Thirteen years ago, I took a weekend trip with two of my favorite friends shortly after moving back to South Carolina from Alabama. At the time, we all had very young children and sitting on the beach sipping cocktails was the perfect getaway. I’m not sure why it took us so long to do it again but we decided we were long overdue for another girls weekend. Nashville seemed like a perfect spot so I booked flights and hotel. Usually, I like to plan a few activities ahead of time but busy schedules prevented us from planning anything.
Travel doesn’t always go as expected…
My friends arrived earlier than I did so I was anxious to meet up and definitely didn’t want to waste time in baggage claim. Since I was flying Southwest and forgot to check into my flight until 8 hours before takeoff, I had to pack a bag that was easy to stuff. Group C means that you will most likely be stuck in the middle seat towards the back of the plane and will have to check your bag if it’s a roller type. The good news is the flight is really short, which I really appreciated because the lady next to me was having a conflict with the flight attendant because of the amount of drinks she wanted to order. Yikes!
Once landed, I carried my very heavy bag to the taxi, Uber/Lyft area. I wouldn’t recommend packing 3 pairs of boots but it’s hard not to when you love cowboy boots as much as I do and you’re visiting Nashville. I opted for a cab because the Uber/Lyft areas seemed very chaotic. When I got to my room, I noticed I didn’t have my purse. I’m almost sure I left it in the cab but I was unable to track the cab because I didn’t get a receipt. From this point forward, I will always request a receipt! The night before leaving, my other friend injured her toe and could barely walk. I’ve always been slightly superstitious started to think maybe we should have waited 14 years.
Saturday, I was able to get past the mishap and look on the bright side. Fortunately, I had my driver’s license and most of my credit cards on the back of my phone. We had a delicious breakfast that included a guitar player and a brisket carving station. It was unexpected and a great way to start the day in music city. We did a power walk to Walgreens for essentials lost in the purse mishap (makeup, toothpaste and readers). It was a great to see the city before it started getting busy. Next we visited the iconic What Lifts You Up mural in the Gulch. Biscuit Love is around the corner if you don’t have a brisket carving station at your hotel. The Gulch also has some really amazing boutiques. We had a a few appetizers and delicious craft cocktails at Saint Anejo (https://www.mstreetnashville.com/saint-anejo). Rolling with unexpected adversity while traveling is not always easy but it’s much better than letting it ruin your trip.
One of my friends is not a fan of country music or crowded bars but she agreed to go with us to music row.. A bucket of beer and college football at Nudie’s took us back to college days. Next we headed to country music institution, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, for some live country music. Legend has it that the signature orchid color was painted as a mistake. It was crowded and not for everyone but I loved it. My next trip to Nashville will be planned around a concert preferably at the Ryman.
After my friend endured as much country as she could stand, we stopped at Two Old Hippie’s Boutique. It is a must do when visiting Nashville! Our last trip 13 years ago, I wore a leopard print dress. I know it sounds trashy but I promise it was cute. We all ended up getting the same dress. This go round, we all bought animal print jackets. It was totally out of my comfort zone to buy something like this but I absolutely love it! We were sad we didn’t have time to go back on Sunday morning.
We ended the night we a fabulous dinner at The Farm House (https://thefarmhousetn.com) I swore we ordered calamari but I couldn’t find it on the menu. I’m starting to think we ate pigs ears. Whatever it was, it was one of the best things I’ve ever had and I’m thankful I didn’t know it was pigs ears if that was in fact what I ate. After dinner, in true late forties fashion, we had lots of fun in the room playing wheel of fortune and were asleep by 9:30 p.m.
The next morning my wonderful friend helped me look for my purse at the airport. It had pinged the night before on my Tile at the airport. I was hoping that this would be the perfect end my blog but we unfortunately had no luck. My country music loving friend and I had lunch at Tootsie’s airport location. It featured live music and semi decent nachos. While discussing the weekend she said “It’s kinda fun not having a plan”. I couldn’t agree more!
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