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.