Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Jax and I ventured to Nashville last Thursday to watch Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers rock the Bridgestone Arena, and we were thoroughly pleased with what we saw (and heard). Thanks to my dad’s influence, Tom Petty has been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember. His tunes have kept me company through many a road trip, long run, and evening with friends. Even at age 59, Petty’s voice is top-notch, and his band is as rocking as ever. I tried and failed to remember the whole set list, but I can report that he played almost all the hits you would expect: Free Fallin, Listen to Her Heart, Breakdown, I Need to Know, Refugee, Don’t Come Around Here No More, I Won’t Back Down, Mary Jane’s Last Dance, Learning to Fly, Into the Great Wide Open, You Don’t Know How It Feels, and many more. After all that, the band emerged for a three song encore, and they ended the show with one that was on my set list wish list, American Girl. There were a few others I was hoping for and didn’t get to hear, but there was definitely no room for complaint. As if Tom Petty wasn’t awesome enough in and of itself, Crosby, Stills & Nash were the opening act, and they were just as impressive as the main event. I was too busy dancing and singing along to fiddle with my camera, so I’ll leave you with a shot that I take no credit for.

Well she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn’t help thinkin’ that there
Was a little more to life
Somewhere else
After all it was a great big world
With lots of places to run to
Yeah, and if she had to die
Tryin’ she had one little promise
She was gonna keep

~ American Girl, Tom Petty

Fourth of July Fun

My friends and I made full use of our four-day Fourth of July weekend, with the highlight being our whitewater rafting adventure. We traversed across the state Friday after work, rolled up to our Ocoee cabin late in the evening, and climbed into our bunks to get a few hours of rest in preparation for the next day. Mere and I awoke early (on vacation, mind you!!) and went for a pleasant 3-mile run through the gorgeous mountainous landscape, which provided us with a healthy dose of hill work (and the leeway to eat everything in sight for the rest of the day).

We then met up with our 28 man/woman crew to kick off our whitewater rafting experience, which was absolutely thrilling. For a more detailed account of the rapids, adrenaline, and excitement, click here. That post includes a slew of rafting pictures, but you can never have too many of those, so here’s another for good measure:

After we were forced to retreat from the river, we reconvened at our campsite to recuperate and eat our specially prepared sack lunches (thanks, Tina!).

Then a few of my girls and I jumped around and cheered about how much fun whitewater rafting is, and how great our friends are, and how we love weekends at the Ocoee River, and how thankful we are for the freedom that Fourth of July represents, and how much we love our lives:

After we had jumped off every available surface, we headed back out to the water for the floating portion of our trip, which was infinitely more relaxing than the whitewater rafting part, but fun just the same. We sprawled across our individual inner tubes, linked arms, and chatted our way downstream. Think lazy river, but with better scenery.

The next morning, a few of us went to my dear Minda’s dad’s house, where he cooked us delectable blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes. These were no ordinary pancakes, no sir – they were massive, and delicious, and perfect. We had a delightful visit and can’t wait to make our way back and spend more time with them. P.S. I’m promised an authentic home cooked Italian meal upon my return, and I will be taking up this offer.

 After being sufficiently stuffed, we headed on to Nashville, where we spent the day and into the evening poolside, then it was off to ooh and aah over Nashville’s impressive firework display (ranked among the best in the country, I’m told). The next day, we ate a delicious meal at Genghis Grill (now open in Cordova and coming soon to Germantown!), which is an interactive build-your-own Mongolian Stir Fry restaurant. From there, we wandered around Nashville for a bit before reluctantly heading back home. Fortunately, our car ride was filled with laughter over the events and memories of the weekend, so the time flew by!

Thanks to all who made this weekend extraordinary!

A Weekend in Nashville

I travel to Nashville quite frequently, as the city is full of great and random fun, many of my friends reside there, and it’s only a few short hours away. This past weekend, Lucero was playing back to back performances at the Mercy Lounge, which sounded like a fine excuse to road trip east. So, naturally, Jackson and I headed out of town Friday after work to hear some good music, catch up with some great buddies, and make some happy memories.

The shows were loads of fun, as expected; we danced hard and sang along loudly. One particularly notable highlight was Lucero’s cover of Bill Wither’s epic song, Ain’t No Sunshine, which was in.cred.i.ble. I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know…..

When not rocking to Lucero, we decided to take the slightly touristy route. We went to Centennial Park to feed the ducks, then wandered over to the Parthenon for a little history lesson.

And jumped around a bit.

Which made us parched and in need of a sweet treat. Gourmet popsicles it was. Note to readers: avocado popsicles are suprisingly delicious. For those of you in the Nashville area, you should visit Las Paletas and try one for yourself.

From there, we headed over to Percy Warner Park to do a little exploring.

And there you have it, a brief look at our quick jaunt in Nashville!