Nashville with a group!

Rondi said she was celebrating her 40th birthday in Nashville, and did anyone want to come? We all did!

Part of the reason she wanted to come is because our friend Molly lives there. Rondi, her husband Andy, her sisters Tanna and Kendra, Kris and I stayed with Molly at her house, and the others stayed in an Airbnb. Meredith and Joe were a surprise late addition! That made 26 of us.

Day one
Some drove, some flew, and we all met up at Chopper for dinner. We ordered online from the food truck Maiz de la Vida, so that made it possible to all hang out and eat here. Other people walked around and checked out some other places, since it is a very walkable city.

Day two
From Molly's house I ran to the soccer stadium, which you could tell was new. I just loved how it was on a hill, too.

We met up at Percy Warner Park for a three mile hike. Such a pretty park entrance. Way more than I expected!

Our goal was to go to Rondi's list of celebrity-owned bars. We met first to eat at Food Assembly Hall, and as we exited the uber, I had that same feeling I get every time I go on Broadway Street. People! Music! Excitement you can feel in the air! I love it.

Food Assembly Hall has multiple floors of places to eat, so everyone had their pick, and we listened to a band with a great flute player! You don't get that just everywhere at home. 

We then went to:

Twelve Thirty Club  - Great rooftop patio. Go through the stuffy formal part to get there. Had a DJ and not live music like most. Fancy and nice view.

Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row - Great band on the ground level. Like the worst band in Nashville is the best one you've seen in other places. And people are all so good looking, too - you wonder why they aren't famous? Just learn to be a songwriter and you're all set! Started dancing. Moriah was as pumped as I was.

Casa Rosa - Fantastic live band and rooftop patio. So good! Of course, every band will be different every time, but there are so many good ones out there.

Redneck Riviera - Small rooftop patio overlooking construction, plus an ashtray, which we posed in front of for laughs. Live music, but kind of small for dancing.

Nashville Underground - I loved this rooftop patio and view, since it was at the end of the strip, and we had it mostly to ourselves. No band there though.

Luke Bryan - fantastic. Super live band, crowded, everyone dancing and talking. This was my favorite dance scene.

FLG House - Another patio! Another band inside! Danced and danced.

AJ's Good Time Bar - Another beautiful rooftop. They had a guitarist and fiddle player and they tuned for so long that by the time they played it was just a relief! 

Rooftop patio + warm weather + great live band + dancing = super fun. 

The streets were more packed at 11:00 p.m. than they were even before. (Later, we realized people were leaving a Luke Combs concert.) It was like people dressed in a fancy cowboy costume theme. I loved looking at the outfits, seeing people like I don't see at home, hearing the music, being outside in the dark and it was still warm, being with my friends...just wonderful.

We weaved through some more people in a crowd on a sidewalk. My friend turned around and said, "How can you like this? So many people!" 

People, all dressed up. Music in every place. Everyone happy and out to have a good time. Dancing. It felt electric!

I said, "What's not to like?!" 

So interesting when you are in the same place and have a completely different impression! 

We walked to where there were fewer people and had pizza delivered to the house.

We did it! We all stayed together, had fun, and did a lot of dancing. Success.

Day three

I ran to the cool pedestrian bridge downtown, about two miles form Molly's house. Beautiful view of the city on the river.

We had tickets to the East Nashville Beer Festival. 

We ate at the food trucks, then sampled from around the country. There was shade, vendors, music, and enough room for everyone to easily hang out, which is hard with a big group! This was Molly's idea, and it was a great one. We hung out, played ping pong, and enjoyed the day. 

We ubered to Pinewood Social, which looked like it was in the middle of nowhere. But! We went to the outside which had turf and a bocce ball court! Even though the pool was closed, the entertainment from watching bocce was great, especially since it still...incorporated dancing again!

We ended the night Von Elrod's, and again the giant German-style tables outside accommodated our large group. I (of course) had a giant pretzel. Szanadue tried sliding drinks down the long tables, and before long she could do it down three! Everyone was so funny and we laughed so much.

Day four

Molly suggested we go to Wanna Spoon, because she knew how much I love cereal. Yes! I've been wanted to go to a cereal bar ever since I heard of them, and this was my first time.

It was a dream come true. I got Reese's Puffs, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Golden Grahams, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Oreo O's, with fresh blueberries and sliced strawberries on top, with 2% milk. 

Yes, I can of course do this at home. But somehow it was even better out! They arranged it all so beautifully, and the whole place had a fun, happy atmosphere. Kris and I walked home from Molly's house, prepared to go home.

We then had a three-hour delay at the airport, a concourse had to be evacuated and all the planes grounded due to a still-unidentified 'noxious odor', but we finally made it home, and it was all worth it!

Rondi has great travel ideas, and we all were happy to go and celebrate her...anywhere, really, but Nashville was perfect.

Scottsdale, AZ and Roanoke, VA

Scottsdale, AZ

My company has its headquarters in Scottsdale, AZ, and I went to my first meeting there. We stayed at the Hyatt Place North, and it was so funny. It was in a developed part of town, busy streets, a Starbucks, and at the end of the street there was...the desert! In twenty steps, you were right in the desert! I ran there twice, just running across the dry dirt, looking at all the cactus and flowers. Just beautiful.

We went to Topgolf for our company outing, and as always, it was fun. Plus, not a lot of my other coworkers had golfed, so I was one of the most experienced - that has never been true in my family! If you haven't been to Topgolf, please note - you do not have to be a good golfer to have fun there. It does help though.

After the meeting, I went to the Scottsdale Quarter to meet a friend. She described it as a mall, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got there and it was all outdoor. Of course, Arizona! There were tons of high end stores and lots of expensive people walking around. In the middle of it was the most wonderful spray park. It was surrounded by tall palm trees, and there were lots of toddlers and parents playing in the park. They had cement benches around them, and I sat in the shade enjoying it for a long time. Just perfect!

My friend Shawna and I ate at SOL Mexican Cochina, where we could sit outside. Delicious. She then got boba tea at Bubble Bee, and I got ice cream at Creamisty. Creamistry was fancy, because they use liquid nitrogen to instantly freeze each ice cream order. It didn't make it better, but it made it more expensive! Lovely place, lovely time! Who knew a mall would be so nice?

I have been to Scottsdale in the past - apparently the first year I started this blog!  

Roanoke, VA

I've also been to Roanoke before, since Alicia and I visited Aimee and Will last year. But now I wanted to show it to my family!

The star

Aimee and I walked up a twisty, pretty trail to the star. I know thanks to Aimee's Strava that it was 2.71 miles with a 495 foot elevation gain, and we sauntered it for one hour and five minutes. Isn't it helpful to have friends who keep track?! 

We walked to Fork in the Alley, we sat outside, and I had a burrito. I had Mexican food for lunch and dinner Tues-Thurs. It was wonderful. I love combining five ingredients in different ways. 

Kris and the boys drove from Michigan to Virginia, golfed in the morning at Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech in Radford, and picked us up from lunch! 

We went back to the house to collect Will. We walked from their house to downtown Roanoke. We went up on the rooftop of 1 Market Square SE. We visited Golden Cactus, where the boys played pinball and video games, and we sat outside. We ordered takeout at Big Lick, where they had a band playing, and we all played foosball! Super fun places. 

We walked back after dark, and the star was lit up...last time I went to Roanoke, it wasn't lit, and Aimee couldn't believe it. But I'm back, and it was beautiful!

Day two

McAfee Knob

I really, really wanted to show Kris and the boys McAfee Knob, which is an 8-mile hike to a super cool point. It goes along part of the Appalachian Trail, too. I wasn't at all nervous last time, but this time when we were at the top, I couldn't watch my kids jumping around like goats near the edge. Also, there were black flies all around our faces. They didn't bite at all, but they really wanted to be in your eyeballs. They were only at the very top and nowhere else! The walk was very different, because last time all the trees were leaved out, and this time, you could see such great views the entire way.

Before we left, we got takeout from Scratch Biscuit Company. My kids had never had biscuits like that. I'm sure it's the lard that makes it good. It works!

I also can't say enough about the redbuds all over Roanoke! They were so beautiful. They had WAY more than Michigan.

We ate at Mac & Bob's in Salem, which had a lacrosse and sports vibe. I ordered a calzone and both Aimee and Will commented that they were big. This was an understatement. It was GIANT. It was served on a platter. 

We went back to Roanoke and went to Starcade, which is an arcade where you pay $12 and can play everything forever. Skeeball, basketball, air hockey, and all the games people love. There was a pinball section too that was for a different fee. Aimee and I left the boys there and visited Three Notch'd Craft Kitchen and Brewery right across the street.

While we were there, our BeReal went off. (If you're unfamiliar with BeReal, it's a social media app that goes off once a day at a random time, but the same time for everyone. You have two minutes to take a picture of yourself (inward) and where you are (outward.) Then you see what everyone else is doing that second. I love it, because it really makes me feel closer to people when I see them every day!)

Alicia had thought she and her family were going to come and visit from Annapolis, but she ultimately said that they wouldn't be able to come. So when her BeReal went off, it showed her, her husband Bobby, and her son Billy in her car. I asked where they were going, and she said, hypothetically, where would we be in an hour? Oh, we were so happy to have them joining us! It really was the best surprise!

We all met back at the house, watched NCAA bball, and had a blast.

Day three

Sharp Top Mountain

Aimee and Will ran a race on the trails we'd walked earlier. Will got third and Aimee got first! What runners. We didn't go...it was super windy and rainy. As soon as they left, it cleared and warmed up! We walked around the neighborhood.

We drove to the Sharp Top Mountain trailhead. The drive was on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and every turn was beautiful! All mountains and trees and places to stop so you could stare at it.

This hike was steep, rocky, and fun! The (now four) boys sprinted up it. It got so windy at the top you had to stop and register if any trees were going to fall on you! Alicia lost her hat, even. 

The top was a great payoff. You had a 360 view. Lovely hike!

On the way down, some people even slipped and fell. You KNOW it's a good hike if people fall.

We went to Beale's in Bedford, Virginia. It was still windy, but not so windy we couldn't sit outside in the sun. Another great meal.

We went back to their house and watched more NCAA basketball. We couldn't miss it, of course! The next day we drove back home...a mere 10.5 hours with stops.

I would recommend everything we did - the hikes, all the restaurants, and especially...staying with our knowledgeable hosts!