The Journey Begins

After learning that we had a few days to either move to an undesirable location or find Adam a new job and new housing, we decided it was the perfect time to take an adventure.  I had some money saved up and Adam sold his boat.  We had been talking about taking a cross country trip for a year or two now and this seemed like perfect timing.  We packed up our 2 bedroom apartment and loaded a storage unit full of our worldly possessions. 

Adam and I decided that we would spend the next month or so visiting family, seeing our country, finding our passions, and waiting on divine inspiration!

The truck was loaded with all of our clothes, necessities, toiletries, and Simon! 

On our way up north from Central Florida, we stopped at a unique truck stop.  They had a Subway, Mexican restaurant, gas station, Dairy Queen, motel, and tourist attraction. 



Simon the mini cow!



The first stop on the US adventure tour was Nashville TN. My girlfriends and I get together each year for a Girls Weekend to reconnect, have fun, and relax. Bekah is getting married on June 4th and we wanted to celebrate together and have a bachelorette weekend for her not too far away from Memphis. My friends had no idea what Adam and I had decided and it was a super shock to my friend Catherine when we pulled into her driveway on Thursday morning. She was not expecting us to fly in until Friday afternoon. Catherine has a new baby and 12 year old who I have missed terribly since moving to Florida almost 3 years ago. It was so great to spend some good time with them and prepare for the Girls Weekend.

On Friday, the rest of the group got in town and we all met up at our downtown hotel. This was the best hotel ever!! The room was so huge and the decor was trendy. I highly recommend Hotel Indigo if you are coming to Nashville. We had a great dinner at a Japanese restaurant just had a blast catching up and goofing off.

Saturday the girls and I had a big day planned. We had a delicious breakfast at Noshville, a must if visiting the city.

A quick stop by the bank was in order to get a replacement debit card because mine was eaten by the ATM. Not a good thing to have happen when just starting out on an undefined adventure, but Oh well…Shrimp happens!

We then went to the Hustler store because it was a bachelorette party after all. The sales girl kept announcing store specials over the intercom and I felt bad for her because her job required her to be enthusiastic about discount lubes and such. There was also an uncomfortable moment with a sales guy and Jena laughed in his face, I think that is why she felt like she had to purchase something. She was contemplating getting some perfume and I am glad she didn’t because I cannot be friends with anyone who smells like a skank, and I really like Jena!

We headed back to the hotel to change into our custom tank tops. Catherine and I had made us all matching shirts that said “Here Comes The Bride.” They were so cute and we got tons of compliments on them. We used some fabric Catherine had at her house and ironed the cut out letters on with double sided interfacing. So easy and fun.

Our first appointment of the day was at Urban Oasis. I got a Groupon for $60 worth of services for $30. When we pulled up to the salon it looked really sketchy and I did not know what to expect, but inside was shabby chic. Catherine, Jena, and I had all decided to get chemical peels. Bekah did not want to risk her face looking like raw meat for her wedding so she had cautiously scheduled a massage. Fortunately for the rest of us, the peels did not burn off the first 8 layers of face skin and we were able to go out in public without a bag.

Bekah had never been to Pinkberry, so we HAD to go. It doesn’t take much to get me to agree to frozen yogurt. I would eat it everyday, twice a day if I could.

Next on the agenda for the day was a Pole Dancing Party!! It was held at dance studio called Goddess-A-Go-Go and we learned how to be beginner pole dancers. This class was so much fun! We learned a full routine, all different kinds of spins, sexy walking, and hair flipping. I was really disappointed with my performance. To be a good pole dancer, you have to have good upper body strength and a strong core. I have neither!! While I was trying to learn the fancy spins, my legs were knocking in the pole and I was crashing on the ground. The instructor was so graceful and I was jealous. Bekah was the best exotic dancer in our group, no surprise because she is really athletic. And a huge slut. Just kidding.



My chair spin



I think she has done this before!



The class was and hour and a half long of intense droppin’ it like it’s hot and booty poppin’ resulting in every muscle in my body being sore for 3 days and horrible bruises on my arms and legs. As well as hurting everywhere with the slightest movement, I had to explain to everyone who asked how I got so beat up. “No I was not attacked Tonya Harding style, I am an amateur pole dancer without any ups.”

We had dinner at Dick’s Last Resort in downtown Nashville. It had just opened up. The gimmick there is that the servers are rude to you and they put funny paper hats on you with mean comments written on them.

Jena's says "Ask me about my rash!"

The night ended with some bar hopping, dancing, drinking, laughing, and a slice of pizza! An awesome night with awesome friends. I can’t wait for our trip next year!