Backsies Is What There Is Not: The Hermitage

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.

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.

Some of the 70,000 attendees.

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.