I’ve wanted to go to Nashville, Tenn., the ‘mecca of country music,’ since I was about five years old. Seriously, I was raised on Reba McEntire, Tammy Wynette, Garth Brooks and Randy Travis. At one point in time I even wanted to be a country singer.
Unfortunately, my mixed tapes of “live recordings” are in the safest place – my parent’s garage. Turns out, I can’t sing, but I thought I could back then. My cousin and I would write songs and then record ourselves. Those are some of my best memories – coming up with songs with catchy lyrics. I would give my left big toe to hang out with my cousin again and record some country twang!
But we both grew up, and she moved away, and my life took me to college, where I met Parish and then we moved. Little did I know that I would one day live within driving distance of Nashville. Ever since we moved here (almost four years ago), I’ve begged Parish to take me there. I think my whining has finally paid off – he mentioned taking me to Nashville for my birthday next month. I am stoked! I know country music has changed drastically in the last 20-plus years, but that is where it all began. Having the chance to visit the Grand Ole Opry and Music Row … oh my goodness. Parish is already prepared for crazy tourist mode.
I looked him straight in the eye and said, “You are going to see a completely different side of me when we go to Nashville. There will be squealing, lots of picture taking and I might faint a few times.” I might even make him sign some sort of agreement or contract that states: “I, Parish Brockman, will be understanding of one Rebecca Brockman, uber country music fan. In addition, I will not judge her when she kisses the ground, dances around, takes photos of everything she sees or in the rare occasion, starts singing at the top of her lungs.”
My birthday (June 8) falls in the middle of the week, so we thought about going the following weekend – June 11 and 12. Turns out, there is a huge CMA Music Fest going on that weekend. All of the big dogs are going to be there: Reba, Sara Evans, Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride, Josh Turner, Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins and Miranda Lambert, just to name a few.
You can imagine my response when I made this discovery – pure excitement with a little squeal thrown in. It also means all of the hotels are going to hike up their prices and the town will be crazier than normal. I’m not quite sure if that weekend would be the best way to see Nashville for the first time … maybe not. I want to be able to take my time, enjoy the sights, not rush and absorb every drop of country music I can. The following weekend would also work, and since our anniversary is June 15, the trip could double as a late anniversary present, too.
We could go to Nashville to celebrate Groundhog Day – I don’t care. I just want to go there! And hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, my wildest dreams will come true next month. All of this talk about Nashville and country music has me in a song-writing mood. I think I might take out a notepad and see if I still got it.
In the meantime, if you’ve been to Nashville or live there, I would love some tips about what to see, where to go and places to eat – rebecca@dailydata.com.