Howdy from Nashville! We are up bright and early this morning and we will be hitting the road again after lunch, but I wanted to quickly share our second and third days on the road.
Monday morning we left VA and I started a book. So good, by the way. I finished it in one day. 🙂
Our goal was to get to Nashville but we quickly realized that we had several stops in mind and we readjusted our goal to Knoxville,TN.
Our first stop was The Natural Bridge. There are no words to describe how gorgeous this place was.
How Great Thou Art, Indeed.
And then, in case I need proof that my husband rocks, we made a detour to hit up the JCrew Clearance Center in Lynchburg,VA. Yeah, my heart was racing a little bit. The entire store was 20% off on top of pretty deep discounts to begin with. YES!
Unfortunately, it must have been a bum day. There wasn’t much to choose from, but I did scoop up a couple pair of shorts and a really cute one piece. ($20!?!?!?)
We drove throughout the rest of the day and pulled into the Hilton Knoxville just in time for drinks and dessert on the patio. The girls were pretty much a hit to all of the businessmen. HA!
Can you spot the tiny topknots above the piano? My favorite.
Tuesday dawned gray and rainy but we got on the road. It was going to be an easy day, only 3 hours to Nashville.
Our first stop was to see one of my favorite people in the world, Ms Jenni Bowlin.
Y’all…her house. There are NO words. It is absolutely gorgeous. My dream house.
You have heard me rave about Jenni plenty of times on this blog, so I’ll keep it simple. Genuine,kind, the real deal. Love her.
I also love Doris. She is just the sweetest. I think the babies wish they could have just stayed in Mt. Juliet forever.
Lucy loved singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider with Miss Doris…
and Catie loved seeing the chickens with Miss Doris. So so sweet.
I loved catching up with my scrapbooking friends. The curly haired gorgeous girl is Melissa, she used to work for Jenni and I always loved catching up with her at CHA. I’ve missed her and was so glad she could meet us for lunch!
After we reluctantly left my dream house 🙂 we checked in at our hotel in Nashville.
We walked down Broadway to get some dinner. The girls were pretty much in heaven at this point. You should have seen their faces!
We had the best ribs this Texas girl has had in a long time (and sausage, and pork, and brisket,and and and) at Jack’s Bar-B-Que and then we just wandered for a bit.
The girls stood with their little faces pressed to this bar for quite a while. They loved the music (the stage was right up against the window). The bouncer thought they were so cute…he even took a photo.
And at one point the drummer tapped the window with his sticks and grinned at them. It was unbelievably cute.
We decided that C and L needed to see their first ever live music. They were so dang interested in every single live music venue we passed.
So we took them into Wildhorse Saloon and let them listen. Y’all…it was awesome. They were so into it. Dancing, bobbing heads. Pure awesome.
These 2 party girls stayed up way past their bedtime but they loved every minute.
Today we are meeting a friend for lunch and then booking it through Arkansas.
On the road yet again!
xoxo
S
I read this entire post with the most ridiculous grin on my face. J Crew factory store, discount Kate Spade at your feet, tiny top knots peeking over the piano, babies in a bar (remember that scene in Sweet Home Alabama?). Just precious, wonderful, darling memories. Your adventures are pure gold, Stephanie. Stay safe and keep taking us along for the ride!
I’m waving at you while you pass through Arkansas!! Save travels. Thanks for keeping it real and sharing your road trip across America with us.
love every second of your adventure. The girls are just so darn adorable. What a fun memory for you 4!
Loved this post. What a beautiful family!
Love these posts and the two-on-two time you’re getting with the littles. Looks like a lot of fun!
Safe travels my friend!! hugs
Your girls are so cool! This sounds like the best trip, I am kinda totally jealous of you.
this sounds fun! your girls are so sweet.
omg – these photos are precious – love the JB shots! – brought happy tears to my eyes!
oh man, 2 of my favorite cities! We lived in Knoxville for 3 yrs & loved it! And Nashville…oh yes, we went there a few times while living in TN. How fun!!
Love the updates! Safe travels, God bless you all,
Love from OKC
Hope you enjoyed your time in Knoxville! Your trip is looking like so much fun!
Just finished this book today on audio!
I’m so jealous!!! ALL my family lives in Knoxville! I know exactly where you were!!! 🙂 Makes my heart happy. So lucky you got to leave VA! 😉
Our time was too short – we will come and visit you in Italy (really, we put it on our list)! Love you and love your sweet family. Jared and I have said how much we miss those girls. I need to hire you as my personal motivator and “feel-better-about-myself-er”!
I would LOVE to know how you’re keeping the girls entertained during the drive! We are doing a 22 hr road trip to FL next month, and am looking for new ideas other than DVD’s 🙂 Would die to get time to read, like you are, rather than throwing my shoulders out of socket from reaching into the backseat 8974384 times! Safe travels!
I just finished that book too. The Natural Bridge is stunning, how lovely to be able to visit all of these amazing places. Where next??!
We have about three minutes to get to Louisiana after change of command. Load tomorrow, change of command Friday, leave Saturday, arrive Sunday, Matt has to sign in Monday! I am jealous of the meandering. No meandering for us this time around… will have to check out that book!
What a fun trip! I would love to leisurely drive somewhere, but my husband isn’t into all the stops. But it looks like so much fun to see so much of the country. Your little girls looks like great travelers! I wish I was with you on your trip. What a fun family! I will have to check out the book! Did you read “Ladies Night” by Mary Kay Andrews? If so, would you recommend it? Have fun in Arkansas! Love your updates!
You are close to my stomping ground (S.E. Missouri). Enjoy the midwest and have safe travels.
wow, thanks for sharing, great photos!! isn’t it lovely when you can sit in the car and read, love that? how did Jimmy like carrying babies up all those stairs at Nat. Bridge, not my fave part of being there…ha, but the bridge itself is something amazing. LOVE those pics of Jenni’s house, but I know I couldn’t keep it that clean with my kiddos…
I’m itching to go on a long road trip now. Since we’re heading to the US in September for a wedding, I just asked my husband if we could drive from NC to San Francisco…
And I agree with Laurie, how do people keep their homes so clean when they have kids!
I went to college in Lynchburg & that factory store was always a favorite!
You were in my town and you are my Big Picture teacher today! Your family photos are beautiful and that pic of Broad is awesome. Hatch Show is a smart find and Jack’s was recently named among the best. And I know Jessica! Small world!
Great photos of Natural Bridge! Grew up in Lexington, just a few miles away. Was a standard field trip from Kindergarten through 6th grade! What a great stop! Safe travels!