God Bless America - JR and Narus Come to Nashville

Fireworks until the smoke blocked them all out

4th of July Pub Crawl - Tequila Cowboy

Group Hike - Mike's Idea

We celebrated the fourth of July the right way by having some good friends from the North come down and visit us in the South. Strangely enough most of their trip aligned perfectly with the longest rainstorm I've ever seen going South to North right over Nashville.

During the 4th we walked downtown and hit a group of bars with live music on Broadway prior to seeing the fireworks.  We also met up with Cameron and Lucie which made our pub crawl a little more exciting than expected that evening.

Not to worry, I didn't let JR and Narus come down here without seeing a bit of the local scene.  We went down to Lynchburg and toured the Jack Daniels distillery, did a hike in Percy Warner Park, went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and of course tried on some cowboy hats.

Who's the new sheriff in town?

Tour Group - JR and the little girl both hate whiskey

Jolene Nashville Birthday

A fun packed birthday weekend for Jolene.  Her friend Rachel came down from Pittsburgh to visit to make sure we celebrated in style.  We started the day at Pancake Pantry and then once again Jolene's birthday led us to the zoo where we got memberships.

This time I was able to determine the price and rules in English rather than Catalan and the sky remained relatively clear rather than the flash flood we saw last year.  We finished her birthday with Rachel taking us out to Kobe Steaks in West End and a special birthday cake.

Over the long weekend we also got to go on a pub crawl down Broadway hitting a bunch of places for the first time along with some of our favorites.  For some reason it is always acceptable to dance on the bar at Coyote Ugly.  There was also a band at Two Fiddles with two female singers that was awesome.


We had our first grill out by our pool that included a couple that just moved here that Jolene and Rachel knew.















Of course to top it all off was the ride from police officers home after breakfast the one day.  Interesting story and nobody got injured.

CMA Festival 2013

This week we got to go the Country Music Festival in Nashville.  It is basically non-stop music all day from Thursday to Sunday.  We got to hear just about every top country artist including some of the greats as well.  We were able to walk to all the different venues so it was really easy to see everything we wanted.

To make the weekend even more entertaining, Mike's parents were in town with a bunch of their friends so we got to meet up with them for a few meals and show them the neighborhood.  They even let us join in a brief tailgate party at their car prior to going to the Saturday night concerts.

It was definitely cool to see so many musicians in one place playing their fans' favorites. Having all of the true fans show up just added to the atmosphere. The weather cooperated too letting us be able to attend all the events we wanted too without getting wet or having to melt under the heat.

A few things that I'm sure we'll laugh about for awhile...

1 . Why does Lenny Kravitz think he can crash a Country Music Festival and pretend that the crowd is singing with him for 40 minutes?

2.  As if Zac Brown wasn't cool already, having him singing The Gambler with Kenny Rogers just amplifies it.

3.  No matter what Mr. Egger says... He did not stay until Dave Mathews' set was complete.  (Note: There was no Dave Mathews ... he apparently imagined this part of the concert.)

4. Dierks Bentley is still just as awesome as when I first heard him in college and finally decided I liked country music.

This festival was such a great time I am already planning to try to attend next year as well!

Great Smoky Mountains Engagement

Some may say a long time overdue, but I finally popped the question… and Jolene said yes!  A well planned weekend in a cabin in Townsend, TN on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and a cleverly selected hike past a waterfall was all it took.

The rain held out on Saturday just long enough for me to propose and then the skies opened up and it poured for the rest of our trip.  Luckily for us, the cabin and covered deck overlooking the Little Tennessee River provided the perfect hideaway for the rest of the weekend.  Music, games, rocking away on the deck listening to the rain, and watching the forest (I was actually looking for one of the local black bears but no luck) filled our weekend escape.

The natural fog that occurs in this part of the mountain range was kind enough to cover our escape back to reality as we left on Sunday… I'm sure we'll be back soon.

I've decided some day we will own a cabin just like this one...

Nashville Country Music Half Marathon

Based on some inspiration from JR and Mike's coworker, Mike signed up for the half marathon in Nashville.  As always he went a little light on his training but that didn't stop him from finishing.  The course was fairly hilly through most of the race, but Mike still managed to finish with 1:56:29.


To make things a little more interesting it rained pretty hard for the entire race.  Lucie and I trekked through the city to try to catch Cameron and Mike at as many places as possible along the course.  While the live music and cheering was good, I bet it's a much better race in good weather.


 

Atlanta - Final Four Weekend

After receiving an invite from some friends, we drove down to Atlanta to stay at their place over the weekend of the Final Four.  We got a chance to go to outdoor concerts of Zac Brown and Muse, hit some good pubs/restaurants, and enjoy the city full of the Louisville, Michigan, Wichita State, and Syracuse fans.

Big Bracket in the CNN Center

View from our Friends' Place

We also got a chance to go a little outside of Atlanta as a group to hike Kennesaw mountain.  This area was a central point to the Atlanta campaign of the civil war as Sherman stormed through the South.  It just so happened a small company of Confederate soldiers (reenacting) were marching around the battlefield at the base of the mountain.  A pamphlet warning Jolene about ticks at the beginning of the hike had her swatting at anything that moved...

Top of Kennesaw Mountain

Rebels Reenacting

Surprise Birthday + Easter + Christmas Promise Visit (Southport, North Carolina)

Surprised?

We finally found a way to get my entire family together in Southport at the same time.  Even trying to explain how it all came together wouldn't do it justice so I won't try.  It did however allow us to fulfill a promise over Christmas to visit, celebrate a belated 65th birthday for my dad (a surprise by the way!), and the oh so allusive family Easter which hasn't happened since 2001.

The highlights of the weekend included (in no particular order):


1. Dave and Mere getting engaged on the beach!

Fire Pit Celebration

2. Family pyramid to surprise my dad for his birthday (Jolene steadying the pyramid by using the ceiling).
3. Security guard calling Dave an Ascot as we negotiated our way into the development.
4. The infamous "Bal-sucky Shrimp Phone Call" by my mom to get my dad to come home (you had to be there to understand this story but it would have made you laugh so hard it hurts).

Family Surprise Pyramid

Easter Tablecloth and Excited Family