Trip to Nashville

View from G4063 at Opryland Hotel

Site of doom - I mean Marriage number 1

Cathey and Jennifer in our ultra cool limo

What a weird trip to Nashville! I found out I was going last minute to the show in Nashville, and it was at the Opryland Hotel. I had a hard time finding a room and a flight at the last minute (looking on Tuesday for trip on Wednesday). I finally got a Southwest flight that worked in the times, and I got a room at the Opryland Hotel. I hustled out on Wednesday, and of course the Southwest line was eternally long again. I really love Southwest, but I cannot stand their baggage check lines in Tampa. Horrible. Seems to be ok in other cities. Tampa is always bad for some reason.

I am an A even though I forgot to print my boarding card until late the night before my flight. Flight is EMPTY. Only 45 people on the whole thing. WEIRD but wonderful. We land on time, and Cathey and Jennifer were waiting for me. Awesome!

We headed toward the convention, and we stopped for lunch at Macaroni Grill (we didn't have time for Monell's - bummer!). Then, I checked into my room. It was in the Garden Conservatory which is where wedding number 1 was. WEIRD. I could see the spot, but it wasn't right out of my room. It did bring back a lot of really odd memories - the pre-wedding drink at Jack Daniel's bar that caused a fight, the bridesmaid who was offsite getting her hair done and almost didn't make it, the weird Christmas decorations on November 2nd in all the pictures, the bridesmaid failling down the grand staircase, the beautiful surroundings at the hotel, and the fabulous reception. Too bad the wedding was so much better than the marriage! :) I do absolutely love the Opryland Hotel though, so it was nice to go back there.

The only drawback to the Opryland Hotel is that it is a bit challenging to find your way around at times. My room was in the Garden area, so it was a G room. It was on the 4th floor, so it was a G4063. It is G, so it has green carpet. Easy enough, right? Well, the first day (without ANY alcohol), I am heading to the room to put the computer away, and I see green carpet. CAKE! :) I find 4063, and I stick my card in the slot. Nothing. Tried again. Nothing. Then, the door opens. Uh Oh...older lady. I am in trouble. She says, "Don't worry honey, we got lost too." She helps me find it on the map. OHHHHHHHH, the Cascades is DARK green and the Garden is LIGHT green. Brilliant. Lovin it.

The convention was super great, and we talked to a lot of people. On Thursday, the exhibit hall opened at 7am. Never heard of that one before. Oh, how I love mornings...I have to say that the ASC show was fantastic though as they had drinks and food in the exhibit hall on Wed, breakfast and lunch in the exhibit hall Thurs, and breakfast in there again on Friday. It is a great way to get the attendees INTO the hall. On Thursday night, we were planning on going to dinner and then to Tootsie's (no trip to Nashville is complete without a trip to Tootsie's). So, we decide that I will get a cab and pick up Cathey and Jennifer (they are across the street). So, I called down and asked if I needed to have a taxi called, and they said they would be ready outside without calling. So, I walk out front (after the journey through the atrium), and there is this cute guy standing next to a stretch white limo. He looks at me as though I might be who he is waiting for, and I shake my head. As I am looking around to see where to get a cab, he asks if I need a ride. I tell him that I am getting a cab. He says that he can take me downtown for the same price as a cab because they have fixed rates. In that case.....

So, I pull up to get Cathey and Jennifer in this amazingly beautiful limo. They are cracking up. We giggle and enjoy the ride. He lets us out at the Stockyard. We had a great dinner with a somewhat odd waiter who kept calling us my darling as he asked what we wanted. Anyway, we had a great dinner. The limo guy (Chris) had told us to call him when we were done, and he could take us where we needed to go. Really? Lovin it. So, we call him and he comes. Lovin it. We ask if he can take us to an ATM on the way to Tootsie's. Sure, no problem! Lovin it. :) We arrive at Tootsie's, and everyone looks to see who is getting out of the limo. LOL. Too funny. We go in, and there is a great band playing. Lots of Johnny Cash songs, but good. Then, this chick starts singing, and she sings "All Jacked Up" and was amazing. She danced on the bar right in front of us, and then she asked the girls to dance up their with her. I wasn't nearly drunk enough for that! The next band was even better. They played a great variety of country, southern rock, and rock. We had a few shots, danced, and heard Rocky Top and Darlin almost back to back. Loved it. We called Chris to take us back. I struggled with finding the G rooms again, but I finally made it. :)

Friday morning was awful. Make it stop. Thankfully, it was over quickly. We head to the airport where I had the BEST salad ever at O'Charley's. I had the pecan chicken salad but with regular chicken. Yummy chicken, yummy blue cheese, yummy pecans, yummy oranges, yummy rolls. Hangover heaven. Thankfully, the flight wasn't full, and I made it back to Tampa on time. Woo HOO! Friday!