I’ve been here for 8 months now. I spent the first couple so swamped with work
that I didn’t even have time to breathe.
I resolved not to let that happen again.
The next few I spent exploring Nashville and going to every Preds game I
could get my hands on (because why would I not go to an NHL game for free?)
In the past 8 months I saw Cassadee Pope, Cowboy Troy, Big & Rich, Sam Hunt, Kelsea
Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Chris Young, Chris Janson, and Blake Shelton in
concert. I met Nashville Predators #59
Roman Josi and NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace.
I partied on Broadway and (sort of)
learned to two-step at the Electric Cowboy.
This past week was spring break and you can bet I milked it
for all it was worth.
Saturday, March 26,
2016
I spent the morning relaxing as I waited for Bailey to
arrive. She was riding down with some friends
who were on their way to AL. Their
cousin worked at the Nashville Zoo so we got in for free and got the
behind-the-scenes tour. (It’s good to know people who know people!) It was
fabulous. We went into a back room where
we got to see frogs (yay!!), giant spiders (yuck!!), snakes, and chameleons
amongst others. We learned a lot about
how they do things which I honestly had never thought of before. You learn something new every day! We explored the outside of the zoo for a while
and then got to have a one-on-one session with a little kangaroo named
Ruby! We got to feed her and everything,
it was pretty awesome!
After the Zoo, we went to Martin’s BBQ- a Nashville staple.
Feeling adventurous, I got the Redneck Taco- pulled pork with a spicy slaw on
cornbread. Now I HATE cole slaw, but I’ve
made it my goal to try things I normally wouldn’t, thus the redneck taco. It was actually pretty good, I would definitely eat it again.
The kiddos (and quite frankly myself) were sleepy so it was
time to head home and go to bed.
Sunday, March 27,
2016 EASTER
We met our friends at their hotel in Nashville so we could
go to Easter church together. The night before,
we had asked the hotel manager for church suggestions and we ended up choosing
Crosspoint, a non-denominational church right next the hotel. It was incredible. I have never been a church go-er for many
reasons, one being that I have the attention span of a baby goldfish and by the
time a service is over I’ve typically made a mental grocery list, planned a
birthday party, and decided on my outfits and lunches for the week. Not here.
It began with 20 minutes of music- and not your typical hymns. More like Christian rock. I could feel the bass in my feet. They had me. (Bonus points for FGL sitting a mere 4 rows in front of us!) The pastor (or whatever
they’re called at that church) wasn’t old and boring. He was relatable and interesting, even if you
take the religious aspect out of it, he definitely made me think about my life,
and I liked that.
Afterwards, Bailey and I went to brunch at Saint Anejo. We had intentions of going to Adele’s, but
there was a 45 minute wait and we didn’t want to spend the $32 on the buffet
anyway. It turned out we got the better
deal. We ended up eating at the bar at
Saint Anejo. We had chips and salsa as
an app and since drinks were buy 1, get 1 free we both ordered sangria. Note to self: Next time, share the sangria. Halfway into my drink, I knew we would not be
heading home any time soon. I looked at
Bailey and she thought I was crazy, until it hit her shortly after. Never have I ever had a drink that was worth
$7, but that one was. (And technically, it was only $3.50!) Ufda! I had the
Omelet Tres: queso chorizo, caramelized onion, mex cheese, potato hash, and
pico. SO GOOD. There are literally not words to explain how delicious it was,
though maybe that is just the sangria talking…
Eventually we made it back to Clarksville, took a nap, then
explored the trails of Dunbar Cave State Park.
Monday, March 28,
2016
Monday was our Nashville day. We took the Redneck Bus Tour
and learned a little of Nashville’s history.
From there, we went to explore 12th South district. It was like a whole new side to
Nashville. I felt like I was in San
Francisco, not Music City. It was very
chic and hipster-esque. We stopped by Sprinkles, a little cupcake shop with a Cupcake
ATM, admired the wall art, and explored some local boutiques. (For the record, the cupcakes were not worth $4 a piece!)
After a quick nap at the hotel, we headed down to Broadway
for dinner. I took Bailey to my favorite
(thus far) place to eat on Broadway- Tin Roof.
We enjoyed our loaded hot tots and listened to music for a while and
then ventured down to Bridgestone Arena for the Preds game. After the first period, we ventured out into
the arena where we found a line behind a table with a (very attractive) man
standing on the other side of it. We
immediately got in line and I asked the guy in front of us what we were in line
for. He told us that Bubba Wallace, a
NASCAR driver, was signing autographs. I
was willing to hold off on getting my hot dog for that! The Preds lost, but it was a fun game. We spent the remainder of the night at Honky
Tonk Central where there was an awesome band, and even more remarkable fiddler!
Tuesday, March 29,
2016
By far my favorite day of break! Thanks to advice from
friends, we set out Tuesday morning for Cummins Falls near Cookeville,
Tennessee. We got there around 11 and wandered to the overlook- the falls
looked amazing!! Thank goodness, because we definitely needed the motivation
once we realized what the hike actually entailed. The walk down the path wasn’t
so bad. The trail was narrows and rough,
but it was a nice hike. It was once we
got to the bottom that we realized what we were in for. We hiked about a mile downhill from the
overlook, and then had to hike a mile back to get to the falls. But it wasn’t just a hike, it was like flat
rock climbing. There were small rocks,
and giant 10 foot boulders. We had to
climb over and around them and walk across the (freezing cold might I add)
water multiple times. When we reached the falls, it was so worth it! We met a girl who was there by herself and
invited her to join our endeavors. With
our shoes sopping wet, and our legs numb from the cold, we walked up closer into
falls. Go big or go home!
When we were done at the park, I asked a local where we should
eat. She directed us to a local pub, then
from there we stopped at a bakery called Ralph’s which had donuts that were comparable
(though not as good as) Bloedow’s in Winona.
We drove back to Clarksville, officially drained of energy for the rest
of the night.
Wednesday and Thursday
were just spent exploring Clarksville: apartment hunting, showing Bailey the
wonder that is Bargain Hunt and Ross, and eating ice cream made of liquid
nitrogen!
On Friday, we
woke up somewhere in the 3 o’clock hour and I took Bailey to the airport in
Nashville. I drove back home for a
couple hours and watched Netflix until I got bored of laying around. I drove to Harpeth River State Park but
couldn’t for the life of my figure it out so I kept driving until I came across
Montgomery Bell State Park and took a solo hiking trip there.
Saturday was
spent cleaning and relaxing followed by a BBQ with friends.
Today, I went back to Crosspoint to see if I still liked
it. They’re doing a 4 week series on,
essentially, life’s purpose which sounds interesting so I think I’ll continue
going. If anything, it gives me an excuse to explore new restaurants in
Nashville! Today I went to Marche
Artisan Foods and sat at a community table which was really cool- more
restaurants should have that option! I
had steak (again, not something I EVER eat, let alone for breakfast) with a red
pepper sauce, eggs, and potatoes. It was pretty good, I would eat there again. I came
home and have been scoring the internet making plans for upcoming adventures
ever since.
Now, it’s back to school tomorrow and planning next weekend’s
shenanigans!
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