Adventure! Day 4 - Fourth of July in Nashville
Book by Beth, Illustrations by Tara.
Happy 4th of July!
We’ve had a time zone change and it feels an hour later to us than the clock reads…which is why it was a little disappointing to wake up at 5:30 this morning, but not surprising. Whatever it was I said about camping being an honest living, I take it back. Sharing a king-sized bed with one person is 1000x better than sharing a bus floor with 7 other people. Oh well. The shine sure came off that penny fast.
Today is upon us and we might have the hotel breakfast (free) or we might go out (Tara has found a place with GF pancakes that sounds yummy). I’m ready for a cup of mediocre coffee and a day of scorching heat and overwhelming crowds and making sure I don’t lose anyone.
I like the juxtaposition of Cloudland Canyon and downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It feels dissonant to experience both in a span of a few hours. Yesterday, while everyone else packed up, Ollivander and I found a cool quiet space alone in the woods and chatted about this and that. I’ll be holding that space in my mind’s eye and reviewing it when I get overwhelmed by the heat and the crowds.
It’s 7:00 a.m. and already 80 degrees. There is just the tiniest chance of rain and I think the fireworks will be spectacular. I’ve got to locate the coin-operated laundry today. Exciting times.
In other exciting times, The Woods are playing today at 3 a short walk from our hotel. They are a fun folk/country/bluegrass band I really like. GF pancakes from Pancake Pantry were delicious and people woke up in time to also eat the free breakfast.
Tara has been working on the blog and hopefully very soon we will be live.
The morning meeting was lovely and everyone shared one highlight of the trip so far, mine being that I have not had to drive once.
Lunch was salads from the pool bar kitchen - we did not swim. Eli got a workout in and Damien joined. Stella and Torie hit the gym. Everyone has been buzzing about, playing the crossword and working on D&D character sheets. The Woods were fantastic and I really enjoyed the 30-minute set. Just the right amount of time to be out in the heat, plus we had front row seats.
A short walk brought us back to our bus for laundry and I’m now doing one of my favorite things: coin-operated laundry. I did have a small thrill when I saw the top-loading speed queens. Our clothes will be clean, I am confident.
Today ended up being really nice. The kids played D&D, Tara was able to work, we watched the sunset from the lounge on the 21st floor and the fireworks were incredible. The crowds were manageable and the orchestra was fantastic and so was the conductor.
Tomorrow we head out of Nashville (after one more breakfast, a last load of laundry and maybe a work meeting for Tara while we still have internet), we stock up on food and water again, and we head to Mammoth Caves. Happy 4th!
