Tony and I took an 8 hour car ride to Tennessee and back again last weekend. We were meeting his parents in Nashville for a quick vehicle swap. We definitely got the good end of the deal. His parents are helping him fix and possibly sell his demon-possessed Audi and in return, gave us their minivan for the next month. Don’t be fooled by the word “mini” though. This thing was jam packed with all kinds of goodies for us! A dining room table from his grandmother (thanks gam-gam!) along with his hunting bow, guitar amps, and best of all, 2 coolers of food! The first, with a ton of fresh veggies from their garden and homemade salsa from his sister (thanks Caitlin!). The second was a treasure chest of meat. His parents won a 1/4 of a cow recently and decided to unload a good portion of it onto us. We carried home about 23 pounds of it! Steaks, hamburger, you name it! So “mini” is just a myth, we hit the mega-load with this van!
The trip there was slow paced but by choice. We took our time and made pit-stops! Our first was to a winery right off the highway. We sampled all they had to offer and left with our favorite, Purple Reign. It’s a Blackberry wine that tasted like juice, really, but we both liked it, and that’s a rarity! I like dry whites and sweet reds and Tony ONLY likes sweet, sweet, and more sweet. Which is obviously why he loves me so much, right?
Our second and last stop before we got to Nashville was the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. The grounds where the distillery is located are gorgeous. I went BACK to the car to get my camera because I just had to have pictures. I loved learning the history and getting to enjoy some great views.
We walked over a footbridge to the downtown area and stopped for lunch at a BBQ place that was featured on BBQ Pit Masters! I laughed because we actually would never have even seen the place except for a big sign that said “GOOD FOOD”, and hey, we were hungry! They didn’t disappoint and I would recommend Barrelhouse BBQ to anyone driving through Tennessee!
Nashville was a quick stop. All that driving and only there for the evening! We stayed with his parents right down the street from the Grand Ole Opry and I definitely had a giggle at the music shaped bushes that lined the entrance of the condo!
After a relaxing swim and catching up with the ‘rents, I got a chance to see some of my beloved Lubbock peeps! Julie just started law school at Vanderbilt, so her and Archie are just starting a new adventure in Nashville and we got to be their first “over the river” date! It was so good to see some familiar faces and now that I know they’re just right down the road maybe we will get over to see them again soon!
Not that sleeping on a pull out couch wasn’t at least partly at fault, but I was so restless and annoyed the whole drive home! Good company, good scenery, and good snacks are some of the bases that need to be covered in order to have a good road trip. However, there are so many more! Anyone who has seen Elizabethtown knows that the whole trip can be transformed by a good mix tape! I let my brother borrow my iPod when he left Georgia after our road trip to the coast and he’s the worst “borrower” in the world, so I was SOL when it came to music for this trip. I had to resort to flipping through radio stations trying to find something I hadn’t heard more than 9 times in the last hour.
The last couple of hours really dragged by and I was so happy when we got home and I could stretch out and listen to some good music. Here’s a playlist I made this week to celebrate not having to listen to the radio! Take it with you on your next road trip…or listen to it this weekend, as you enjoy your holiday!
