exploring Nashville!

We've lived in Knoxville for five years (plus four more, if you count college years!) and I'd never been to Nashville in all that time-- or Chattanooga either, until this summer! But now that we've visited both cities, we're excited to continue exploring more towns around us as well as going back to both Chattanooga and Nashville again, since you can only fit so much into one weekend.

We have friends living in Nashville who have been out to Knoxville quite a few times and stayed with us as they hike in the mountains or play tourist downtown, and we finally found a weekend to go see them. Because Deric has Fridays off and works Sundays, we drove out on a Friday morning and arrived just in time to get burgers for lunch at The Pharmacy. Tucked away in a residential neighborhood just outside of downtown, it was completely packed at lunch! We didn't wait long though and got a perfect spot in their outdoor seating, which was so charming. It felt like enjoying a meal in a friend's backyard under the trees.

Reid's onesie says "I get my good looks from my daddy". And he does!

Both boys fell asleep in no time when we got back into the car after lunch, so we drove around the city to "sightsee" a little and let them nap. Usually I hate to be in traffic but with kids asleep and no real agenda, it was great timing for Deric and I to relax and just talk.

When the boys woke up, we stopped at Jeni's, an ice cream store recommended by our friend. At first glance I thought it'd be a little too fancy for my vanilla-loving self, but we shared four different flavors and each flavor was incredible! I can't remember the full names of each flavor, but we had vanilla, brambleberry crisp, peanut butter and chocolate. The flavors were so rich that sharing those scoops was plenty for the three of us.

After getting ice cream we headed out of the city a bit to our friends' house after they got off work. Jake had fun playing with their little girl (and all her toys) before we all crashed pretty hard for the night. The next morning we were up and in the city fairly early for breakfast at Puckett's, a favorite spot of our friends. It did not disappoint! I thought of it as a more hip, unique Cracker Barrel-- very country, TONS of food, but less farm equipment on the walls. ;) We walked off breakfast at the Nashville Farmer's Market where we had the best mint lemonade I've tasted! They also had the most creative bike racks...

We really only caught a glimpse of Nashville in our short time there--we didn't even have time for the Opryland Hotel--so we'll have to go again sometime soon! Its always fun to explore new places and visit friends at the same time!