family fun.

Enjoying popsicles at Las Paletas

Summer in Nashville is the best. I know I sometimes complain about the heat and mosquitoes, but it's not terrible enough to stop someone from having fun. Nate's fam got into town on Friday evening and we spent four days with them and it was awesome. Nate got a little toasty in the sun and we both got some mosquito bites, but it was worth it.

Friday evening, Nate was working. So we surprised him by showing up at the store. He took a dinner break, and we all walked over to Chipotle. It was late, so everyone headed over to their hotels and I went home.

Sarah (9) and Ellie (11) waiting for the other team to finish the photo scavenger hunt

Saturday we met up with Caitlin and Lisa at the Hyatt Place; the Banks were staying at the Gaylord Opryland hotel. Nate's uncle was in town for a conference, and the fam tagged along. We headed over to Opryland and walked around the hotel. For lunch, we drove into East Nashville and ate burgers at The Pharmacy. It rained. We went back to the hotel and played a photo scavenger hunt game. Then we went swimming until we had to get out of the pool. (Terd alert!) So we went to Opry Mills mall and saw the movie Monsters University. Funny movie. I'm more excited about Despicable Me 2; the previews are hilarious.

The group at Radnor Lake
Ahnie, Lisa, Ellie, Michael, Sarah, Nate, Caitlin, me

On Sunday, Caitlin and Lisa came to the early service at church with us, and then we met up with the group in Franklin. We went to Puckett's Boat House for lunch, toured Carnton Plantation, got some Sweet Cece's, walked around Radnor Lake where we saw two deer and one tiny fawn, went back to the hotel. The Banks had a dinner to go to Sunday night, so Nate, Caitlin, Lisa, and I went downtown for Thai food, and then we went to listen to some live bluegrass. It was getting late and I was getting cranky (Nate testifies I was very cranky, haha), so we went back to the hotel/back home.

Monday, I worked until 3. It was hot, so I drove home to change clothes and met up with everyone back downtown at Whisky Kitchen. Then we walked around The Gulch and browsed Two Old Hippies and The Turnip Truck. Nate had to get up early the next morning to open at Sbux, so we called it a night early.

I took Tuesday off from work. Nate worked early, and I slept in a couple hours and then finished some laundry and cleaning up the house a bit. The fam picked me up and we got some wings at Whitt's BBQ for lunch.

Waiting for our tour to start at Traveler's Rest

Then we went to Traveler's Rest. It's a Civil War site; I've driven by the signs before but had never been to it. It's an old house like Carnton or Belle Meade Plantation and has ties to the Civil War. It wasn't as great as Carnton or Belle Meade or The Hermitage (so if you're going to spend your money, I'd recommend going elsewhere). Oh, and our tour guide was pretty upfront about being a strong Confederate sympathizer. Our fam was the only group on the tour, so it was pretty awkward when he started saying the Civil War could have been avoided if Lincoln hadn't been so stubborn and had just let the South secede and become its own country.

Lobby of the Nashville Public Library downtown

Nate finished working and met up with us there. We lead the group to Las Paletas in 12 South and enjoyed some delicious gourmet popsicles. I had chocolate strawberry. So good. Then we went to the downtown Nashville Public Library. I hadn't been, but Nate had, and it's incredible. Very fancy and beautiful. We checked out their Civil Rights Room and the kids area and a display of puppets (more specifically, marionettes).

Caitlin and Lisa at SATCO

For dinner, we went to San Antonio Taco Company (SATCO). Very tasty. We sat outside on the patio. Then we went back to the hotel. I compared some family tree notes with Ahnie, then Nate and I said our goodbyes. The family left today (by plane to Colorado); Caitlin and Lisa drove back to St. Louis, and then Lisa will drive back to Wichita.

Whew! If you're tired just from reading that, imagine doing it all! We hit a ton of local Nashville hotspots and saw a lot of the city. I'll be catching up on rest this next weekend. :) Also this week, Nate and I booked two nights at a B&B in Gatlinburg, TN to celebrate our 2-year anniversary. Looking forward to seeing and exploring the Great Smoky Mountains!

For more photos, check out my Flickr page: flickr.com/mrsalyssajones