Return to the Flood Zone

Last year we were fortunate enough to visit the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN. It poured while we were there and I talked about the flooding here.

The hotel reopened in November and we were invited back for a "Welcome Back" weekend this past weekend.  We had a fabulous time!  The staff welcomed us with open arms...they even applauded as we walked into the special reception that they held for the "survivors" on Friday night.

On Saturday morning we were invited to a hotel tour.  Our tour guides, Brad and Rob, were exceptional.  They showed us the hotel in all its restored beauty and pointed out the changes that were made during the restoration...new restaurants, new decor..they even renovated parts of the hotel that weren't damaged by the floodwaters.  We had a beautiful view of the Delta Atrium from our balcony, as well as the "Dancing Waters" show that was right outside our door!

While there we decided to take a ride to the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg. If you ever have the chance, GO!!!  It's a beautiful drive there from Nashville and the tour was so interesting...I just wish we could have taken pictures inside the buildings!  There was no taste testing either...it's located in a dry county.

Even without the taste testing, it was a great place to visit.  I found it interesting that Jack Daniels died after kicking a safe in anger when he couldn't get it open.  An infection set in, eventually killing him.

There's a life sized statue of him near the spring that the whiskey is made from.

So the boss and I had to pose!

Many thanks go out to the Gaylord Opryland for having us back to the hotel for 2 nights at no charge, as well as providing us with the tour, the reception and even Grand Ole Opry tickets.

 And did I mention the chocolates that they left in our rooms the first night? They were pretty amazing too!