinner Train, a restored 1940s picturesque locomotive with trailing passenger cars, departs at Riverfront depot for a 2-1/2 hour journey. Horse drawn carriage rides with trained chauffeurs are available on the downtown streets weather permitting.

Tennesseans are very proud of their State Parks and Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Just west of the Great Smoky Mountains and Cumberland Mountains, Nashville has over 6,000 beautiful acres of public parks .

The newest Bicentennial Mall State Park, 19 acres adjacent to Farmer's Market, was designed to compliment the capital and highlight Nashville's History. It features a 200 foot granite map of the state plaza, Railway Trestle, River of Fountains with the state's waterway history, Tennessee flags, Walkway of Counties containing buried time capsules, Path of Volunteers, Court of Three Stars, World War II Memorial of a huge granite floating globe, Walls of History, amphitheater, and visitor center. In the near future, the Carillons, 95 bells saluting Nashville's musical heritage, will be added. Admission is free. Mounted Park Rangers give tours, information and aid to visitors.

Centennial Park was developed to showcase the Parthenon amidst gardens and a lake populated with ducks. Children can climb in an old locomotive from Tennessee's railroad history. The Centennial Sportsplex contains an Olympic size indoor pool, recreational pool, ice skating rink, fitness center, stadium and seventeen tennis courts.

Shelby Park, located in the eastbank area of Nashville, contains a community center, playgrounds and 27 holes of golf.

Adjoining Edwin and Percy Warner Parks boasts seven limestone entrances, two stone bridges, and miles of dry-stacked stone retainer walls. It offers visitors a model airplane field, athletic fields, running courses, picnic shelters, two golf courses, hiking and bridle trails. In 1973, the Warner Park Nature Center provides environmental and nature study including the C.E. Farrell Natural History Museum.

Riverfront Park displays the new Fox Trot Carousel, where 36 life size figures of some of Tennessee's famous citizens by Red Grooms, a local artist. This fascinating merry-go-round offers rides to the public. Riverfront also has a spectacular yearly fireworks display on our Fourth of July celebration along with many formal and informal concerts.

Two Rivers Parks contains the McGavock Mansion on twelve acres of land in the heart of Donelson. It's name was derived from being situated between the Stones River and Cumberland River. Beside Two River's park is Wave Country, a pool with waves every fifteen minutes, water slides, concession stand, rental floats and picnic areas for summer fun in the sun.

Surrounded by rolling hills, farmland, and rivers, Nashville is a great place for boating, fishing, rafting, swimming, water skiing, camping and picnics. Percy Priest, Old Hickory Lake (both man-made lake and dams) and the Cumberland River surround Nashville in waterways. The world record Walleye (25 lbs.) was caught in Old Hickory Lake in 1960. The water theme park, Nashville Shores, has sandy beaches, three pools, minature golf, boat and jet ski rentals, cruise boat, and picnic areas. Plus the unique features of "Tennessee Twisters", 700 feet of thrilling slides , "Big Ol' Splash", where you jump between lilly pads, "Discovery Dunes", a giant sand area hiding historic dinosaur fossils.

Middle Tennesse is also considered the horse capital of the world. Shelbyville hosts a world famous annual event for Walking Horse, an American saddle breed that parades an exaggerated high stepping gait. Folks do a lot of ranching and farming in nearby rural communities so horses and cows are plentiful. Horseback riding is another popular local hobby, so Nashville boasts several riding academies and saddle clubs with rodeo events.

A yearly event that is much anticipated is the Tennessee Renaissance Festival held at Castle Gwynn, which is 23 miles outside Nashville in nearby Triune. The festival will be held every weekend in May, 2000. Tour the castle and museum of swords and armor. It is a rare chance to see authentically dressed royalty, knights, and peasants, wandering troubadours seranading with their music, merchants peddling their wares and jousting tournaments. Special entertainment includes Bird of Prey show with trained falcons, stage acts including Axel the Sot, the Daring Devilinis, To the Hilt, Celestial Circus, musical acts like The Roses, Barrett Taylor, Featherstone, Sassy Lassees, storytelling, and the antics of the local villagers.

Nashville's State Fair is held annually at the Fairgrounds. Besides the brightly colored exciting rides geared to various ages, you can "pig out" on fresh hot buttered roasted corn, polish sausage cooked up in pepper and onions, cotton candy, chicken on a stick, turkey drumsticks, corn dogs, funnel cakes, and old-fashioned kettle popcorn. There are free samples, and coupons. Visit the clown artistically painting children's faces. Then walk through many buildings looking at all the farm exhibits from the best produce that Tennessee gardens have to offer, handmade crafts like quilting, cross-stitch, and knitting, jams, preserves, cakes and pies, or the prize animals including cows, hogs, sheep, mules, poultry, rabbits, etc. You can watch square dancing or clogging competitions. Lots of other talent is auditioned too. Marvel at the exhibits of science projects, hobbies and businesses. Every entry is judged, and many people will go home proudly sporting their blue, red and white winning ribbons.

Opryland Theme Park, a unique family and tourist attraction for 26 years in Nashville, highlighted live shows of past American eras, musical styles, and stunning costumes amidst the eateries, gift shops, petting zoo, gaming and carnival amusements. Some of the rides included The Hangman (inverted roller coaster), Chaos, The Old Mill Scream, Screamin' Delta Demon, Grizzly River Rampage (water raft ride), Wabash Cannonball, The Barnstormer, Tennessee Waltz, Country Bumpkin (bumper cars), Dulcimer Splash, Little Deuce Coupe, Rock N' Roller Coaster, Opryland Trains, replica cars, and bungee skydive. Many young amateur talents auditioned and gained show biz experience on stage every summer. Season passes are now a bygone local tradition.

Owned by Gaylord Entertainment, Opryland Park was recently closed at the end of 1997 to make room for Opry Mills grand opening in May 2000. Nashville Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World is to be one of the main anchor stores. Opry Mills will have at least 15 anchor stores, more than 200 smaller stores, theme restaurants, theater, bowling alley, ice rink and in-line skating area. The business geniuses claim that a $200 million dollar specialty shopping mall will be much more profitable than the old amusement park. The park was bulldozed down, and new construction is underway. The antique carousel of over 100 years old originally from Denmark along with some children's rides survived intact to be incorporated into the new complex. Many of my friends and neighbors sadly shook their heads at the loss of the park, and are not going to hold their breath over another shopping mall being such a projected financial success. But what do we know?? "Shop-ryland" may be a winner... only time will tell!

Nashville is a busy, exciting and exhilarating city!




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