Nashville has not been on my radar as a place to travel as a family. There is no reason why except I equate Nashville with a girls’ trip or an adult city break. However, when Laurence found out he had a work conference that overlapped with the USC vs Vanderbilt game, we decided it may be fun to make a weekend family trip out of it!

We made plans to head to Nashville before the hurricane. Laurence would fly out there, then I would drive and meet him with the children, then we would all drive home together. This was great, until the hurricane washed out parts of I-40 and the drive would take a little longer than anticipated. I pulled the children out of school for a half day and we prepared ourselves with lots of movies for what ended up being about a 7.5 hour drive to Tennessee.

We arrived in Nashville around dinner time and checked into our Dolly Parton themed apartment rental. Since it was the children’s first time in Nashville, we figured we would just cliche it up! This company also has some incredible Taylor Swift themed accomodations available, and they would be really fun to stay in for a mother daughter trip, or just a trip with friends! In fact, they were kind enough to send a 10% off code ( use FRITZFAMILY) for anyone interested in booking! They were extremely easy to communicate with and it truly was a fantastic stay! And one of the perks of the apartment was the location…it couldn’t be beat! We were within walking distance of Vanderbilt , in the Hillsboro neighborhood, which was great for our family. There were plenty of restaurants and lots of cute little shops. We walked to a cute little pizza shop for dinner, then tucked it in for a fun filled next day.

We woke up on Friday and walked down to the Pancake Pantry for breakfast. We made it at a perfect time because as soon as we sat down, the line was out the door. This place was PERFECT for the children. I would not write it down as one of the best breakfasts of my life, but it was efficient and there was something for everyone on the menu! Total win for us and some of my picky eaters.

After breakfast we drove down to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. We made a 10 a.m. reservation, which was perfect because it gave the children a chance to sleep in and grab a bite to eat, while still beating the crowds that seemed to file in around 11. I was really impressed with this museum and would highly recommend it. Not only did it give some great history of country music, but it also had lots of artifacts and items to see from current artists the children knew of. They also had some great interactive exhibits at the end, like a recording studio and screens where you could make your own album cover, that were fun to play with. We probably spent close to two hours here and loved every minute of it.

After the museum, we met my Aunt Janie and Uncle David at a meat and three, about a mile down from the museum, called Arnolds. The food was great and once again, any time I can find something for all three children to happily eat (except Laurence…that is always the hardest) it is a win. I LOVED catching up with David and Janie and truly would count this as a highlight of the trip. After lunch, we did a quick walk by to see the Ryman and glance down Broadway, before heading back to the air bnb. The girls and I did a little shopping, while the boys rested.

That night, another highlight was catching up with our friends, the McCraws, who moved to Nashville at the end of the summer. Before we met up with them, we hoped to take the kids into a honky tonk for one beer before dinner, and while it was still early, just so they could understand what a honky tonk is. However, rookie move. 5 p.m. is a little late for children to be around the honky tonks because there have been people there, well, possibly all day. When I heard a few too many words I didn’t think sounded good, we went onto the food hall, where we planned to meet up with the McCraws.

I have professed my love SO MANY times about food halls that these big cities have. Assembly Hall in Nashville was amazing. And the part that I loved the most was that they had live music, which was exactly what I wanted to see while in Nashville. The even better part was it was much calmer than being in a honky tonk, but the children still had the experience of seeing some music while in Nashville. It was really great to catch up with the McCraws! Once they arrived, the place started getting packed, but it was the perfect spot for the kids to play, everyone to grab a beer and dinner, and for all of us to catch up.

Saturday was the big game day! With the forecast looking like rain, we knew we needed to get out and about in the morning. I knew I did not want another big pancake breakfast again, so we decided to try Biscuit Love, which again, was right there by the air bnb! I thought the food was amazing. It may have been too “chic” for Laurence, but everyone found something they liked, and it fueled us up for the day.

Not only did the area we stay in have great shops and restaurants, but there was also a fantastic playground, called Fannie Mae Dees park we could walk to. I am on this weird cusp of outgrowing playgrounds with my crew, which is really sad because it is always a great activity when you travel. However, this one was large enough where ALL three had fun, and they got out some energy before the game! I learned from the wonderful folks who run the apartment we stayed in, this playground is also called Lily’s playground, named after Lily Shaw, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy. Her parents raised the money to build this playground, the first fully handicapped accessible park in Nashville, so their daughter would have a place to play. Incredible.

After the playground, we went home and got ready for the game. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at The Grilled Cheeserie (connected to Biscuit Love and oh so good!) As predicted, the rain came. Thankfully, it was not too cold, it was not a tremendous downpour, and we had prepared enough to have the proper gear for the weather. To also make a game like that better, we were winning and we were doing really well, when there seems to always be a chance we would go in there and get crushed (isn’t that the Gamecock curse?!) One benefit of an away game is that you are clearly outnumbered by the other fans and when they started losing, many of them left. This left us with the opportunity to walk all the way down in the stands and watch the end of the game from the very front. Laurence and Louise were in hog heaven, shouting to the players and even scoring a pair of gloves from one and an arm band from another. This would not be possible at Williams Brice, so it was special seeing how excited they were to get so close to their beloved Gamecocks.

As if one sporting event is not enough for our family, Laurence, Laurence and Louise did a quick change out of their wet Gamecock clothing, threw on their Predator clothing, and caught an uber into town for the Predator’s hockey game. As sad as it is as your children grow older, I am so thankful Eliza, at nearly 13, is someone fun to hang out with and someone who shares many of my interests with. The two of us had zero interest in going to the hockey game and opted to have a nice dinner out together. The Nashville food scene is incredible, with the recommendations out the wazoo. I picked the restaurants Henrietta Red after it was recommended by a friend, and one I had not been to the last time I visited Nashville. The atmosphere was cozy, coming in from a torrential downpour. We had a nice appetizer of a wood fired bread with anchovy butter, and I ordered the gnocchi, while she ordered the risotto dish. It was a special night and the best way to end a Fritz family fun weekend in Nashville.

While I did not peg Nashville as trip for the whole family, I was entirely surprised as to what a fantastic weekend it turned out to be. As I said before, we are phasing out of looking for the “coolest playground” spots when traveling, so maybe we are embarking upon a different era of trips we can do with the children. I cannot wait to get back to Nashville, and maybe for a much needed girls’ trip next time!

Nashville in a Nutshell

Thursday

• Arrive to The Dolly Apartment
• Walk into the village pizza

Friday

• Breakfast at The Pancake Pantry
• Country Music Hall of Fame
• Walk around Broadway/See Ryman
• Lunch at Arnolds
• Back to Hillsboro to rest/shop
• The Assembly Food Hall for dinner

Saturday

• Breakfast at Biscuit Love
• Walk to Fannie Dee playground
• Shower/Change for game
• Lunch at The Grilled Cheeserie
• USC/Vandy Game
• Boys to Preds game-Girls to Henrietta Red