6.13.2009

Super Fun Vaca -- Day 1

With the rascals safe in the spoiling them rotten loving hands of the 'rents, the husband and I headed out for our Super Fun Vaca.


First Stop: Music City, USA....Nashville, Tennessee

Mode of Transportation: Minivan (we rocked it!)

Traveling Companions: Our besties, Eric & Stephanie and Wes & Lisa

Time of Departure: Crack of dawn thirty

How I Coped With Crack of Dawn Thirty: a horribly funktified delightfully delicious hot mocha which the restaurant folks "forgot" to fill all the way to the top, but I'm not holding grudges about it. Really.

So, we met up with our peeps and headed out. Nashville is about a 5 or 6 hour drive from where we took off from, so we had plenty of time to visit in the car.

Now, I hate roadtrips. Because I hate to ride in cars, but that trip yesterday might possibly be the best roadtrip I've ever been on. I'm telling you....we laughed. A LOT. And we learned A LOT about eachother that we didn't know. Some of us learned more about others than we probably bargained for. Ahem. And we played a fascinating game of "Name That Tune," which I have come to discover that I stink at.

We finally rolled into the hotel parking lot, checked-in, and we girls got all gussied up for our big night out on the town.

We came to Nashville for the wedding of some great friends of ours. But, with the wedding on Saturday, we decided to take advantage of our evening in Music City and do what everyone should do at least once in their lifetime whether they like country music or not....go to the Grand Ole Opry!!

But, it is a well known fact that you can't listen to music on an empty stomach. And vacations usually revolve around the food for me, so dinner was first on our agenda.

We ate here.


Very cool. The restaurant's tables surround this ginormous aquarium, and it was stocked full of huge fish, sharks, and some gnarly stingrays. And a huge creepy lime green eel.




Don't we all look spiffy?

Kirk ate this.

And I ate this.

And it was delish. I wanted to lick my plate, but I was afraid that my friends would fire me.

After dinner, the girls posed with this shark. The boys wouldn't do it. Party poopers.


The restaurant was handily located directly across the street from the Grand Ole Opry, so we mosied our way over. And we posed in front of the building like all good tourists should do.


Then we headed in and found our seats. (This is where I have to give props to Stephanie. She is now our official travel agent. She planned this whole Nashville trip, and she rocked it on the ticket and hotel deals. So a big Woo Hoo to Steph!) Our seats were great....well, the location of our seats was great. You are seated on church pews. No joke. Like old country church church pews. Not so comfortable. But, back to the location. We were up in the mezzanine, which gave us a perfect view of the stage. And these were a few of my favorites (and not-so-favorites)...

That's Little Jimmy Dickens. He makes me smile, and he is hilarious. He had the best jokes of the night, and my heart was grinning because he reminded me of my Grandpa Sib.

That's Pam Tillis.



That's Collin Raye. And I sang along with him. And I liked his shirt.


That's Charlie Pride. He was interesting. And that's all I'm going to say about that. My traveling companions know of what I speak.



All I remember about this guy was his very snazzy yellow jacket. And the blue sequins on his hat. I felt underdressed.


And this guy had very white boots.


And this is Emerson Drive. And I likey the Emerson Drive.

The Opry (also called the "Opera" by someone who shall remain nameless...um, Wes) was so much fun! I think even Lisa had fun, who had sworn off all matters of country music, and only came to the Opry as a result of peer pressure.


(We interrupt this vaca blow-by-blow to insert this small note of sentimentality. The Opry is very dear to my heart, and I even teared up a time or two last night, because my Grandpa Sib was at the front of my mind the entire time. My mom's dad loved country music. Old school country music. And he was an incredible musician himself. One of his dreams was to come and visit the Grand Ole Opry; to see the stage where all his beloved stars preformed on all those radio shows that he would sit on his kitchen stool and listen to. My Grandpa Sib passed away a couple of years ago, but about a year before he died, his dream came true. My parents took him and my step-grandmother to the Opry. And my mom said that my grandpa was so happy that night. So....while I was sitting on that church pew, my mind kept drifting back to Grandpa's kitchen, his music, and remembering his smile. Because the Opry made him smile.)


After the Opry, we headed back to the hotel and sat out in the courtyard. The weather was perfect last night here in Tennessee, and we had a great time visiting, laughing, and just enjoying being together. And we learned even more about some of us. Ahem. Our peeps are the best.

So....Super Fun Vaca Day 1. Over and Out.

On to Super Fun Vaca Day 2.

17 comments:

Mich said...

Glad you had a blast. Looks like fun. Your dress is the cutest and you look great...the gym is working for you sis!

I'm back from camp, missed talking to you.

Love ya!

mer@lifeat7000feet said...

SO. MUCH. FUN.

I'm thrilled ya'll are having such a fun time together (and trying not to feel completely left out!).

;)

Nina Diane said...

looks like ya'll are having a blast!!

buscher3 said...

Ok, first of all...LOVE your dress! So cute! I'd love to have one, but I'd have to find one with a bigger belly area to house my giganto after birth baby belly. Where's you get it??

Marc and Charity said...

Girl, you are rockin' that cute dress!

Kendra said...

So jealous! Wish I had friends good enough to take a trip with, but I'm afraid we'd no longer be friends if we did! Hope you enjoy the weekend!

really.truly said...

Oh my girlfriend..where do I start??
Fun, that road trip with your friends sounds like so much fun!! You started it the perfect way...with the mocha(yummers!). I'm loving your little dress! You look adorable...actually, you and hubby do. And then the Opry..what a great night!! The story about your Grandpa and the Opry...lovely. Have a continued Fab weekend!

Jim said...

Amb,
Things are great with the grands! They are perfect, as always!

You remember, don't you, that Grandpa Sib also had another dream fulfilled when we took them to Nashville? We went to the old Ryman "Opera" auditorium, and there he was recorded in the soundbooth singing "Amazing Grace" - literally "cutting" a CD!

We had a great time on that trip and it did mean a lot to him and us.

Well, you are making your own memories, too! Have fun and be careful!

Love you,
Jim-Dad

P.S.: Bible school went great today. The boys had fun. Got some pictures to share with you.

Tiffani said...

Well, Poohpa (did I spell that right) must not be tied up by the rascals and under their mind-control b/c he's still faithfully commenting!!

How HOT you are (I must reiterate here from FB) and what a GREAT time it looks like you're having...Tennessee is THE state that is closest to my heart after my own...my Nana took me to the Opry so it has some special memories for me too...

Keep havin' fun, Junie B!

Love,
Lucille

Stephanie said...

We are only 2 hours from Nashville. That's where mom has had her recent surgeries, so I've been there a lot recently.

Looks like you are having a great time. I've never been to the opry but as a child we always went to opryland (the theme park). Too bad it's shut down now. Anys you have me itching to go...Be safe!

Cathy said...

I LOVE Collin Raye!

You are ROCK.IN. the super cute dress and shoes!

I got all goosebumply when you were talking about Grandpa Sib...

Over and out...until tomorrow that is.

Terry Lewallen said...

Oh, what fun! You look fabulous and like you're really getting to enjoy the frazzlelessness of a kiddo-free vaca with the hubby and besties! Keep having a ball!

Stephanie @ My Answered Prayer said...

Had a great time....Where is Day #2...You've had plenty of time! :)

Lori Motl said...

I got teary when I went to the Opry, too. My Daddy LOVED it. He called me a few years ago when he was there. He was so excited. I can't wait to take Casey and the kids one day...especially now that Ryan has the bug for singing!

Gretchen said...

Wow! Thanks for packing us in your suitcase, Amber. Lurve your cute, pokey dotted dress. Great pic of you and your babe at the end.

Michele said...

You look AMAZING!!! Oh how much fun!! I love vacation! What sweet memories of your Grandpa!!! Makes my heart smile:) I'm catching up here, so I can't wait to read day #2. I'd love to know the inside joke of Charlie Pride. I remember my parents playing his record all the time when I was a little girl.

Elizabeth said...

I love Nashville. Did you see the Opryland Hotel? It's amazing.

You look beautiful in the pics, and your food looks so, so yummy.

And I really want to know what everyone learned about each other. Seriously.