Only pictures will do

The place I went to during the first week of June to speak at an industry conference was so far beyond description that only images will do it justice. Goodness gracious, it's incredible.

Of course, anything with Chihuly glass in the lobby has some class right from the start. And the rest of it was equally stunning, as you'll see.

The conference hotel had water features throughout. There were five different areas within the hotel, each with a different theme, but uniting all the themes was water, from waterfalls to rivers to watered gardens. I can still hear the rushing water two weeks later.

You walked along the river from one area of the hotel to another,

all of which areas were under the same common atrium roof. Very. Big. Roof.

Since this was a conference hotel, there was a dedicated conference space - multiple floors of it

Then there was the exhibit hall, where you ran a gauntlet of vendors (who were more like a combination of vulture meets carnival barker), with trinkets to hand out. I restrained myself. Mostly. Some trinkets are cooler than others.

The food was good, at the dinners and lunches (shown here: squash blossoms and corn grits souffle).

Plus there was entertainment. Yeah, it was C&W, but what do you expect in Nashville in a hotel near Opryland?

And even the entertainment came with food. Fortunately getting back to running at home has taken off what pounds I put on there.

There were beautiful places to sit and eat...

Peaceful places to sit and read...

With beautiful foliage all around (orchids growing in palm trees!)

But the rushing water sound coming from anywhere and everywhere... that was the best.