A Walk on the Southern Side: Nashville/Murfreesboro

Hello, friends!

My family and I haven't been on a vacation in a long time (A VERY LONG TIME) and we finally got to go on one this past week in Nashville. I've always admired the South (the beauty + the hospitality) so I was pretty excited.

We drove 11 1/2 hours to my relatives' house in Murfreesboro (which is about 30 minutes away from Nashville). I love going on road trips (the longer the better). It's a great opportunity to read a book, listen to music, watch a movie, catch a few z's, or simply enjoy the nice scenery along the way. I did a mixture of all of those.

The next day after we arrived, we explored Murfreesboro. My uncle gave us a tour of Middle Tennessee State University (where he works). We got to see the creamery where the chocolate milk that my brother is obsessed with is made, as well as my uncle's office. We explored typical sites (in the excrutiatingly hot Tennessee weather) you see on a college campus, like the library, student union, and various educational buildings.

After the tour of MTSU, we went go-karting and played mini golf, two things I hadn't done since I was younger. I initally didn't want to drive the go-kart by myself, but with some encouragement from my family, I did and ended up having fun (after i hit the wall to start off lol). Mini golf was a blast, too, especially considering the fact that we didn't keep score and cheated the entire time.

We then went to a Thai restaurant where I had the most delicious bowl of pho (pronounced "fuh"). I've been wanting to try pho for a while now and jumped at the chance when I saw it on the menu. My mom doubted that I would finish it, but I did (the noodles at least).

The next day, we descended on Nashville. We went on a city tour bus where we could to see the entire city and got off the stops we wanted to visit. We first stopped at the Country Music Hall of Fame, but because of the estimated 20-30 wait for the bus, we thought we wouldn't get a chance to explore it, so we took pictures in front of the sign. We also stopped/got to see places like the Legislative Plaza, Centennial Park, and the Performing Arts Center.

For lunch, we decided to stop at Hattie B's Hot Chicken, which people say a must-eat in Nashville. There was a long line and it started to rain (HEAVILY), so we decided to order our food online at eat appetizers at a nearby Mexican restaurant and wait for our order. We ate our Hattie B's at my relatives' house and it was well worth the wait.

The last part of our day in Nashville consisted of me going to The Gulch to hunt down these angel wings art I saw in a YouTube video. There was a somewhat long line and the sun was beating down, but it was well worth the wait and the wings are even more gorgeous in person.

The remaining parts of our trip consisted of traveling to Atlanta for a passport-related issue and seeing the "live-action" remake of The Lion King with my family. I may or may not have quietly sang along to the songs. (OK I DEFINETLY DID). The Lion King is my favorite Disney movie, so I was pretty excited to see the remake and hear the songs I loved as a young girl. I ended up loving it overall.

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip to Tennessee. It was so much fun exploring a city I have always wanted to visit. And who knows? Maybe I'll be back for you sometime in the near distant future, Music City.