weekend in nashville!

the bf and i drove down to nashville on friday after work to visit his aunt for the weekend. i had done some research on some spots to visit along the way and brought some car projects to work on. the first stop i wanted to take was for a "giant leg sundial" in indiana. i thought - how roadtrippy and perfect. we get off the expressway and follow the directions only to arrive at a nudist colony. the giant leg was inside there! this is what i get for not reading descriptions. it was pretty freaking funny though. after we finally arrived at his aunt's it was very late and we were wiped. we woke up the next morning to fried green tomatoes, sausages, omelets and fresh fruit. YUM! after breakfast we went downtown to check out Music Row, Hatch Show Print, the river front and tour the Ryman Auditorium. we got some bbq at BB Kings for lunch. later on we had dinner with his cousin, her husband and her adorable 2 year old son at Bosco's in the cute/trendy Hillsborough area. then the bf and i went to a show at the basement. the opening act was fantastic and really different, middle act's singing voice made me want to kill myself and the headliner, clem snide is a nashville gem. we had a good time assessing the nashville indie scene. the next day we went to pick up the 2 year old cousin and went to his grandpa's house for a tour. they live on 7 acres of land in a beautiful old home. they board doggies to make their $. my kind of people! they also have a treehouse (for grownups!), access to a big river and big gardens with tomatoes, watermelons, ochre and parsley. it was really cool to see. after that we went to opryland to see the new opry house and visit the fancy schmancy opryland resort for lunch. there are amazing waterfalls and gardens inside the resort. it was one of the coolest indoor gardens ive ever seen. we had a great time with rob's little 2 year old cuz who entertained us with his songs - my personal favorite was his version of BINGO - he sings BONGO instead. then his aunt made us a delicious dinner before we went to the station for a bluegrass jam session. musicians - amateur and professional - gather to play together all night. this was a huge highlight of the trip! we heard some amazing music and it was a great way to cap off the great weekend. the next morning we went to the loveless cafe for a traditional southern breakfast. rob had bbq pork over eggs with hashbrown casserole and i had bacon, eggs, ham, hashbrown casserole and sausage. OMG. so good but SO full afterwards. OH and they bring you a bunch of amazing bisquits with preserves too. seriously so glad we got to go there! on our journey home we stopped in louisville to take some pics of the world's largest baseball bat and down the street from that there is the world's largest vampire bat at a costume shop. so fun.

all in all - it was a wonderful and memorable weekend. i was so happy to spend time with his aunt and cousin who i get to see so rarely. i want to go back!