Life Lately - A Photo Dump

Well - prepare for a photo dump because that's what I've got for you. I realize it has been ages since I posted (it was actually last month) and life has been in full swing while I've been away from the blog. I'll do a little rewind, starting with this weekend and going back to my last post - a little life lately and a lot of pictures! 

Easter was a beautiful day - the sun was shining and while it wasn't warm, it also wasn't cold and for that, I am very thankful! This was Ryan and I's third Easter together! We had been dating for about a month on our first Easter, we were engaged on our second Easter and now, here we are - old married people on our third Easter!

 

Our church service was excellent and it's always so lovely to see everyone dressed nicely for Easter! I have to admit that there is a part of me that misses wearing dresses and more "fanciful" clothes to church each week... but then again, there is a part of me that likes the ease of dressing down! Obviosly it's a real conflict for me, ha-ha!

We had a lovely Easter lunch at my parent's house and while I don't have a picture of the table, with our combined cooking forces, I can assure you that everything tasted lovely! After our lunch, Ryan and I took Luna to a nearby park - the Shenandoah County Park - which is really beautiful and has wonderful walking paths, a playground (the swings are great) and there are even cows! 

I don't have pictures for the rest of our weekend - but we were pretty busy on Saturday! My parents came over and my Dad helped Ryan tear down the deck on the back our house and my Mom and I did some work indoors. After lunch, my parents left and Ryan weeded out our front bed (I helped) and then after a quick run to Food Lion - we had a really chill evening! We had the most amazing beef roast that we cooked in the crock pot and had a bit of a movie night - we watched Constantine & The Count of Monte Cristo!

Continuing to recap life in reverse, last Sunday found us rolling through West Virginia on the way home from Nashville and along the way, we stopped in at the Greenbrier Resort - my very first time to ever set foot in the place! 

 

This hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia is probably best known for it's Dorothy Draper designed interiors that are colorful, chaotic and very opulent. Bright colors (mostly bright) and patterns mix together on every surface with stripes, florals, checks, polka dots, plaids and more are just littered across every surface for an eye-popping decorative effect! Also - the little eggs above - are all made of chocolate! 

 

 

We wandered all around the resort and I decided that Ryan and I should celebrate our fifth anniversary here - we could go skeet shooting, take an ATV ride, swim in the most grandiose indoor pool I've ever seen, dine at the multiple restaurants and even tour an underground bunker that was once used by Congress, Senate and the President - whoa. We also made a quick stop at the New River Gorge Overlook, and yes - that's snow you see in the background - because the weather can't ever make up it's mind!

Saturday (going in reverse - I know, confusing) was the day we started home from Nashville and we stopped at two spots en route from Tennessee to West Virginia: Buffalo Trace Distillery and The Corvette Museum! Buffalo Trace Distillery is the oldest operating distillery in the United States and dates its productions back to the late 1700's! The tour was very informative and the spirits... well... they were intense, ha-ha!

 

 

Also - please look at the black stuff on the buildings! That's whiskey fungus and it grows like wildfire in the presence of alcohol! I mistakenly called it mold and the tour guide freaked out - goodness sir, I am so sorry! The other stop was the Corvette Museum and it was filled with all the corvettes from every era, model and style - and it also had an area of the museum where in 2014 a 30 foot sinkhole opened and swallowed eight corvettes!

I would love to say we had excellent meals on Saturday - and they weren't terrible - but I would advise that if you're in Kentucky, avoid Reno's Roadhouse. That's all I'll say about that. 

The most important part of our trip was on Friday evening - Ryan's graduation from Sales Fix Academy was what motivated our entire trip and I am so proud of him! He spent the last six months in classes, watching videos in the evenings, taking online tests and just working hard to accomplish this goal! We attended his graduation service at the new Sales Fix offices and I was absolutely the proud wife as I watched my husband cross the stage and graduate! 

A part of his graduation was spending all day on Friday (from 8-5) in class at Sales Fix Academy - so he was unable to explore a bit with us. My parents came along to cheer Ryan on as he graduated and while Ryan was in class on Friday, we went to Cheekwood House & Gardens and also checked out the Nashville Parthenon. The weather on Friday was - a little moody - but happily by the time we arrived at Cheekwood Gardens, the sun was attempting to shine!

Cheekwood Gardens (and House) were beautiful and the tulips that were everywhere were in near perfect bloom! I couldn't tell you much about the house - it's huge - because we just toured the gardens, which were very expansive! There were walking trails, art installations (some of them very odd) and fountains! There was also a really cool model train exhibit that my Dad absolutely was thrilled over!

 

 

Earlier in the day we'd popped over to the Nashville Parthenon - the only life-size replica of the Parthenon is Athens, Greece. We have been here before years ago when visiting Nashville on Spring Break, but I was glad to get a chance to see it again. It's stunning and makes me that much more invested in one day seeing the original in Athens!

The statue inside the Parthenon (much like the original in Athens) is of the goddess Athena - goddess of war, handicraft and practical reason. She holds the god Nike in her hand and her shield in emblazoned with the head of the gorgon Medusa. Nashville has been known as the "Athens of the South" as it's a city focused on being a place of learning and enlightenment... I guess this was before it was a place of country music and honky tonks? The statue of Athena (at 42 feet tall) is the tallest indoor statue in the United States!

We stayed in Franklin while we were in the Nashville area and when we arrived on Thursday afternoon, after checking in we spent some time exploring the downtown Nashville area and having dinner at the Cajun Steamer! Ryan has never been to Nashville - so we made a quick tour of downtown, took some pictures and did a little line dancing! 

Ryan absolutely loves seafood and could eat his weight in it - which wouldn't be a ton - but you get the idea. He thoroughly enjoyed his seafood platter at the Cajun Steamer and he and my Dad enjoyed the giant shrimps a little too much, ha-ha!

 

We wandered a couple of the streets of downtown Nashville and I have to say I'm surprised by the number of homeless people we saw - I don't remember the homeless population being so prevalent the last time I was in Nashville, but I think I was also around twenty-two and maybe I didn't notice things like that as much? We popped into the Wild Horse Saloon to try our line dancing skills and arrived at the perfect time to learn the Wild Horse Stampede! 

We also walked on the John Siegenthaler Pedestrian Bridge - it is located right in the heart of downtown and offers great views on the Nashville area! It also seemed to be a favorite spot for the local jogging population. All in all - while Nashville is just fine, I think I enjoy the Franklin and Brentwood areas surrounding Nashville a little bit more. 

Thursday was when we arrived in the Nashville area - and we made several stops before we arrived at our hotel and explored downtown Nashville. Ryan and I just finished Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and so we took the opportunity to stop by Ramsey Solutions while we were in the Brentwood area! The complex cost $72 million to build - and was paid for in cash! *blown away*

 

 

We had lunch on Thursday at Loveless Café - a Nashville must visit with perfectly cooked Southern dishes! We had to wait almost an hour to be seated, but once we got our food I can confirm that it was absolutely worth it! The pork barbecue, hash brown casserole, mac & cheese and biscuits were so very tasty! It's definitely worth a stop if you're in the area - you won't be disappointed! 

 

The first stop on our weekend journey (all this reverse business has been wild - I know) was Buc-ee's and while it's technically a gas station, I really think it's more of an experience. There are more gas pumps than you can imagine and you can go into the store itself and leave with a housewarming gift, a baby gift, beef jerky, coffee, clothes, a kayak, perhaps a new grill, some brisket and most definitely some Beaver Nuggets. It was wild - that's all I can say, ha-ha! 

I hope in the future Ryan and I can return to The Bristol - it was a great hotel to stay in and I'm sad we only had one night to stay! All in all, the last few weeks have been a wonderful whirlwind.