Bluegrass and concussions

I don't even know where to start this post! So much as happened in the past 24 hours! I'm in a state I've never been to before, unexpectedly love this country town, have eaten probably 4 cupcakes in a matter of hours, and have a mild concussion. Oh! And I dressed perfectly for the garden party, thank you very much.

Deep breath. I'll start at the beginning.

Flew into Nashville last night and joined the bride and groom and about 10 of their friends for dinner at Radius 10. We caused a little bit of hassle by arriving late (although before any ordering had taken place), and making half the table move so we could sit next to each other and the only two other people we knew there!

It was a late night and an early morning. Woke up and walked about a mile, past Vanderbilt, to Centennial Park. It had a great one mile loop that I ran three times in 28 minutes, then walked back to the hotel. Met up with Mike, David, Lauren, Robert and Kristin for breakfast.

Robert, Kristin, Mike and I then got in the car to drive around Vanderbilt. We found the law school first, which is where the groom teaches. I made Robert pull over so I could take this picture:

This picture is also very important because it is the direct cause of the aforementioned concussion.

Robert was nice enough to indulge my making him circle the parking lot so I could jump out and get the picture. So I snapped it, ran to the car, and tried to jump in really quickly. Tried being operative word there.

I slammed my head into the door frame so hard, the car shook. Stars. Definitely saw some stars.

Was way embarrassed, though, so I didn't let myself curl into a ball and cry, which is exactly what I wanted to do.

We continued to drive the campus, parked and walked around the quad, popped into the book store so I could buy a fantastic pair of sweat pant-like shorts. The entire time, my head is pounding. Pounding, pounding, pounding, pounding. But I'm really trying hard to be a good sport.

We swing back by the hotel to pick up David and Lauren, and wander over to Gigi's Cupcakes, directly across the street from the hotel.

Here's what some of Gigi's cupcakes look like: mmmmmmmmmmm!!

The group decided to come back later to get some cupcakes. Kristin brilliantly decided to get just one right now to try.

It was called "birthday cake."

Now with a sugar high, we pile into the car and head to downtown Nashville.

Which is basically just a street with honky tonk after honky tonk. Very, very classy.
Then went to Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.
Toured around, watched a movie...

... saw all the posters of bands old and new that have played there...

Aaaawwww...

Off to lunch at Logan's...

... but my head was still killing me, despite all the Advil I was taking. So I decided a stiff drink would help. Kristin didn't want me to drink alone (what a friend), and since we were in Tennessee, what else would we get but Jack and Diet Coke?

Back to the cupcake shop where Mike and I purchased three (wedding cake, chocolate malt, and dark chocolate). A quick shower, and we all headed to the garden party.

I wish I had taken photos of the house. Absolutely gorgeous. It was built in the 1920s, and still had original floors, windows and detailing inside. But they decorated it, just, just, awesome.

The party was in their backyard (complete with a stone grill and pond!). Maybe the pictures will do it justice...

After all the worry, it seems we dressed appropriately after all!

The party was interupted a little bit for me - I really, really wasn't feeling well, and bailed out to the AC in the car for about 30 minutes to try to cool down. I'm feeling a bit better now, but still have a raging headache. Lauren and the boys are joining the bride, groom, and many of their friends at one of the honkey tonks downtown right now. I'm really jealous - I'd love to see that! But, I don't think loud music would help! So I've spent a huge amount of time on this post, and am patiently waiting 5 more minutes to see Michael Phelps host SNL!

Okay, let's end on a happy note. See how lovely we all looked at the garden party? Like we knew what to expect all along...