Nashville Day 2 & 3

Well, do you remember that cute little flag in our Air B&B? It quickly became my favorite picture spot! Our 2nd full day in Nashville, we headed out to do lots of sight seeing! 

We started our day at the Tennessee State Museum and saw lots of Civil War history. 

There were several interactive areas and lots of little videos set up around the museum. 

And of course, there was some country music history too. 

We spent about two hours at the museum and then headed out for lunch. 

After lunch, we drove to The Bluebird Cafe. 

We attempted to get tickets, but they open ticket sales at 8 am, 1 week before the show, and as soon as I was able to get in to the website, there were 4 tickets left, and of course, we needed 5. 

But, y'all, it was tiny! And sandwiched right in between a barber shop and a dry cleaners! I'm still disappointed, we couldn't get tickets, but I also am not sure the girls would've done very well here after being overwhelmed with walking down Broadway. 

We hoped back in the car and drove down music row, around Vanderbilt, and then went to the Parthenon, which is a replica of the one in Athens. 

Of course, we drove by the football stadium, and I took a photo of it from the Parthenon. 

This may be as close as she'll ever get to the real deal! 

We walked by the pond and then headed back to the car. 

Does anyone else watch Very Cavallari? I totally had DJ drive us over to Uncommon James! 

Then we headed to Fort Negley which was a Civil War fort. 

We walked our way to the top and had a great view of downtown. 

But, in all, we were pretty disappointed. The fort was overgrown a bit.... but we also couldn't spend a lot of time in the visitor's area because they were only open for another hour and we didn't have time. So, we just kind of explored it on our own. 

It was just a lot of rock walls and overgrowth. 

Eventually, Adalyn got stung by a wasp, and we had to quickly make our way back down to the visitors center. Thankfully, they gave us some ice and she doesn't appear to be allergic to them like I am. 

We took a quick photo of the big girls at the entrance. 

At this point, it was around 5 and we decided we wanted to go back to the house and freshen up a bit before dinner. The girls chilled and watched youtube videos, and then a big rainstorm came! 

So, we cuddled up and ordered pizza! 

Friday morning we woke up and took one more photo in front of the flag.... you guys, I'm totally trying to figure out how to replicate this in my own house! Ha! 

We decided to tour the Ryman before leaving town, and I'm so glad we did! We opted for a guided backstage tour, and then we were able to walk around the front part on our own afterwards. 

We weren't able to take photos backstage in the dressing room areas, but each dressing room was decorated after different performers, and we learned the history of the lady responsible for keeping the Ryman alive from the early 1900s until she was forced to retire in her 80s. We were also able to watch little clips of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, Minnie Pearl, and other country music stars. 

So, I was totally confused about this, but The Grand Ole Opry is a show, and it just so happened to be performed in The Ryman. Now it's performed The Opry House in Nashville, but it was made famous while it was at The Ryman. 

The Ryman was built as a church, and all of the pews are original from the 1800s! There was SO much history, and after The Grand Ole Opry left The Ryman in the 70s, it sat empty until it was revitalized in the 90s by many country music stars. 

It was fun to learn more about the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry! I'd definitely recommend making a stop here if you're ever in Nashville. 

After our tour, we packed back in to the car and headed north to Indiana! 

I'll be sharing the rest of our trip next week on the blog! 

Nashville Day 1

Well, I tried to narrow down the pictures that I was going to share, but I had a hard time! I promise, I'm not sharing them all, but I'm sharing a lot! #sorry #sortof

DJ wanted to do some hiking on our vacation, so we googled for a few places and opted for Percy Warner Park just outside of Nashville in Belle Meade. 

We hiked a little over 2 miles and the girls had so much fun! 

We found this huge uprooted tree and even happened upon an owl in a tree and we stood for a while just watching it and "whooing" at it. 

It was a hot day, but thankfully in the woods, it wasn't bad, and these girls were troopers! 

The hardest part of the entire hike was going all the way up these steps at the beginning. It was .10 of a mile and I was dying by the time we had reached the top! Thankfully, coming back down wasn't as bad! 

After our hike, we headed back to the house, showered, and headed to explore the Gaylord Opryland hotel.  If you ever find yourself in Nashville, this hotel is gorgeous to just walk around. There are gardens all over, and they even have a new waterpark attached to it. 

We walked over the little stream and fountains and found ourselves in a little jungle of sorts. 

Addy's baby was well dressed for the trip. 

I couldn't resist taking lots and lots of pictures of the girls. 

And of course, in front of these hanging guitars. 

Look at this tree! 

And the flowers were breathtaking. 

When in Nashville........

we grabbed a slice of pizza at the hotel, ate in the atrium, and then headed to the wax museum. 

Madame Tussauds was amazing! I read great reviews and knew we had to check it out. Thankfully, I was able to find a Groupon for us too :) 

The wax museum was super interactive and the girls had fun playing and posing! 

We were able to walk down memory lane and the early days of radio and music in Nashville. 

Patsy Cline started to sing and Megan's face lit up! 

Just playing guitar with famous musicians. 

Minnie Pearl! 

Hey there Kenny! 

The girls were cracking me up with their posing. They were really getting in to the spirit. 

Just two American girls with Katy Perry. 

DJ finally got to meet Carrie Underwood! 

When we left the wax museum we walked out to the car and found out that it wouldn't start!!!

DJ called road side assistance and the girls and I wasted time inside the mall. 

We made a quick stop at the Ford dealership and bought a new battery, because we didn't want to risk the battery dying again. This dealership north of Nashville stayed open for us and replaced the battery while the girls and I stayed in the car, which was a good thing because Adalyn was napping! 

After getting the car fixed, we drove back downtown to eat at Jason Aldean's. While we were waiting on our table, we went up to the rooftop bar. 

We enjoyed the sights and sounds of Broadway. 

and I enjoyed a glass of wine. 

Dinner was delicious! DJ had steak. I had fried chicken, and Gretchen had grilled chicken. The little girls ate burgers. 

We walked Broadway just a bit more before calling it a night..... the girls found Broadway to be crowded, loud, and just a bit of a sensory overload, so we didn't stay out long. If you've ever been to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, or Beale Street in Memphis, it reminded me so much of both of those!