I’m slowly becoming a traveler as I get older. By now, I have friends and family who have moved to new cities, and my still-feels-like-new income definitely helps me be able to visit them more often. I haven’t been going on vacations by myself for very long, but I've come to love the freedom of it. I’ve flown up to Baltimore, out to California, and plenty of other cities with family and friends. But a road trip by myself was something I had yet to do. I started feeling an itch to get out of Atlanta for a weekend, and the first place that came to mind was Nashville, Tennessee.
Ever since I spent New Year’s Eve there for my first Bassnectar show, I’ve been absolutely hooked. My first impression was that the city has such a unique energy level and I just kept wanting to be a part of it. I’ve gone back a few times since then, but this time was different.
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Theres something therapeutic about jumping in the car and hitting the road with no agenda but your own. Plus, I was on my way to visit some amazing friends. So that definitely added to the excitement.
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After a yummy Thanksgiving leftovers lunch with my mom, I grabbed some coffee and started off. Nashville isn’t too long of a drive, but it was enough to jam out to a lot of Bassnectar and check off another classic rock album from my 101 in 1001 list. You’ll definitely be hearing all my thoughts on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon sometime soon!
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My first stop on the trip was to visit one of my oldest friends, Sarah. She and I grew up in the same neighborhood and played as kids as much as we could. We were the younger half of our core group of four that included her sister Amanda and our friend Lindsey. She moved up to Nashville over the summer with her mom and I was really missing them! We always have such a fun time when we catch up. We spent the night gabbing over mojitos (Sarah’s famous new recipe!). I was extra happy I got to visit with her family, too.
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Still just as twinny as ever!
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From our crazy intern days.
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Saturday afternoon I decided I’d spend exploring downtown on a solo adventure. I checked out this great, tucked away, coffee shop called the Frothy Monkey. It was definitely a good choice, be sure to check out my full review! While I could have wandered around downtown that entire rainy day, I had been highly anticipating my plans for Saturday night. I had another person I was dying to visit, my friend Lauren. She and I met when we spent the summer interning for Rock 100.5. We quickly became partners in crime and I even visited her when I was out in San Diego last year. She goes to school in Nashville, though and I hadn’t been up to see her yet. What better way to catch up with an old girlfriend than over burgers, beer and hockey?
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We caught dinner at a yummy local burger place called Burger Republic. Lauren was raving about their Tennessee Burger, so duh I was sold on going. It was everything I could have wanted from a burger; medium rare, American cheese, chewy bacon, and dripping in some sort of heavenly bourbon glaze. And since I was feeling indulgent, I ordered one of their famous alcoholic milkshakes, too. I went with the festive sounding Apple Pie Moonshine Milkshake, which was the perfect pregame drink before our night really began.
Tennessee Burger
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Apple Pie Moonshake
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Our next stop was Bridgestone Arena for a Predators game. While I'm no stranger to Bridgestone, I had never been to a hockey game there before. I'm a huge sports fan (Sox and Pats!), but I never cared about hockey. It wasn't even like basketball where I knew I didn't like it, I just never gave it a try. I went to a college game not too long ago, and I was dying to get in on the full NHL experience. It definitely exceeded all of my expectations. The crowd, the ice, the action. It was all too perfect, and Lauren was a great commentator for my first game. I'm also a big fan of how your beer will stay cold the whole time, since the stadium has to be ice-friendly. Overall, it was one hell of a time, and I can't wait for my next one.
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The next morning I woke up bright and early to make my way down to Alabama to visit with my aunt for the afternoon. Two days is never long enough to spend in Nashville, but it just gives me another reason to come back soon! It's never easy to leave such a great city behind, but I loved getting a chance to drive through Birmingham and check out the new venue where Bassnectar will be hosting his New Year's Eve concert this year. I never stay in one place for too long, do I?
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