The Road Trip

Mom and I arrived at Nancy's house in Virginia last night around 6:00. We had a very fun and relaxing road trip. We drove up through the Northeast corner of Texas, through Texarkana and across Arkansas, crossed the Mississippi River into Tennessee at Memphis, then stopped to spend the night in Nashville.

We got to Nashville around 5:30 so we were right in the middle of rush hour, but we took advantage of the slow traffic to cruise through downtown Nashville and see some sights. We drove through Music Row and actually saw a guy in a cowboy hat walking down the street with his guitar on his back -a classic Nashville picture. After a quick look around downtown we were determined to go to the Bluebird Cafe, known for being a sort of "songwriter's haven." Many songwriters (and not just country ones) have gotten their start there. It took us FOREVER to find it. It was not at all where we expected!- nowhere near music row or anything else "Nashville"-ish. We followed the GPS and still couldn't see it, so finally we went in to a Whole Foods Market and asked someone. We were lucky to find some music-loving locals who directed us there. We never would have found it without them! It is a tiny little place stuck in the middle of a strip mall between two retail stores with a very discreet sign.

We walked in and there were four songwriters sitting in the midst of all the tables, in a circle facing each other. The each had a guitar and a microphone. We sat and ate and watched them go around the circle taking turns singing their own songs. It was so cool! One of the songwriters did a couple songs that I actually know because they have been on the radio! One was "I Would Have Loved You Anyway" recorded by Trisha Yearwood and the other was "One Day Closer to You" recorded by Carolyn Dawn Johnson. I really like "One Day Closer to You", though it was never a big hit. Lets just say I can relate to the words.

The walls were completely plastered with signed headshots from various artists who have passed through the Bluebird. Some of the ones I noticed were Trisha Yearwood, Townes Van Zandt, Pam Tillis, Carlene Carter, Walt Wilkins, and even Barbara Walters! Have I mentioned that it was so cool!

We had a comfortable nights sleep at a hotel that night and were off the next morning to finish our trip. We spent almost the whole day yesterday driving through the Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains. It was gorgeous!- hills and peaks covered with huge trees and different hues of green. Southwestern Virginia was beautiful with picturesque farmhouses with picket fences on rolling green hills with red barns.

Mom and I really enjoyed a relaxing road trip without an overly filled car, screaming kids, boys, or junk food.

But, we are very very happy to finally be here!!!!!!!