Weekend Getaway

Troy decided at the last minute that he was taking me out of town this past weekend.  I have an upcoming birthday....  and we have Valentine's Day...  so we decided to combine the two celebrations and get away for a few days.

It was so nice to get away.  We had such a wonderful time.

Even with a short weekend trip, I usually plan for weeks and pack for days.  That was definitely not the case with this trip.  

We both rushed home from work on Friday afternoon.... got out of scrubs...threw the luggage in the car and headed south to our favorite weekend getaway spot.....

We adore Nashville.  We love country music and being in the city where it all began.  We love the food, the southern charm....  but above all, we love where we stay.  

There's no place quite like the Gaylord Opryland Resort.

We were given a beautiful room with a view to die for!

We enjoyed walking around the hotel that evening....

and had a delicious dinner at one of the restaurants within the resort...

After dinner we watched a really neat fountain show....

You could never leave the resort and have the best time.  So much to see!

We got up early Saturday morning and had coffee near the water falls in one of the atrium...

We then walked over to the Grand Ole Opry House for a backstage tour of the facility.  It was so neat.

The Grand Ole Opry has always held a special place in our heart.  When we were newlyweds, we visited Nashville/Opryland Hotel for a weekend one winter.  At that time in our lives, we were doing good to just get to the hotel, much less pay for tickets to a show and such.  We were sitting at a table having dinner, wondering what in the world we were going to do next, when an elderly gentlemen came up to us and asked if we would like tickets to the show at the Opry that night.  Troy inquired about the price of the tickets (knowing we probably wouldn't be able to do it) and the old man said "no... these are my gift to you... I want you to have them."  Troy thanked him profusely, but asked him, "why us?"....  the restaurant and hotel was packed with people.  The man said "I don't know...  I just prayed about it and felt led to give them to you two."

I jumped up and hugged the man....  cried like a baby and then asked...   "what is the Grand Ole Opry?"

It wasn't even what he had given us (because I obviously had no clue) as much as the fact that he gave...... that touched me.

When we arrived at the show that night, we discovered that he had give us front row seats.  It was unbelievable.  A night I'll never forget.

We fell in love with the Grand Ole Opry that night and have been back a couple of times since.  With it's history, love for country music, and intimate setting...   it's our favorite place to see an artist we love.

Back to the tour.....

We purchased tickets to a behind the scenes look at not only the history of the venue, but how a show is made today.  

We took the walk that all of the stars take from the time they arrive at the Grand Ole Opry House until they hit the stage.....

We saw the dressing rooms they use (Carrie Underwood's name was still on one of them from the night before) and what rooms the legends have used for years...

The dressing room below is my favorite (it was Carrie's) and it may look familiar to you.  ABC's, "Nashville" has filmed scenes of the show in this room.....

We watch (and love!) the show and enjoyed seeing areas of the Opry House where they have filmed.

At the end of the tour they let us step onto the Opry stage....  I was beside myself.

They told us all about the history of the famous circle where every artist (old and new) has performed... and then.....

*gasp*....  they let me stand in it!!

:)

The backstage tour was truly an experience.  Standing on the stage where so many legends have stood....feeling the lights beem down on you and holding that infamous microphone was a real treat for this country girl wanna be.

Speaking of country girl.....  as much as I swear I was destined to be one (everyone that knows me disagrees)...  these photos prove that neither Troy or I are true country folk...  we look just plain ridiculous in a cowboy/girl hat .

After our tour, we visited the Opry Mills....  the best outlet mall.

We had lunch at the Aquarium (one of Troy's favorites)....

.....did some shopping....

and saw a movie (Troy swears their cinema is the best there is).....

Ya'll won't believe what I got to do next.....

After a day of touring, shopping, and relaxing... we dressed and headed back to the Opry House for that night's show.

We saw the Band Perry...  one of my very favorites....

I was a little starstruck with how close we were, and took a ton of photos.....

"put me six feet down"  (for any of you Band Perry fans)  ;)

I was tickled with how these photos came out.  Usually when you take pictures at a concert, you can't even tell what is in the picture.  With the Opry House being such an intimate venue...  a camera that is fun to play with, and great seats- we will clearly remember who we saw at this show!



We also saw "The Henningsens," who are on their way to being the next big thing in country music.

Like "The Band Perry," they are a family group (father, daughter, son), which I love.  Their first single, "American Beautiful," is beginning to get air time.

Check them out here:  http://www.thehenningsens.com/

In between all of today's artist, country legends would play, which is neat to see.

The show ended that night with,  Scotty McCreery....

The crowd went nuts with lots of teenage girls screaming their heads off....

I think this photo below is a neat shot  ....

We ended the night with a late dinner back at the resort....

And a surprise.

I was sitting on our balcony waiting for Troy to finish showering (so I thought), when he opened the door with this.  

It was a sweet ending to a memorable day.

The next morning we packed up...headed downtown for lunch at Demo's.....and then hit the road for home.

On the way home, we listened to one of my souvenirs... the soundtrack of the show, "Nashville,"....  and some of our other favorites right now...

And our spontaneous weekend getaway came to a close.

The beautiful resort, fancy dinners, The Band Perry.....  it was all so nice.

But I still don't think it's what will stick with me.

I think my favorite thing about this trip was the last minute decision to go....  the fact that Troy had a mix of songs ready to play for me during the drive to Nashville...  the way we cranked up and sang "How Country Feels," over and over again all weekend....("kick your shoes off....kick em' off" ...again, for you country music fans) ....  the way we both teared up, and squeezed hands a little tighter during "Waiting on June" at the Opry that night... .the way he told me to sneak back on stage one last time so that he could take my picture with nobody in it..

it's the little things that always stick out.

Nashville holds many memories for us....a night of our honeymoon before flying to Mexico, countless birthdays and anniversaries, the 2011 CMA Festival, several American Idol concerts, The Star Trek Convention, Christmas shopping trips..  and now a last minute birthday/Valentine getaway.

I know that there will most likely be a time in our lives when we can't just drop everything at the last minute and take off for a weekend away...   just the two of us.

And that alone makes this weekend getaway unforgettable.

Thanks for reading tonight.  Hope you're having a good week!

Love,

Kristin