The Best Day!
Once again, beautifully hot :) and so we all pile into the convertible and head to Lynchberg. Home of Jack Daniels. Really, do I need to say more? I think not. But, since you're already here...
Here's a surprising fact and a general head's up before making the hour and half drive to Lynchberg (which we knew and it was totally worth it!): Lynchberg is dry. So that means NO drinking. That's right. No. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Not even when you walk to Lynchberg from the distillery--no Lynchberg Lemonades to be bought in Lynchberg. Define irony.
The tour was interesting, the town quaint. We had regular lemonade and ambled about. Bought a few souvenirs. Discovered you can buy a barrel of Jack. Got excited. Found out it cost more than a new car...got unexcited. Sat longingly at the "bar" waiting to be served...but alas...
OMG! I forgot to mention the best part of the drive down: we stopped at Sonic!! YAY! Cherry Limeades!
We refrained from Sonic on the way back, as well, we were in search of a Mexican Food restaurant that was reputed to have THE best margaritas in town. I'm not entirely sure they were THE BEST, but they were pretty damn good....and huge. Gotta love fabulous and fabulously large margaritas!
We saw a noteworthy bumpersticker as we were leaving the restaurant: No Human Being is Illegal!
:)
As we headed back to the hotel, the sadness of what tomorrow would bring (going home) started to decend...but of course, we immediately lifted our spirits with discussion of where to go next year. Never too soon to start thinking about it!! Which reminds me, gotta do a bit of research for destinations. Any suggestions?
:-P SHEZ
29 June 2009
Girls' Weekend--Day 2
GOOOOOD MORNING!
We were up and at'em pretty early (well, okay, maybe not that early), but we had a bit of a drive to breakfast and we were eager to get a move on.
Another gloriously warm day. Thankfully we were in Christi's convertible and the scenery was beautiful. Truly gorgeous! Say what you want about Tennessee, but it really is one of the most beautiful places I've been.
Our destination was the Loveless Cafe--best known for their biscuits, but lemme just tell you EVERYTHING we had was delicious. Again, because it's Girls' Weekend, we ordered mimosas in which we were brought a carafe of oj and small bottle of champagne for each of us. That's right EACH OF US. Since Christi was the designated driver, she had one glass of mimosa and Jamie and I dutifully finished her champagne. Click here for more info on the Loveless Cafe www.lovelesscafe.com If you're wondering where it is--and noticing on their website there is no city mentioned--well, that's because it's smack dab in the middle of nowhere, about an hour south of Nashville.
How did we know it was smack dab in the middle of nowhere? Well, we heard rumors that there was a cute little town not far (15ish miles) away (Franklin), so in search of adventure, off we go. Go. Go? hmm...just off the Natchez Trace Bridge, the volvo has decided that it doesn't like the heat or our drive or its alternator and it dies. SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
After several non-productive calls to AAA, a very nice gentleman pulled over and talked to the towing company in Franklin, explaining that they needed to "get out here now and get these girls off the side of the road." Once he was satisfied the tow truck was on its way, he left. And so we sat. On the side of the road, surrounded by beauty. Melting in the heat.
Not even 10 minutes later (thank you kind sir, for stopping and talking to the towing company for us! because AAA gave us an ETA of an hour and God Bless small southern towns who drop everything to help a woman on the side of the road), Jimmy came to rescue us. I'm sure he was a little taken aback by his three "damsels" in distress...even more so, when we all piled (squeezed) into his truck for the ride back into town.
But within 3 minutes we had him wrapped around our little fingers and we got the full tour of downtown Franklin (which took all of 4 minutes...with traffic) and before leaving us at the Volvo dealership, made sure that we were well taken care of and would be fine (but left us his card, just in case!)
Of course, the Enterprise car rental office had just closed for the weekend and so we are now stuck in the middle of nowhere smack dab in the middle of Tennessee (oh wait, i already mentioned that). The dealership, upon hearing about our Girls' Weekend and that Jamie was in from Richmond and I was in from New York City and everything we have with us is at the Doubletree Downtown Nashville, put our car first and one of the associates drove us to the quaint little downtown area, whereby we found an irish pub and had a guiness (since we each had one would it be guini?) to assuage our nerves (well Christi's nerves for having a broken car! Jamie & I of course only drank in sympathy...). We strolled through the streets, did a bit of shopping, and voila! the dealership called to say that the car was ready and someone would come pick us up in a few minutes.
Soon we were back on our way to Nashville and a bit hungry (not to mention HOT!)...so we made it back to the hotel, sat in the air conditioning for a bit, changed, and then caught the shuttle bus to spend the rest of the evening on Broadway, eating BBQ, drinking Shiner Bock, and listening to the live music that Nashville is known for!
:-P SHEZ
We were up and at'em pretty early (well, okay, maybe not that early), but we had a bit of a drive to breakfast and we were eager to get a move on.
Another gloriously warm day. Thankfully we were in Christi's convertible and the scenery was beautiful. Truly gorgeous! Say what you want about Tennessee, but it really is one of the most beautiful places I've been.
Our destination was the Loveless Cafe--best known for their biscuits, but lemme just tell you EVERYTHING we had was delicious. Again, because it's Girls' Weekend, we ordered mimosas in which we were brought a carafe of oj and small bottle of champagne for each of us. That's right EACH OF US. Since Christi was the designated driver, she had one glass of mimosa and Jamie and I dutifully finished her champagne. Click here for more info on the Loveless Cafe www.lovelesscafe.com If you're wondering where it is--and noticing on their website there is no city mentioned--well, that's because it's smack dab in the middle of nowhere, about an hour south of Nashville.
How did we know it was smack dab in the middle of nowhere? Well, we heard rumors that there was a cute little town not far (15ish miles) away (Franklin), so in search of adventure, off we go. Go. Go? hmm...just off the Natchez Trace Bridge, the volvo has decided that it doesn't like the heat or our drive or its alternator and it dies. SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
After several non-productive calls to AAA, a very nice gentleman pulled over and talked to the towing company in Franklin, explaining that they needed to "get out here now and get these girls off the side of the road." Once he was satisfied the tow truck was on its way, he left. And so we sat. On the side of the road, surrounded by beauty. Melting in the heat.
Not even 10 minutes later (thank you kind sir, for stopping and talking to the towing company for us! because AAA gave us an ETA of an hour and God Bless small southern towns who drop everything to help a woman on the side of the road), Jimmy came to rescue us. I'm sure he was a little taken aback by his three "damsels" in distress...even more so, when we all piled (squeezed) into his truck for the ride back into town.
But within 3 minutes we had him wrapped around our little fingers and we got the full tour of downtown Franklin (which took all of 4 minutes...with traffic) and before leaving us at the Volvo dealership, made sure that we were well taken care of and would be fine (but left us his card, just in case!)
Of course, the Enterprise car rental office had just closed for the weekend and so we are now stuck in the middle of nowhere smack dab in the middle of Tennessee (oh wait, i already mentioned that). The dealership, upon hearing about our Girls' Weekend and that Jamie was in from Richmond and I was in from New York City and everything we have with us is at the Doubletree Downtown Nashville, put our car first and one of the associates drove us to the quaint little downtown area, whereby we found an irish pub and had a guiness (since we each had one would it be guini?) to assuage our nerves (well Christi's nerves for having a broken car! Jamie & I of course only drank in sympathy...). We strolled through the streets, did a bit of shopping, and voila! the dealership called to say that the car was ready and someone would come pick us up in a few minutes.
Soon we were back on our way to Nashville and a bit hungry (not to mention HOT!)...so we made it back to the hotel, sat in the air conditioning for a bit, changed, and then caught the shuttle bus to spend the rest of the evening on Broadway, eating BBQ, drinking Shiner Bock, and listening to the live music that Nashville is known for!
:-P SHEZ
Girls' Weekend--Day 1
Yes, shocking but true. Actual accounts of our Girls' Trip Nashville. Of course, under the pretense that "what happens on Girls' Weekend, stays on Girls' Weekend," I can't divulge it all, but there are a few notable highlights.
For example, Christi picked Jamie & I up at the airport and since we couldn't check into the hotel at that moment in time, we went out for margaritas...i mean Mexican food. If there happened to be a pitcher of tequila, triple sec, ice & lime juice on the table, well, then it would have been rude not to imbibe a little. besides....HELLO!...Girls' Weekend was about getting away from it all, neverminding the fact that it was 11am.
In our defense, we TRIED to tour the Capitol building, however, we couldn't find a parking spot. Yes, we looked and on our 3rd time around the area--and did I mention 103 degree heat??--we decided indoors with cool beverages was a better option at that moment in time.
After killing time at the restaurant, we found our hotel and were allowed to check in. So we drop our bags and headed down to Broadway, which is the main section for live music. We did a bit of shopping, a little walking, a little listening to live music, had a few more beers and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and the evening's festivities: The Grand Ole Opry.
I mean, c'mon, you can't go to Nashville and not go to the Opry. Having now been, I can skip it the next time I'm there, but it should be a stop for everyone at least once--whether or not country music is your thing. The early acts were, um, very, um...interesting. i'm not going to use the word hoaky, but, well, most would.
The most entertaining song BY FAR! was "Snuff Dipper" a love song by a gentleman about his wife and whose melody got stuck in our heads (in fact, i'm humming it now!). The outfits were also worth a mention (think HeeHaw and if you don't know what HeeHaw is, well then I am very sad for you!).
We did get to see Tracy Bird, Vince Gill, and Allison Kraus and Union Station, who were AAAAAA-MAZING! Lemme just recommend that if you ever have a chance to see Allison Kraus (preferably) with Union Station perform anywhere, GO! it's totally worth it.
All in all, it was a fun, relaxing day and with the promise of a deeeelicious breakfast Saturday morning, off to bed we went!
:-P SHEZ
For example, Christi picked Jamie & I up at the airport and since we couldn't check into the hotel at that moment in time, we went out for margaritas...i mean Mexican food. If there happened to be a pitcher of tequila, triple sec, ice & lime juice on the table, well, then it would have been rude not to imbibe a little. besides....HELLO!...Girls' Weekend was about getting away from it all, neverminding the fact that it was 11am.
In our defense, we TRIED to tour the Capitol building, however, we couldn't find a parking spot. Yes, we looked and on our 3rd time around the area--and did I mention 103 degree heat??--we decided indoors with cool beverages was a better option at that moment in time.
After killing time at the restaurant, we found our hotel and were allowed to check in. So we drop our bags and headed down to Broadway, which is the main section for live music. We did a bit of shopping, a little walking, a little listening to live music, had a few more beers and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and the evening's festivities: The Grand Ole Opry.
I mean, c'mon, you can't go to Nashville and not go to the Opry. Having now been, I can skip it the next time I'm there, but it should be a stop for everyone at least once--whether or not country music is your thing. The early acts were, um, very, um...interesting. i'm not going to use the word hoaky, but, well, most would.
The most entertaining song BY FAR! was "Snuff Dipper" a love song by a gentleman about his wife and whose melody got stuck in our heads (in fact, i'm humming it now!). The outfits were also worth a mention (think HeeHaw and if you don't know what HeeHaw is, well then I am very sad for you!).
We did get to see Tracy Bird, Vince Gill, and Allison Kraus and Union Station, who were AAAAAA-MAZING! Lemme just recommend that if you ever have a chance to see Allison Kraus (preferably) with Union Station perform anywhere, GO! it's totally worth it.
All in all, it was a fun, relaxing day and with the promise of a deeeelicious breakfast Saturday morning, off to bed we went!
:-P SHEZ
26 June 2009
Girls' Weekend, Nashville
okay, really i'm just teasing you here.....
I really, really want to tell you about my trip (along with color photos even!), however, I hit the ground running once I got back (shocking, I know!). There is a vicious rumour floating around that I have Sunday off (gasp!)...so hopefully I'll be able to do it then...
or sleep all day...that also sounds like heaven.
regardless until I've posted documentation of Girls' Weekend Nashville, you have my permission to harass me :) but ONLY about that!
meanwhile I'm sticking with Jamie's mantra "Can I retire now?"
:-P SHEZ
I really, really want to tell you about my trip (along with color photos even!), however, I hit the ground running once I got back (shocking, I know!). There is a vicious rumour floating around that I have Sunday off (gasp!)...so hopefully I'll be able to do it then...
or sleep all day...that also sounds like heaven.
regardless until I've posted documentation of Girls' Weekend Nashville, you have my permission to harass me :) but ONLY about that!
meanwhile I'm sticking with Jamie's mantra "Can I retire now?"
:-P SHEZ
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