Countdown to CEC Nashville

Well Steve and I mailed in our registration for the CEC conference today making sure we made that December 21st deadline to receive the early bird registration price. Hopefully you have registered as well?
We posted some information about some sites to see in Nashville in early November, but thought we would share some more from two sites that actually provide different tours of Nashville. There are several tours that are the perfect way to spend your free time on Tuesday afternoon. There are also some downtown tours that would be easily accessible from our motel. Don't forget those reserved rooms will also be released by December 28th and then you may not get the discounted price so if you have not made your reservations do so today.
Also, in researching these sites, I discovered there is also a shuttle service from the airport to the motel for anyone interested. Click on these links for times and prices.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=177
Known as the Queen of the Tennessee Plantations, Belle Meade Plantation was the centerpiece of a 5,200-acre plantation, world-renowned as a thoroughbred stud farm and nursery in the 19th century.
The present 30-acre site features 10 outbuildings, which include an 1832 slave cabin and a colossal carriage house and stables.
Your next stop will be the stately manor of Andrew Jackson, The Hermitage. This was the home of our seventh president, and a favorite son of Tennessee. You will view the formal gardens, visit the slave quarters, the original 1804 cabin of the estate, and the sight where our president and his wife were laid to rest.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=176
On the Nashville Homes of the Stars Tour, you will see the homes of Alan Jackson, Brooks and Dunn, and many other stars as you enjoy a driving tour through the neighborhoods of the elite country music artists.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=7171
Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville -- The Musician's Hall of Fame and Museumis a 30,000 sq. ft. multipurpose complex. This unique facility includes not only stellar exhibits of superstar musicians but also studio musicians, producers and engineers who have created the music that has become the soundtrack of our lives.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=9213
Take a little journey through entertainment history with a Guided Backstage Tour at the Historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville - the "Mother Church of Country Music" and home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. Sit awhile in the original pews and take in a short film that features the people and events that shaped the Ryman's past and present. Step onto our historic stage and have your photo taken. Then spend some time on your own, strolling through the halls filled with fascinating memorabilia from the Ryman's storied past.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=1132
On the Nashville City Tour, you will see the major sights in Nashville, including the Parthenon, Music Row, the State Capitol, Ryman, Auditorium, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Discover Nashville on this all-inclusive tour of the best that Nashville has to offer. The Nashville City Tour is a sightseeing tour of historic Nashville, the State Capitol, the Parthenon, Music Row, and much more. Also included is a tour through Nashville's finest attractions including the Ryman auditorium and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Finish our tour with live Country Music and a refreshment at a downtown Honky Tonk.

http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=182
The Nashville Opry Mills Shuttle provides shuttle services to Opry Mills daily.
Opry Mills combines outlet, discount and specialty retailers, themed restaurants and fun-filled entertainment venues in an energetic and exciting environment with more than 200 places to shop, eat and play. Our service includes pickup from most Nashville hotels.

Shuttle Service
http://www.nashvillesightseeing.com/tours/tourDetail.cfm?tour_id=190
Round-trip transportation to and from the airport and your Nashville hotel. Service begins at 5:00 am and runs until 11:00 pm. We depart every 15-20 minutes from the airport and every 30 minutes from most hotels. $23.95 ($18.95 online)

The following tours are all available from Grayline Tours at http://www.graylinenashville.com/tours.cfm

Discover Nashville
Enjoy this 3 1/2 hour tour of Music City USA. Enjoy a narrated tour of Historic Downtown, Fort Nashborough, the State Capitol, The Parthenon, Vanderbilt University and Music Row. Your tour will also include entrance into theRyman Auditorium the Mother Church of Country Music, long time home of the Grand Ole Opry and recently voted the finest concert venue in the United States. You will also tour the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. This 37 million dollar facility is a beautiful tribute to Country Music and the artist who have made it great. End your touring day at a Nashville Honky Tonk with live Country Music and a refreshing soft drink compliments of Gray Line Tours. This is a fantastic and affordable way to get to know our city.

Making of Legends
Nashville has been one big Jam session over the last century. This tour will play back the history of the artists, the instruments and the music that was made inNashville. The Fisk Jubilee Singers, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Berry Gordon of Motown, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Chet Atkins and these are just a few of the greats who cut their craft and created music for the ages while they were in Nashville. Rewind in time as you learn the orgins of the title "Music City", and tour the famed Jefferon Street, known as the musical Harlem of the south for its R&B performers. Tour the United Record Pressing Company, one of the few remaining vinyl record companies and manufacturing partner of Motown. Enjoy a sidewalk tour of historic studios on Music Row and hear the stories of the greats who recorded there. Your final stop will be the Musicians Hall of Fame. The Musicians Hall of Fame is a one of a kind collection of instruments and musical memorabilia from the country music of the Grand Ole opry, the English invasion of the Beatles, the freedom days of Bob Dylan & Hendrix, Motown, R&B, and Rock & Roll.

Grand Legends
Opryland and Music Valley are the home of entertainment and hospitality in Nashville. Explore the beautiful gardens and waterfalls of Opryland Hotel while you ride on the Delta boats through the hotel's breathtaking Delta addition which features 4.5 acres all under a domed ceiling fashioned in glass. Your tour will include a viewing of the Country Music Sidewalk of Fame. Admissions to your choice of the Music Valley Museums, Visit the Grand Ole Opry Museum, and the plaza of the famedGrand Ole Opry House.

Homes of the Stars
Your tour will include a drive through downtown Nashville,including Historic 2nd Ave., the State Capitol, Fort Nashborough and the Ryman Auditorium.You will enjoy a driving tour through the neighborhoods of the eliteCountry Music artists who call Nashville their home.While on your tour, you will the homes of Country Music Greats such as Alan Jackson, former home of Vince Gill and Amy Grant, Ronnie Milsap, Dolly Parton, Bryan White, Martina McBride, Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks, the late Web Pierce, the late Hank Williams, Trisha Yearwood, the late Tammy Wynette, Lori Ann Crook and Little Jimmy Dickens.

Opry Mills
Includes Pickup Service from most Nashville hotels and coupon book for big savings. Ask for hotel pickup. Call for pickup time.
Shopping and Entertainment
Shoppertainment at its finest. Opry Mills combines outlet, discount and specialty retailers, themed restaurants and fun-filled entertainment venues in an energetic and exciting environment with more than 200 places to shop, eat and play including:
Rainforest Cafe'
Alabama Grill
Applebarn
IMAX 3D Theatre
Regal Cinemas
Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor Worldand much more........Pickup Times at Hotels
9:00 AM 1:00 PM 5:00 PM

Walking Tour
Hear the unpublished stories, "Naughty and Nice" about these great streets, buildings, songs, events and people that have made Nashville a city whose name is known throughout the world.The lyric of Nashville's history is composed of romance and tragedy, heroes and villains, civil and war, southern belles and Brothels.The stories you will hear while on tour read like a John Wayne or Randolph Scott movie, with characters such as Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Andrew Jackson, Granny White, Fannie Battle (arrested by the Union Army for compromising their soldiers and the Army's secrets at the same time.) All of these characters will come to life with stories of time spent in Nashville. I can assure you that the fictional stories of "Gone with the Wind" will have nothing on the true stories of Nashville!While on tour you will experience a Behind the Scenes Tour of the Ryman Auditorium. Known as the "Mother Church of Country Music", these walls will tell the stories of Nashville's modern folk heroes of Music. Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Sr., Patsy Cline, Tootsie Bess and countless others whose songs and lives shaped the image of this city and molded the music "home-grown" in Nashville, "Country Music

Downtown Trolley Tour
Tour departs from the Hard Rock Visitors Booth on 2nd Avenue. The tour includes a drive by sightseeing tour of Historic Downtown, Ryman Auditorium, State Capitol, the Parthenon, Vanderbilt Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame, Fort Nashborough, Bicentinnial Mall, and Music Row.