Nashville.

Over Spring Break I was fortunate enough to spend THREE WHOLE DAYS in Nashville, Tennessee. It was an eye-opener, to say the least. I guess that's the most appropriate word to describe my trip.

So on a Sunday, my friend Garrett was headed back to college from his Spring Break. He goes to Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. He's a baseball player. But that's beside the point. We caravanned back to Searcy together (which took about 8 hours. Lordt.) and he was gracious enough to make arrangements for me to stay with one of his friends from college. We got back to Searcy around 10:30 and I didn't fall asleep until midnight. And then, like some sort of bad omen, I woke up every hour at the 55 minute mark. And each time, I woke up thinking it was time for me to hit the road to continue on to my Nashville. But no. I didn't plan on leaving until around 7:30. When I finally woke up at 6:15 to get ready, I was so excited. Garrett & I got breakfast at... the hall? Not really sure what you would call that place, because I don't know the names for college buildings, because I don't go to college. Whoops.

After that I was on my way. Or at least, I would have been on my way, had I not wasted an hour of time driving without a single clue around Arkansas. (Let it be known, I learned A LOT of things on my trip, specifically about myself, and one of them was the fact that even with a GPS, I am REALLY GOOD at getting lost.) Once I finally found my way, I was on a, sort of, unofficial highway headed for Memphis for about two hours. I liked it a lot actually. I spent a lot of time thinking and listening to good music and taking in the scenery. Believe it or not, they have way more to look at in Arkansas than in Kansas. Shocking, huh?

From Memphis it was about 3 and a half hours. Of course there were a few stops here and there to stretch, go to the bathroom or get something to eat, but for the most part, it was just me and the road. Which is how I like it. I know a lot of people have issues with road trips, and I'm sure a lot of people would think I am crazy for driving as many hours as I did by myself, but I really don't mind being alone. In fact, I like it. I have to say, doing all that driving and navigating my way through 4 different states with out someone else in the car with me made me feel incredibly independent. It all felt like a very grown up thing to do. I haven't felt that grown up... maybe ever.

So, this was the photo I took when I crossed the state line. (I apologize. All of these photos are iPhone quality. I decided to go to Nashville instead of buy my new camera.)

It was a relief to be in Tennessee. After all that driving, I made my way into Franklin. It was such an amazing feeling. I hadn't been there since I was 17. I remembered everything, though. I knew exactly how to get to where I wanted to go next, because I knew exactly where I was. My first stop was at Radnor Lake. I had never been before. It was beautiful. In the mist and cold, I walked through the park all by myself, though I did stay within close perimeters to a group of women walking a few yards ahead of me. I watch crime shows. I know what happens. Here are some photos from that. I can only imagine what this place will look like when I move down in August.

I honestly didn't have any idea where I wanted to go next. But my phone was dead, so I needed to find a place to charge it. Then I remembered that my best friend got me a gift card for a coffee shop called The Frothy Monkey. We had gone once when we went two years ago and just loved it. I luckily had my phone charger with me and a good book. (Into the Wild. Duh) I spent a few hours in there, reading and drinking their Turtle Latte. That's what the lady at the front register told me to try. I recommend it. It was amazing.

Once again, I had no idea where to go next. Which was exciting. I went on my trip with a list of places to go to, so I got that out. I saw Mas Tacos on my list and thought, well it's about dinnertime anyways, let's do it. The only problem was, once I got there, they weren't open. On top of that, I was in East Nashville, which I was not familiar with at the time, so I went back to Midtown, which I was familiar with. I called my friend Jason to ask where to go to get dinner and he extended an invitation to hang out at Fido with he and his sister. Which was nice. It felt good to be with someone I knew. He is a great guy. I got the Smoked Turkey & Brie sandwich. It was GOOD, y'all.

Around 9, I decided to head to the place where I was staying. I was accommodated by a woman who opens her home up to people that need a place to stay. I found her through this site called www.airbnb.com. To set the record straight, I was totally, 100% safe. It was kind of like a vacation rental home in a way. However, I was not the only one staying in the house. A teacher and her husband were at the other end of the house, and a really cool guy named Benjamin (who was visiting from Boston to display his art at a coffee shop called Ugly Mugs) stayed at the other end of the hallway I was staying at. Really I just slept there and got ready every morning, so I didn't spend hardly any time at the house, but the host, Diana, was so incredibly hospitable. I would recommend her place to anyone! (You can book a reservation/see the house here.)

The next morning, I woke up to more foggy weather. I didn't mind it so much, though as the day progressed I definitely craved sunshine. But anyways. I went to a gorgeous coffee shop called Crema, and had one of the best cappuccinos of my life. They have a very unique coffee taste.

Then I set out to find Percy Warner Park. In the name of honesty, I have never had so much trouble trying to find a location. All the photos I had seen of this park online showed an entrance with a huge stone staircase that led to the hiking trails. I could not, for the life of me, find this entrance. I drove around aimlessly through the Tennessee country side for a solid hour looking for it, then I gave up and continued on back into Franklin. 

By then, due to wasted time, it was already past noon, so I figured I should probably feed myself. I ate at a deli called The Mercantile downtown. Again, Aleah & I had eaten there on our first trip to Tennessee two years ago. It is absolutely the cutest little sandwich shop. Very bright and warm. And the people are awesome, too. Because southern hospitality is real. I got the chicken salad sandwich. It was super yummy. My favorite thing about the shop, though, is that if you eat at the restaurant, they give you your drink in a mason jar. Which is a southern thing, if you didn't know. 

I wandered around Franklin a little more, and then I decided to give the park one more try. Luckily, a girl walking in the area was kind enough to help me find the entrance I was looking for. And I found it! 

The park is HUGE. I was hesitant to hike too far on the trails by myself, so I was only there for about 30 minutes. But in that thirty minutes, the sun slowly but surely decided to shine! Then I set out to find another location called the Love Circle. Super ironic name, right? At least for me, because I was definitely there by myself, with no one to love. But I didn't care. Even though there was a couple there. So the place is located at the peak of Midtown. It's just a tiny little hill at the top of the city and the view is amazing. I did the tourist thing to do, which was snap pictures of my city. It was breath taking.

So then, I headed back to the 12 South district and hit up this place called Las Paletas. They serve these gourmet, Mexican style popsicles. Some of them are fruit based and then others are cream based. I asked the ladies working there (who were SO sweet, by the way) which one I should try. The woman that rang me out convinced my to try the avocado flavor. I was obviously skeptical, because.. an avocado flavored popsicle? But I was trying to be carefree on my trip. So I tried it. She dipped it in their dark chocolate fondu. And thank God I tried it. It was INCREDIBLE. 

At this point on my trip, y'all could imagine that I was feeling a bit lonely. Though a bit is a huge understatement. I had so many thoughts and emotions running through my mind. As silly as this sounds, I had only been there one full day and I missed my mother! Being a grown up is a strange thing. Now, I'm not giving myself that title, cause what even makes any of us "grown up," but I just felt like I was forced to be one while I was in Nashville because I was all on my own. And that made me miss my mom. Geez. And a ton of other people. I was freaking out. I thought, holy crap, is this what it's going to be like? I mean, when I move, the circumstances will be very similar to my little trip. Big city, new people, new house, a completely clean slate. I had spent all this time being excited about something like that, and it did occur to me that it would be hard to be alone through it all, but once I went and kind of lived it out for a couple of days, I was able to experience it. And I was terrified. I was almost in tears, which is NOT normal for me. But then there was Evelyn. 

Evelyn. What a name, first of all, right? You guys, I made a friend for life. We had previously met on Instagram (that sounds so funny but I don't care) and then got to know each other a little bit through Facebook, and made plans to officially meet for the very first time while I was in town. We weren't supposed to hang out until the next night, but I had texted her saying that if she didn't have any plans that night, we could hang out if she wanted, because I was feeling lonely. She immediately responded and said, "oh darling! Let's hang out then!" It lifted my spirits so much. I was reading at Frothy Monkey (again) waiting to hear from her when she called. She told me she was going to come there, pick me up, and take me to dinner.

Once she got there, she ran to me and gave me the hugest hug. I have never met anyone so nice. I mean who says yes to being friends with a complete stranger? I'm telling you, southern hospitality is a REAL thing. So, she drove me to one of her favorite restaurants and we talked and talked. Getting to know people is one of my favorite things about life. I mean, what a joy. I am so fascinated with people and their stories and their passions. I learned a lot about her. She has such a kind and pure heart. So true and genuine to others. She paid for my meal, which was incredibly nice. Unfortunately, the only photo we took together was in terrible lighting, and the waiter who took the picture for us was being a dumb and took forever to take our picture, so in the only one I have, neither of us look very happy, haha. 

So, we planned to hang out the next night as well, and I went back to where I was staying and fell asleep. I planned to spend the next day in East Nashville. Remember that list of places to go that I mentioned earlier? Well, a little shop known as Barista Parlor was at the top of my list. And on that day, my last day, I finally went. I asked Evelyn what drink I should get and she told me her favorite was the Vanilla Bourbon & Barrel Latte. So I tried it. And typing it out right now is making me crave the stuff. It was so good. I spent almost two hours there reading and listening to music and admiring how beautiful the building was. 

I asked her where I should go next and she told me I had to try Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. So I did just that. The guy that was working there was named Ethan and he was originally from Kentucky. He was so kind. And he had an accent, which was fun. He and the woman working there told me what places I should hit up next as I enjoyed a scoop of salted caramel and a scoop of almond brittle. Best. Ice Cream. Ever. 

I stopped by several other places in East Nashville. I didn't know where to go after that, so I went back to where I was familiar with. I hit up a restaurant called Burger Up in 12 South. It was so delicious. I can't remember the name of the burger I got, but I can remember the taste of the sweet potato fries. Holy swoon. I mean, talk about eating heaven. I wandered around some more for the rest of the day to pass time until I was able to hang out with Evelyn again. I found this mural and died. 

Evelyn & I spent our evening at Chuy's. Love that place. We had good conversation and laughs. It wasn't awkward with her, ever. It felt like I was with someone I had known for a very long time. I can only hope she felt the same way. Once the night came to an end, we said good bye for now, and drove our separate ways. I went back to the house and packed up all my stuff. And then I got up the next morning and drove all the way back to Wichita. I was on the road for almost 13 hours. Yikes.

I cannot wait to call Nashville my home. I can't wait to know my way around, first of all. I can't wait to meet more people like Evelyn (though I'm not sure anyone is quite like her) who are welcoming and kind. I can't wait for new friendships to begin. I can't wait for a lot of things. The fact that all of that will be happening in 4 short months petrifies me. But my heart races with excitement at that thought. Believe me, I'll write more about that when the time is nearer. But for now, I just wanted to show a glimpse of my little trip. It was so nice to escape reality for a while and go be in a dream. I love Nashville. And I always will.