Saying goodbye to Nashville was much harder this time than it was five years ago. We had been planning the send off to begin with our last walk through our beautiful East side neighborhood to the very same Lipstick Lounge where Jared got to see the Star Wars Burlesque for his birthday. We had been told since day one that their brunch was amazing. We knew, for our last Sunday, it would 100% need to be a CHAMPAGNE SUNDAY! So we plopped down and ordered two mimosas (generously paid for by a total stranger) and dove into the menu.
I won’t bore you with the details of breakfast, even though it DID include a shared burrito, smothered in homemade queso sauce, an order of French toast and bacon, two more mimosas, and a coffee with Baileys…you know, to stay awake and shit. Hahahaha! We did crossword (duh) and enjoyed the beautiful Nashville sunshine and heat one last time. Because it was light out, we were able to get some shots on their famous red plastic lip couch out front. Of course my husband had to “Burt Reynolds” the moment.
We had such a nice time and even got to visit with “C3PO” from the burlesque show for awhile. He works at the LL and was super nice to chat with. He brought us some “supplementary syrup” for our French toast.
Honestly, Jared and I were commenting on the extreme level of “nice” that everyone has been during this trip. Maybe it was us being able to get out and explore more of the city, maybe it was the fact that, after the pandemic, people just make a little more effort to be kind, or maybe it was a combination of the two and more. Whatever the case, we truly experienced Nashville in an outrageous way, and we are looking forward to a continued relationship with the city.
But we are ready to get home.
Our goal was to get packed up, house cleaned, showered, and on the road by 3:00. At 3:03 we rolled out of the driveway of the “Pink Door” house on S. 14th in East Nashville. Thank you for your space to work, your swing out front, the best shower head I’ve ever used, your kitchen and comfy beds, and your shelter. Perhaps we’ll meet again some day!
And, we’re off!
Wait, we need to get an oil change…
Ok, NOW we’re off!
Wait, we should gas up and get coffee… (at possibly the WORST coffee place ever! This Dunkin Donuts outside of town that took 25 min for my Americano, since no one seemed to know what it was, and when the manager finally dragged himself back to explain to the poor girl what an Americano is, he looked at me and said, “Ugh. Those taste AWFUL!” I just smiled and said, “Thank you.”
Ok, NOW we’re off.
With thirty-eight hours from Nashville to Tacoma, and a gig to get home to on Friday, we knew we had four full days to do it in…but we didn’t want to take that long, because this cutie pie was patiently waiting for us back home.
So, with Jared behind the wheel, some “SmartLess” podcasts lined up, and a goal to get to Tacoma by Wednesday and surprise Rudy (who thought he wouldn’t see us until Friday night). We began. We put about eight hours under our wheels that first night!
