Family Roadtrip!

Josh and I have been talking about going to Nashville for a while now, especially because of our recent obsession with the ABC t.v. show, Nashville.  When we received his friend's wedding invite in Kentucky, it was a no brainer...we could stay in Nashville and drive up to Kentucky for the wedding.  Yay!

Thursday, May 29th
We left our house about 3:15 and headed towards Memphis.  We decided to stay in Memphis to help break up the trip for Mila and because we had worked all day.  It took up about 7 hours to get there.  We stayed at The Hotel Memphis.

Friday, May 30th
The next morning, we woke up and drove around town.  Graceland was neat to look at, but too pricey and time consuming, so we decided to opt out of that.  We ate at a cute restaurant, The Blue Plate.  It was home cookin' and just what we needed before we headed to Nashville.  When we arrived in Nashville, we went straight to our hotel, Sheraton Music City.  This place was amazing.  I would definitely recommend it.  It was set on acreage, had a fabulous veranda and pool area, and was gigantic.





After checking in, we decided to drive to The Bluebird Cafe and try our luck at getting in.  There were about 35 people in line.  They allowed reservations in first, then started pecking away at the line, letting s small groups of people in at a time. We were the last group to get in. Phew!  This place is so tiny.  The show that night was known as the "songwriter's circle".  Four songwriters set in a circle in the middle of the room playing their guitars, explaining why they wrote the songs, and sang them for us to hear.  So cool!

Mila loved hearing the music and was so good throughout their songs.  We were there a little over an hour, then decided to leave.  We drove around Honky Tonk Central, ate dessert at Tin Angel, then heading back to the hotel.  We were exhausted.

 Saturday, May 31st

We decided to get up and tour The Grand Ole Opry.  This day would be a quick one, as we had to get ready for the wedding and drive to Kentucky.  The Opry was amazing.  It was so neat hearing all the great stories about the artists and their journey to fame.  Being asked to join The Opry is a big deal, and only few country singers have the honor.  Nashville decided to maintain the original stage from the Ryman Auditorium. They cut a 6ft x 6ft circle of the stage and moved it to The Opry.  We got to stand on it and take pictures. I basically feel like a celebrity now.  Haha!  Afterwards, we went and spent way too much money in the gift shop, but we got lots of cool stuff.

We decided to have lunch before heading to the hotel to get ready.  I googled different options, and we decided on a place called 12th Taproom and Grille.  This restaurant was quirky and had an Austin feel to it. We loved it!  After eating, we heading to our hotel to rest for about an hour, then got cleaned up and headed to Kentucky.  The wedding began at 5:00.  It was beautiful.  The reception was on a golf course, so naturally Josh was excited.  We stayed until about 10:30, then headed back to Nashville.  It was great meeting so many people and sharing our sweet Mila with them.

Sunday, June 1st
Today, we had the entire day to tour Nashville and enjoy the town.  This place is truly so neat.  We went to Starbucks, drank coffee inside, and enjoyed our sweet family time together.  For brunch, we ate on the patio at Silo.

It was delicious. Then, we toured the Ryman Auditorium.
 It used to be an old church, that was turned into The Grand Ole Opry and eventually became the Ryman.  Like The Opry, it has seen the best country musicians.  The architecture is beautiful.  It has stained-glass windows and old wooden pews to sit on.  It's smack dab in the middle of the downtown area.  Next, we drove around near Vanderbilt University. I would totally recommend that college...it's in the best location.  I'm sure you can get a good education there too.  Hehe.






We checked out where the character from Nashville, Deacon Claybourne's house is on the show.

Like I said...I'm obsessed with that show.  Afterwards, we ate a late lunch at Mellow Mushroom (they have a new one in Rockwall).  The pizza was delicious.  Once we were super stuffed, we decided to head back to the hotel to let Mila rest for a bit and get cleaned up for our dinner at Kayne Prime Steakhouse.  OMG...that place was amazing!!  We started off with an appetizer of duck tacos (I wasn't a huge fan, but they were okay...I kept picturing Daffy Duck and his disappointing face staring me down, so it was hard to enjoy).  For our meal, Josh ate a 10oz Wagnu (Japenese steak) filet mignon and I had the 6oz filet  It was served with a side of creme brulee cream of corn (THE BEST THING EVER) and fancy mashed potatoes.  Our bill was a little high, but the food was amazing and it was the perfect ending to our trip in Nashville.  We finished the night with dessert and a tall glass of milk at our hotel restaurant.  

Monday, June 2nd
We had a long drive ahead of us, so we threw our stuff in suitcases, then in the back of my car, and heading out.  We stopped in Memphis at a cool little joint, Avenue Grill.  Then, made our way back to Texas.  Home sweet home.

Overall, our trip was amazing.  It's such a blessing to have a husband who is always willing to pack up and travel with me.  I love the quote, "I'm in love with places I've never been to and people I've never met."  It's so true.  There's something so neat about discovering new places, seeing different cultures, and meeting new people.  Mila was the best little traveler too.  She is such a perfect addition to our family.  Her happy disposition is such a joy in our lives.