A few weekends ago, Josh and I headed out of town for a few kid-free days of fun. We try to take a big trip every year, but with our house on the market and a big trip with the kids next spring, we decided to stay closer to home. I had mentioned that we were planning to visit the beach for a music festival in May, but we made a last minute change of plans and headed north instead. I have been to Tennessee several times for different reasons, but I had never visited Nashville or Memphis, so it was super fun to squeeze them both into one weekend. We were exhausted afterwards, but we had the best time. It’s always fun to spend some uninterrupted time with this guy.
Now who wants a list of the highlights?
- We left midday on Friday and set our sights on Nashville. He looks a lot happier in that photo than real life. Selfies are just his favorite thing ever, didn’t you know?
- Since I gave up all things that were previously delicious, I decided that treating myself to Starbucks en route was a necessity. Unfortunately, I missed the one right on our route, so Josh drove 12 miles out of the way for this Caffe Mocha. It was the most delicious thing of the entire weekend.
- The Cannery Ballroom was our final destination of the day. As we approached Nashville, I was scoping out routes, trying to figure out where to eat and where I could change clothes since we weren’t planning to spend the night here.
- At Jennifer’s recommendation, we stood in line (in the rain) for 45 minutes to experience Hattie B’s Hot Chicken. Apparently there are two locations, but we (of course) chose the one farthest from our concert venue.
- Doesn’t the food look delicious? Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling great after four hours in the car and the restaurant was approximately 750 degrees. The pasta and fries were delicious, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of the chicken. Overall, I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had felt better. I’m calling a redo.
- I opted to change clothes, fix my hair and apply makeup in the car between our late afternoon lunch and the concert venue. I texted this obnoxious photo to Jennifer while I tried to determine if I was too old for the half-hair top-knot. Verdict is: not too old afterall.
- We waited in line for about an hour to see the show and were rewarded with front row seats (for the third time running). Since Houndmouth is our current favorite band, we totally agree to do ridiculous things in exchange for a primo spot to stand.
- We knew nothing about the opening act, but how about you head over to Spotify and search for Lucy Dacus. Her set was amazing and we’ve already added her to our regular rotation. Bonus points because her bass player had a braided rat tail (middle school anyone?) and was wearing an atlas printed bomber jacket. We are so very uncool.
- We were nervous about this show, okay? In case you aren’t a crazy internet stalker like we are, Houndmouth lost a founding member several weeks ago. It happened right after we purchased these tickets and we’ve been kind of sick about it ever since. Now, let me assure you that we ADORED the band just the way it was, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that we like them even more these days. They added a new keyboard player and horns and it wasn’t even completely because of that, but this was definitely the best we’ve seen them. The show was crazy electric and I promise I’ve never danced so much in my life. Not pictured: the set list that my husband begged off their sound engineer (we finally have a full set!) and the guy we met and exchanged phone numbers with (because random stranger-friends are our jam).
- We drove from Nashville to Jackson after the show, armed with Arby’s curly fries and much caffeine. We were exhausted and crashed almost immediately. I vaguely remember Josh trying to talk to me and I put my hand over his mouth. Mama was tired. We got up bright and early the next day and since I forgot to pack my camera for actual outfit selfies, I snapped this mirror shot on our way out the door. Say hello to Josh on the bed there.
- We met some friends for brunch at a local restaurant and the food was delicious. Wait, so was the company. Did I mention we had never met before?
- This is Megan, my adorable internet friend who treated us to brunch. Then she gave us a great tour of the property, her in-laws’ AMAZINGLY adorable homestead and we managed to squeeze in a couple of hours worth of conversation while Josh took our pictures. Isn’t he a good sport?
- After brunch, we headed towards Memphis to check into our final hotel of the weekend and rest for a few hours before the Beale Street Music Festival. We were stinking exhausted and since the show was delayed because of rain, we had a few hours to kill. Josh sent me into a gas station for a lottery ticket and I warned him it was a bad idea. For whatever reason, I always pick the one store where they don’t sell tickets. He argued with me, so I couldn’t resist sending him this photo (the sign says “no lottery tickets sold here”) while I stocked up on snacks. His response was priceless.
- A few hours later, we were on Beale street armed with rain boots and plenty of water. It was nice and steamy and I regretted not wearing shorts, but we were too excited to care much about the weather.
- We didn’t quite make it to the front row for Houndmouth (TWICE IN TWO DAYS!), but since we’d just seen them the night before I didn’t complain. Much. The show was great, but we definitely prefer them in a small venue compared to this festival setting.
- We waited for about thirty minutes in between sets and this photo perfectly sums up how Josh feels about crowds. He was mostly thrilled because I sent him on a mission for more water and assured him I’d be closer to the stage when he returned!
- This was the most space between bodies I had the entire day. By the time we left that night, Josh declared we were too old for this and vowed never to dance between teenagers again.
- Moon Taxi was the best. Also, Trevor has the best man bun ever. This was the third time we had seen them and, by far, the best.
- We stayed to catch the first half of the Violent Femmes’ set and then walked back towards Beale Street for some Memphis BBQ. We grabbed an Uber for the 45 minute haul back to our hotel and were serenaded with spa music and self-help messages the entire way there. It was quite possibly the longest and most miserable 45 minutes of my life.
- We slept in on Sunday and found the first Krispy Kreme donut stand on our route home. We listened to conspiracy theory podcasts, discussed music and Josh covered every World War I nuance he could think of. It was the best kind of weekend.
Kristin is married to her high-school sweetheart and the mother to two daughters. Professional by day and creative by night, she is a family lifestyle blogger who writes about faith, family, and fitting it all into a busy schedule. At Taz + Belly, you’ll find healthy recipes, children’s party ideas, tutorials, DIY projects, and more. Click Here to Read More About Kristin
