My birthday was Aug. 1st and I had a wonderful day - a little work celebration, lotsa phone calls and texts, some shopping and then dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with Rod. It was a lil different b/c I've had my last 3 birthdays with atleast 15+ friends and my fam at whatever restaurant of my choosing but I really appreciate ALL the wonderful cards and gifts I got from everyone - it helped make up for feeling a lil lonely! You guys are the BEST and I love you!!!
Outside the Cheesecake Factory
Well being on the east side of the country has it's pros and cons.
Cons - Hurricanes
Pros - being close enough to drive a few hrs to meet up with your cousin and her husband for a fun Labor Day Weekend!
We drove about 4.5 hrs to Nashville, TN better known as Music City to visit with Meghan and Stoney for the holiday weekend and we had SO MUCH FUN!
Our first night we got freshened up and went out to eat at Texas Road House - Stoney had never been and it's Rod's favorite so we figured since they drove they should be rewarded for their efforts in getting us there safely! :~) We actually stayed in Brentwood which is south of downtown about 15 mins so it was the perfect location and our hotel was BEAUTIFUL!
Meghan and Stoney
Me and Rod
The next day we headed off to see the Parthenon. Yes, the REAL one...just kidding (that will hopefully be checked off our list in the near future) - but it was actually pretty cool to see. It was built in 1897 and is a full-size replica of the original in Athens.
This was a GIANT 42 ft. replica of Athena Parthenos - it took the sculptor 8 years to complete and is currently the largest indoor sculpture in the Western World. This thing was seriously huge.
There were a bunch of art pieces and sculptures throughout the building - not sure which one this was but Rod is just too cute not to post.
Meg and I outside the Parthenon
Meghan was on a mission to get a pic sitting on one of these swings – she chose the only one in direct, penetrating sunlight. Stoney was noticeably thrilled. It did turn out to be pretty cute tho Meg - way to go!
We saw this train caboose on the way back to the car...
Naturally – boys will be boys and they both HAD to climb it and take a pic
Rod demonstrating how to disregard the spray-painted notice
The next stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum in downtown
They had all sorts of memorabilia in there and it was pretty cool, even tho I had never even heard of a lot of the artists…I’m a little new to the whole Country Music thing so I still have a lot to learn!
We went on the RCA Studio B tour and even tho our “guide” was a little more informative then we would’ve liked :~) it was cool to see Elvis’ favorite recording studio and all the original instruments in there.
We headed to the Grand Ole Opry the next day…there weren’t any good concerts going on but we had to atleast prove we had been there!
Embarrassing story: I was at Cosmo's (the salon) visiting 2 of my roommates where they both worked in 2004. They had a TV on in the front lobby and I sat down to watch and something came across the screen about the Grand Ole Opry. Like I said before, country music stuff is pretty foreign to me and I had never even heard of this place. I said (out loud unfortunately, and pronounce it just like I have it spelled) “What is the Grand Olay Opree?” They all immediately laughed and made fun of me! (Which I deserved bc I'm usually the pronounciation stickler!) My only defense - being a Mountain View Toro, there's a part in the fight song where it says "Olé" - and that's the only thing I had to go off of. Regardless - I will forever be mocked for my ignorance.
Rod and I infront of the GRAND OLAY OPREE :~)
The theater was right by the Opry Mills Mall so we hit that up and decided to eat and play some games at Dave and Buster’s too. Here's Meghan waving thru the bubble…Rod’s face was too serious so we were forced to lighten the mood.
My biggest win of the night - my first card swipe on the Wheel of Fortune Game-BAM! 300 tickets!
I made Rod fold them up for me so they would all fit in the cup…don’t worry - I gave him
5 tickets for his hard work!
It was such a fun trip - never a dull moment. From the late night Taco Bell run, Mansion shopping, the hotel's breakfast nazi, or the glass elevator ride that made Rod a hero...we had a BLAST! Can't wait for our next trip! How does New York sound?!
