It's 2011! I'm not starting the new year off with my Blog on a very good note. But don't worry, I didn't set that as one of my New Year's Resolutions. I don't make any of those. They just allow you to set yourself up for failure. Anyway, I do want to keep more up to date with this thing, but my first post for the year is a big one so I have been putting it off somewhat. Not to mention I have been busy with a few household projects (future posts). Nate has an annual baseball convention the first weekend after New Years. The location changes each year. This year the American Baseball Coaches Association held it's annual convention in Nashville, TN at the Opryland Hotel. This convention draws 3,000-5,000 coaches each year. Nashville is one of the locations that draws the highest number of coaches due to its central location. The ABCA convention allowed me a nice vacation until we had the girls. The last one I joined Nate on without kids was the year I was pregnant with Shelby. That one was in San Antonio, TX. One of my favorites even thought I can remember running through O'hare airport 6 months pregnant in shoes without backs on them to catch our connecting flight. I think it took me 15 minutes to catch my breath when I finally sat down in that airplane seat! A couple years ago when I saw that the 2011 convention was in Nashville, I told Nate the girls and I would go along since we could drive and Opryland is it's own little resort without leaving. Also, my college roommate Traci lives in Nashville and it would give us a chance to see her. However, last May Nashville was victim to a terrible flood. I wondered if this would effect the convention. Opryland was flooded under 10 feet of water and closed for 6 months for cleanup and rebuilding. After spending close to $280 million, they re-opened in mid November. No worries! This was my 3rd trip to Opryland. I'm not sure what changes were made during this process, but none were obvious to me. I have only been there in January so I have never seen the hotel not decorated for Christmas. They did an excellent job restoring what they had.Our trip began in the morning on Thursday, the 6th. My mom joined us. The drive was a lot easier than I expected and the girls did great with us only stopping once for lunch. We arrived around 3:30 and dumped Nate off to head to the clinic exhibits while we registered and unloaded. Once we were settled, my mom & I & the girls set out to look around and see what Opryland had to offer.
After our boat ride we did some more exploring. The next pictures are from another area of the hotel. They call this the Cascades. It holds their tallest waterfall. These water fountains have water dancing from fountain to fountain. 
We put the girls up on a ledge and they reached their hands through to touch the water coming down from the waterfall. 
For lunch I wanted to take them to the Rainforest Cafe. We were disappointed to find that it is in the Opry Mills Mall that has not reopened following the flood. So thankfully we had the GPS and it faithfully took us to the Old Spaghetti Factory. The girls got a real life lesson on staring at and judging the less fortunate. Like most cities there was no place to park outside the restaurant. So we put some quarters in a parking meter on a side street and set out on a chilly walk. I could see ahead of us on the corner a couple of homeless men. So I gave the girls the typical "mom speech" to not stare or ask questions about them as we walked by. Just after we walked past them, my mom's boot got caught in an uneven brick and she went down hard. One of the nice men on the corner came over to make sure she was OK and helped her up. He said you had to be careful on those bricks because so many are uneven. I'm guessing that is not the only fall they have witnessed on that corner. Amazingly my mom's already sore and tired body didn't even bruise. 
The girls and I headed back to the hotel to finally try out the swimming pool. We got another lesson in "don't put off till tomorrow what you could do today". We should have probably gone swimming the first night there but we waited until the last night. Nate went for supper with the Greenville guys again and the girls and I headed for the pool. We had to go 1/2 way across that hotel to find out at the pool that it was closing because some little boy had an "accident". Oh the disappointment! So we went back to our room and changed our clothes and did what everyone does to feel better....eat ice cream for supper! My mom had given the girls money to buy a treat so we got our $5 2 scoops and ate it while watching the amazing water fountain show set to music in the Delta. Pictures really can not capture the coolness of this. Here are a couple attempts.
Well no swimming but I was able to get a few more pictures of the lights and decorations. It's just a fun place to walk around and do nothing. I did at times think of the days I went on these trips and was able to sit somewhere by myself reading a book. I did enjoy taking the girls and just kept reminding myself that this was more for them than me. And it truly won't be long before I will be that older coaches' wife sitting on the bench reading by myself with grown children no longer living in my home.
My mom came along to meet up with her former sister-in-law Audrey who was married to my dad's brother when I was little. Audrey moved away from my hometown after the divorce and lost contact. She eventually remarried and had 2 kids and was living in Florida when she & my mom reconnected about 7 years ago. Her family now lives in Maryville, TN another 3 hours from Nashville. My mom and Audrey spent a lot of time together and Ron & Audrey babysat us a lot. They lived in 2 of the coolest rock homes in my hometown. I can still remember fun times spent in them. One of my high school classmates lives in one of them now and the other is a B&B. Audrey came to Nashville on Saturday, the 8th and picked my mom up at Opryland and they spent the day and night hanging out shopping and then stayed at a cheaper hotel.
I have tons of pictures, so hang in there. If I look back at some I had taken on my previous trips to Opryland, I'd bet I have some duplicates. The last time we went there, Shelby was 8 months old. I hardly remember taking her that far in the car or getting around the hotel with a baby & stroller. But her 8 month old picture is taken on a hotel bed and I clearly remember Traci being there as I attempted picture after picture getting just the right one!
I have tons of pictures, so hang in there. If I look back at some I had taken on my previous trips to Opryland, I'd bet I have some duplicates. The last time we went there, Shelby was 8 months old. I hardly remember taking her that far in the car or getting around the hotel with a baby & stroller. But her 8 month old picture is taken on a hotel bed and I clearly remember Traci being there as I attempted picture after picture getting just the right one! Opryland is set up in several sections. In the Delta, they have a river and it is decorated to resemble the French Quarter in New Orleans. They have a boat ride through the Delta and give the history of Opryland. They start putting up the Christmas decorations in July and take them down some time in January. These first photos I took on the way to catch a boat ride.
this tree is made of red poinsettias
a painful attempt to get a picture in front of the waterfall!
notice Shelby's black cowboy boots. she fit right in to the Opryland theme!
Nonny & her girls waiting to ride the boat
ducks & fish are the only animals
shelby asked if they had turtles
signs originally used in New Orleans for Marti Gras
huge Christmas tree
After our boat ride we did some more exploring. The next pictures are from another area of the hotel. They call this the Cascades. It holds their tallest waterfall. These water fountains have water dancing from fountain to fountain. We put the girls up on a ledge and they reached their hands through to touch the water coming down from the waterfall. For lunch I wanted to take them to the Rainforest Cafe. We were disappointed to find that it is in the Opry Mills Mall that has not reopened following the flood. So thankfully we had the GPS and it faithfully took us to the Old Spaghetti Factory. The girls got a real life lesson on staring at and judging the less fortunate. Like most cities there was no place to park outside the restaurant. So we put some quarters in a parking meter on a side street and set out on a chilly walk. I could see ahead of us on the corner a couple of homeless men. So I gave the girls the typical "mom speech" to not stare or ask questions about them as we walked by. Just after we walked past them, my mom's boot got caught in an uneven brick and she went down hard. One of the nice men on the corner came over to make sure she was OK and helped her up. He said you had to be careful on those bricks because so many are uneven. I'm guessing that is not the only fall they have witnessed on that corner. Amazingly my mom's already sore and tired body didn't even bruise. After lunch we headed back to the hotel to rest and hang out in our room. When Nate was done for they day he joined us at the movies for Tangled. We enjoyed it and then finished the night back in our room playing Old Maid and Mr. Mouth before bed while Nate met up with his fellow coaching buddies from Greenville.
On Saturday, my mom left early with Audrey and the girls and I prepared for the day and walked around the hotel some more. Opryland was also hosting the World Finals in Line Dancing so there were all kinds of young cowboys & cowgirls walking around. The girls were interested in what was going on there. For lunch we headed out to meet Traci, my mom & Audrey at the Cheesecake Factory. We did a little shopping at the mall before leaving with Traci to see her townhouse. Although she didn't feel good she was gracious to spend the afternoon with us while the girls tortured her cats as we got caught up with one another.
The girls and I headed back to the hotel to finally try out the swimming pool. We got another lesson in "don't put off till tomorrow what you could do today". We should have probably gone swimming the first night there but we waited until the last night. Nate went for supper with the Greenville guys again and the girls and I headed for the pool. We had to go 1/2 way across that hotel to find out at the pool that it was closing because some little boy had an "accident". Oh the disappointment! So we went back to our room and changed our clothes and did what everyone does to feel better....eat ice cream for supper! My mom had given the girls money to buy a treat so we got our $5 2 scoops and ate it while watching the amazing water fountain show set to music in the Delta. Pictures really can not capture the coolness of this. Here are a couple attempts.Well no swimming but I was able to get a few more pictures of the lights and decorations. It's just a fun place to walk around and do nothing. I did at times think of the days I went on these trips and was able to sit somewhere by myself reading a book. I did enjoy taking the girls and just kept reminding myself that this was more for them than me. And it truly won't be long before I will be that older coaches' wife sitting on the bench reading by myself with grown children no longer living in my home.
This trip was our last of many travels. We returned home on Sunday the 9th for Nate to start spring baseball practice on Monday and the girls get back to school to finish out the year. Happy 2011!
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