A day of grand adventures

Jack and I are on the road. We left home Thursday afternoon with our ultimate destination being Dahlonega Georgia and the wedding of Lindsay and Mark. Lindsay is the daughter of Rick (our best man at our wedding) and his wife Pat. We decided to make a stop in Nashville. We made plans to rendezvous with Chuck and Teri to see their Brittany.
I love love love road trips. See the posts from our road trip last August. There is something special about watching the topography of our country change from hour to hour. We enjoyed a beautiful, peaceful drive to Nashville. I especially enjoyed my naps. There were several of them. Jack loves to drive and so I let him have that pleasure. I am so generous.
Yesterday, June 13th was an interesting day.
We started out with pouring rain in Nashville, but our moods were bright because we got to spend time with some of our favorites. We met Chuck and Teri at their hotel, then walked over to see their Brittany at work. Britt is also known as Producer Britt on the XM radio station The Highway. She is the on air producer of the show with the legendary Storme Warren. We got to sit in the studio while they were broadcasting and it was so cool to watch! Chase was there, waiting to say hi to everyone, then he had to go to work. The theme for the show was "Back in the Day", about the song that first got you into country music, also tying it in with Father's Day. How awesome that Chuck was there with his girl. They put him on the air and he shared Waylon Jennings' "What a Difference You Made in My Life", his courting song with Teri. Teri also was on air and Storme talked to her about the song that brought her back to country- "Drunk on a Plane". So funny. It was just such a special morning, watching Britt and her proud parents- plus getting a behind the scenes look at the making of a national radio show.

The four of us left Brittany and went to a late breakfast at a famous Nashville pancake house, Pancake Pantry. Afterwards, we went on a tour of Nashville, with Chuck as our chauffeur and Teri was our tour guide. I learned a ton about the city and got to see where Britt currently lives and where she will live after she and Chase get married. We saw the site that Chase's company is developing, called One City.

Around 2pm, we parted ways, Chuck and Teri in their car and Jack and I in ours, and headed for our next stop, Dahlonega, Georgia. It's about a 3 1/2 hour trip. Well, it's supposed to be. We were trucking right along, even went by the Bonnaroo Music Festival, when traffic on I-24 came to a standstill. There had been a huge accident involving two semis and a car, with fatalities and the highway was closed. For several hours. [NOTE: We said a prayer for those who were involved in the accident. We prayed for the families that would get that awful phone call. That put the rest of the day in perspective for us.] We were communicating with Chuck and Teri via texts and calls; they were about two miles ahead of us. After about an hour, it became clear that the only choice we had was to get off I-24. We did and headed back the other way. We had no real plan in place. Teri had given us some tips, based on their information. Jack and I ended up stopping in a Wal-Mart to go to the bathroom and get a card for Lindsay and Mark. As we were checking out, we mentioned to the clerk about the traffic issue and asked if she had any suggestions. Wow. Glad we did. This woman gave us the most helpful directions. I ended up getting out a pen and writing them down. She did not know any names of the roads, but her directions were so detailed and do you know what? They worked!!!

Along the way, we saw some gorgeous scenery and even a rainbow.

can you see the rainbow?

We ended up not getting to our inn, a little bed and breakfast place, til almost 10. The door was locked. The sign on the door said "Check in time 3m- 8pm". Awww geez. We were in the middle of the forest on a dirt road in the pitch black of night. Jack called the phone number that was provided but it just went to voicemail. In the meantime, Teri texted that they were still about 2 hours away. They had stopped for dinner. Smart. We had stopped once at Subway to get something to tide us over til dinner and I just ended up getting a Doritos big grab and Jack a small sandwich, so we were hungry. As we pondered what to do about our lodging and food, some other guests at the inn came home and let us in. There were nice notes for us and for Chuck and Teri. And as it turned out, the door was not supposed to be locked. We unloaded the car and then went back out looking for some food. 

At this point, I need to remind you that it is dark dark dark, wooded, hilly and twisty turny roads and 15 minutes to any place to eat. But I was beyond starving. We really had not eaten much since noon and by now it was 10:30. By the time we got back to the main road, the only thing open was the Taco Bell drive through. It worked. We got ourselves a variety 12 pack and took them back to the inn and enjoyed them with a bottle of wine we had in the cooler. David, one of the innkeepers, was there when we got back and was helpful and apologetic about the door being locked. We visited with him a bit, said a good night to Chuck and Teri when they got in. 

At the end of the day, it all worked out well and we have great memories and more stories to share. 

Today the sun is shining and we have a day to relax and enjoy before the 6pm nuptials. 

And here is the view from where I am blogging:

  Throughout the day and our little "grand adventure", I was reminded how blessed I am to be married to a guy who never gets impatient. With me or any situation. 

Life is a journey and patience is a virtue.