A Weekend in Nashville

It had been over 5 years since I’d ventured South to visit my brother, sister-in-law and nephews. In fact, last time I went to Nashville, I only had one nephew. Now, I have two. And boy oh boy, are they adorable.

Matthew (Mattie) turned 2 on Halloween. He is incredibly blonde, loves school buses and circle shapes, and responds to both things with “Whoa.” Douglas (named after my dad; ring bearer at our wedding) will be 7 in July. I can hardly believe this. He is such a good big brother, played his first baseball game this weekend, and loooved Trevor (My brother: “Douglas, hold Aunt Ashley’s hand while you cross the street.” Douglas: “No! Trevor’s!”).

The trip itself was quite an adventure, because most of the East Coast was experiencing thunder storms Friday night when we were due to fly out. After a few hours of delays, our flight was cancelled. The only option to get us from Boston to Nashville before Saturday afternoon was to fly to Dallas, stay overnight in the airport (no comped hotels when the weather’s at fault) and then catch a 6AM flight to Nashville. So, we did that. Dallas airport employees walk around with cots for travelers stranded overnight – how nice:

We arrived in Nashville just before 9AM, and got to go straight to Douglas’s first ever baseball game.

Then, it was time for a quick shower/refresher, and off for lunch and play in Dragon Park.

Saturday afternoon meant a driving tour of Nashville, ice cream and naps all around. Then Trevor and I got to stay with the boys and dogs play lots of trains and checkers (plus, Trevor experienced his first ever Barney), while Stan & Sally went to a dinner party. When they returned, Stan, Trevor & I headed out for a night in downtown Nashville at the honky tonk bars.


We went three different places, saw 4 different bands (no covers anywhere, natch) and ended the night as I imagine most nights out in the South must:

Sunday meant coffee, more baseball and a tiny plane back to Boston. Rapid fire, but really a great weekend, y’all.