Today we toured Nashville which is 80 miles from where we are staying at the Mammoth Caves National Park. The Kentucky and Tennessee countryside on the way is very nice - those rolling green hills and lots of trees and flowers. Nashville is nice. We took an antique trolley ride to see the major attractions. Of course music is prominent here. It is interesting that the recording studio area is part old restored "homes" and part newer small buildings. It has a very small town feel. There are some "expected" touches - like the guitar shaped swimming pool at the hotel where Elvis used to stay when he came to record. We expected that we might have trouble understanding a tour guide with a heavy southern accent, but ended up with a fellow from New York with a strong Brooklyn accent! He had lived in Nashville for some time and did a good job, but he has not lost his accent.

A few recent observations:

1. We have seen several groups of prisoners doing work in the parks and picking up trash on the highways. Some even had black and white stripe clothes. Others wore orange or gold suits.

2. A common yard decoration is plastic deer - from one to small herds. It seems to be the mid south version of the Florida pink flamingo which is still alive down there.

3. Once we got away from Florida and the Gulf coast the "for sale" signs have declined to a normal level.

4. We have seen more Mexican people than we expected. Like our area, they are prominent in construction and yard maintenance.