more of a southern delight

uh, thank you...thank you veeerrry much!...for stopping by to see part deux of our southern tour. 2nd stop: music city, nashville.

music row=6th street - the trash all on the ground, the homeless people and the eccentric people watching.

in many ways, a lot like austin. in many ways, the complete opposite of austin. a statue of billy graham. the prescence of churches are reflective of the city's strong christian roots that are still holding on tight.

the bluebird cafe. such a cool music venue where a lot of famous and not-so-famous songwriters like to test out their music. we got in and had the best seat in the house, a foot and a half away from brandon heath, a christian music singer that we hear a lot on the radio.

it was a very unique music experience with the musicians sitting in the middle of the intimate cafe taking turns playing songs in a circle. everyone is supposed to be silent as the musicians play. to top off our wonderful musical experience, i had fried green tomatoes for the first time ever and to say i liked them would be an understatement!

the next morning, we ate at the fried griddle, a place where you make your own pancakes. another "unique" experience. adam was intrigued; me not so much. i prefer someone else making my food if i am going out to eat and am paying to get it made! hah.

after our do-it-yourself breakfast, we went to a plantation, the bell meade plantation. at the belle meade, they bred race horses. a lot of the famous kentucky derby championship horses such as sea biscuit are descendents of a horse that was bred at the belle meade. because of the prestige of the belle meade thorough-breds, the plantation was untouched by the union army.

the belmont mansion, a house that the union army stationed themselves in while nashville was under the control of the union army.

we then took a duck tour of downtown nashville. quack. quack.

at the loveless cafe, voted #1 in america for southern comfort food and their biscuits are like no other. you won't go home hungry! i guarantee it!

on the last day of our trip we went to president andrew jackson's home. here is adam in front of the jackson's limosine carriage.

the hermitage. home of our country's 7th president, andrew jackson.

just chillaxing on the former president's former lawn.

andrew jackson was quite an interesting president. he founded the democratic party, was the 1st president to win both the electoral votes and the popular votes, and sided with the union although he was born a confederate, just to name a few.

ta-ta to tennessee hospitality! we hope to see you again!

conclusion: i recommend this georgia, tennessee trip to anyone who loves beautiful views and wants to learn more about our truly great country's past. i promise your pride in our country will be rejuvenated!

a southern delight

for spring break, adam and i met up with my parents, brother, uncle (my mom's brother), my grandmother and her husband.
we first went to atlanta's aquarium. i didn't really think i would like it at all not being a huge fan of animals, but i loved it! the aquarium had the most unusual fish. they looked like creatures out of a sci-fi movie.

father-son love @ the world's largest aquarium.

i loved petting the sting rays! it brought back memories of when my family swam with the sting ray in the grand caymans. i remember when we swam with the sting rays, my dad had a special bond with the sting rays and here they are again together!

all of us except my mom! (and no, the baby isn't in the group! ha)

later that night, we went a mexican restaurant, voted #1 in atlanta.

yes, we went all the way to atlanta for more mexican food! hehe. actually, it was a really neat restaurant with lots of personality and i ate lobster tacos which i have never had before!

the next day, we ate...more. we ate at the "ok cafe"...which was more than a-okay! it was southern comfort food. we had sweet potato fries and corn bread with a lot of pieces of corn in it as appetizers and i had their squash casserole.

we went to the atlanta historical museum. there were exihits about the civil war, and the african-american civil rights movement. there was also an 1800s farmhouse and a pre-civil war mansion.

wednesday, we went to one of my favorite stops, the cnn headquarters. i have always been intriqued by the national news!here the gang is in the cnn food court. they wouldn't let us take pictures on the actual tour.

oh, how i love sunja gupta!

not pictured because of not being able to take cameras on the tour: i got to be the example reporter in front of the 40 people on our tour. i got to read the telepromptor and be "filmed." it was SO much fun!!

here's my nancy grace face.

and oh, how i love anderson cooper!

here's my uncle with one of the leading ladies on the hln network.

and here's andrew with her, too. who looks better with her??

next up: NASHVILLE

Review: The Past Month

some of the fun things we've been up to in the past month...

making new friends from church. this is dolly and she's a kinder teacher, too! how perfect! she and her husband came over for dinner tonight. we ate a texas must, fajitas.
today, i went to a "stampin up" card party with adam's aunt. these were the cute favors we got just for showing up! ah, i love birds.

i made this card all by myself! it's a baby card that says "cute as a bug." LOVE it.

this was a favor box i made. the stampin up lady told us what to make. i'm not too fond of butterflies or purple favor boxes but i am still proud i was able to make it. heh.

an easter card that, again, i made almost all by myself! haha. most people know i don't have the best fine motor skills, so i was thrilled that i could actually make some crafts that look decent.

happy birthday to adam's mom!

what better way to celebrate than eating mexican and a lemon!

and our nephew's first birthday!

a couple other fun activities from the month: a visit to the cap city comedy club, adam going to baseball games and me getting together with friends.

last weekend, dolly and i ate lunch on the patio at santa rita and went shopping downtown. my cousin, amy, and i got together at the yummy el chile. if you haven't been to el chile, you need to. their salsa is to die for.