Adventure! Day 3 - Nashville
Book by Beth, Illustrations by Tara
Headed to Nashville for the fireworks; there is currently a 45% chance of rain for the 4th. Our bus is very patriotic. Our drive today is short. I’m hoping I won’t have to do it, but it seems like it’s probably my turn.
The exciting news of the day is that even before we start our drive, Damien and Tanner will be starting theirs and we will see them tonight. It’s 8:12 right now and thankfully people are still asleep. We’ve got to find something to do before our hotel check-in time. A climbing gym has been suggested. But first we need to pack up here, safely secure all our items in the van, and pack away our beds. We have too much food and we are going to be a spectacle going into the hotel like the Beverly hillbillies in our modern-day jalopy.
Camping does feel like a more honest life. Something about sleeping without as many comforts, walking a distance to the bathrooms, and drinking water from a spigot feels closer to how humans might enjoy life for the living of it.
Turns out I didn’t have to drive us out. Amen. Headed to the gas station, then on to Nashville in our Stars and Stripes. We forgot to consider the time change so we will arrive early unless we find something to do along the way. I’m betting we will, because arriving early will make us more of a spectacle as we would be in the lobby of the Mariott with Yeti batteries and coolers, not to mention 10 people (many of us big, and together we look a gang) and all our stuff. Time on the road will be short, and I’m glad the shuttle bus (yet to be named) won’t have to work too hard or too long today.
Alivia mountain drives like a boss. We’ve found an activity. We are visiting the Griffin cousins in Tennessee. It reminds me of the picture book The Relatives Came. Tara is hopping in to drive the highway and get us there. Liam is pumping gas in this dystopian gas station where they are telling him to test his smoke alarms and broadcasting the news from 2023. He pumped 34 gallons.
Visit to Griffin cousins: check. I’m not sure what it’s like for people for us to roll up. I imagine it must have been ever so slightly surprising and uncomfortable, but they handled our chaos with grace anyway and I know not to compare someone’s outsides with my insides (and that was a thinly veiled way for me to say that my social battery was running low).
We got a delightful surprise of our own when Grandma Griffin walked out! Cousins and grandparents! Torie (joyfully) and Alivia (reluctantly but you would never have known it) played a song for Gina (who missed the sound check at Torie’s concert) and then cousin Levi gave us a small piano concert (well done and in good form). Now we are back on the road and 14 minutes from our hotel. I’m still not sure about the parking situation, so there is more adventure to come. But some people are so deeply looking forward to having some time to be alone. In this case, I’m some people.
In other news, the road trip playlist is coming along nicely. Currently paused for some ukulele playing and singing.
Oh my.
Well. We made it to our hotel and we magically got to valet park in the garage in the best spot in the whole garage. Also magically, the valet parked our bus for us. They are not permitted to park oversized vehicles, but the magic was with us and before we took out the entire first floor of the garage with a close encounter with a pillar, the valet took over the parking job and got us settled in our spot nicely. He was expert level.
Our rooms are perfectly comfortable. The elevator requires the room key. I didn’t know this and the display said “locked” when I was in the elevator all alone and I didn’t realize I had to scan my key. It was terrible and only made worse because then it did start moving. Then the other door that didn’t look like a door opened into a closet, and two creepy maintenance dudes got in and I told them “I don’t think I’m supposed to be here and I don’t know how to work the elevator.” And then they showed me how to use the elevator and were slightly less creepy. But only slightly.
We all settled in for a while. It was nice to have some space away from each other for a minute and enjoy some creature comforts.
The highlight of today was that Damien and Tanner got here! We popped up to the 21st floor to see the rooftop bar (family-friendly, with a lady playing guitar and singing) and then we went out to Martin’s barbecue (walkable from our hotel) and it was pretty tasty (with GF options -Tara researched the menu ahead of time). We sat outside upstairs and it was hot and loud and cafeteria style. The food came out on metal trays and we filled our waters from orange coolers. After eating a lot of food, some people went shopping at a vintage shop and other people went back to the hotel. I am other people.
Hopefully tonight the adults will sit outside at the rooftop bar and enjoy the view. But judging from the droop of my eyelids, I might not make it to the top of the hour.
Update: We did not make it to the rooftop bar. And just as sadly I did make it to the top of the hour.
What we did do was we did have a dumb argument about going with kids to the pool. I was exhausted and did not want to do anything but sleep. Damien was hot and grouchy after walking around in downtown Nashville (The heat is a little overwhelming). Tara was energetic and ready to go to the rooftop to take in the beauty of the city but since we were not up for that, she was offering to manage kids and pool - ready to suck the marrow from life - but I really didn’t want kids swimming or Tara managing them. I wanted everyone tucked in and sleeping. I sound like a tyrant- I probably am one. It’s just that there was no way I was going to be able to sleep if kids were up swimming and it was 11pm our time.
We were all grouchy in our own ways and out of sorts. It had been a long day. I had hoped that when Damien arrived I could shrug for a minute, but he was worn out from a 10-hour drive and didn’t want to stay up and keep up with kids either. Middle age is weird.
