Nashville
Oh man, has summer been flying by?! One thing I absolutely love about summer is that there is no schedule or routine so we can come and go as we please and every day is a new adventure or can just be a lazy movie day. With all the free time I was really getting the itch to take the kids on a little trip. Nashville is only four hours and thirty minutes from me so it seemed like a perfect place to go. I have driven through Nashville once before on my way to Florida but this time I wanted to really experience the city and try some things I have heard so much about. My husband has been super busy with work lately so I thought this might be a perfect opportunity to take a fun little trip for me with just the kids.
I had heard that the science center there is really fun and had a lot of new exhibits so that was on the top of the boys to-do list as well as mine. Bakeries are also a must when going to a new city and ice cream is a very close second. We try to find local shops that you can only find in that particular city or that you can't find in Indiana. After making a good list and choosing a few of our top things to do, we grabbed lunch and I started mapping the best places to see first. While looking things up I noticed that there was a local farmers market, and bakery right next to the Draper James store (Reese Witherspoons furniture and clothing store), and if you are a mom like me you are just jumping for joy to find a set up like that. To be honest all the bribery tactics started racing through my head immediately as in, "If you boys can walk quietly through this beautiful store and DONT TOUCH ANYTHING (that is the biggest concern with little ones in a fancier store) then we can walk through the farmers market and grab a cupcake to eat while we go to the next stop." I also knew that if we didnt walk through the store at the beginning of the day with the kids then it wasn't going to happen.
One thing that I think is important when going on these trips is that we always try and do at least one activity that each person is interested in and hopefully everyone has fun! So first stop was Draper James and it did not disappoint. It has such a fun southern feel when you walk in and the furniture is just so beautiful, not to mention all of the pretty dresses and clothes that fill the store. I love it! The boys did better than I thought as we browsed around and everyone was so friendly and welcoming to my kids, which is always a plus. We followed up with little farmers market and got some local peaches they were selling. They were so good!! After that we walked around 12th street looking at little shops and then headed to Sprinkles Bakery.
I know Sprinkles Bakery has multiple locations throughout the US but we don't have one in Indy so I was super excited to find one. The main problem we have when going to a bakery is which pastry do you choose?? They all look so yummy and the smell is just amazing! After stuffing our faces full of treats we headed to the Science museum and the boys had the best time.
They have this whole interactive Space center that takes up most of the main floor including these harnesses that you get strapped in and they lift you up and down teaching you about gravity and lack of on the moon. It was the highlight of the trip for the boys.
We ended up enjoying the museum so much we stayed until it closed. Everyone was getting hungry again so we decided to hit up a local fire oven pizza place where the kitchen has an open space towards the back of the building with tables all around that you can watch everything being made and cooked in front of you. Olive gladly sat back in her high chair watching them throw the dough up and down and pulling the pizzas out of the fire. Maguire walked around trying to talk to all of the cooks asking them if he could video them while they threw the dough up in the air. They were all so nice and welcomed Maguire in to show him the process of making the pizzas. Maguire just loves to talk to people, take pictures, and video himself and other people, he is such a social little boy and I just adore that about him.
With full bellies we decided to walk down main street and listen to all the local bands. Nashville in the evening is SO fun. They have so many bands playing in restaurants and shops. It was fun to walk around and listen to different bands as we walked by the open doors on our way to a local homemade ice cream shop.
The next day we decided we would drive around to see few more of the local places but with two energetic boys and my little babe I wanted to do something fun outside where they could run and play while getting wet. We decided to visit a local water hole where water gushed out of a limestone tunnel that had been hand cut in 1818 by Montgomery Bell to connect 2 sides of a river. It had a steady current running through it and it was a perfect spot to swim and let the boys run for the day before having to head back home. Maguire attempted to catch minnows, Aiden climbed and swam in the current, and Olive tried to eat rock after rock while I brushed her hands away. For a few hours we played and just enjoyed the scenery.
All and All it was a really great trip! Nashville has so many fun local things to see and do. I was glad I could spend that time with my kids while seeing some a variety of things that Nashville has to offer!!
