September 8, 2012 - The Busy Day: Nashville, Tennessee

Today started with a trip back to KO's Pizza for some gyros and a visit with one of our favorite people from Tennessee: Omar. The gyros were incredible and the visit with our friend long over-due. The last time the kids and I saw Omar was in May of last year and I mentioned that in this entry.

After fueling up, we ventured into downtown Nashville and the Bicentennial Mall to meet our friends and wander around the Farmer's Market next door.

Ben was having interesting hair

At one end of the Mall is a giant granite map of Tennessee that is at the foot of Capitol Hill and near the railroad bridge that runs over the visitor center.

The wall that runs the length of the mall on the southwest edge is a time line of events starting at several billion years ago and ending at the 200-year celebration of Tennessee's statehood.

This marks the point in the timeline that is the beginning of the end of a united country and the early rumblings of the Civil War.

Esther and Chan walking beside the Civil War section of the timeline. The wall is broken and divided until the end of the war and Tennessee is accepted back into the Union.

And now on to the Farmer's Market... These flowers were some of the many plants for sale in the gardener's section of the market.

At the International Store we all grabbed something to drink.

Chan and her coconut lychee drink

Ben enjoys a pineapple lychee

Jake drinking an "exotic" sports drink

This is what I picked- it rocked

Esther wanted something colder

The next two pictures were taken mere seconds apart as Esther devoured her frozen treat

On joining with our friends we explored the Mall further.

GE locomotive- they follow me

Leaving center of the city for a bit we drove over to Edwin Warner Park to walk down a nature trail and stroll through their garden.

The day was wrapped up with Shakespeare in the Park with the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, at Centennial Park (home of the Parthenon). Photography isn't allowed during the main production, but I did take a few before the show and during intermission. Hands down, this was the best production I've seen of Shakespeare in the Park.

RAINBOW POPCORN!!

All the many pictures of the busy day are here.