October 18, 2005

We ate breakfast in the unit and then headed out to the Botanical Center in SW Nashville. Karyle wanted to see the place and I had three stations left in the SW are to see. It was a win-win situation. I dropped Karyle off at the garden around 1030 hours and headed for nearby Station 37. The engine was already out and I asked the truck driver if he could pull it out and park in the sun. He didn’t understand what I wanted and just pulled the truck out, next to the engine. The fence on the right side of the driveway prevented a sunny side shot. I got a fair shot of the shady side instead.

Then I headed out as far SW as you can go in Davidson County, to Station 34. This station is so far out that they take two engines on the run to be sure they have enough water on board. A firefighter told me that most of that area is without hydrants.

I got pictures of both Engine 34 and their old Engine 34, which now serves as Tanker 34. They both respond with a minimum crew of four. They also have a “support truck,” which is a 4x4 brush truck, parked in the back corner of the station for grass and brush fires.

I headed to Station 7, which is in a very upscale part of town. They are surrounded by many huge homes, many which are part of gated communities. I got a photo of Engine 7 when they were out back doing pump drills. They also have the Box 55 Canteen vehicle stationed there. I got a photo of this beautiful new large van.

I asked today about the NFD medic units. They are a separate division, but operate out of NFD stations, although you rarely see them there. There are anywhere from 13 to 16 in service each shift, with 20 being the optimum level of service. Some of the paramedics have come over to the firefighting side, but not many.

Karyle called me while I was at Station 7 to let me know she had walked enough. I was only about a mile away at the time and headed over to pick her up. We headed in West End (Harding Pike) and ate lunch at a Chili’s Restaurant near Vanderbilt University. After lunch we drove by the “Parthanon” in Nashville’s Centennial Park. I wondered why the City of Nashville would have a copy of the Athens, Greece “Parthanon” and was told the Nashville and Athens are sister cities.

We went further in West End, which eventually turns into Broadway just outside the downtown area. We found a place to park downtown on Broadway and we went off on our own walking tour (better called mountain climbing). It is very hilly in downtown Nashville, in case you didn’t know. Once you go north of Broadway, it is all up hill. We walked up to old Fort Nashborough along the Cumberland River.

Then we walked up more hills to see Ryman Auditorium, where the Grand Ol Opry was held for many years. It is now a historical museum. Then we walked down 6th Avenue to Broadway and a number of bars offering live country-western entertainment. We walked briefly into a couple and then wound up at the Convention Center. We checked out a few more stores on the way back to our car. It was fairly hot here today- 84 degrees and sunny. It felt warmer than that.

We decided we’d had enough of the heat and headed back to the Fairfield Timeshare unit. Tomorrow we will have lunch on the Jefferson Riverboat Tour with live entertainment. It leaves around noon and the trip takes about 2-1/2 hours.

Tonight, Karley has signed up for a limited engagement performance with Johnny Cash’s daughter, Joanna Cash (can’t remember her married name), here at the Fairfield. They only have about 80 seats in the theater here I guess. The show starts at 1900 hours. Tomorrow night, Karyle and I will go to a local bar here to catch a performance by Michael Johnson, a Minnesota native singer who sang songs like “Bluer than Blue” and many others.

That’s all for today.