It wasn’t a good spring for some major Southern destinations, with the BP oil spill spreading out over the Gulf and water pouring over the banks of the Cumberland River into Nashville, and to a lesser extent, floods affecting metro Memphis.

We’ve been monitoring both situations (check out our news page for the latest updates), but the fact that Central and West Tennessee was already on the editorial calendar for the July issue allowed us to switch gears to bring you a timely report on how both of the aforementioned Volunteer State destinations were faring.

Although strictly from a tourism standpoint initial reports were a cause of great concern, Memphis seemed to be largely unaffected, and Nashville is quickly ramping back up after two of its primary facilities—The Grand Ole Opry on the attractions/performance venue side and Gaylord Opryland on the meetings and conventions side—were taken down, but at press time planned to be up and running between October and early November.

And while Gaylord Entertainment certainly has its hands full bringing back both of those properties, it’s known for doing things big, so you can bet on a second "Music City Miracle" by the end of the year.

Check out this issue for our report, and let’s hope for better news through the end of the year.