I Ain't Never Liked Country... Til I Came To Nashville.

Let me just start by saying that this (Nashville) is the first stop of my trip where I thought, "I could actually see myself living here." Now don't go cryin' that I ain't comin' back.  I'm just sayin'.  Hypothetically. Y'know.  That said, I have stories!

So, I believe I left you the last time saying that I was going to experience Nashville that day with Jessi, so that would have been Saturday.  Before Jessi & I could do any real damage, the first stop of the afternoon was the dropping off of a brilliant cake which Jessi had both baked and decorated.  It looked like this:

right??

Yes, she did all the work.  Yes, it is terribly impressive!  Yes, if you need a cake in the Nashville area, she's your go-to gal.  Yes, I can give you her number.  The cake itself was for one of their friends' 30th birthday parties, which incidentally was a prom!  Like, highschool prom.  DJ, dancing, big reception hall rented out, punch, decorations, and formal wear!  And the cake was the crowning glory.  All in all, I'm sure the night was fun.  BUT, for Jessi & I and our Nashville adventures, it was only 4:30 in the afternoon!

So off we went to explore the Nashville area.  We drove down Music Row briefly.  It's just a bunch of recording studios, some of which are converted houses.  Altogether unimpressive from the outside, despite the magic that goes on inside.  We then drove around to this park which actually has a replica of the Greek Parthenon right in the middle of it:

yep.  this is in the heart of nashville.

After that we went to Hillsborough Village.  This was hipster central.  I was loving it.  TOMS! RayBans! V-necks! snooty coffee! plaid! skinny jeans! We went into this coffee shop called Fido which was probably where I'd spend all my money if I lived there.  The red brick and wooden tables were all that I could ever want in a coffee shop.  Jessi & I got "Local Lattes" and sat down to drink espresso, milk, honey, & cinnamon.  Delightful!

coffee is so pretty!

After that we walked around and explored the shops. We went in to little boutiques, found this gem:

Then it was on to used clothing stores, overpriced weird furniture stores, and the like!  But just walking around was the joy of it.  We also found this cool bookstore which looked like it, despite their best efforts, had little rhyme or reason.  It did, however, have a teeny tiny little room which looked like it had once been a closet which was stuffed with their "drama" section.  I was ecstatic.  An entire (albeit tiny) room devoted to plays!  Hurray!

this is what theatre geek heaven looks like

From there, we decided that a movie (I think I need to add to the TALLY:  movies watched thus far) was next on the agenda.  But dinner came first.  We went to Chipotle!  I love me some Chipotle and it was everything I remembered it being.  I cannot wait until Albuquerque gets one of these!  Something about cilantro-lime rice is just the best thing on this planet to put in a burrito.

mmm, mmm, good.

Next it was on to the movie theatre.  But everything we wanted to see was sold out!  No!  So it was on to Opryland instead!  Now, I didn't know this, but it's actually a hotel.  With a massive concert hall.  Next to a mall.  Now when Nashville flooded about 18 months ago, the entirety of this hotel/hall/mall was flooded, and shockingly so.  It's since been reopened (not the mall, but for legal reasons) and it is literally breathtaking.  We couldn't go into the concert hall because there was a show going on, but the hotel was absolutely stunning.  Inside there are 3 atriums, and each looks like a botanical garden.  One even has a makeshift river flowing through it, complete with waterfalls, and this fountain:

yup. that's inside the hotel.

outside the grand ole opry

From there we decided to head to downtown Nashville.  On a Saturday night.  Oh boy!  It was PACKED.  People everywhere, and live music in every single bar.  And *good* music too.  This is, after all, Nashville!  So we picked a packed little honky tonk called The Second Fiddle, got ourselves a drink, and enjoyed some genuine cover country music.  I loved it!  And I don't even like country music!  But something about being in the South, listening to this music live, watching everyone dance in their cowboy boots (not line dancing; that would have been the only thing that would have made this better) was simply too good to be true.

country!

We walked around a bit more.  Went into a shop or two.  Tried on some cowboy boots!  Went into the touristy shops, and found this fantastic postcard that was a recipe for roast beef that had a picture of Elvis on it!  Oh yeah.  I bought one.  Best $0.33 I ever spent!  We then went and walked across this pedestrian bridge  which goes over the river.  It's quite the architectural sight, and we found out that you can actually rent it out for occasions! How cool would that be? To have your wedding reception or 30th birthday party or something on this gorgeous bridge??  I'd move to Nashville just for that!

whaddya think?

By this time it was getting late so Jessi & I headed back to the house.  It had been a tremendously fun night, but church was in the morning, and the two of us needed our beauty sleep.  Church the next morning was quite nice.  It was fun to hear a preacher with a genuine southern accent (we don't get that much in NM, do we?).  During the second service, Jessi & Chris went to go help out with the youth, and I got to make some phone calls, fight with my phone, and read.  Lunch was also nice, we got Chinese food which was tasty.

Now here my trip decided to take a turn that I never saw coming.  Years ago, when I was in middle school/early high school I used to go to a summer camp called Blue Haven.  At Blue Haven I met a ton of people from Texas, and one from Nashville, Tennessee.  It's been 8 or 9 years since I've seen some of these people, and I thought that more or less, I probably wouldn't ever see some of them again.  I had made no effort to meet up with my friend from TN because I didn't think she lived there anymore.  Crazy thing is, I had checked-in on Facebook when I was at that Chipotle the day before, and being friends on facebook, she saw it and said that she lived only a few miles from there!  What are the odds?  So we had made plans to meet up after church on Sunday.  It was absolutely crazy.  I hadn't seen Kim in 4 years.  She has since graduated from Pepperdine, gotten married, and moved back to Nashville.  So I went over to her house and she took me all over Franklin & Nashville, showing me all the obnoxiously large (and obnoxiously gorgeous) houses set in these picturesque countrysides & wooded hills.

But it got better.  Another of our camp mates just happened to have moved to Nashville too!  Andrea I hadn't seen in 8 years.  And Kim decided not to tell her that I was coming with her to say hi.  She was shocked when she opened the door; I wasn't entirely sure she would recognize me!  But we all got to talk for a while, and it was so fantastic to get to catch up.

I'm starting to learn that the unexpected things about my trip, like going to a honky tonk, and seeing old friends, are some of the best moments.  The planning is crucial, but the spontaneity is invaluable!  I wouldn't trade this trip for the world.  2 weeks down, and I'm still loving it.  When I got back to Jessi & Chris' house they had decided to grill, so we had steaks, grilled chicken, grilled pineapple, and grilled corn.  Delicious!  Food and a movie, and it was bed time.

Nashville has been so so very lovely.   I've had an absolute blast & am sad to go, but onward!  Tomorrow I make the longest drive yet (I think), 680 miles.  Spring Hill, TN to Chantilly, VA.  (aka Nashville to D.C.) This is where my driving skills begin being put to the test.  From there I get to brave the streets of NYC and Boston.  Lord help us all!


TALLY:
miles driven: ~2300
time spent in my car: 30.5 hours
cities visited: 15
cities slept in: 5states driven through/in: 7

PS.  Remember Texas Pride? Southern Pride might be worse:

southern pride much?