So, I got up this morning at 7am after having a really strange dream. In my dream I saw all of these roaches and bugs everywhere. They were on me too. Needless to say I jumped up and out of that dream. I swear my job is haunting me in my dreams too. Anyhoo, I got up off my parent's couch, let the dogs out and got my bags packed. I texted and called my road trip buddy B. Revels. He said he'd be down by 9am. I rolled back over and went to sleep for another hour.
That was probably a bad idea because when I woke up I got a call from B saying he was in Clinton already. I was like damn I really need to get up. So I made a mad dash for my suitcase and grabbed some clothes, hopped in the shower and got dressed just as he was pulling up to the driveway. PHEW....just in time. I grabbed my bags and took them out to the car. Then I came back to the house to get MORE bags. I had to explain that I only have the one small suitcase for the trip the other bags have my laptops, snacks for the road, my papers and books for work and yet another bag of student projects that still need to be graded. LOL I looked like the bag lady with 6 bags but hey there was plenty of cargo room.
We hit the road at 9:10am. There was discussion of heading north to Maine to get some lobster and clam chowder but we were already heading south so the plan was to keep going south and end up in a different time zone.
So we looked at the map on the computer and decided that NOLA was too far away for now and instead would head to NASHVILLE, TN. We plugged in TN to the GPS and kept on trucking. Traffic wasn't too bad but what killed me was that people would stay neck and neck with huge semi trucks or semi trucks would get in front of us and take forever to pass the other semi they were originally behind.
When we stopped for gas we switched drivers. So I got behind the driver's wheel. Oh boy...I should have warned B about my road rage issues. LOL I was cursing out the VA drivers that wouldn't speed up just enough to pass slow cars..mind you the speed limit is 75 and I had the cruise control set to 77-79mph. We'd get these jokers either not going fast enough and moving out the way or jumping in front of us and still not moving fast enough to get out the way so I'd have to reset cruise control and we'd drop down to like 60mph. I don't know about you but driving on the open road is about keeping a constant speed so you get where you are trying to go in a decent amount of time.
I play this game with myself where I'll look at a GPS that tells me what time I should arrive and I like to go fast enough in the car to shave off a few minutes. We were still in VA and the GPS told us we'd arrive around 6:09pm CST so I was like I just want to see 1 minute shaved off the time and see 6:08pm CST but I kept getting slowed down by aholish drivers mentioned above. Finally we were able to get to a place where there were 3 lanes and leave all the slow pokes behind and sure as day I looked down and cheered because the GPS said 6:08pm. LOL I was happy (simple things make me smile LOL).
The trip was nice. B had brought his iPod and since he DJ's on the side he had a ton of songs of all genres. I heard some what I would consider new school oldies. LOL things like Vanilla Ice, Markie Mark and the funky bunch mixed in with MJ and others.
As we entered TN I had to get a picture of the sign...I missed the one in VA but who cares...its just VA. B also cued the song by Arrested Development... TENNESSEE. LOL It was corny but soooo appropriate.
It is soo beautiful driving through the Smoky Mountains. As we got closer to Knoxville I texted a friend of mine that lives in TN with his wife. I call him my brother from another mother, place and time. He shot back that he was actually not in town. GRRRR what are the chances? Oh well maybe some other time. I haven't seen him since his wedding back in 2007.
Just as we entered the Nashville area, 10 hours later, the gas light came on. So we stopped off at a Shell Gas station. It was not too far from the Waffle House that PB and I met at I believe. (Then again all of those damn things look the same). B went in to use the facilities and came back like tell me why there is a machine in the men's bathroom that dispenses horny goat weed and cock rings? I was like seriously? So I sent him back into the restroom armed with a camera to take a picture because I just couldn't believe it. LOL Sure enough there were a few shots of the machine and its contents. What kind of freaky shit do men do in public bathrooms? This is still the Bible Belt right? LOL
Well after getting gas we found ourselves at Steak-n-Shake. Oh my this place is amazing and we need one in the DMV if one doesn't already exist. They make square burgers and homemade milk shakes. The upside is the service is super friendly, super fast and super affordable. We both got sodas, western double steak sandwiches with fries and milkshakes. The total bill came to $22.00 I was like ha today is the 22nd and our bill was $22 bucks we need to play those numbers! LOL After enjoying the meal we decided to see what there was to do in Nashville. We grabbed a city paper from a different gas station (not the one with the horny toys in the bathroom) and looked up the local attractions. Its the middle of winter right? why was EVERYTHING in that magazine about SUMMER CAMPS? Does that make sense? LOL
So finally I decided to just put something in the GPS and see what was near us. Death Row Sanitarium of Slaughter came up and I was like we HAVE to go. So B and I drove to this place and found a sign and an empty building. I was like WOW thats interesting. What else is out there. So we found this other location called Devil's Dungeon. It wasnt as cool...it actually looked like apartments in an old warehouse building but I did see a truck that had the name painted on it so we took a pic of that and decided to checkout Opry Land.
By this time I had received a message on FB about being in Nashville and a friend who said he was living here. I was like crap how did I miss that one? So we made arrangements to meet up later in the evening. B and I went to the Gaylord Opry Land Hotel and walked through their indoor garden. That place is huge. It still looks amazing considering it was under like 8 or 9 feet of water last year and just reopened last month. We snapped some pics, watched the dancing water fountain and waited for JS to call us back. In the mean time I scouted out a place to lounge and charge my cell phone since it was on its last leg.
We finally decided to head out and search for lodging for the night. We drove to several places and checked online with the little battery juice I had left. Finally my friend LS called and was like go by the airport they will be cheaper. So thats where we headed and sure enough a much nicer and cheaper hotel (or is it really considered a motel?) was available. We booked a room (double beds) and waited for LS to show up. He knocked on the door around 10pm CST. I was like whoa you've grown since HS. LOL Being that he and B are both military they had lots of work stories to tell. I caught on to a few of the terms being thrown around but just like my job they use sooo many damn acronyms LOL. We finally decided where we were going out. I felt bad because I didnt really pack clothes or shoes to go out in (Road trip packing mistake #3...#1 was that I brought food but NO napkins or paper towels and #2 was that I didn't bring my own iPod in case the music selection was subpar).
Anyhoo we left and headed to downtown Nashville to check out a club near water front park. The music was decent and they had like 2 floors and 3 rooms. The crowd was mixed. The best part of the place however was the MECHANICAL BULL!!! LS was like you are riding! I was like oh hell yeah lets do this. Some chic had on an afro wig and I was like can I borrow that? I put it on and jumped on that bull and road it until I got tired and started to feel myself slip so I just let go and fell off. (There is a video supposedly of my riding skills) I'll upload and post later when I get a chance.
Afterwards we just chilled, got some drinks and hit the dance floor. There was this group of girls celebrating one of their friend's 30th B-day so we ended up hanging out and partying with them. It was fun. We danced until the club closed. For one night however I got to see how guys try to pick up girls in the club. It was funny but very eye opening.
I had a blast and I wish B and LS were closer to where I live because I'd hang out with those dudes ANY day of the week. I think we made it back to the hotel around 3:30am. I fell into bed because I was tired. LS got ready to head home. We made plans to do brunch and then find a spot to watch the NFL Championship games later this afternoon.
That was an amazing end to day 1 of this Road Trip
No comments:
Post a Comment