We woke up bright and early to leave for our Chicago to Nashville road trip by 5am! Well, I actually stayed up all night, finishing some work and packing for the trip…so, by 5AM, I was ready to just get on the road and go!  But, as we pulled out of the garage, my car began to make this strange knocking sound. Awesome. Perfect timing, right? I honestly wanted to curse and yell, but instead I just laughed. We waited for the body shop to open, found out we had some lug nuts loose, and after tightening those babies up, we got back on the road again. 3 hours behind. Usually, that would really drive me crazy, but this time, I wasn’t letting it get me down. I was still smiling and just happy to be getting out of town with my love. With no plans in sight! Let the spontaneous times roll!

Click through to see how crazy I got! (Disclaimer: It’s not really all that crazy, but I tried!)

On our first evening in Nashville, we arrived exhausted and just happy to not be in a moving vehicle anymore. So, we got in our pajamas, ordered some yummy room service, and settled in to watch the Bulls game. (That last part wasn’t my choice, but I was down for any form of relaxation, even listening to the numbing sounds of game buzzers and screeching sneakers on a gym floor as I fell asleep!) Really, I slept better than I have in weeks! And a night in was just perfect.

Saturday morning, we aimlessly took to the streets of Nashville. We posed with silly statues like tourists do.

We scoped out some cowboy hats!

And let’s not forget the boots! I LOVE me some boots!

We walked the Nashville ‘strip’…

Tried on some more boots! (Let me tell you, this town has no shortage of boots!)

We wandered around some more. (I even got my palm read by a palm reader!!! I had never done it before and Katrina took advantage of my vow of spontaneity.)

We made friends with a very chubby kitty in a cool print shop…

We picked out some oldies but goodies in a record shop…

We stumbled upon an adorable old time candy shop where we spent far too long waxing nostalgic over the candies we used to love as kids.

We even made it to the Country Music Hall of Fame. We checked out Elvis’s gold piano and lots of very cool guitars…

…but, mostly I fawned over Taylor Swift’s 2009 Reem Acra dress. I totally contemplated breaking the glass…now, THAT would be spontaneous!

We saw lots of gold and platinum records, but mostly I walked around the Hall of Fame, thinking about how I could go about ‘freeing’ the amazing golden gown. It had to be mine!

After making it out of the museum without getting arrested, we wandered into a hat shop. And I tried on hats, lots of hats! It was Kentucky Derby weekend, after all! It didn’t matter that we would not actually be attending the derby, I needed a fabulous hat! (As much as I loved this beautiful ribboned one, I went home with a black floppy one instead.)

And then I fell in love again. With this gorgeous throw back hat! (It is now at the top of my Christmas list!)

And since it IS the Music City, we took in some music! We popped in and out of spots along the strip, listening to local bands. And then we found out that the Counting Crows would be playing at the Ryman that very night! As unlikely as it seemed that we would be able to get tickets, I decided to ask around and I am so very glad I did! Usually, I hem and haw over every little decision, but when 2 tickets popped up at the last minute, I immediately said, ‘Yes! I’ll take them!’ My sudden burst of decisiveness shocked Katrina. And it felt exhilarating, I must admit! In another burst of spontaneity, I decided to not bring a thing to the show, only my ID, the tickets, and my phone. No purse, no camera, no umbrella, nothing! Now, I was getting really crazy! I just spent the evening taking it all in and enjoying the experience. It was an awesome show! (So, our only photos of the show are from our iphones. Check the Instagram feed for goodies!)

Sunday morning, Starbucks. Okay, that part was pretty predictable for me.

I took more photos of Katrina than she cared to sit for, but I did it anyway. Okay, typical, again.

Then she did the same to me, per usual. And this is how I felt about it…

But I can never get mad at this face…

So, I let it slide…

And we spent another day wandering without a plan in sight. This time, in the town of Franklin…

Sadly, it was a Sunday and most of the antique shops I was dying to check out were closed. That didn’t stop me from trying to buy every single thing in the couple shops that were open. (How cute are these handmade velvet pumpkins?!)

And even more aimless wandering…I was starting to get the hang of this no plans thing.

We, then, stopped at the much acclaimed Loveless Cafe, where you will wait over an hour to stuff yourself silly on some good ‘ole Southern comfort food! I thought I was going to have to roll Katrina out of there!

She is a ‘Go big or Go home!’ kinda gal! Wow! And in the name of adventure, I even tried some BBQ Pork…watch out world!

Then we found some side by side rocking chairs and took some time, to just enjoy the day. Life never felt better.

After the most relaxing of Sundays, we headed back to our hotel for happy hour, but upon arrival, Katrina was far more focused on the impending storms, coming in over Nashville. (My spouse geeks out over storms like I geek out over cameras and good light! It’s outta hand!) And as much as I wanted to chill out, I decided to give in and join the fun. I followed her out into the rain and crazy winds, so she could try to capture some good lightning and storm clouds on camera. (I was really going for the gold with this spontaneous thing!) But, the crazy weather quickly passed and we headed back inside. Just in time. Because by the time we got back up to our room, the clouds had dissipated and we had the best seats in the house to watch the sunset over Nashville from our hotel room. A perfect end to a mixed up mish mosh weekend of adventures. From silly antics, rockin’ live music shows, and chasing storms to rocking chairs, crossword puzzles, and sunsets. We couldn’t have planned a better weekend if we tried!

I know, I know! My attempt at spontaneity and adventure was not that momentous or crazy, but I can absolutely say that I successfully ‘let go’! And it felt oh-so-good.  That is an accomplishment!