It is about time to take a short break from my postings on our trip to Scotland and Ireland... They will be continued next week.
I went to
high school at DeVeaux School, an all-boys college preparatory boarding and day
student school that was located in Niagara Falls New York...long gone now The students were both local and from other
eastern and mid-western states. We even
had a Canadian in our class of 27 students!
We
graduated way back in 1961…56 years ago this past June! Back in 2015, we ‘found’ each other via the
Internet and we had our first reunion in East Tennessee. By popular demand…and after finding a couple
other classmates that hadn’t attended the first gathering, we decided to have
another reunion…this time in Nashville Tennessee.
I’ll
start this posting with photos of our class accompanied by their patient spouses who
continually strive to keep us out of trouble…
This is
Ed and Linda. They came to the reunion all
the way from Delaware.
Note:
· Much
credit to Ed for several of the photos I used in this posting. After viewing his photos, I definitely have
to buy a better camera! Thanks Ed!
This is
Gary and his wife Belinda. They flew in
from Arizona!
Gary
deserves a lot of credit for his determination and event planning in putting
together our reunion! He never gives up…
Great job Gary!
This of
course is yours truly and my better half Laurie. We didn’t have far to come for this
gathering…just about a 2.5 hour drive from East Tennessee.
This is
Jere and Julie. They live about 9 miles
from us in East Tennessee and like myself, he is originally from Michigan. Jere was instrumental in planning and
executing our first class reunion.
Bob and
Barbara flew in from Las Vegas for our gathering. He was just ‘found’ this year so this was his
first reunion.
Chris and
Helen were also new this year. They came
down from upper New York State.
Immediately following the reunion, they were off for a river cruise on
the upper reaches of the Amazon River.
This is
our Canadian grad…Jon with his wife Sue.
They flew in from Toronto. What
we don’t like about Jon is that he doesn’t look as old as the rest of us do!
Don and
his wife Rhonda came all the way from California for the reunion. I think that he may have ‘volunteered’ to
organize the next class gathering!
Tom and
Margie drove to Nashville from north Texas…just south of the border with
Oklahoma. They always seem to be happy!
This
photo of Bill and Cheryl is from our 2015 reunion. They drove over to Nashville from Paducah but
they were only able to stay for dinner on our first night. I apologize for not remembering to take a
current photo!
Much of our time together was spent reminiscing and catching
up on what has been going on for the last couple of years. Every morning we gathered for breakfast and
conversation in lobby dining area of our hotel.
We had a
number of events and/or attractions to visit on our schedule. The premier event was a river cruise on the
Cumberland River. This is the General
Jackson paddle wheel riverboat.
The
General Jackson is a big boat! Launched
in 1985, she is 274 feet long, with beam measuring 63 feet and 6 inches. Fully loaded she can carry 1200 passengers
with a crew of 157…
Part of
the General Jackson Showboat cruise package included a nice buffet
luncheon. As you can see, this is a big
dining area and this photo shows only about a quarter of the room. More space is upstairs on the mezzanine. One of our tables is at the center front of
this photo.
The
General Jackson cruise also included a nice country music stage show. The music was very upbeat and it covered a
bit of rock and roll too. This talented
group is from all over the USA!
After
lunch and the show were over, everyone when outside on one of the 3 decks to
view the passing scene. The cruise took
us to downtown Nashville past the expanding skyline and the Tennessee Titians
Nissan Stadium.
Note:
·
Nashville,
known as “Music City, USA” is the capital and the largest city in
Tennessee. Nashville and the area around
it has a total population of about 2,000,000.
From the year 2000 on, it has achieved a growth rate of approximately
10% each decade!
Most of
us hung around at the front of the General Jackson checking out the
sights. Gary planned this event and we
all agreed that it was the highlight of the reunion!
The cost
per couple was $111.00…very reasonable when you consider what was included in
the price. To learn more about cruises
on the General Jackson, go to https://generaljackson.com/.
I
couldn’t resist… This is a collage of our honeymoon couple, Sue and Jon. Aren’t they cute together?!
After the
cruise, the group headed over to the nearby Grand Ole Opry Theater for a
backstage tour. We met by the giant guitar. It was a worthwhile
experience. Our tour cost $26.00 per
person. To learn more about different
tours of this famous country music venue, go to https://www.opry.com/backstagetours.
Following out tour of the Grand Ole Opry, it was off to Gaylord’s Opryland Resort for drinks and dinner. Sue took this photo of Ed, Linda, Laurie, me and Jon in the Falls Bar area.
As you can see, the interior of this resort is eye-catching and worthy of a visit in itself. We had a nice dinner at the Cascades Restaurant…one of several dining venues at the resort.
Note:
- Parking at the Gaylord Opryland Resort is very expensive. Self -parking costs $39.00! However, if you dine in one of their restaurants, they will comp your parking ticket. To learn more about this resort and its restaurants, just go to http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bnago-gaylord-opryland-resort-and-convention-center/.
One day
was a ‘free day’, where couples could visit whatever area attractions caught
their fancy. Eight of us chose Andrew
Jackson’s home, The Hermitage, as our primary tour of the day. Except for the mansion portion of The
Hermitage, visitors are given a device that allows them to spend as much
time…or as little time…learning about the various points of interest around the property.
One of
the unexpected highlights of our visit to The Hermitage was this group of 4th
Graders who were ‘docents for the day’.
They were stationed in key locations throughout the property telling
visitors about each site. They were not
only cute, they were very polite and they knew their stuff!
Admission
to The Hermitage was $17.00 for seniors and $20.00 for adults. To learn more about visiting this fine
attraction, you can go to https://thehermitage.com/.
After
visiting the Hermitage, our group stopped for a nice lunch at McNamara’s Irish
Pub and Restaurant. From the front left,
Rhonda, Barbara, Bob, Tom, Margie, Don and Laurie.
Ed took
these photos…and many others…when his group visited the Cheekwood Estate and
Gardens. I heard that they really
enjoyed themselves. Laurie and I have
been there and it is an impressive place with terrific gardens.
Ed also
took these photos during his group’s visit to television’s popular American
Pickers shop. Their Antique Archeology Store
is in Marathon Village near the city center.
It is located at 1305 Clinton Street.
To learn more about the show and the store, go to http://www.antiquearchaeology.com/.
The
Marathon Automobile Museum is located in the same complex at the Antique
Archaeology Store…virtually right next door.
From 1907 to 1914, the company manufactured the Marathon
automobile. Production of these cars in
1910 actually reached 10,000. The old
plant and offices are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
To learn
more about Marathon Motor Works, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Motor_Works.
Speaking
of Automobile Museums, I don’t have any photos, but at least 2 couples decided
to visit the Lane Automobile Museum, with its expansive and interesting
collection of European and American vehicles.
To learn more about this museum, go to https://www.lanemotormuseum.org/.
Belly up
to the bar! Our last event was a dinner
at Rodizio Grill, a Brazilian steakhouse on 2nd Avenue in middle of
the nighttime action in downtown Nashville.
From the left…Barbara, Bob, Margie, Don, Rhonda, Sue and Laurie.
At the
other end of the bar, we have Belinda, Gary, Jon, Ed and Linda. From here we migrated into a very nice
private dining area that Gary arranged for us at the back of the restaurant. We took some photos of the group at the
table…but none of them were very great so I went with the bar photos.
Rodizio’s
was a hit! Everyone enjoyed their
meals. Most of the group went for the
huge and expansive ‘salad bar’ ($19.99), which is way more than a salad bar! One nice touch is that gluten free items are
posted as such. As for us carnivores,
the skewers of roasted meat just kept coming until we were satiated! The meats served at Rodizio’s were the best
I’ve had in any Brazilian Steak House.
After
dinner, some members of our group went out club hopping in downtown Nashville
and others just strolled up and down 2nd Street, checking out the
attractions and the people… Laurie and I have determined that we will have to
spend some more time in downtown Nashville!
One last
photo. An outside contractor that was
inspecting the hotel took this group photo in the lobby with Ed’s camera. We were missing Margie, Jon and Sue but this
is the closest to a complete group photo that we managed. From the left: Ed, Linda, Jere, Julie, me,
Laurie, Don, Rhonda, Chris, Helen, Belinda (with Mr. Pumpkin Head peering over Belinda's shoulder), Gary, Tom, Bob and Barbara.
If you’ve
stuck with me through this long posting, you are either a real trooper or a
member of our class! Just click on any
of the photos to enlarge them…
Thanks
for stopping by for a visit!
Take
Care, Big Daddy Dave
So great that you have managed to get together after so many years and that folks were willing to travel so far. Looks like you did up Nashville really well.
ReplyDeleteAwesome reunion blog, friend Dave ... Thank you so much for sharing ... Nashville is still on my bucket list ... Some day, maybe ... Preparing for a Southern Caribbean cruise Dec 05 to 27th ... in order to escape at least part of our Winter ... smiles ... Love, cat.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a blast. Nashville is a fun town. That steamboat went right by my window at Gaylord every week.
ReplyDeleteFabulous!!! You were able to reconnect. Social media can be a wonderful thing. Looks like you had a a wonder time. New memories.
ReplyDeleteVelva
Hi Dave,
ReplyDeleteI'm a 1971 Graduate....The last year. I've been thinking about putting together a 50th year reunion (2021) in the Niagara Falls area with any alumni interested. I loved reading your posts....Thanks so much for doing them! Hope you are well! Bob Edgcomb