Nashville

A spur of the moment decision last month had me booking a trip to Nashville TN because: 

1. Allegiant Air flies non-stop from Sioux Falls to Nashville

2. Nashville would get us in the area of Georgia and the two Carolinas, the last 3 continental states we need for geocache finds in the lower 48

3.  The ticket price was very reasonable

4. I have a niece in NC who doesn't get many family visitors 

5. We didn't travel last year for our 50th Anniversary

6. By traveling to these last 3 states, we will have visited all 50 US states, one of my bucket list items

It just seemed like lots of stuff happened since the MINGO trip in early May. The camper needed repair work. The truck had an issue and needed some attention. There were some family things happening like sisters-in-law birthday celebrations, a week-long visit from my mother, a 30 year Desert Storm Reunion weekend and a high school graduation, all in the two weeks prior to the Nashville trip. 

We left for the Nashville trip on Sunday, the day of our 51st anniversary. The plane was on time (after several notifications of delays throughout Sunday) and the rental car office was open (closes at midnight) and the rental car was waiting. The hotel we booked was near the airport, so all was well. We spent Monday geocaching as we had a list we wanted to find. We spent most of our time on the college campuses in Nashville: Vanderbilt, Peabody, and University School of Nashville. 

Tuesday was a day for playing tourist. On the recommendation of my sister-in-law, we booked the RedNeck Bus Tour of Nashville. It was more of a comedy tour (as advertised) and less of a city tour. There is not a single photo of that tour after we got on the bus! But it was nearly two hours of laughter! After the tour we did some more geocaching to complete our Must Find list in Nashville.

Gil, our camoed school bus driver

a partner attribute cache

fossils at Fort Negley

an Adventure Lab

my all time favorite Adventure Lab 

There are 10 books in the City Cemetery giving information on some of the people and sharing historical information about the time and city. It was so cool to read the info.

a War of 1812 Veteran

the rock placed above Lucy Steele

Governor Carroll's monument

could not find a name for this intricate monument

Then we went to the state capital grounds to visit the tomb of James Polk (for a geocache).

Andrew Jackson statue on the capital grounds

Tennessee's state capital building

We head to Georgia on Wednesday, for geocaching, not as tourists. I have been to Atlanta and do not need to return.