You Don't Have to Love Country to Love the Country Music Hall of Fame!

I do appreciate country. In fact, I grew up listening to the "Highway Men" and I really did believe that Willie Nelson was Santa Claus when he wasn't touring.  Today, country music is much more glam and good times than tales of the wife and dog that ran away.  And that's OK.  A constantly evolving country music scene means that new generations can appreciate and love it, too!

One symbol of the changes that have taken place over a hundred years of country is the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum  in Nashville, TN.  I took a long drive down there last year with my Grandma, mom, and sister.  We made sure that the Hall of Fame was on our must-see list, and we headed there for a full 3 hours of learning and fun!

Since I'm a big museum and history buff, my favorite part of the adventure was the walls and walls of display cases....

 There was memorabilia from way back, including hymnals, songbooks, instruments, and accessories from my favorite icons

 which, of course, included Elvis's Blue Suede Shoes!

 There were a handful of classic, famous cars, too!

Anything that represented country music "culture" was included, as well.  This meant that my Grandma could gaze at the original cornfield props used in "Hee Haw"!

No trip to a hall of fame would be complete without records.  Gold records.  Walls and walls of them adorned the inside of the building at various points in the tour.  I tried to get Grandma to "make it rain", but she was short on cash.  This was her best "money" pose....with my mom included in the fun!

While it helps to have a little knowledge of the genre to enjoy the self-guided tour of the Hall of Fame, it's not necessary. I enjoyed reading and learning more about Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and other greats with life stories that came right out of a Lifetime movie. For my Grandma, it was was the visit of a Lifetime. How fitting...

Plan to visit soon? At the time of the writing, the prices for Adult tickets (Ages 13+) start at $25.95, Youth (Ages 6-12) $15.95 and Child (Ages 5 and under) are FREE.  Grandma can get in for just $23.95, provided she's over 60, and our military friends can tour for $22.95.  Get more info on special events via @countrymusichof on Twitter and countrymusichof on Facebook!