Amazing Nashville

Papa, my boss John Brandt and I traveled to Nashville this past week for the the FSA (Federal Student Aid) conference. It was held in the Opryland Hotel and what an amazing place that is!! It reminded me somewhat of a Las Vegas casino with so much stuff under one roof! We attended workshops from 9 Am until 6 and then we ate and relaxed to prepare for the next day. All schools will be moving to Direct Lending from the Federal Government once the higher education bill passes (yes, all student loans will be owned by the government!) and so our school needs to get ready for the change. It was a lot of information in a few days but I feel much more confident now in our ability to adapt to this change. I was able to get a grant that mostly paid for the trip so that was nice for the school. John's wife, Sue, was with us the first few days but then went to Boston to take care of grandkids.
Here are some pictures of the hotel:


Papa loved the fish pond. The Koi would come right up and open their mouths expecting to get fed!

There were Christmas Trees everywhere so we took some pictures of them!


There was an amazing Nativity Scene outside!

Going back to our Hotel at the end of a long day!
On our last night in town we drove into downtown Nashville and ate at a fun restaurant. We drove past the Ryman Theater where the original Grand Ol Opry was and drove by the new one too. We enjoyed our brief view of "Music City" and were grateful for the things we learned.
The conference was a great experience and we are all ready to get back to work now!