Light Show

The trees and shrubs outside the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center are not the only things decorated for the holiday season. Strings of lights, huge lighted ornaments and snowflakes (right) hang from the ceiling in the atriums, too.

And, yes, there are a number of atriums in the hotel. In addition to more than 2,880 guest rooms, there are nine acres of indoor gardens, a 44-ft. waterfall, a delta, complete with flatboats from which one can take "tour" the hotel, and the requisite shops and restaurants . If you listen to WSM radio (Home of the Grand Ol' Opry), you might remember that it broadcasts from the hotel.

Lights-a-Million

During the holiday season, more than two-million lights adorn over 1,000 trees and bushes on the Opryland Hotel property in Nashville. The front entrance and lobby of the hotel are behind the pond and waterfall shown above. If you look closely at the hotel's dormers, you'll note lighted wreaths in those windows, too. Believe it or not, over 1,000,000 people travel to see the lights annually.

Tomorrow, we'll go inside for a peek.

PS. Happy Birthday, Jason!

Tripping the LIGHT Fantastic

Oh the first day of Christmas, my true love took me to see
A huge, lighted Opryland tree.

Every year, the Opryland Hotel festoons the trees, shrubs - and poles - around the main entrance to the property with a light display like no other. In July, the horticulturists start hanging the more-than-two-million lights in preparation for Country Christmas. The lights above turn an ordinary flag pole into a twinkling holiday tree.

Tomorrow I'll show you another view and tell you a little more of what goes on at Opryland.