Ethan and I decided to get away for the weekend and we landed on Nashville as our destination. Don't get me wrong, Nashville itself was very fun, but the car ride was better and the random stops along the way were the icing on the cake. Here is a glimpse at what we did!!
This is what 4a.m. looks like! Guess who the morning person is in this relationship :-)
First stop was in Indy for some Breakfast. Second stop, LOUISVILLE SLUGGER FACTORY!!!
Stopped at Hog Heaven as soon as we got into Nashville. Total shack of a place but AWESOME BBQ!!
After lunch it was time to drive around. Looky what we found! Titan's Stadium!
Standing outside the gates. We tried to sneak in but that place was on lockdown!
After a nap at the hotel and a shower, it was time for a night out on Broadway!! We had dinner at a hole in the wall burger place and then went to some random bar and watched Rachael Johnson and her CRAZY band go to work at Big Shotz. After a little bit of time there, we decided to walk Music Row and see what else there was. Clearly there is no shortage of live music in Nashville.
Sunday we woke up and went to Pucketts for some breakfast. Good is an understatement. No, GREAT AMAZING UNREAL is an understatement. This place was the perfect ending to a great Nashville "tour".
On the road back we made an unplanned stop at the Jim Beam Distillery....A-Mazing...
Also, notice that the tree is black. Around all distilleries, there is a fungus that moves in and creates this black bark on all the trees. The fungus is not harmful but it looks like all of the trees around the Jim Beam Distillery have been burned.
Standing in the Barrel House. They call the portion of Bourbon that evaporates during aging "Angel Share". They call the portion of Bourbon that gets soaked into the wood of the barrel "Devils Cut"...appropriately named we think! (also, it was hot this day...like...HOT - please disregard my tired looking self and focus on how amazingly small Ethan looks!)
That's a lot of Bourbon!
Standing under 9 stories of aging Bourbon. There are 1.8 million barrels of aging Bourbon on this property...
This is what 9 stories of Bourbon looks like from the outside. They have way too many of these "sheds" to count. You can also SMELL the Bourbon all around the Jim Beam complex. Sweet, sweet smells....
This was the original house that used to be the sleeping quarters for people who worked at the original distillery. The statue is Booker Noe - one of the Master Distillers.
The Jim Beam Distillery is situated in rolling hills and beautiful scenery. I bet this place is magical in the fall.
We left the Distillery at about 2pm and made it a ways into Indiana. This is by far my favorite part of the drive. Wind farms are pretty. Get on board people.
Final stop along the way. I ALWAYS tell Ethan that there is no way we can stop for Fireworks. Fireworks are not legal in Illinois and we just shouldn't break the law. I caved this time.
(Please note: I regret this decision because on Monday he took out one of them and tried it in our parking lot. It was loud...like a gun shot and I'm shocked no one called "shots fired" on us...it made me very embarrassed)
We got home at about 9pm on Sunday night. A total of 16+ hours in the car and about 24 hours total in Nashville. It was a quick trip for sure, but one of the best I've ever been on. The company was pretty great too ;-)
As I reflected on our 2 years as a married couple, I realized that I could not....no I WOULD NOT have done this if it weren't for Ethan. We didn't have a plan. We just drove to Nashville and stopped when we felt like it. There wasn't an itinerary or a map or a time limit. We drove. We stopped. We ate (a lot). We walked. We talked. We drank (a little). We sight saw. And we drove some more. The conversation was never dull and the scenery and car music to accompany it was something out of a movie. It was the perfect weekend and a great reflection of what our life together is (and will always be) like.
