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We are recently back from a five-day weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. We have NEVER visited an out-of-state destination more than once until now. Nashville has so much to do that we decided to go back this summer.  The flashing lights suggest Vegas, the clothing screams Nashville. The main part of our trip was to be the NASCAR race just outside of Nashville in Lebanon. We went last year and had so much fun that we decided to repeat the experience.  My old team favorite, the number 48, now driven by Alex Bowman. Getting to the track is a challenge. Last year, it took three hours to make the 40 minute drive. Things were supposed to be improved this year, but we never got to find out. Since we had hired a car service, we were to be dropped off for the day and then picked up later that evening.  We watched it on TV. On race day, the weather called for thunder and lightning with rain a sure thing. They don't race in the rain; we decided not to go. As it turns out, we made the right decision. The race did start but was then delayed twice for 30 minutes each time due to lightning. The rain followed. By the time the race got started again, it was 9:00 p.m. Our pick up time was 8:45. Had we gone, we would have spent a very long and hot day walking around only to sit soaking wet for two hours while we waited for our car service, all without even seeing the race.  An exact replica of the Parthenon in Greece. While it was disappointing (and expensive) not to see the race in person, we're very flexible travelers, so we filled our day doing other things. This year, we toured the city via the Hop on/Hop off trolley. The trolley is a guided tour with 14 stops. You can hop off at any stop and then hop back on when the next trolley comes by. We were able to get out of downtown and see some other parts of the city without having to Uber or walk.  Old Nashville meets Batman. (They really do call it the Batman Building.) Of course, race day wasn't the extent of our trip. We also spent time touring the Tennessee State Museum and Opryland. In California, nothing is free despite the exorbitant taxes we pay. Tennessee also has some steep taxes - the tax on liquor is really high, but many of the public spaces are free, like the museum. On the day we visited, three members of the Nashville Opera performed eight pieces from a variety of musicals. We heard pieces from "I Could Have Danced all Night" from My Fair Lady, "I Am a Pirate King" from Pirates of Penzance, and "Habanera" from Carmen. And it was all free.  One of Opryland's waterfalls. If you ever make it to Nashville, don't miss a walk through the Opryland resort. If we go back, I definitely want to stay there. It is spectacular. We spent nearly two hours just walking around the huge atrium exploring the three main gardens, and we never even saw the water park. We ate a decadent dinner in one of the gardens before taking the short walk to the Grand Ole Opry. We did that last summer, but each performance is new, and this time was just as good as last year.  Riders in the Sky performing Monday was a very full day. We spent the morning at Andrew Jackson's Hermitage. We have now seen the resting places of nearly ten presidents. I think it would be safe to say that we enjoy history.  Resting place of Andrew and Rachel Jackson. As a teacher of US history, I know that Andrew Jackson's presidency was filled with controversial policies. His treatment of the Native Americans was nothing short of heinous. Even taking into account those actions, Jackson's leadership was pivotal in keeping the union together. While I am no expert on the 19th century, the Hermitage's portrayal of Jackson's life seemed quite honest including both the good and the bad of his life and presidency.  After visiting the Hermitage, we had our Uber driver drop us off at 6th and Peabody for a tour and tasting at a moonshine distillery. We toured a different distillery last year, but it was fun to taste some new spirits. The moonshine was actually quite tasty - not the make you blind variety. The Ole Smokey distillery also distills some bourbons as well as brews beer. We tasted a bit of everything.  Since it was a bit of a walk back to the hotel, we stopped yet again at Nashville's giant food court, the Nashville Assembly Food Hall. This place has awesome junk food, fine dining, shopping, and live music. We stopped there at least five times between our two visits. We sat at the bar for a drink and used the restroom before walking the last few blocks to our hotel for the final time. They have the world's best bathroom signs. Forget gender neutral or family friendly. These guys tell it like it is.  When ya gotta go, ya gotta go! If you're looking for your next getaway, try Nashville. You won't be sorry.
It's that time again. We are flying out early tomorrow morning for a NASCAR-filled, long weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. We went last year at about this same time. Here is the post I wrote the day before we left, and here is the one I wrote after we came back. This will be the first time that we've gone back to someplace that we've already visited (other than here in California). We enjoyed Nashville so much though, that we decided to go again.  Lower Broadway 2021. Like last summer, we have tickets to Sunday's NASCAR race as well as tickets to the Grand Ole Opry. Even though we hit most of Nashville's highlights last summer, there were a few things we missed that we'd like to get to this time. We have tickets to visit Andrew Jackson's Hermitage as well as a moonshine distillery, Ole Smoky Distillery. We are also planning on visiting Opryland for dinner before the show. I am also hoping to see a little more live music as well as the Tennessee State Museum. Of course, all of this means that I will not be posting for a bit. So ...
See you all next week! We're finally back in town, and boy, has a lot happened over the past two weeks. First ... It's no secret that I am a very frustrated Californian. Don't get me wrong; California is spectacular - our mountains, beaches, forests, and even our deserts are simply breathtaking. Our climate is perfect, and it's hard to find fresher produce, fruit, and nuts. But, and it's a big one. Our political climate is horrific. Our governor has gone crazy as have most of the legislators. I am aching to join the thousands of others fleeing the Golden State. Since we can't relocate quite yet, we decided to at least go on vacation.  Nashville skyline Before deciding where to go, we looked at all fifty states - we worried about being denied re-entry if we left the country, and then we looked at how "open" each state was. Tennessee checked all of our boxes. The state is completely open, and all of the things we wanted to do welcomed visitors and spectators.  Tennessee State Capitol Building While I've heard about southern hospitality, I've never actually been on the receiving end of it. Whether the fine folks in Nashville actually wanted us there or not will forever remain their secret because Tennesseeans are the friendliest people in America. I have never felt so welcomed in my life. Even though it wasn't actually anyone's fault, anytime there was a delay or a product was sold out, we were given the most genuine apologies I have ever heard. The people of Nashville clearly wanted us to think well of their city and state, and they went out of their way to make us feel at home. It was so refreshing.  5th and Broadway The truth is, there wasn't a single thing that I disliked about Nashville. Every time I turned around I found something else to admire or appreciate. At one point, I told my husband that everything about Nashville was just right. Nothing was too big, too small, too pretentious, or too overwhelming. It was as though the city was truly meant to be lived in like a comfortable pair of sneakers. Some places are meant to be looked at like a fancy piece of glass kept in a curio cabinet. You wouldn't ever use it, it's just nice to look at. Not Nashville. I even enjoyed the weather, hot and sticky as it was.  Tootsies While we were in Nashville, we did most of the things that one should do while there. I am sure we missed a few attractions, but we made up for them by doing unexpected things. We had a hilarious time at the Ryman Auditorium sitting in all of the seats blocked by the pillars used to hold up the balcony. It felt a little sacrilegious to poke fun at the Mother Church of Country Music, but we figured a little goofing off had to have been done there long before us. While the acoustics may be fabulous, not all of the seats are equal.  Best seat in the house? All joking aside, the Ryman is definitely a must-see while in Nashville. The video shown before you go into the auditorium itself tells the Ryman's story and left both of us feeling a bit awed by the history that place has been home to. I can see why the place is called the Mother Church.  On the Ryman stage. We also went to the Friday night performance at the Grand Ole Opry, another fantastic experience. Among other performers, we saw and heard Tommy Emmanuel who is arguably the world's best guitar player.   Yes, that IS Terry Bradshaw, and the dude can SING! We visited the Johnny Cash Museum ... It was small, a bit over-priced, but still interesting.  He was taller than I expected him to be. We toured the Corsair Distillery whose home is in the Marathon Motor Works building which also happens to be the home of the Tennessee store of Antique Archeology (American Pickers). When we heard the store is really just a glorified gift shop, we skipped it. After the tour at the distillery, we also did some tasting. Who knew I liked Tennessee whiskey?  Corsair Distillery  Marathon Motor Works Building (dating back to at least 1910) Unlike anything in California, many of the state museums are free to the public. We walked right into the capitol building and even had a peek into the Governor's office. The doors to the House of Representatives and Senate were wide open. No one hassled us or assumed we were intent on bringing down the building. We walked around peering at what interested us and never once were we made to feel like we were breaking any laws. California should take a page from Tennessee's play book.  House of Representatives  Former Supreme Court  The Senate  The Library On Sunday, we took a drive to Lebanon to watch our first in-person NASCAR race. We're dedicated fans, but we had never actually been to see a race in person. It was loud, but we knew that. The 40-minute drive to the track ended up taking 3½ hours due to traffic. While it was a bit disappointing, we still made it in time for the green flag to drop. It was also about a billion degrees with 80% humidity, but we enjoyed ourselves even so.  At Nashville Superspeedway  I am a Joey Logano fan, driver of the 22 car. On our last full day in Nashville, we braved some pretty extreme heat (high 90s with 80% humidity). We walked back to the Capitol building to explore the Mall. It was one of the most beautiful city parks I've seen. Everywhere we looked there was something new to see. Each county had a large "seal" laid into the sidewalk describing it and showing its place on the map of Tennessee.  At the end of the park, we came to a large circle of towers. After walking around them for a few minutes trying to figure out what they were, we heard bells begin to chime. We looked up at the towers only to discover that they were actually bell towers. The towers surround the Court of 3 Stars which represents Eastern, Middle and Western Tennessee.  Court of 3 Stars There is a bell for each of the Volunteer State’s 95 counties. Each quarter hour, the carillon plays a portion of the Tennessee Waltz. At the top of every hour, the 50-tower carillon plays the entire song. A 96th bell on the capitol grounds rings an answer symbolizing the government answering the call of the people. After hearing the bells ring at 10:45, we decided to wander around the park waiting to hear them play their full song. It was a very powerful experience.  The Mall - the Capitol Building is at the top of the hill behind us. We love to travel and have been to many countries and US states. While I haven't been to all 50 US states, I think that Tennessee is my favorite. In many ways it reminded me of our nation's capital. Like DC, Nashville has filled every nook and cranny with symbols of its history. Their willingness to wear their heart on their sleeve made me love the place even more. As we sat eating dinner on our last evening there, I asked my husband if he could see himself living in Tennessee. He didn't say yes, but he didn't say no either.
Tennessee, thank you for a fabulous time. We will be back. Good-bye, California, and hello Tennessee. Yep, we're off to the Volunteer state this morning. We have a house sitter to take care of our two dogs, and both horses have been safely tucked into the barn at STC Dressage for the next week and a half; they got there on Monday.  I hope Nashville really is this pretty. We have tickets to a NASCAR race as well as to the Grand Ole Opry. We'll do all of the things that there are to do in Nashville. We chose Tennessee because it's one of the many states that is no longer in lockdown. We're sick of California's governor's "policies", so we decided to go somewhere with a healthier "climate."
See you sometime next week! I am back! Sorry for the sudden radio silence. I knew we were going north to visit my dad and stepmom, but I just didn't get around to saying so. And then by time we were back, all sorts of other craziness happened, so I just decided to wait until today to start telling those stories. Here's the first one.  South side of the house. My dad and stepmom live in southern Humboldt County which is a solid 500 miles from Bakersfield. It took us nine hours to get there and ten to get back home. We took the dogs with us, so there were a lot of potty stops.  Humboldt County Humboldt County is very rural, especially where my parents live. Heading south from Humboldt County, the nearest stop light is more than an hour away. Heading north, it's a forty-five minute drive to find a stoplight. There are no stoplights if you go west, and the nearest one to the east is over a mountain range and several hours away.  North side. It had been more than a decade since we'd been to my dad and stepmom's house - long story, so it was fun to see all of the things they've done. My dad is very handy; with some help, he built the house. He felled all of the trees to open up the building site, and he's carved out more and more space over the years.  East side of the house. He has since planted beautiful trees, an orchard, and several gardens. There's a fish pond with a swinging bench, bird feeders, and a beautiful stone wall.  Looking down at the goat barn. Below the house my dad built a small barn for the chickens and his goats. Since they live in a rainforest, things grow like crazy. He uses the goats to keep the brush under control, and they do a pretty good job of keeping the undergrowth from taking over. On the days that they don't graze on the property, my dad feeds them hay with peanuts in the shell as treats. They LOVE peanuts.  This is Caspar.  This is Figgy. The goats live with a bunch of chickens, and of course they have an excellent watch dog in Rusty, a Heeler mix. Rusty keeps the wild turkeys back as they too have repeatedly tried to take over.  Left to right: Casper & Figgy (the goats), Rusty (the dog), and a chicken (my stepmom quit naming them after one too many fell prey to the many predators that live in the woods). The house is a split level, so on one side it is two stories high, but on the other, the west side, it's three stories. The bottom story houses a garage, root cellar, and my dad's game room. He has a dart board, TV, and a very fancy pool table. While my stepmom is a good sport, she doesn't enjoy being down there as much as my dad does, so to have two new players - my husband and me, was a real treat.  It took a bunch of tries with the timer on my iPhone, but we finally got a shot with all four of us! We spent one whole afternoon laughing our butts off as we went head to head in a mini pool tournament. My dad and husband made a team while my stepmom and I banded together. It would seem like an unfair match up, but the boys played according to one set of rules while my stepmom and I were allowed to play slop pool. We won three out of four games, so we held our own. Not that I wanted to lose, boy, do I hate losing, but when we did, we were having so much fun that it didn't really matter.  Trying to organize four humans and three dogs and set the iPhone timer was a lot harder than it looks! We had a great visit, and it was certainly over-due. My dad is already asking that we come back for Christmas. If we all lived even just a bit closer, making the drive would be easier, but as it is, I don't think we'll make it back in 2020. If anyone has a plane they'd like to rent out, my parents would be super appreciative. Until then, our next visit will more than likely have to wait until 2021.
More on the rest of the week tomorrow... |
About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. 
Photo by Lori Ovanessian
About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
July 2020 (PC AJSK Photography)
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
March 2021 (PC Tess Michelle Photography)
Bakersfield Dressage approved!
My favorite breeches!
FOR THE SMALLER EQUINE ATHLETE
I love her stuff!
Watercolor Artist and Friend
National Rider Awards
USDF Bronze Medal - 2020
USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018
USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013
State Rider Awards
CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
State Horse Awards
Speedy G - 3rd Level Horse Performance Award - 2020
Speedy G - 2nd Level Horse Performance Award - 2018
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
*** SCEC 10/15-16/22 2022 Completed … (*) Tehachapi 5/22/22 (*) Tehachapi 7/24/22 (***) Tehachapi 8/28/22 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: 62.115% Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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