So Brooke's 2016 work conference this year was held in Nashville, TN and being the world's greatest wife that she is, she bought me airfare to join her for four days. She's no dummy: with her conference running from Wednesday to Friday, her airfare for me was the fly down on Thursday morning and fly home with her on Sunday. We'd get three days and three nights together once her conference finished, and it would prove to be a much needed reprieve from everyday life. Our last vacation just the two of us was our weekend in Chicago almost two years ago (which ended a day early due to a sick child), and before that it was Ireland in 2012. Granted, those are two trips that not all parents get to enjoy, but the point is that we needed a weekend away somewhere, and we got it.
My flight down Thursday morning was uneventful. I had a beer for breakfast at Logan International Airport at 9:30am (with a sandwich, relax), and found myself on the ground in Nashville shortly after 3pm after a quick stopover at O'Hare. A $27 cab fare later and I was standing in front of the Loew's Vanderbilt hotel. I met Brooke in the lobby, dropped my suitcase off in the room, and departed for the remainder of the evening while Brooke had a group dinner and show at the Ryman Auditorium for the conference's last night. I met with up an old friend who moved to Nashville in either 2012 or 2013 and grabbed dinner and drinks at Acme Feed, a bar the very end of the strip on Broadway. We had plans to meet up with two his buddies, Jeremy and Norm, and go to the Predators/Sharks Western Conference Semifinal hockey game later that night. After dinner at Acme (barbecue, of course), we grabbed a few drinks with those guys before heading over to the Bridgestone Arena for the game. The game was exciting, as all NHL playoff hockey is, but the real treat was what was to come halfway through the 2nd period. Norm's "female acquaintance" happened to be the nanny for country music superstar Dierks Bentley, and they just happened to be watching the game in his box suite. Within minutes of her extending the offer to join them, we found ourselves drinking free beer and eating free food feet away from one of the biggest names in country music. It was a pretty surreal moment that took a lot of convincing for Brooke to believe. After the game, which was many hours and a lot of beers after last seeing Brooke, I met back up with her after bidding my new and old friends adieu and had a few more drinks at Tootsie's, one of many famous, historic bars and music venues on Broadway in Nashville. Brooke and I aren't as young as we once were, but we managed to hang deep into the early morning hours of Friday before finally finding our bed at Loews.
Friday morning came really fast and really furious, what with Brooke having a morning breakfast meeting and me having plans to meet up with a dear friend from college who lives in Nashville with his wife. Brooke departed for her meeting, so I did one of my favorite things: I wandered the streets of an unfamiliar area, and eventually stumbled upon a great little breakfast spot. The Soda Shop on Elliston Place (that's the name, I'm not capitalizing for fun) was an authentic old soda shop from several generations ago that had no qualms about stuffing this yankee with chicken friend steak, biscuits, and sausage gravy - certainly a treat that I cannot get up here in Massachusetts. I Uber-ed for the first time in my life going to visit Allen, and between staying up late drinking the night before and using an Uber, felt like I was a cool 24 year old (not a mid-30's suburban dad with three kids). I visited with Allen for a little over an hour before heading back to the hotel to take a rest (See above: drinking late). I met back up with Brooke after lunch as the conference was officially over, and we headed down to Hattie B's for some famous hot friend chicken. Well, every other tourist in the city had the same idea so we didn't dare get in the line of 100+ people. Our Uber driver was kind enough to turn around and drop us off down on Broadway, where we strolled around and grabbed a late lunch at Jack's BBQ, one of the more famous barbecue joints in Nashville. Brooke and I each got a plate of a little bit of everything, and barely spoke a word. It was a frenzy of plastic forks and napkins as we battled to sample each other's plates, only coming up for air when a sip of Coke was needed. It was heavenly. The nice couple from Cleveland we sat next to spoke even less. We only managed to chat once the food was gone and the awkward silence that follows an animalistic feeding frenzy needs to be broken. The only other thing we wanted to splurge on financially other than smoked meats was cowboy boots for Brooke, so off we went. There are three types of businesses to be found on Broadway in Nashville: bars, restaurants, and cowboy boot stores. And of the cowboy boot stores, there are two sub-groups: stores that sell really nice, authentic, made in the USA cowboy boots, and stores that sell crappy, imported, knock-off-type boots. There are certain things in life worth splurging on, and one famous soul once said something to the effect of "you're either in your bed or in your shoes, so spend wisely on each." Brooke found a gorgeous pair of boots that cost far more than I'm comfortable to admit here, and her weekend was made. The smile on her face as she strolled down Broadway in her new boots made it all worthwhile, and it didn't hurt that she looked crazy hot in them, too. We poked in and out of a few more bars and stores before grabbing a light dinner at Merchant's, on the corner of Broadway and 4th. Gerry and two more buddies, Rodney and David, were planning on hitting Acme that night, so we headed there after dinner to meet up with them. Spoiler alert: the rooftop bar at Acme was my favorite spot in Nashville. Rippy's, another bar on Broadway, was a close second but for a completely different reason. You'll have to ask Brooke about that one. Anyways, the five of us had a couple rounds of drinks at Acme before heading off to a new bar that Brooke and I had never been to and we're not even going to come close to discussing here on this family-friendly travel & adventure blog. Again, ask Brooke. Needless to say, we didn't get back to Loew's until the wee hours of the morning on Saturday. In a cruel twist of fate, our eyes sprung open on Saturday after only five hours of sleep or so, but a hot shower and some coffee had us ready for our last full day in Nashville.
After having such an awesome southern breakfast at the soda shop, I dragged Brooke back there on Saturday morning. I knew full well they could combat even the meanest hangovers, and that's what we needed. Once our bellies well full with heavy, greasy food, we walked back to the hotel to hop on the "hop on, hop off" buses found in most tourist locations. Nashville's an odd city in that outside of the strip on Broadway, which is a major tourist draw, there are only a handful of other things to do - none of which we done by us, by design. We got off on one spot, the Antique Archaeology satellite store often shown on the show, and walked away bitterly disappointed. Your options for purchase? Either a crappy t-shirt advertising the show, or some product picked with a price tag approaching four figures. No thanks. We Uber-ed back to the hotel for a nap and a shower before heading back to Broadway to drink and dine our last night away. In no particular order, we drank and/or ate at Rippy's (#swoon), Honky Tonk Central, and Tin Roof. That last bar, Tin Roof, stood out for its music. The first band that played had a very Tim McGraw-esque vibe, and they were great. The group that followed was quite original, though, and had the money flowing into the tip hat at breakneck speed. Four guys in their mid-30's, they sang original songs, sang off-the-cuff songs about the various women in attendance (Brooke included), and finished with a thirty minute acoustic jam covering every great rap and hip-hop song from the 90's. We finished the night at Rippy's on the third floor, and with an early flight made sure to pace ourselves and take it easy. Nineteen Bud Lights later, Brooke and I hopped in an Uber and headed back to Loew's. And we weren't even late for our flight, suckas.
Sunday was uneventful other than taking a cab to the airport, realizing I left my debit card at Rippy's, and flying home to our three adorable kids. It was Mother's Day, which made Brooke's reunion with the kids even more meaningful. My in-laws had the kids with them at the airport, which rocked, and then we grabbed a Mother's Day Brunch in South Boston before heading back home to decompress, unpack, and snuggle the day away with the kiddos. All in all, it was nothing short of epic for Brooke and I. We got time away just the two of us, we got drunk, spent too much money, laughed at a LOT of people, and had more fun together than we've had in, no shit, 5+ years. It was wild. Broadway on Nashville is the most fun strip I've ever been to, and I've been to a few. It was so much fun, that every few days Brooke and I email each other airfare deals to Nashville. It's a two hour flight from Boston on JetBlue, so if anyone wants to watch the kids for two nights, drop us a line!
My flight down Thursday morning was uneventful. I had a beer for breakfast at Logan International Airport at 9:30am (with a sandwich, relax), and found myself on the ground in Nashville shortly after 3pm after a quick stopover at O'Hare. A $27 cab fare later and I was standing in front of the Loew's Vanderbilt hotel. I met Brooke in the lobby, dropped my suitcase off in the room, and departed for the remainder of the evening while Brooke had a group dinner and show at the Ryman Auditorium for the conference's last night. I met with up an old friend who moved to Nashville in either 2012 or 2013 and grabbed dinner and drinks at Acme Feed, a bar the very end of the strip on Broadway. We had plans to meet up with two his buddies, Jeremy and Norm, and go to the Predators/Sharks Western Conference Semifinal hockey game later that night. After dinner at Acme (barbecue, of course), we grabbed a few drinks with those guys before heading over to the Bridgestone Arena for the game. The game was exciting, as all NHL playoff hockey is, but the real treat was what was to come halfway through the 2nd period. Norm's "female acquaintance" happened to be the nanny for country music superstar Dierks Bentley, and they just happened to be watching the game in his box suite. Within minutes of her extending the offer to join them, we found ourselves drinking free beer and eating free food feet away from one of the biggest names in country music. It was a pretty surreal moment that took a lot of convincing for Brooke to believe. After the game, which was many hours and a lot of beers after last seeing Brooke, I met back up with her after bidding my new and old friends adieu and had a few more drinks at Tootsie's, one of many famous, historic bars and music venues on Broadway in Nashville. Brooke and I aren't as young as we once were, but we managed to hang deep into the early morning hours of Friday before finally finding our bed at Loews.
Friday morning came really fast and really furious, what with Brooke having a morning breakfast meeting and me having plans to meet up with a dear friend from college who lives in Nashville with his wife. Brooke departed for her meeting, so I did one of my favorite things: I wandered the streets of an unfamiliar area, and eventually stumbled upon a great little breakfast spot. The Soda Shop on Elliston Place (that's the name, I'm not capitalizing for fun) was an authentic old soda shop from several generations ago that had no qualms about stuffing this yankee with chicken friend steak, biscuits, and sausage gravy - certainly a treat that I cannot get up here in Massachusetts. I Uber-ed for the first time in my life going to visit Allen, and between staying up late drinking the night before and using an Uber, felt like I was a cool 24 year old (not a mid-30's suburban dad with three kids). I visited with Allen for a little over an hour before heading back to the hotel to take a rest (See above: drinking late). I met back up with Brooke after lunch as the conference was officially over, and we headed down to Hattie B's for some famous hot friend chicken. Well, every other tourist in the city had the same idea so we didn't dare get in the line of 100+ people. Our Uber driver was kind enough to turn around and drop us off down on Broadway, where we strolled around and grabbed a late lunch at Jack's BBQ, one of the more famous barbecue joints in Nashville. Brooke and I each got a plate of a little bit of everything, and barely spoke a word. It was a frenzy of plastic forks and napkins as we battled to sample each other's plates, only coming up for air when a sip of Coke was needed. It was heavenly. The nice couple from Cleveland we sat next to spoke even less. We only managed to chat once the food was gone and the awkward silence that follows an animalistic feeding frenzy needs to be broken. The only other thing we wanted to splurge on financially other than smoked meats was cowboy boots for Brooke, so off we went. There are three types of businesses to be found on Broadway in Nashville: bars, restaurants, and cowboy boot stores. And of the cowboy boot stores, there are two sub-groups: stores that sell really nice, authentic, made in the USA cowboy boots, and stores that sell crappy, imported, knock-off-type boots. There are certain things in life worth splurging on, and one famous soul once said something to the effect of "you're either in your bed or in your shoes, so spend wisely on each." Brooke found a gorgeous pair of boots that cost far more than I'm comfortable to admit here, and her weekend was made. The smile on her face as she strolled down Broadway in her new boots made it all worthwhile, and it didn't hurt that she looked crazy hot in them, too. We poked in and out of a few more bars and stores before grabbing a light dinner at Merchant's, on the corner of Broadway and 4th. Gerry and two more buddies, Rodney and David, were planning on hitting Acme that night, so we headed there after dinner to meet up with them. Spoiler alert: the rooftop bar at Acme was my favorite spot in Nashville. Rippy's, another bar on Broadway, was a close second but for a completely different reason. You'll have to ask Brooke about that one. Anyways, the five of us had a couple rounds of drinks at Acme before heading off to a new bar that Brooke and I had never been to and we're not even going to come close to discussing here on this family-friendly travel & adventure blog. Again, ask Brooke. Needless to say, we didn't get back to Loew's until the wee hours of the morning on Saturday. In a cruel twist of fate, our eyes sprung open on Saturday after only five hours of sleep or so, but a hot shower and some coffee had us ready for our last full day in Nashville.
After having such an awesome southern breakfast at the soda shop, I dragged Brooke back there on Saturday morning. I knew full well they could combat even the meanest hangovers, and that's what we needed. Once our bellies well full with heavy, greasy food, we walked back to the hotel to hop on the "hop on, hop off" buses found in most tourist locations. Nashville's an odd city in that outside of the strip on Broadway, which is a major tourist draw, there are only a handful of other things to do - none of which we done by us, by design. We got off on one spot, the Antique Archaeology satellite store often shown on the show, and walked away bitterly disappointed. Your options for purchase? Either a crappy t-shirt advertising the show, or some product picked with a price tag approaching four figures. No thanks. We Uber-ed back to the hotel for a nap and a shower before heading back to Broadway to drink and dine our last night away. In no particular order, we drank and/or ate at Rippy's (#swoon), Honky Tonk Central, and Tin Roof. That last bar, Tin Roof, stood out for its music. The first band that played had a very Tim McGraw-esque vibe, and they were great. The group that followed was quite original, though, and had the money flowing into the tip hat at breakneck speed. Four guys in their mid-30's, they sang original songs, sang off-the-cuff songs about the various women in attendance (Brooke included), and finished with a thirty minute acoustic jam covering every great rap and hip-hop song from the 90's. We finished the night at Rippy's on the third floor, and with an early flight made sure to pace ourselves and take it easy. Nineteen Bud Lights later, Brooke and I hopped in an Uber and headed back to Loew's. And we weren't even late for our flight, suckas.
Sunday was uneventful other than taking a cab to the airport, realizing I left my debit card at Rippy's, and flying home to our three adorable kids. It was Mother's Day, which made Brooke's reunion with the kids even more meaningful. My in-laws had the kids with them at the airport, which rocked, and then we grabbed a Mother's Day Brunch in South Boston before heading back home to decompress, unpack, and snuggle the day away with the kiddos. All in all, it was nothing short of epic for Brooke and I. We got time away just the two of us, we got drunk, spent too much money, laughed at a LOT of people, and had more fun together than we've had in, no shit, 5+ years. It was wild. Broadway on Nashville is the most fun strip I've ever been to, and I've been to a few. It was so much fun, that every few days Brooke and I email each other airfare deals to Nashville. It's a two hour flight from Boston on JetBlue, so if anyone wants to watch the kids for two nights, drop us a line!