Our guidebook summed it up well: “Nashville's heritage is part Andrew Jackson's Hermitage and part Grand Ole Opry.” Everything we did here was either about 1800s history or country music, both of which were fascinating to us.

First stop: The Hermitage. Man, Andrew Jackson was busy. (Clint thought he was illiterate – must have been Johnson.) Prosecuting attorney, congressman (Tennessee's first), senator, major general in the U.S. Army, Florida governor. Once he became president, he didn't make it back to this plantation much – only 8 times in 8 years in Washington. I bet the drive didn't make it very appealing. But he's buried here – that is really unbelievable, being near the body of a president.

Next we drove downtown for a bit of contrast. A peace protest on the river was very... peaceful, disturbing the air only with live music about Dr. Phil and hookahs. We ate at the Big River Grille and Brewing Works, continuing our journey towards beer connoisseurship and/or tall refreshing drinks at lunch.

Right in downtown is Fort Nashborough . Pioneers built it in 1779. 1779! We loved seeing this kind of history. No, it's not Europe, with its “New Colleges” built in the 1300s, but Illinois sure doesn't have Revolution-era stuff. Fort Nashborough was also the original name of Nashville.

Later in the afternoon, we took a little drive out to Belle Meade Plantation. We definitely had to see a real plantation on our first foray into “the South.” It wasn't quite the historical snapshot I would have expected, since the house itself went through several remodels. And – this is crazy – the whole thing was on 30 acres, and I was thinking how nice it was to see only trees and lawn all around. Well. The original plantation was, in its heyday, 5,400 acres. It's an inconceivable size.

After dinner at a dim, very cool eatery called the Tin Angel, near the Vanderbilt campus (where Homecoming was loudly going on), we drove out to the Grand Ole Opry. We tuned in to the show on the radio as we drove, marvelling at how incredibly hokey it was, with its sung commercials for all-purpose flour. And I wasn't much impressed with the building itself. Did you know the whole thing is in a mall parking lot? Maybe it's more impressive inside, but...

Finally, the best part of the day. Nightlife in Nashville is my style – not like Chicago, not uber-trendy and chic. It's cool (not hip) and slightly hokey and laidback. We went to the way-famous Wildhorse Saloon to watch the line dancing and enjoy the ambience. Clint tells me they used to broadcast this stuff on TV, complete with old couples in Americana fringey matching outfits. At any rate, it's a very festive atmosphere. The three-story bar is built so you can sit and sip Seabreezes and watch the dancing. They give group lessons, but most of the time there are a handful of experienced dancers (a short awkward black guy, a skinny guy in plaid, a stringbean in skintight jeans) who seem to pick a certain dance once the song starts, and the crowd follows along. There was also a staff dance, with some serious practicing and flair, which we were glad to capture on video.

I think we got a good taste for American history from this trip, and we'll have to seek out some Civil War battlefields to visit. But when we next come to Music City, we'll be dancing in the saloon in fringe jackets.