Category: TRAVEL

A Night in Nashville- Say “Yes” to Adventure

ROAD TRIP PLANS

Every road trip I’ve taken seems to end up with unexpected happenings and this was no exception!  But this time, it started with an unexpected beginning, which was a text from my friend a week before asking if I was up for a road trip to Nashville the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Well, there was no hesitation to that question!   I had no plans, so YES!!

FRIDAY NIGHT – DR ZHIVEGAS

The trip would have started Friday night, but I already had tickets to attend the second annual Black Friday Ball concert with Dr. Zhivegas, and wasn’t going to miss that.  My intent was not to stay out that late (last time it was 3 or 4 am because we had breakfast after) but not this time, I thought, because we had an early departure Saturday morning at 7:30 am. But when it’s a fun concert, it’s hard to leave and I didn’t pack until Friday night either due to a busy week, so I finally got to bed at 2 am Friday night.  Oops!

This was the Black Friday Ball (current pop music, followed by 70’s music and then Prince):

img_6732

img_6768img_6769img_6775img_6776

 

SATURDAY- DEPARTURE

The alarm went off at 6 am and I got up, showered and packed some snacks and drinks for the road and thankfully my friend, Krista, picked me up and I didn’t have to drive having only 4 hours of sleep.  We had another friend going with us and picked her up, then we were on our way!

The Road Trip has begun!
Bye STL

SATURDAY- THE DRIVE

One would expect to sleep, but not when you have a couple of friends in the car; we spent the 4.5 hours talking!  When we arrived in Nashville this song started playing ironically.

Woke up in Nashville

Woke up in Nashville! Yes we did!
Hello Nashville!

SATURDAY – THE HOTEL

IMG_6790[1].JPG

We had an early check in and were able to drop off everything in the room.  Along the way, we also found out that another friend of Krista’s and her husband were in Nashville, visiting from Virginia.  So we arranged to meet them at Tootsies.

SATURDAY – TOOTSIES

This was a multi-story honky tonk bar with a roof top outdoor seating.  It was a packed deck at 1:30 pm when we arrived, so we sat inside near the band.  We heard a couple bands play and the local TV station was recording for a promotion of next week’s event, so the crowd got all wound up with that.  It was a fun little bar, we had lunch there and visited with Kim and her husband.  After awhile, Kim and her husband were ready to head back home, so we decided to try another venue.

 

SATURDAY – HONKY TONK

We decided to explore Honky Tonk, Krista has been to Nashville before but Doneen and I have not so we followed along.  This is a 3 story building with 3 different stages on each level, so we started at the top and worked our way down.  The bands were a lot of fun and the crowds kept growing, the place was packed, the sun was going down and it was getting colder, so we decided to head back to the hotel, have dinner and change.

documenting each place
look at the crowds
fun friends

Before we made it, we decided to stop at the Tin Roof and really enjoyed the band there, so we stayed for a little longer before going back to the hotel.

 

SATURDAY- HOTEL

We stopped back at the hotel, changed and then had a substantial meal before heading out again, because this was going to be a long night ahead of us.  We had hilarious conversations and enjoyed the friend conversations and stories of other adventures in the past!

img_68251

SATURDAY- TIN ROOF (AGAIN)

We enjoyed the band at the Tin Roof, so we went back again after dinner and heard two more bands. People were having a good time at this point!

The bands were so entertaining and fun; there was a third band that was supposed to start next and evidently all the tables and chairs had to be cleared out because it was going to be a lot of dancing for this band.  We wanted to stay, but we also heard from Krista’s sister in law that David Ray was playing at the Honky Tonk Bar across the street and he was really good.  So we decided to head back there and see if we could find him.  We found him!

img_68631

SATURDAY- HONKY TONK (AGAIN)

David Ray had to be my favorite band of the night, he played country and 90’s alternative music, so of course we danced most of the time.

I was starting to get super tired at this point with 4 hours of sleep the night before and even drinking straight Red Bull, the tiredness was catching up.  But our tour guide, Krista, said we just HAD to make one last stop:  The Stage.

SATURDAY – THE STAGE

So we made it to The Stage and the place was packed.  Krista knew just where to head and we went to an elevated inside deck where we could see the band a little better.  It didn’t take long before we were dancing again and awakened!  So about 2:30 am, it was time to leave so we headed out.

SATURDAY – THE HOTEL

We arrived at the hotel and this was going on in the lobby.  This craziness was so unexpected and added another element to the unexpected evening.

Besides this, there was a very interesting couple in the lobby who shared stories about snakes and asked about how to pick out the right boots.  You just can’t make up stuff like this. So we were entertained longer.    We shared the elevator with a couple of the Vanderbilt Football players who had just played earlier that day and finally made it to our rooms!  “Nash-Vegas!” the place where no one sleeps!  We made it to the room with exhaustion, it didn’t take long to be deep in sleep after that day!

SUNDAY – DEPARTURE

It was a much quieter drive home…everyone was exhausted, but had such a great time.  It will be a trip we will never forget!  It may even end up being an annual excursion? The short trip felt much longer because we just didn’t sleep!  But it was certainly fun and worth doing again.

Bye Nashville
The Car Ride Home
Back Home

 

by Categories: Entertainment, Following Passions, FRIENDSHIP, HAPPINESS, Improvement, MUSIC, RELATIONSHIPS, TRAVELTags: , , , , , 1 Comment

GRATITUDE: 5 WAYS TO FIND IT

The Thanksgiving Holiday is coming up this month, for what are we thankful?

That feeling of being thankful, especially when faced with unexpected changes, challenges, disappointments or failures can be absent from our thinking, but we can find gratitude.  These unexpected changes, challenges, disappointments or failures are part of life and affect us, but how we deal with them is entirely our choice and within our control.  Our minds and mindsets are very powerful and will affect our lives in a good way or a bad way; the choice is ours.

So, how do we find gratitude?

ft-myers-2013-4

1-INSPIRING EXAMPLES- PEOPLE WHO OVERCOME CHALLENGES OR MENTOR US

If you want gratitude, it doesn’t take long to find amazing people who overcome challenges, sometimes greater challenges than we are facing, so by those inspirational examples, we find ways to be thankful.

Did you ever meet someone who was faced with tremendous challenges in some way, but focused on the positive, and then became amazing and inspirational? We set the limits of what we can become or do.  If our environment is negative, we need to find more positive people to be around, we can also read about positive, inspirational people, if unable to find them near us.  We are so lucky to have Internet access because this gives us a convenient way to find positive and motivating people.  Watch movies: there so many positive, inspirational stories that can help change your viewpoint to one of gratitude.  Some examples that come to mind are:

Soul Surfer

The Help

The Pursuit of Happyness

The Blindside

John O’Leary, On Fire

I believe there is greatness within every person, as well as tremendous potential.  It is a matter of our focus whether we achieve. Some will choose to let those challenges, disappointments or failures affect and control them and see everything negative and others will choose to use those challenges, disappointments or failures propelling to the next level and improving, understanding that we can be thankful for the challenges, disappointments or failures because we they make us stronger and cause us to improve when we decide to overcome them.  I’ve met some people in day to day life that once I learned their story of challenges, I couldn’t believe how they could be so positive and thankful. It is a choice.

Think about the people in our lives who have done something positive for us by:  listening, helping, inspiring, encouraging, teaching, motivating or entertaining us. We can be grateful for them!

img_8713

2- REALIZE YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL OR CAN BE BEAUTIFUL – IT’S A CHOICE, NOT SOMETHING YOU WERE GIVEN AT BIRTH

Sometimes it’s the people who had the most incredible struggles who are the most beautiful people.  Inner beauty dominates outer beauty – think about that:  we were created with certain physical attributes and features, but the inner beauty is something that we create.  Sure, there is plastic surgery that can change outer beauty, but did you ever see an outwardly beautiful person and then get to know them and realize their inner beauty isn’t developed? Inner beauty is personality, respect, honesty, confidence, happiness, actively helping others, being attentive, listening, compassion for others, kindness, awareness, peacefulness, and how one uses the unique talent, gift, ability each person has that makes them a one of a kind. This inner beauty affects how beautiful people appear to us; if it’s undeveloped, it lessens the beauty we see or makes them unattractive. Knowing that; everyone has the opportunity to be thankful for being beautiful because we can make that happen,but if it hasn’t already happened: focus on inner beauty:  Inner Beauty dominates Outer Beauty.

dsc_0011

3- GET OUTDOORS

We are fortunate to have nearby parks in the US wherever we live.   So, use them, detach from technology, go for a walk, a run, a hike and take time to notice the surroundings.  So often we are in a rush, so we pass by beautiful things we have right in front of us.  We can be thankful for the natural beauty we experience: the colors we see, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, oceans, the changes in seasons, beaches, forests, mountains, deserts, and the sky and: sunrises, sunsets, clouds, stars.

IMG_0813.jpg

4- GO TRAVEL

Travel can produce gratitude.  We may find incredible places, views, people and then become thankful for those moments. Or we may see conditions we never experienced before making us grateful for what we have at home.  The travel can be near or far; either way we will get this experience; just go someplace new where you haven’t been before for the most impact.

DIGITAL CAMERA

5- VOLUNTEER

Sometimes the greatest gift we ever receive comes from helping others and seeing the impact made on others.  Volunteering opportunities are everywhere and there is usually a shortage of volunteers. Find some cause that appeals to you and get involved, you will be thankful and so will others.  Focusing on others also helps us avoid any self-pity reflection of circumstances which is counterproductive to feeling thankful.

dscn0954

REMINDERS

Once you identify what you are grateful for, write it down as a reminder to keep with you and stay focused on the positive; because we all need reminders now and then when things don’t go well!

by Categories: Improvement, Make It Count, RELATIONSHIPS, TRAVEL, WellnessTags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Make It Count!

This picture of Andy K. was taken in 2014, on this date, two years ago. I’ve told the story leading up to this picture several times now, but it is worth retelling for many reasons.

img_62201
Andy K.

HALLOWEEN PARTY

A bunch of  high school freshman friends decided they were going to go trick-r-treating at the very last minute at a Halloween party we were hosting.  So they needed something to carry, we had collected several Halloween bags over the years and stored in the basement. So everyone went down to the basement and I was handing out bags. Andy was the last one and the only one I had left was this “girly” “Hello Kitty” bag, so I just started laughing and said to him, something like, “you’re not going to want this one, are you?”  and he replied something like, “sure, why not? I’ll use it!”  and he did.  I was really impressed by his confidence, he truly didn’t mind and was going to have fun with it!  So I had to ask him if he would let me take his picture with it, and it was no problem for him!  He made an incredible impression on me at that very moment.

img_62181
Maddie, Cassie, Amanda, Lauren, Jack and Andy
img_3944
2014 Halloween Party

 

FRIENDSHIPS

The prior summer, in 2014, Andy K., Lauren D. and Jack L. spent a lot of time together at their brother’s baseball games and had become good friends.  They also went to homecoming together as a group.

 

YOUNGLIFE CAMP

The next summer, 2015, Lauren D. and some friends decided to go to YoungLife Camp; Andy K. went to a different high school, but shortly before the trip, they found out they were all going to be at Camp together and were pretty excited about it.  They had a great experience at camp with lots of stories to tell.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

img_62221
Andy pictured in the red shorts and Santa hat at Castaway              Summer 2015

 

img_60321
Claire, Andy and Lauren- YoungLife Camp

KEEPING IN TOUCH

They continued to stay in touch and would do things together in groups.  At this point in time, not everyone was driving so I drove Lauren D. and Claire S. over to Andy’s to hang out.  Of course I got the call asking “Can we stay later?”  And I was fine with that, then I got the call, “how soon can you get over here?  Claire needs to be home ASAP!” That’s just how things go when you have a teenager.  So I picked them up and they talked about how much fun they had that night.  It just got to be later than Claire’s parents expected so she needed to get home.

A COUPLE WEEKS LATER 

I still remember getting the call from my friend Krista, I was sitting on the couch with Nick watching TV, she wanted to let me know first so that I could tell Lauren before she found out on social media, since Lauren and Andy were good friends:  Andy was in a car accident on the way to his job and he didn’t make it.  I was in shock, horrified and didn’t know how to tell Lauren; it was painful. From this day forward EVERYTHING changed on December 2, 2015.

THE AFTERMATH

The wake and funeral were the most emotional experiences I ever had. There was an unbelievable number of people attending, thousands in my estimation.  And I heard so many stories, very similar to my Halloween story of Andy’s personality, from so many people of all ages.   Andy K. was the kid who welcomed the shy kid at school, smiled at people, took time patiently with young kids, made people smile, looked out for others, stood up for the “underdog”, and was strong for others, provided emotional support to others in times of need.  And he was only in high school, but yet affected so many positively.

Andy’s Dad told the story of Andy driving his Dad to the airport for a trip and as his Dad started to go through the gates, Andy said, “Hey Dad, Make It Count!” and smiled. Sadly, this was the last time they saw one another. The “Make It Count” conversation was an ongoing conversation Andy K. and his Dad had many times over the years, but in reverse, when his Dad coaching Andy would tell him in sports to “Make It Count!”  Andy’s Dad asked that everyone remember Andy and “Making It Count” going forward.

GRATITUDE

I will forever be grateful that Andy K. was a part of Lauren’s life, he made her life better on many occasions and I will always think of Andy and his family whenever I hear or use the words “Make It Count”

So often in our lives an ordinary day, an ordinary experience, will not seem like much at the time, but does in hindsight.  The impact one person can have on so many was evident to me during this experience, it truly changed my perspective in life and is something that I will always be very passionate about: Making It Count!

img_0040

by Categories: FAITH, FRIENDSHIP, Improvement, Make It Count, RELATIONSHIPS, TRAVELTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

KEEPING TRUE FRIENDSHIPS

Friendships:  The most important “everything” in our lives!

img_4040

 

PATHS WE TAKE and PEOPLE WHO CROSS OUR PATHS

My posts are a little random, but they relate to what I’m passionate about and this one is about friendships.  I drafted a post about career paths last night and as I was writing it, I realized that every career path I took was based on a friendship with someone.  Have you had the same experience?

img_1250

BEING INDEPENDENT

I’ve always been one to push my comfort zone and do things to improve, whether it’s fitness, education, personal development,  conquering my fear of heights, career progress, speaking in front of people, overcoming shyness, going places solo not knowing anyone, and so on, there is always something to improve.  Pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone more makes us more independent, self-reliant and builds confidence after we challenge ourselves and complete whatever it is that challenged us.  You never know what you are capable of until you push yourself further!  This is so important to me – and Nike’s slogan sums it up best: “Just Do It!”

img_4059

STRANGERS BECOMING FRIENDS

It’s comfortable to be self-reliant and independent, which I believe I am, but I’m definitely not a loner!  I love having friends around.  In fact, when I’ve gone places in the past, I may go solo, but somehow I manage to find a new friend group!  When I was in college, on St. Patrick’s Day one year, I had a class that day but nearby there was this Irish Parade that was happening shortly after my class had ended.  I didn’t have any friends who could go, so I was a little nervous, but I wanted to be there, so I went by myself.  It was a little awkward to be honest, but it didn’t last long.  Nearby was a group of guys and girls my same age and one of the girls asked me if I was there by myself and I replied yes, so she welcomed me to join her group of friends.  We all got to know each other that day and became great friends over that summer: we started meeting on the weekends to roller blade the 7-mile loop around Forest Park, then head out for dinner and drinks.  We ended  ended up celebrating the 4th of July together that year too, taking a trip to Lake of the Ozarks and we had so much together.   Recently, I headed to a concert before my friends showed up and ended up meeting another group of people who welcomed me to join them.  I didn’t this time because I would be meeting up with my friends shortly, but the point is, people are drawn to create friendships, even strangers!

img_1255

LIFE TIME LASTING FRIENDSHIPS

My cousin was always the best at this, she always had a huge group of friends and stayed active with her friends from childhood through adulthood, adding to the group as she met more people.  I think one time at a Cardinal’s baseball game, her friend group practically covered an entire section!  As people develop families, it’s easy to get “too busy” to maintain those friendships, and I was guilty of that, but thankfully, I had great friendships that picked up right where we left off.  But, I believe that it’s important to maintain friendships at all times, find the time because it is important, you simply need to find a good balance.

img_4061

THE VALUE OF FRIENDSHIPS

Friends are amazing; what we can do for each other:  support each other toward goals, broaden one another’s horizons in careers, encourage each other, enhance other relationships, be each other’s sounding boards for ideas, help out when needed and the best part of all is just to have fun and let loose, be that crazy self that you can only be when you are in your comfort zone!  Friendships are too valuable to ignore and as a group can come up with some amazing adventures!

img_4616

Friendships with people having different backgrounds, different age groups, and different cultures simply enhances your life experience.  There is so much we learn from each other and it all makes life more enjoyable!

img_7507

PLANNING EVENTS

Recently I was with a friend group who had talked about planning weekend trips where everyone would write down a suggestion for a weekend trip and put it in a bowl then one suggestion would be chosen and that would be the surprise trip! That sounded like a fun idea and one that families could use too!  Everyone gets input and it’s a random selection.  I haven’t tried this yet, but plan to!

img_7479

My friends and I also started a closed group on Facebook for “Events and Activities” where we can share stuff we hear about and everyone has the opportunity to go.  It works well when you are trying to coordinate with 25 or more people- just post it and see who’s interested/who can make it and no one is accidentally left off an invite!   And those who can make it, excellent, and those who can’t; there is always next time!

img_8155

by Categories: FRIENDSHIP, Improvement, RELATIONSHIPS, TRAVELTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

“Hat Trick” = Camping, Music, Water!

Yes, we scored:  an incredible experience!  This post is a “Throwback Thursday” kind of post to August 28th 2015. This was an escape from stress at the time, because music usually makes things better!  It was a last minute decision to register for the Annual 93.7 The Bull Float trip, which is how most of the fun usually begins- spontaneously! I happened to be listening to the radio while working one day and heard the lineup, usually we have soccer game commitments every weekend, but that weekend was game free and there were no other commitments.

The Friday night lineup was Gloriana and Michael Ray, and Saturday was Drake White and Joe Nichols. I couldn’t wait to get there, but it was only a week away so I called to check if Ozark Outdoors still had availability, and thankfully, they did, but all that was left was individual inner tubes and a first come first serve campsite, so “let’s go” was my thought, we’ll just make the best of it!  A quick trip to the store to pick up some food, drinks and glow sticks, of course, was all that was needed.

img_8007

So Friday we arrived mid-day and the campground facilities were very nice.

img_8012

We went in and picked up the t-shirts,wristbands and registration package and were directed to the location of potentially available campsites.

 

 

img_8110

As we drove to the camp sites, people were having a pretty good time and hitting it hard, so I was a little nervous how this was going to turn out, because most did not have kids with them.

campsite

We found a nice somewhat private site surrounded by trees amazingly and not too far from where the concerts would be.  As soon as we pitched the tent and got settled, we headed to concert.  We took bag chairs but really they were more of a nuisance because the crowd kept compressing.  These types of situations can either go well or terribly bad based on personalities, so if the personality is easy going, a “go with the flow” kind of person, all is good.

The concert was awesome!  Michael Ray had just released the Album “Michael Ray” which of course I bought the entire album after hearing just one song, and it continues to be one of my favorite albums!  I wasn’t as familiar with Gloriana, but did know a few songs and the show was great!.

Saturday was the float trip: “so wake up and head out!”  Luckily some of the staff noticed us, probably because we were the only ones with kids, and saw that we had individual tubes reserved and had a little empathy!

Fortunately, they worked it out and got a raft for us! Thank God!  That made it so much better!  The beginning of the float was another moment where I was rethinking if I made a mistake because of the kids ages and what is ahead of us on the river, but people were surprisingly very respectful and conscientious, telling the kids how lucky they were to have this experience.  We decided to skip “The Sandbar Stop” thinking we shouldn’t push our luck.  It ended up being a good time on the water.

A few of the water scenes we experienced:

Saturday night was Drake White, who has such a great personality and connected so well with the crowd, I only knew one of his songs at the time: “It Feels Good” and liked it as soon as I heard it because his voice was so different from everyone else and the music was too.  He is such a humble, down to earth, personable guy with great stories during the concert.

drake-white

After a long day on the water, camping and then the concerts, by the time Joe Nichols was up, the youngest was getting restless, so we headed back to camp after only a few songs, but could still hear the music from the campsite.  It was probably good that we left the concert when we did as soon as we heard Joe Nichols start singing “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Come Off”, it was the right departure time for us!

A first time experience and the oldest wanted to come back- but with friends next time. 🙂

A beach trip, like this, next time!

by Categories: MUSIC, TRAVELTags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

“This Wine is Making Me Awesome” – October Outing Trip

Hermann, MO

group-photo

 

In Missouri, if you like wine and love the outdoors, there is no better place to be than at a winery in October! This year we went to Hermann, MO.  I look forward to this annual weekend trip with friends; the people attending may change from year to year, but it usually ends up with a tag along story that is repeated year after year.

hello-hermann

Herman History 

In 1857, 11,000 acres were purchased by a school teacher, George Bayer, who was the appointed agent of the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia.  When the first settlers arrived, they were surprised by the terrain and rolling hillsides and were faced with a development challenge.  Making the best of this situation, they planted vineyards on the hillsides and 10 year later a steamboat arrived with St. Louis tourist visitors, attending the first Weinfest.

Today the month of October is Oktoberfest and is filled with celebrations, music and entertainment all month long.

ARRIVAL

by Car:  There are several ways to arrive at Herman, if driving via Interstate 70 or 44.  In my opinion, the most scenic route is Interstate-44 through Washington, MO on State Highway 100.  This drive is phenomenal for viewing the colorful fall leaves with rolling hillsides and incredible pristine farmlands.  If you often drive through the countryside on road trips, you will likely find a few dilapidated buildings, but I do not recall seeing any on this route!  I have never seen so many beautiful estates, one right after another.  And this highway 100 is simply gorgeous for about a 30- 35-mile stretch.

drive-to-hermann

by Bus:  If you have a large group, a private bus, is the way to go; we’ve done that in past years and it is a great experience!  This past weekend, I was driving behind a Cavallo bus as an example.

by Train: You can also take the train to get there, here’s a link:  Amtrak.

by-train

WHERE TO STAY

I recommend booking a place early, we ran into a couple who was visiting for the day and the only room that was available cost $500 per night.  There are so many cute bed and breakfast locations all over; you can find them here.

On our trip, we were fortunate enough to be guests at Mom and Papa Pratte’s home nestled into the beautiful countryside nearby; they are not technically a bed and breakfast location but could be with their accommodations and wonderful hospitality they provided us!

It’s best to have a place to stay or a driver after a long day at the winery!

OUR STARTING POINT:  Hermannhof Vineyards 

“Hermannhof’s ten magnificent stone cellars and charming brick superstructure are among the 100 early Hermann buildings placed on the National Register of Historic places by the Federal Government.”  The Dierberg family purchased this property in 1974, the family is known in St. Louis for their Dierberg’s grocery stores.

Second to location, meeting the people is the next best adventure! Who knew we would meet three Aviation Engineers, in St. Louis on business but visiting Hermann and actually from Germany on this trip?

And if you show up in lederhosen you are bound to be in pictures!

SECOND STOP

After an unseasonably warm day hillside, our next stop was the air-conditioned Tin Mill.

tin-mill

LAST STOP

No trip to Hermann is complete without stopping at the Concert Hall and Barrel Bar, for some drinks and appetizers, music and dancing.  Lucky for us, we had Papa Pratte to pick us up at the end of the day!

WINDING DOWN

After safely arriving home to Mom and Papa Pratte’s we are greeted with even more entertainment awaiting: music and a fire, at least for those who could stay awake!  It was a wonderful weekend with friends!

evening-end

 

by Categories: fall travel, Hermann, TRAVELTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment