It Was a Nashville New Years...and I'm Dying to Go Back

I'm a lover of road trips, train trips, plane trips and all things travel, so ending 2017 with a fun little road trip sounded like the perfect idea. My friend Makayla's stepdad has season tickets to the Tennessee Titans and he offered to give us tickets to the New Years Eve game! Clayton and I have never been to a NFL game before, and we both love sports so there was no way we were going to pass up the opportunity. It just so happens that the this game determined whether or not the Titans would make the playoffs, which apparently they haven't done for years...spoiler alert...they won! So the Friday after Christmas Clayton, Myself, Makayla and her husband, Frenchie, all packed up the car and headed on a 6 hour road trip to Nashville Tennessee!

Music Row

We stayed a Best Western near Opryland...basically because it was decently close to downtown and it was cheap. I'm not one that stays in fancy hotels when traveling. I think the best way to save money on a trip is to stay at a decent hotel and then use that extra money for experiences and other expenses for the trip. Clayton and I tend to pack our days when we go on trips, so essentially we just need a place to sleep at night. We are not picky! I do kind of wish we had gone with a hotel with a hot tub, but now we know! Friday evening we got in pretty late and decided to grab some fast food and get to bed!

Later during the trip we picked up some board games to play in the hotel room. We played Blockus, Disney Family Feud and Battle of the Sexes. I don't know if the cards were just stupid or if we were all just slap happy, but Disney Family Feud had me laughing so hard that my abs hurt. It was actually a really great time and makes me want to do more game nights with my friends and family.

Opry Mills

Saturday morning, Clayon and I woke up early to get some breakfast downstairs in the hotel. Again...nothing special lol. None of us really had a plan for the weekend, which I'll admit stresses me out a little, but I reminded myself that there was no reason to be on some sort of schedule this trip. Once we all got up and moving, we headed over to Opry Mills. Little did we know that this mall was HUGE! I kid you not, we spent over 8 hours in this mall. Clayton and I had Christmas money burning a hole in our pocket so naturally we did a LOT of shopping. It also just so happens that the Victoria Secret Semi Annual Sale was occurring that weekend ;)

After I dropped a small fortune there, I discovered that there was a Michael Kors outlet Anyone that knows me, knows I am a sucker for Michael Kors. I am not someone that has to have high end products, but there is just something about those bags that screams my name. I got my first every Michael Kors bag at a goodwill actually! It was $20 and 100% authentic. It broke after awhile and my grandma replaced it with a Michael Kors tote for Christmas last year. This year she got me a wallet to match! Clayton has always been upset with her for buying them because every year he plans on getting me one and my gma beats him to it. Sooooo this outlet store was his opportunity ;). I've been wanting a smaller everyday bag in black and wouldn't you know they had 1 left. Clayton quickly told me that he would get it for me as an early birthday present. He knows the way to my heart ;) It was 80% off which made it only $80!!! That is a steal for this bag, let me tell you!

After we all shopped till we dropped we decided to eat at this Aquarium Restaurant...yes you read that right. Makayla really wanted to go and I figured why not?! I thought that the restaurant would be a full aquariam...but it was really just one wall. I will say that the fish tank had one big shark in it and some sting rays which was pretty cool. I think if you have kids, this would be a fun place to go. The food was decent and the portions were large. Not as cool as I had hoped, but a neat experience I suppose.

Tennessee Titans

Saturday morning I woke up with so much excitement. I guess I was just so pumped about going to my first NFL game. I packed on about 6 layers of clothes and looked like a teal puffy marshmallow. I've also decided that teal is a really great color for me. We were fortunate enough to find some pretty decent parking so we could walk to the stadium. Like I said, Makayla's stepdad was nice enough to give us his season ticket seats for the game and the view was pretty spectacular. It was so fun and exciting to be surrounded by die hard Titans fans who were so pumped at the possibility of this team making a playoff run! Although I am not savvy about football (hockey is more my speed ;)) I had such a great time watching the Titans clinch playoffs with a 15-10 win over Jacksonville. The only bad thing about the game was the FREAKING COLD!! My toes hurt so bad when we got back to the car. We later found out that we had just sat through the coldest Titans game in franchise history. Some pretty interesting history to be a part of I suppose!

New Years Eve

After the football game we rushed back to the hotel so we could warm up! I was chilled to the bone and could only think about getting warm. After about an hour of shivering and another hour of sitting in silence due we finally decided that we needed to make a plan for the evening. We were all starving, but had a really hard time deciding what to do since it was New Years Eve. We ultimately decided to get Wendy's because the 1st place we attempted to go never waited on us and Wendy's was about our only option at this point. After our belly's were full we headed downtown to check out the nightlife. Funny thing is...we never got out of the car! If you've never been to Nashville on New Years Eve...well its a shit show and a half! Literally bars packed, people vomiting, getting arrested, firetrucks and more! I live for people watching, so it was the perfect place for me. I do wish we had actually gone to the bars and experienced some of the live music but we were all tired and cold and none of us wanted to endure the tundra. Clayton and I scoffed at Bridgestone arena of course...but only because we are kinda bitter Hawks fans right now! Clayton and I are planning on going back again sometime next fall. We loved the city and we want to explore it more!

Monday Blues

The 6 hour drive home on New Years day seemed daunting. We were all SO tired and none of us really wanted to go back home. We knew that one we got back we would be greeted with a pile of snow and negative temperatures. But nonetheless we packed up the car, grabbed snacks and prepared for the road ahead. It was a very quiet drive home to say the least.

So we are planning on taking another trip to Nashville again within the next year! What did we miss and what should we go see? Also, how did you spend your New Year? Do any fun people watching?