Last weekend's Ten Things of Thankful post was written from a hotel room while we were on our itty bitty mini vacation to Nashville. I wish I were writing THIS week's post from there, or a beach or the mountains, but alas, I'm in my bedroom, in my chair and a half, kitty at my feet, wearing my new coolie hat, which translates to back to the real world. Following is a long, largely dull, recap of my week and some of the thankfuls contained therein:Sunday morning, as we were packing up and preparing to check out of our hotel room, my husband, who had the morning news on, found out the Tennessee Titans had practices that were open to the public (good), free (better) and one was scheduled that very morning (best). We quickly packed the car and took off for their practice field. I'm not particularly into football, but it was REALLY, REALLY COOL to watch professional football players run through drills and the like (those guys are HUGE). We got to see rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota, the first round draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner, which was pretty neat, because even someone who isn't that much of a football fan knows first round draft pick + Heisman winner + quarterback + rookie is a player worth noting. He also happens to be a darn cute kid.
As if seeing Mariota wasn't enough, I was scanning the roster when the name "Dorial Green-Beckham" popped out at me. This kid (Mariota is 21, Green-Beckham is 22, so yes, KIDS) played school ball at Hillcrest in Springfield, an hour to the east of us. (Remember when I tried to free the lizard from the hairball at a volleyball tournament? Same school.) A high school standout, we saw him play school ball against us. So while my husband was annoying the hell out of everyone at the time, because he was already packed and was watching tv while bugging the rest of us about getting OUR stuff packed, this little activity turned out to be one of the best parts of our trip!
After an hour or so, we reluctantly left the Titans training camp, because we had promised the College Boy we would go to The Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson, before we left town. It had been many, many years since I'd been to The Hermitage, and I'd forgotten how much walking was involved. It didn't help that it was 95 degrees outside and not a cloud in the sky. We sped through the tour pretty quickly because (a) we were on a time table, having an eight and a half hour trip ahead of us to get home and (b) see last sentence about it being 95 degrees. We went through the house, though, and the flower gardens, which also includes the family burial grounds and the graves of Jackson and his wife, and one of the slave quarters. It was too freaking hot to see anything else, and besides, there was one last chance to stuff our bellies with something fried before we left town.
We made it home safely and without any major bickering or missing that tricky turn that, if missed, sends you quite a ways towards St. Louis before you figure out what you did wrong.
The kitties were very glad to see us, Ruby spending the next two days practically glued to my side. So thankful she doesn't get all pissed off at me when I leave town anymore!
I didn't want to leave Nashville, but at least I had something to look forward to on our return home: Marian Days! I've written extensively about this festival in a neighboring town, and you can read about it here, but the short version is that it's a pilgrimage for Vietnamese American Catholics and brings 70,000 of them to the grounds of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix headquarters. We go to people watch and to eat the food, namely, pho, which we can't get here any other time.
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| Laying that spring roll on the paper towel turned out to be a HUGE mistake; when I tried to pick it up, the paper towel was stuck like glue, and I couldn't get all of it peeled off, leaving me to eat more paper towel than I care to think about. Peanut sauce helped. |
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| Some of the 70,000 attendees. |
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| My friend Kristie, who GLADLY went with me when the rest of my family said they were filled to the brim with pho plus a heat index of 105 degrees. |
There was more this week. Volleyball try outs, which I wasn't too concerned about, but my daughter made Varsity, at least for now; such things are often fluid. Made a couple of Pinterest recipes that turned out to be wins. Another successful run at Six Sentence Stories. Oh, yeah, and it was my 22nd wedding anniversary.
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Happy anniversary! Love that photo!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was a fun day!
DeleteHappy anniversary! LOVE that pic! You are so stinking cute! But an enigma... as you will not eat jam but will eat paper towel with peanut sauce?
ReplyDeleteThank you!!! And see, there were three spring rolls and three of us. I got one out to give to Emma (they were in a styrofoam try and covered with plastic wrap), and she wasn't ready to take it, so I laid it on the paper towel. She almost immediately picked it up, but it had already sealed itself to the paper, so she said I had to eat that one and got another. I picked and picked and picked, but I couldn't get most of it off without losing most of the rice paper wrapper, so I had no choice but to eat the paper towel. I did stick my spoon in the peanut sauce and chase the last bite of spring roll with that.
DeleteHappy Anniversary! It sounds like you had a great week.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It WAS a great week! I am still wearing my coolie hat and wishing I had a bowl of pho.
DeleteHow cool that you got to go to the training! Those football players are huge. No joke.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe your college-aged son made you go to the Hermitage. While I love it there (I actually chaperoned a 7th grade field trip there many years ago.), it isn't a place I would expect a college kid to want to see. It isn't nearly as nice when it is 95 degrees. Can you imagine living and working there when it's 95 degrees?!?!?
Glad you got your fill of pho. I saw you begging for people to go with you on FB. I wish I could have gone!
Happy anniversary!
I even felt short at that training camp! And they were seriously just babies! A few of them were Kyle's age.
DeleteKyle loves history and he enjoyed learning about Andrew Jackson in AP history in HS. He told us everything he already knew about Jackson before we got there, then spent the tour saying "See, I told you. See, I told you." Good times. And no, I can NOT imagine living in that kind of heat, especially wearing all those clothes! I guess if everyone stinks of BO then nobody stinks of BO.
I didn't get my fill of pho. I would eat it once a week at least. I also came to the sad realization that I am apparently a better friend from a distance than up close, because I had no one want to go with me who lived close enough actually to go until Kristie spoke up.
Thanks!
Family vacations are the best.
ReplyDelete:-)
We usually manage to have minimal fighting and squabbling on vacations.
Deleteoh wait!! now I get it!! (the comment about mushrooming…. I just noticed the first photo in this post!! very clever Ms. B, very clever!)
ReplyDeletebtw in answer to an oft-asked question (alluded to in title), 'no, no it is not hot enough for me' that is nearly impossible.
You know you want a hat just like mine.
DeleteI think RI heat is much, much different from MO heat.
Happy Anniversary!! Congrats to your daughter! Love the hat!
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted to go to a pre-season training. We live about 45 minutes from where the Patriots train, I always say we should go, yet we haven't yet!
Thanks for all! No one at my house likes the hat but me, so I keep wearing it just to annoy them.
DeleteIt was such a fluke that we ended up at that training camp! Glad we made the effort!
What an awesome week! Happy anniversary!
ReplyDeleteNashville... I so want to go there! Your kitty are so darn cute!
Thanks, Natalia! Nashville is a great place to live or visit; I've done both :)
DeleteYou need to link up with us again for the Ten Things of Thankful. I know you have a lot going on right now, but I would love to see you back here with us.
I know! I've thinking about it and after the surgery I'll put together a nice list, it'll be perfect timing too, to help me focus on the positive!
DeleteI'm late to the party but the Titans camp! That is exciting. We got into watching the Titans years ago. Don't remember how except we really liked Jeff Fisher as coach, then realized Steve McNair was a pretty good quarterback (tragic story there) and Eddie George, he was really, really good. Don't follow much football anymore (except when the Patriots play :D) Small world isn't it. To think you had watched a future NFL player in the making.
ReplyDeleteYeah, 95. 3 digit heat indexes. Too smokin' hot for much but aren't you good parents stopping at the Hermitage. Nice:)
God bless you for mingling with 70,000 people in those same temps,eating hot pho and wearing a hat on top of that! (hats keep the body heat in!)
Good week and your anniversary week!
Everyone around this area is generally a Chiefs fan. I grew up in Kansas City, remember them winning the Super Bowl. My parents were big fans, actually, still are.
DeleteAnyone could watch that kid play football and know he was destined to go on. He had some difficulties (a couple of arrests, no charges filed) when at Mizzou and that's why they released him, but I'm hoping he can keep it turned around and do well. He had a really lousy upbringing until he was adopted by the coach and his wife when he was a sophomore in h.s.
Hot. Humid. Bleh. But better than icy cold any day.
I didn't mention that The Hermitage costs $20 a person....
The night we were there when they were having mass (and estimates since the event has ended put the number closer to 80,000) there was not a breath of air moving.
Wow that wedding photo is gorgeous! Such joy!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I love that picture! As you can see, I have trouble being serious!
Delete