What a way to 'unofficially' bid farewell to summer! Typically Labor Day weekends of years past usually involved squeezing in some final beach time in Long Beach, NY. But since we’re now land-locked in Music City, we were forced to find some alternatives to our usual adventures in the sand.On Friday, we ushered in the weekend with a night at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. On the last Friday of each month in the summer, a musical guest performs under the stars in the courtyard. This was our first ‘Frist Friday’ and we had the chance to hear Lee Roy Parnell perform. Parnell, a Texas-born and bred country rocker, has written songs for some top notch artists such as Willie Nelson and George Strait, and was awesome!
Saturday was all about one thing … college football! After watching Virginia Tech roll past Eastern Carolina, we followed the Appalachian State-Michigan upset as it unfolded (go ASU!) and the Penn State thrashing of Florida International. We then got a taste of our first Vanderbilt football game, a really fun experience. Despite Vandy’s recent struggles, it was quite evident that SEC football dominates in the south. The fans down here follow each SEC game like it was their last – it’s pretty crazy! The Commodores blasted past the Richmond Spiders and now await Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide next week at Vandy.
On Sunday, we made the quick drive out to The Hermitage, the home of our 7th President, Andrew Jackson. This
property, about 15 miles east of downtown Nashville, has such history and is an incredible 1,000 acres in size. It was really interesting to step back in time and learn about the history of this property and the Jackson family – definitely a quality afternoon. Sunday night brought more music back into our weekend, as we spent a few hours at the Music City J.A.M. (Jazz and More) in Riverfront Park downtown. Following Brian McKnight’s headlining performance, an incredible fireworks show lit up the downtown sky (kind of like the Mets lit up the Braves in their 3-game series!).
Mondays typically mean a 6:30am wake up call, but not today. This Labor Day we slept till 9am and then went for a 4-mile run downtown (wow, was it hot!). After spending some QT with Mr. Plinko in the condo we went over to Centennial Park (across from the Vandy campus) and enjoyed an afternoon of free country music. ‘Country Music in the Park,’ an event put on by the Nashville CVB and Metro Parks, featured performances by the Dirt Drifters, Luke Bryan, Pam Tillis and Diamond Rio. Another great time.What a weekend! With the help of NowPlayingNashville.com, this was definitely a busy and eventful 'unofficial' end to summer! Until next time …
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