Turning 30 in Nashville

Hi, my name's Tristan and I'm… th. Thir. Thirty. 

That just seems so weird to say. No longer can I classify myself as a 20-something. I've graduated to the elite 30 Club. As the old saying goes, age is just a number. I have two wonderful children, a loving husband and amazing family and friends - who am I to complain about a number? After all the hype and anticipation, I've decided turning 30 isn't so bad. It certainly helped celebrating this milestone birthday in a fun city with some of my absolute favorite people.

Since our flight to Nashville was Thursday morning, we decided to have the kids spend Wednesday night at Bob & Deb's. This would allow them to sleep in and not be woken up by my tearful goodbye. Instead we said "see ya later" over goodnight snuggles. While saying goodnight to Harper, I started to get a little bummed and teary. In that moment, our roles changed. My 3-year old sat and consoled me. She gave me a giant hug and cheerfully said, "Mom, don't be sad! It's all going to be fine!" Hearing those words of wisdom from my sweet girl made me smile and cry a little harder. I was going to miss my kiddos like crazy, but I knew they'd have a blast with Granny and Pops while we were gone.

Early Thursday morning we hopped on a plane to Tennessee with my parents. After insisting we arrive at the airport ridiculously early (I have this awful fear of missing my flight) we had plenty of time to kill which meant breakfast and beers! Everything was on time and the flight was easy peasy. The wheels of our plane touch down in sunny Nashville before noon and we were all in full vacation mode.

After a short taxi ride, we arrived to our hotel ready to take on Music City. My Aunt Joan and cousin Betty drove from St. Louis and met us shortly after we got settled in. Within minutes we were all in the lobby ready to start our weekend adventure.

The rest of our Thursday was spent eating, drinking, boot shopping, drinking, eating and drinking some more. We wander Broadway popping into bars and soaking up the fun vibe and live music. It only seemed fitting to have my actual birthday dinner at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville where we downed margaritas and fish tacos. Afterwards we stopped into Rippy's to start our nightcap. We were lucky to snag a table near a stage and started ordering drinks. The band started playing and their energy was contagious. We ended up staying at the same bar all night. It was the perfect end to my birthday, and the perfect beginning to our weekend.

 

It felt heavenly to sleep in Friday until our natural alarm clock woke us up. We had breakfast and lounged by the pool for a couple hours in the morning. It felt nice to sit and relax for a bit. After outlining our day, we all left to get ready and planned to regroup later.

As part of my birthday celebration, Mitch bought us all tickets to see Little Big Town at the Grand Ole Opry which happened to be Friday night. We decided to get to the Opry a little early so we could wander the grounds and grab dinner before the show. We hopped on the city bus and made it to the Opry with a few free hours to roam.

I insisted we take obligatory tourist photos and I was glad no one put up too big of a fight. A lot of time was spent hanging outside on the beautiful grounds, people watching and sipping drinks. At 6 o'clock the doors opened and we decided to go in and check things out. I assumed our first stop would be the bar once we got inside, but Mitch insisted that we find our seats first. I followed the crowd and pulled out my ticket to see where we were headed. While walking up the stairs, I counted each row until I found ours. When I looked down the bench, I was shocked to see Jennie and Amanda waiting there. THEY SURPRISED ME!

When we originally planned this trip, I knew it was likely they couldn't come. Since they both work in education, I was asking them to take off their last day of school. Back in April, they both informed me it just wasn't going to work with their schedules. I completely understood, it's hard enough to find a date for everyone to get together at home! Little did I know, the two of them and Mitch were plotting the surprise behind my back. Now this really was the best birthday weekend ever!

The Opry show was amazing. 10 different artists all showcasing their amazing talents on such an iconic stage. Little Big Town closed the show with 3 songs, and they were just as awesome as I expected. Such a wonderful experience, one I will treasure forever.

After a smooshed cab ride back to the hotel, we hit up Broadway for the second night. The weekend crowds were out in full force and everywhere you turned there was a bachelorette or bachelor party. Lines were forming for many bars which changed our original plan to bar hop. We still managed to have a great time. Another amazing night in Nashville!

 

Saturday was our last full day of vacay and we were determined to make the best of it. Once our bellies were full from breakfast we were off to explore. The legendary bar, Tootsies was our first stop. It was so fun to see all the history and memorabilia fill the walls. The place was already pack and the band had people honky tonkin' before Noon. 

We decided to venture off Broadway and see what other hidden gems we could find. As a lover of the movie Coyote Ugly (I was in 9th grade, don't judge) I couldn't pass up the bar in Nashville without stopping in. During the day, the crowd was sparse - but still very rowdy. The bartenders were so entertaining and really know how to get the crowd involved. My Mom, Aunt Joan and Dad were forced to show their best dance move by the bartender. Aunt Joan won in my opinion with her twerking. Amanda, Jennie and myself braved the bar top and strutted our stuff. The bartender had 10 of us girls walk the bar showing off our best moves. It was a BLAST, and for a split moment I felt like Violet Sanford. To cap off our Coyote Ugly experience, the bartender did the infamous "Devil Went Down to Georgia" dance. Amazing. 

Our entire day was spent checking out bars, tasting Nashville BBQ and we even managed to sneak in a little shopping. We headed back to the hotel to clean up and get ready for our final dinner and night on the town. 

George Jones Museum and Restaurant seemed the like the perfect place to end our Nashville experience. We stuffed our faces with hush puppies, fried green tomatoes, fried pickles and hot chicken. As we wrapped up dinner, the waiter suggested we check out their rooftop bar that overlooks Cumberland River. We all bellied up to the bar and enjoyed the amazing outdoor space. The drinks were cold and the band was entertaining, which was the perfect combination. We danced, drank and shared plenty of laughs - which is exactly what I wanted out of this trip.   

Sunday morning came early, but I was eager to get back to Minnesota to snuggle our kiddos. We landed a little after 10am and Bob, Deb, Harper and Emmett were all waiting to pick us up. As we got into the van, it was such a great feeling to see their eyes light up. "MOMMY! DADDY!" Harper yelled. Oh how we missed this. 

It's safe to say our time in Nashville was more than I expected. I can't thank everyone enough for celebrating the big 3-0 with me in Music City. Memories were made that I never forget. Thanks again to Mitch, Amanda, Jennie, Mom, Dad, Aunt Joan and Betty for traveling and planning such an amazing experience. Thank you double time to Bob & Deb for watching Harper and Emmett while we were out being crazies. 

I'm already planning my next Nashville experience (in my head) and hope we can make back soon!

Until next time…

The Helleens