Stamps-Baxter - Saturday

Today was a day of relaxation. I slept in til 11am - yay! - and took a nice long soak in the tub. The tub is only three-quarter length with no plug, but it was still wonderful. (I used Dad's trick of using a face-cloth wrapped in a plastic bag for a plug.)

My room-mate, Debbie, arrived last night. We met last year and sang in a trio together. So today, the two of us hooked up with our suite-mates and went sight-seeing. (Each room here houses 2 people, and you share a bath with 2 other people, thus our 'suite'. )

And here's the best part: I became the tour guide! Yes, I, the Canadian, lead the Southerners around Nashville! So funny!

We went downtown and had lunch at Jack's BBQ, and then just poked around Broadway. So much fun, and just so relaxing. It's been such a busy week that we all really needed some easy time. The weather was perfect - sunny and warm, but not overwhelming heat.

We wandered up to Music Row and sat out on the patio of Caffeine for a long time. Gerald and I went there several times on our honeymoon, sipping quadruple espressos, so it was lovely to go back. We drove around the Music Row area to look at the publishing houses and the Speer Building, and then drove over to Opry Mills.

Opry Mills is a mall on steroids. It's just huge. The stores are huge. The statues are huge. The food is huge ... and fried. They sell deep-fried apple pie! They actually have a full-sized carousel in the food court. This place makes the Eaton Centre look like a corner store.

Mostly there, we just wandered and looked at stuff. We ran into a lot of other Stamps-Baxter kin, so there was a lot of 'fellowship' going on. We went into the Gibson store, which was way too much fun. They had a lot of Bourgeois guitars. This is what Gerald plays, so I had a great time picking away. Actually, if Ger was there, we would have been there all night. They also make guitars there, so you can look in and see all the parts and equipment.

We had a late supper in the food court, and then just wandered home. I really did no work today, so I may do some writing before I go to bed. It was just a really great day of talking and reconnecting and making new connections and just having fun. So wonderful!