Saturday, August 2, 2008

Happy Birthday to us! Nashville Daily Photo Celebrates 1 Year


Whatever with the past has gone,
The best is always yet to come.
~ Lucy Larcom

One year ago today, Nashville Daily Photo officially joined hundreds of daily photo bloggers. I shot that first photo, the downtown skyline, from the east bank of the Cumberland River early one morning.  I decided that today's "birthday" shot should be the skyline at night, shot from about the same spot.  We just happened to be on the shore when the General Jackson Showboat passed by, and since everyone on board seemed to be having a party, I have included them in our celebration.

A note about the blog's birthday:  Before I committed to doing the blog, I debated whether I could actually post a photo every, single day, and I didn't want to commit unless I was going to do so.  I finally decided that I wanted to share Nashville with the world, so I signed on.  Gail's Man and Kate were the first to comment on my blog.  That first week, Ackworth Born and Abe Lincoln encouraged me to stay at it longer than the original Nashville Daily, which died after one month.  As the days flew by, more and more people have either commented or emailed me privately to tell me that they look forward to seeing this blog.  You do not know how much that meant - and continues to mean - to me.  I have made a lot of cyber-friends and have even been able to meet some of you because of this blog.  More importantly, though, it has introduce me to my own city as I share it with you.  For all of that, I am grateful, and I thank you.

Now!  On to the business of the day: The current General Jackson was christened in the mid-80s.  The four-deck paddlewheel riverboat cruises the Cumberland River daily both at midday and in the evening.  In addition, the boat does special cruises, including Titans Tailgate Cruises when the Tennessee Titans play home games.  (Note:  LP Field, home of the Titans, is behind where I stood when taking today's photo.)  In addition to meals, cruisers are able to relax and enjoy entertainment the cruises.  Prices vary, and cruise-only, cruise/meal-only, and cruise/meal/entertainment tickets are available.

Named for the first steamboat that traveled the Cumberland River (and for Andrew Jackson), the riverboat holds about 1200 passengers and over 150 crew members.  It is about 300 feet long, and the paddlewheel is 36-feet wide and 24-feet in diameter.  The General Jackson travels at an average speed of 4-8 mph, and its top speed is 13 mph.  The roundtrip cruise from the boat's dock at Gaylord Opryland is about 14 miles.

I remember taking an evening cruise on the Gen. Jackson's predecessor the first time we visited Nashville in 1978.  We had the meal, and I remember having fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, salad, and sweet iced tea.  It was the first time I had ever had sweet tea and sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows.

If you're interested in learning more about the General Jackson, click here.

20 comments:

Hilda said...

Happy birthday!!!

Such a lovely photo to celebrate the day — and a beautiful thanksgiving blog. Here's to a wonderful 2nd year! Cheers!

Jilly said...

Happy Happy Birthday to your blog, Chris. So enjoy your blog and good to read your words today. I know just how you feel as I too know much this community means to me too.

Many more birthdays - keep the great posts coming.

Jilly xxx

Denton said...

Happy Anniversary. I would add one thing to your reflection on benefits of sharing a photo daily. I feel though our efforts we bring the world closer together. Our photos, explanations, and occasional glimpses into our personal life presents a human face to cultures from around the world.

Knoxville Girl said...

Happy blog birthday,Chris! I've enjoyed seeing Nashville through your lens. And I agree with Denton - I find the highest value in experiencing a personal side of the world from photobloggers such as you. Now forward to year two!

Janet said...

Happy Birthday to the Nashville Daily Photo! You chose a great one for the post, and I'm looking forward to another year.

Jim Klenke said...

Happy 1st Birthday. Your site is a daily must visit. You always give intersting facts and stories about your pictures. I love that you went back to the place of your first picture, this time at night, both pictures are great.

marley said...

Happy 1st birthday! An excellent photo to celebrate with. Keep up the good work :)

Ben Nakagawa said...

Congratulations for BIG milestone. Thanks for great contribution to the community. I haven't left many comment in the community recently, but yes still visiting from portal when time allows me.
Happy blogging for many more years.

Jane Hards Photography said...

A big congratulations on your first year. I remeber in the short time I've been with cdp, it was the local shop post about your own Paper Moon that I really enjoyed best of that day's posts. It's stayed with too. Great blog, glad you get it going. It's the best way for us to discover how differant and yet the same we are by this mad thing we do called blogging.

Virginia said...

Chris,
What an inspiration you are. I too questioned if I could post a photo a day -month after month,
but now that I have made such terrific friends as you, I know I can't do anything else! Denton's right about CDP bringing the world closer together. I just think that about 40 days ago, I didn't have all of these wonderful friends from the far flung corners of the world and inspirational photographers in my life.
Cheers as you celebrate this grand milestone!
xx
V

Bernie said...

Happy Birthday to your blog! It's one of my regular visits. I wish I could visit Nashville more too. I happen to work in your town's major love-it-or-hate-it industry and the 5 people I know who live there all work in Country radio, but I haven't been to town in 12 years.

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary! Great photo to celebrate a great achievement!

Clueless in Boston said...

A belated Happy Birthday and congratulations on your blog's anniversary. It is a huge accomplishment to post a picture a day for an entire year.

D said...

Happy Birthday NDP! Your blog was my introduction to CDP and the inspiration for starting my own.
So, thank you Chris, and many happy returns of the day!

Olivier said...

comme je ne vais pas sur Internet le weekend, avec un peu de retard, je te souhaite un joyeux anniversaire. Bravo pour ton blog et bonne continuité.
I will not on the Internet the weekend, with a little delay, I wish you a happy birthday. Bravo for your blog and good continuity.

Ming the Merciless said...

Happy First Birthday!!

Looking forward to many more years of photos.

Halcyon said...

Happy belated blog birthday! (Mine is coming up on Friday).

I do enjoy your pictures and posts... so keep 'em coming!

Mo said...

Happy Belated Birthday! I enjoy all of your posts. I'm so glad to be able to call you my friend. Keep up the great work! Hope to see you soon.

Lynette said...

Congrats, Chris. I'm always so happy to get the time to come to Nashville, through your eyes. What a treat your photos and your writing have been for me. Your first photo and this one year anniversary photo are both so good, but I'm partial to that lovely night-time scene.

USelaine said...

It's a beautiful, beautiful photo for the celebration! Great work, Chris!