A fun time was had by all.

After listening to my mom go on and on about how funny Nadine the Church Lady is, and how much they enjoy watching "Larry's Country Diner" on cable TV, I did a little research and found that tickets to the taping for the show could be attained.  So, last year for Christmas, I presented momma with a "Best of Nadine" cd, and tickets to the taping. You should have seen her dance around the living room. It was hilarious. She was so excited.   The good part was that she liked the gift. The bad part was that the reservations were for early October, which seemed like an eternity to wait.  However, early in the summer, I received an email from the very nice lady that coordinates the reservations for the show, and they were redoing the schedule and had moved us up to a date in August, which worked out very well. So, our journey began this past Sunday morning. My mom, step-dad of nearly 50 years, and beloved aunt and I hopped into the car and headed south. Destination:

We arrived in steamy Nashville, Tennessee mid-afternoon, found our hotel, and had a fun time snooping around Music Valley.  I surprised them with reservations to a Nashville dinner theatre, which was fabulous. The buffet food was wonderful, and the two hours of toe-tapping classic country music was great.  Every performer had abundant talent, sang familiar songs and gave their all.  Every musician was expert and we loved when Charlie Vaughan played "Orange Blossom Special" on his fiddle. I highly recommend this show if you're going to be in town and need a filler one evening.
Monday morning arrived, and after a Cracker Barrel breakfast, there was still some time to kill before heading over to the Northstar Studios for the taping.  We explored the area a bit more and found:

The Dukes of Hazzard museum.  I never knew there was so much Dukes promotional material and souvenirs and merchandise made.  It was a fun nostaligic trip back.  The day before we had also discovered the Ernest Tubb museum, but it was sadly lacking in excitement, at least for me. The tour bus was available for a walk-through, and that was a bit interesting, with the horseshoe drawer pulls and claustrophobic bunks.

Next door to the Dukes museum was the Willie Nelson museum and gift shop. They were wanting $8 per person to tour the museum part , so we satisfied ourselves with looking at all the Chinese crap souvenirs and finally, it was time to go. A short commute later, we were there. Actually, we were early, and the security gate nazi  guy wouldn't let us through yet, so we waited a few minutes and finally were allowed in so we could stand in line waiting to actually get IN.  Someone didn't get the memo that three dozen folks were sweating their butts off outside the doors. It's a very laid back operation and the staff have multiple hats to wear, so the audience lady just didn't know we were there. We did eventually get in, and went to a waiting room, since the first taping of the morning wasn't finished yet.  Nadine and Renae, another lady from the show, came in and chatted and made funnies and gave us the lowdown on the actual taping and what was expected of us.  There was time for picture taking, so here is the gang with Nadine:

And Renae:

Renae is the waitress in the diner. She works her fanny off. She is constantly on the move, delivering actual food to the patrons (us), and bringing drinks and pie and cleaning up and everything. She does take a minute now and then to enjoy the entertainment.  When I got reservations for the show, I didn't have a clue who the entertainment would be, and actually nobody knows until day of. They just don't announce it. We lucked out. Instead of Nick Nasal and his Nosepickers, we had EXILE.  Absolutely fabulous. They have been together for nearly 50 years and  still have a great sound. Their harmony was spot on and they are all excellent musicians, as well.  What fun. We were up close and personal. The diner set is very intimate, and we were right up front.  After the taping and promos were finished, there was time for picture taking, so we did that, too. Here is my aunt with the Boot Daddy guy. Boot Daddy is the show sponsor, and they are an American company, selling American made products. This guy was such a friendly young man. Cute as a button, too.

This was quite exciting for a 70-something young lady. 

This was quite exciting for a 50-something young lady.

They were nice. Very nice (insert me, fanning myself....lol)

Anyway, the diner excitement ended too soon, and the lush, green landscape of Tennessee was soon behind us, as we ventured north towards Metropolis. We were staying out one more night and the plan was for the parents and aunt to win fortunes to enhance their children's inheritance, but since that didn't happen...ahem...we just had a good time and before you know it, we were back home.  I had a good time and I'm pretty sure they all did, too.

If you want to see us at  Larry's Country Diner, tune in to the RFD channel on cable tv, Thursday evening, August 30, 2012. It comes on at 7:00.  If you watch it, let me know.

Country blessings,

Brenda