From Terra Haute, Indiana, we made our way South an additional four hours for a week stop at the Seven Points Army Corp of Engineers (COE) campground outside of Nashville. We had tickets at the Ryman Auditorium to enjoy another concert by our favorite band Home Free, winners of the NBC television’s Sing-Off competition and country a capella group from Minnesota.
Seven Points COE Campground
Check In: Oct 6, 2019 Check Out: Oct 13, 2019 Site # 55
The Seven Points Army Corp of Engineers campground is beautiful in the fall and it was well-positioned to Nashville’s downtown about 20 minutes to the Southeast. Getting to the campground is a bit of a nightmare because you have to wind through overgrown residential streets with little to no shoulders.
We were not aware of the strict enforcement of a 3 PM check-in policy and we had to turn around in the very poorly designed sewer dump station and leave the park. Even though we were only 45 minutes early we could not wait at the guard shack!! We were forced back out into the residential area to meander until we could find somewhere to park. Fortunately, it was a Sunday and we found an elementary school about five miles away that had their gates left open, we were able to pull into the parking area and wait for there. When we returned to the campground at 3:15 PM there were about 5 RVs backed up and waiting to check-in at the campground.
What made us the maddest was that there is a day-use area that also has a loop, they very well could have sent us down there to stage. Getting to this park with a big rig is very dangerous with a number of low bridges and narrow roads.
Once we got checked in then we made our way around to our campsite. When we pulled up to it we immediately got onto the website to see if we had screwed up on our reservation. It was the smallest campsite that we had in a very long time. The website listed this spot as having ample length for our rig and from the photos it seemed fine. However, in reality for a diesel pusher of our size or bigger, it was a challenge. The site is paved with asphalt and the ground has eroded away around it. The trees are right up to the asphalt and we have to position ourselves just right to put a tree between two of our sides on the driver’s side. This left us with our steps hanging out past the asphalt over an embankment. Also being a diesel pusher our steps were not where the engineer who designed the site expected it, which they expected the door to be at the back or mid-ship design.
Once we got into position we were good. The views in the fall in this campground are absolutely amazing. We were on the upper part of the loop without a view of the lake and it was still absolutely amazing. A lake view would have been even more spectacular.
Dining Around Seven Points
We were back in the neck of the woods for our favorite Mediterranean place. We first encountered Taziki’s Cafes in Memphis when we were there in the spring of 2018. We absolutely love the fresh food and the spices or sauces they use on their food.
Conversely, we found what we had hoped would be a great pizza place to not be so good. Your Pie is a “Chipotle” style approach to making your own pizza in their brick oven. You stand in line for a significant amount of time, you get up to the glass and tell them what to put on it and then they fire it in the oven. We were very disappointed with their pizza sauces and even more disappointed with the significant waste they generate. They have two size rounds for the crust but they only prep the larger size. The smaller kid size is first rolled out, then they use a knife around a bowl to cut off the excess. This excess is a “prize” for the kid to play with and then just throw in the garbage. They very easily could just prep two different weight rounds and not have that waste, disappointing.
Verizon Wireless
Verizon coverage at the campground was OK, but AT&T was non-existent even with boosting.
| Down | 21.92 |
|---|---|
| Up | 1.05 |
| Ping | 88.60 |
| Jitter | 11.07 |
| Antenna | No |
| Boosted | No |
| Test # | 316 |
| Timestamp | 2019-10-06 16:18:30 |
Secretary of State in Downtown Nashville
Since we had tickets on Friday evening at the Ryman Auditorium for Home Free, Jason took the afternoon off from work so we could get down there and enjoy another afternoon at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red. Ole Red had opened in spring 2019 just before we had been in the Nashville area last. The food is great here but so are the acts they put on the free stage. Much of the afternoon we enjoyed the great sounds from 16-year Mikayla Lane from Oklahoma while enjoying treats like funnel cake and some amazing burgers. Ole Red is about 2 blocks from the Ryman Auditorium.
We have a secret parking place just down from the Ryman that is perfect after the show to get out of downtown, seems to always have a space available and it is in just the right spot to get at anything downtown. This particular evening the rain just poured and poured before the show at the Ryman and we tried to wait it out in the Jeep. We still had to get into the entry security line was wrapped around three sides of the auditorium on the sidewalk.
It was unusual security for a show and we noticed a significant number of not so undercover police working the event. We doubted Home Free had risen to this level of fame and figured some VIP was there. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan were seated about 50 feet from us in the first row of the balcony! No wonder the security had been tight that night. This was probably our sixth time seeing a show here and as always the sound in the Ryman was great. However, we found the upper level to be better than under the balcony. The space under the balcony is low and the sound is repeated with speakers giving the experience more of an artificial feel to it. In the balcony, you can better feel the overall reverb of the space with a much less claustrophobic view.
