:: Winter Vacation : Day Two | Nashville ::

** Warning this is a long post and very photo heavy because Day Two included the Johnny Cash Museum, and Nashville, and JO-H-NNY C.A.S.H! **

We began our second day with continental breakfast at the hotel, because why wouldn't we take advantage of feeding all five of us for free.?.

We drove thru a bit of Shawnee National Park (we think) on our way out of Illinois. (Another of my bucket list items.) Which since we technically didn't get there, I'm pretty sure we will need to go back and hike it one day. Sorry honey! ;)

We made our way into Kentucky & finally into Tennessee!

Our first stop in Nashville was actually at the Grand Ole Opry. Although it wasn't really on our list of places we were going to see, it was a good place to land and had ample parking.

^^ This was the moment I handed over my very expensive camera to a complete stranger to get a picture of all of us together. It only took about two seconds until panic began to set it. It was a nice family who had actually asked me to take their photo first. Still, I was relieved he didn't take off running with my camera in hand. Phew. Not doing that again. 

We didn't go into the actual Opry, although I definitely want to go back there some day. The kids weren't too interested, so why waste the money. We went into the gift shop instead. 

This was where my souvenir shopping began. 

I knew I would be in trouble in Nashville!

There was a Bass Pro around the corner, so that was of course on the top of the kids' list.

Okay, time for downtown! Eeek! I was SO excited.

We drove downtown and immediately realized this place was crazy! Like a TON of people. Where in the heck where we supposed to park this beast of a truck my husband drives? (It does not fit into a parking garage.)  A quick message to a friend who lives there and she saved the day. Thank you Kaitlin!!

We ( I ) be-lined it straight to the Johnny Cash Museum. Yes!! Bucket List (check)

The crowd was no smaller inside the museum then outside. Oye, big cities!

We paid nearly $100. for all five of us to get in, but I knew that before going.

In my mind, it was totally worth it. In the kids', not so much.

I wish I could have seen every tiny detail in there, but most of the time it required peering over someone else's shoulder. 

^^^ As a photographer, this series of photos is my favorite. The out takes, the imperfect poses, the natural love and connection between them, yes!

Back outside to walk down a few blocks. Yes, I was a total "tourist" and had my camera out the entire time. Even while walking across the street. 

The colors of Nashville are amazing! I WILL get back there when I can experience more of the sound and to find all of the amazing murals.
I'd say the perfect place to celebrate my 40th birthday in a few years. Hint, hint, honey. ;)

After a nice supper at Jonathon's Grille (which was right across from our hotel), we hung out in our room, and then watched Ella swim for a bit.
Note: We stayed in the Cool Springs / Franklin area. It is a bit outside of Nashville and cheaper to stay there. And again, had an actual parking lot where we could park Aaron's truck.

:: Winter Vacation 2018 : Day One | East St Louis ::

As many of you know, we surprised the kids with an experience this year for Christmas.

They opened a big box of small gifts that were all hints to our big surprise. There were blankets, new books, snacks for the trip, a keepsake ornament, and finally a map showing our route and when we were leaving. We got a mix of reactions from them. While I think they were excited, they were really nervous about leaving so quickly and being gone for so long. Ella all out did not want to go on vacation. Coe was panicked about being gone the duration of his Christmas vacation, and Chase literally said, "I need at least a good months warning for stuff like this". Oh, yes he gets that from his mama. Over planning and preparing for everything. From there, the list making began! We  had two days to pack and get everything together.

Friday, December 28th we were up and on the road by 8:30am. (A half hour earlier than planned). Bonus!

Our first destination was East St. Louis to view the Arch from across the river. While Aaron & I have both been there; our kids had not. We weren't going to be able to get into it anyways because of the government shut down, so we decided on a place to get the best view & have a picnic lunch.

We found a great view at Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park.
It was super windy and cold along the river (of course), so we ran to the top of the look out, took a few photos, and then sat in the truck to eat our lunch that we had packed.

We then headed onto Marion, IL where we stayed for the night.

It wasn't until Aaron and I went to see Clint Eastwood's new movie (The Mule), that I realized I had booked our room in the same town as a State Prison. Oh well, we never even saw it nor did we have any problems there. It was a nice area and my main goal here was to drive thru Shawnee National Park the next morning as we headed out of Illinois.

:: Winter Vacation 2018 ::

Do you ever get home from vacation and need a vacation to just get yourself back into the swing of things? That's what today is for us.
We spent the last week and a half enjoying family time in the Smoky Mountains. We had originally planned on being gone until the 8th, but the kids were ready to be home. So, we left yesterday morning & drove the entire way thru to get us back in our comfort zone of home.
We had an amazing time, but we were ready to be back.
Coe was up and out the door at 6am this morning to go hunting with a buddy and now him & Chase our out fishing at a neighbors pond. The rest of us are taking in some time to breathe before work starts again tomorrow and all the Christmas decorations desperately need to be taken down.
I've been enjoying the day downloading the 1000s of photos I captured while we were gone. I'll be working on sharing those here on my poor neglected Growin&Crowin blog, so here's your warning to ignore my FB & IG accounts for the next few days if you don't want to be bombarded by our vacation photos and stories. ;)