December 28, I rented a condo in Nashville in The Germantown section thinking this would be glorious, right? Oh yeah, wonderful. People partying all night, so you did not know if it was quite safe in that part of town.
I should have rented the little 2-bedroom 1 bath house I saw first. It was one level: bathroom in hallway, fenced backyard with patio furniture. My friend had dogs so she could have just let them out back to potty. We could have sat out there and enjoyed our breakfast on the porch while the pups were out there.
The condo we stayed in was adorable for young people. Both of us are disabled. My knees are shot out. I can walk very little. It was on the 2nd floor, and it had an elevator, but you had to walk across the parking lot and go into the alley. It did not state this in the ad. We did not get the info until the day before leaving. The only bathroom was in the bedroom. I slept on the sleeper. I am usually a very good researcher but from some reason they did not disclose this information. What if another man and woman were in living room sleeping? What if they had to come in in the middle of night to use bathroom? That is not convenient.
The condo was very stylish and clean but only suitable for young people as I said.
Christmas, I had gotten a stomach virus, and it was gone by then till I ate greasy chicken that night. Being late, that is all we could find, and I paid for it. One bathroom in the bedroom lol! You see what I am talking about. My poor friend suffered too. Good thing we have known each other 50 years.
The next day, we rode a tour trolley. That was fun and informative. The driver called herself ‘Cousin Debbie’. She knew her stuff. I never knew there were so many Honky Tonks in Nashville.
They had the trolley stops numbered and you could get on and off. Since we got a late start, we decided to ride the whole tour plus my knees could not take much more walking.
I have never seen so many people in my life. I am from Atlanta, and I had no idea that many people would be there. I usually go to the mountains or beach for vacation.
We had some time left on our parking lot and I tell you I am in the wrong business. 9.00 an hour? We walked up and I bought my grandson a cowboy hat to go with his boots.
I would have loved to go into Kid Rock’s place and eat but I couldn’t get in there. Yes, I am strange. I love Kid Rock. A lot of people wanted to help me get to the elevator, but it would have been suicide.
We decided to struggle a block walking and go to Johnny Cash’s place and eat barbecue. That was worth the money. It was delicious and the music was great.
Then we went home to sleep and got up to do another day.
This was New Year’s Eve. We went to Willie Nelson’s General Store and the Dukes of Hazzard Museum. That was all interesting.
We were going to the Opryland Hotel but couldn’t figure out the best way to get in. We ended up at the mall. I talked to some lovely young adults from WA. while my friend went and got the car. Opryland needs a good PR person because I just found bits and pieces about them. I now know they have more to do than The Great Wolf Lodge and I may write about it. I found out more about the hotel through the winery at the mall than the internet. Poor advertising and their parking lot is very confusing.
We looked for a steak house and I chose Santa Fe Cattle Company which was the right one. It sat between Longhorn and Logan’s Steakhouse, and it was the best steak I had in a long time.
We finished up our dinner, went to the condo, and got ready to go to “Blue Bird Cafe”. It was very expensive, and we had reservations. Lee Thomas Miller and Wendell Mobley were funny, clean, and very talented. I think that was my favorite out of Nashville. I decided to do something I had never done before—I went as a blonde.
As I was sitting at the cafe, I saw a very distinguished grey-haired man. I knew that I had seen him before. It bothered me terribly. I then looked at his wife. Yes, she looked familiar. After the show, she was walking past me. I said,” Mam, where are you from?” “Nashville”. Her husband heard me and came up. I told him that they looked very familiar. It turns out that they own a manufacturing company in my hometown. I saw them out to eat around town. He has that look that you do not forget.
The next day on the 1st we just took the dogs riding around Nashville. They enjoyed looking outside at the people everywhere. I guess I am a rural type of girl because it had been a long time since I had been to the city.
On the 2nd when I got home, I have been sick ever since. I had gone off my health plan, out in a lot of wind and of course in crowds. I do not know what caused it except my immune system was down. My whole family was sick when I got home. My dad fell and hurt himself. My family has never been sick at once and it has been tough. I know my dad got sick at Thanksgiving and has not recovered completely. I guess we just keep spreading the germ.
I am finally getting back to my routines. I am working on some 2024 goals.
Happy New Year to you all!
Here are some recipes for different ailments. I love honey especially for sinuses. Make sure you get local honey. It has to be from local bees.
Thank you Jean. I live in the Greater Nashville are too so this post hit close to home, literally. :-) Glad you were about to see on the popular touristy spots. Next time you are in town I can recommend some quieter areas where it would be more relaxing. Glad you are feeling better, and good luck on your goals in 2024. Cheers!
Sounds like you had quite an eventful trip to Nashville, with both positive and challenging experiences. I hope you and your family recover fully, and I wish you the best on your 2024 goals.