Day Three

Day three - July 11, 2011

Previously on the Roadtrip...you heard about the blast we had with Nashville night life! Now for the boring day stuff! Haha, nah it's not too boring but I'm not sure what's gonna top Nashville!  It was a bit of a rough morning getting up, I swear beds like that should be illegal in hotels.  I never want to leave!  I'm almost positive Jen and I would still be sleeping in Raleigh if it weren't for Rob's cock-a-doodle-doo alarm!  Also for the shake-me-up!  C'mon though, give me a break, I hardly ever get to sleep!  With a life like mine, I'm always in demand.  Nevertheless we make sure to get a move on before the captain puts on his cranky pants!  

Nashville morning began with a scrumptious continental breakfast -Vic, you picked the best hotels! Thanks for the hook up!  We re-accounted the events from the night before with uncontrollable laughter once again.  I gotta say, I was still disappointed about the pool, or lack thereof!  We packed up our lives and headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Boy were we blown away! Three floors of country music history was at our finger tips and we made sure to take it one step at a time.  The instruments were incredible, some we have never even seen before!  We were in our glory, our lives basically revolve around music and anything remotely related.  I know for sure I'll be blowing up limewire when I return home.  We learned so many things about the history of country music, dating all the way back to the 1800s.  There are various genres of country music that I never would have knew existed if we didn't explore the CMHOF.  I wish I could explain every detail but to be honest I was overwhelmed!  At one point we all took a seat and watched this clip of the history of great artists such as Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Dean, etc.  After two hours of heaven, we departed the CMHOF and headed out to our next mission: cowboy hats!  

There was no way that we were going to visit the south and not purchase a cowboy hat!  The first shop we walked into was perfect, we had a little runway show with assorted cowboy hats until we found the perfect ones!  Rob and I were ecstatic, we couldn't wait to feel like part of the town folk, J on the other hand wasn't feeling it as much.  Mom, this next part is for you....Rob and I approach the cash register to pay and I totally got the newbie ringing me up.  This woman looks at me and very excitedly says "$16.48 please!" Well I look right, I look left, and I slip her my debit card.  She swipes me card, cuts the tag and I slap my cowgirl hat on!  As Rob is still checking out I slide up to J and whisper as quietly as possible "Start the car! Start the car!".  I left Robert in the dust and in an orderly fashion exited the shop and rounded the corner.  MY HAT WAS MARKED AT $49.99!!! What a deal!  I scanned the receipt and realized my newbie totally charged me for the wrong item!  Now, you may be asking yourself, what do you mean Steph, start the car? This is where I tell you to YouTube "ikea start the car commercial".  Sorry for those of you who don't watch disgusting amounts of tv, you're really missing out on some hilarious commercials!  Now, once again, you may be thinking, Steph, shouldn't you have gone back inside, done the right thing and explained what happened?  Sure, I thought about it, but then I took a step back to observe the situation and decided, that's my good karma coming back to me and I deserve that cowgirl hat for $16.48 dangit!  

Cowboy hats a top our heads and we are ready to hit the town for some lunch!  Jack's BBQ was the choice and boy, oh boy was it a good one!  Now, I forgot to mention this little game we've got going, whoever chooses the best dish receives a point.  At this point in the game Rob is completely dominating!  Jen, as you can imagine, is totally frustrated!  All she wants is a finger lickin' good meal!  Not to say we all haven't had good meals but Rob's is always above and beyond!  Once again at lunch Robert received the point!  Jen decided that Rob should just order for her from here on out.  During lunch Rob and I wanted to take a picture with our cowboy hats but quickly came to the realization that you cannot get too close with cowboy hats, they tend to bump into each other!

After lunch, it didn't take much to convince Jen to purchase her own cowgirl hat!  Now we really look like the three musketeers!  That completed our time in Nashville, peace out boy scouts!  New Orleans, here we come!  Not before stopping i  Tuscaloosa, Alabama to see what mother nature did to part of our country.  It was scary to see what a tornado can do to a town in a matter of minutes.  We drove past Alabama University and a quarter of a mile up the road the disaster began.  It was heart breaking to see the amount of houses,  businesses and other places that were completely destroyed.  Almost four months later and the clean up wasn't even half way done. I'd like  to send out my deepest sympathies and prayers to all of those who were victims of this destructive incident.  

A quick pitstop and we're back on track to our next destination.  This was the first time that we were driving at night and hit a little bit of rain as well.  As the gas meter ticked down to an eighth of a tank, we kept our eyes peeled for a gas station.  First stop, a dark and deserted road, only had a closed gas station.  Next try, again, a dark and only semi-deserted road seemed a little more promising but yet again, closed.  Finally, third times the charm! This gas station was very well lit but oddly the store was closed but the pumps were open.  We took advantage of this as quickly as possible since we are in Mississippi and Lord knows to trust no one!  I got the feeling from Rob that he wasn't completely comfortable here so I didn't even exit the car and stood by with the hammer just in case.  As I climbed in the back seat, Jen walked around to the passenger seat and all of a sudden heard voices.  I nearly peed my pants in the back seat when she said that and she quickly hopped in the car too.  Three young boys, probably in their early teens approached on bike holding a gas tank.  Who knows what they were doing but we concluded they were going to burn something or someone down!  Luckily we were almost done by the time they approached and scurried outta there, but not before being eyed down by a few of them, sending chills up and down my spine! Whew, close call, and no more stops until New Orleans!  We did see one sweet car, again in Mississippi that decided a license plate was not necessary.  Instead, in it's place was a piece of cardboard, with something written on it.  Low and behold, Jeffery was behind the wheel!  

Well, Ladies and gentlemen, New Orleans is waiting for us, it's time to get a move on! Peace, love and happiness always, the Nomads!