So About Nashville

A write-up on my trip is probably overdue.

Anyway, we were 20 minutes leaving Bloomington, and we hit an hour of traffic when we passed through Louisville. It was a fun bus trip however. We watched Inglourious Basterds and The Hangover. I got some sleep in, listened to Between The Buried and Me's new EP, and snacked with John. The whole trip was pretty bromantic honestly.

After our six-hour bus ride, we threw our stuff in the hotel room and headed to MafioZa's pizza. We waited outside for like an hour, but it was worth it. We sat at a huge table appropriately named the Mafia table. I got some of the buffalo pizza, sausage pizza, garlic bread and breadsticks. Also they had ginger ale, which has been known to make me very happy. Following this, we headed back to the hotel, where we crashed because I am too lame to ask others what they were doing.

Ohgodthispostwilltakeforever...

Anyway, In the morning, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel. They had banana nut muffins, which are always more than welcome. We headed to the Tennessee State Museum. It was pretty cool. They had a ton of old guns and weapons, and other things that people with an attention span greater than mine surely found amazing.

From here we went to lunch. The majority of the group went to B.B.King's Blues Club. I got a bowl of Gumbo, which was pretty damn good. What was NOT good was the slow as hell service. Our server couldn't have tried less if he tried to try less. On the other hand, the live music was absolutely spectacular and made up for the fact that the food was a bit too expensive.

After we ate we had a bit of free time. Me, John, Michael, Alicia and Christine walked around for a bit. We saw some street performers, expensive banjos, boot stores EVERYWHERE, and an ice cream place that I stopped at and got some... delicious ice cream!

The next stop was the Belle Meade plantation. This was alright. The building itself and the grounds were pretty cool, but our tour guide was sort of a whack job. She would go in and out of character with absolutely no warning. She was also completely powerless to stop our bus driver from drinking his gallon of water. He cracked me up. We hung around after the tour for a while. The next stop was a state park, where we spun around holding our shoes and visited a shady flea market. Mostly that was nice because the weather was beautiful.

Of course, everyone knows the best thing to do in Nashville. The best thing to do anywhere: Laser Tag! We played laser tag at this huge place in downtown Nashville. It was a blast, the only problem being this douchey little 14 year old who racked up points by following around some of the girls on our trip. I walked by him later in the night and, in retrospect, should have called him a variety of things I don't feel like saying here. I came in the middle score-wise.

After a hardcore workout, food was on everyone's minds. And when I say everyone, I mean the entire city of Nashville, because everywhere was packed. It took us forever to decide upon the Old Spaghetti Factory (because our first choice, Rippy's, was packed). Unfortunately, we didn't have an hour to wait. Hard Rock proved to be equally packed, and The Pita Pit (NOT my choice) was closed. On the plus side, we got to walk around a lot and saw:

• Mario And Luigi playing guitars
• A girl hula-hooping
• Two really little girls badly singing to a recording
• Old dude twins wearing identical shirts with sex jokes
• Three girls without pants
• Many other less notable street performers

Luckily, we found a Mexican joint that for some odd reason was not packed. Not only was El Ray affordable, the food was really good. I got some spicy steak stuff and a Piña Colada, which is always a day maker. Also they had bottomless chips and salsa, of which I ate probably three bowls. I left feeling very full. When we returned to the bus, there was a group of dudes from Alabama. We had somehow agreed to take them around the corner. I am not sure how this happened but I am glad they were not muggers.

Back at the hotel, I decided to join in on a pillow fight. It consisted of the dudes in the group beating the living tar out of the girls. After that was over I played Bullshit and Rummy down in the lobby with a group of people who I won't name because I don't exactly remember them and would not want to exclude one. I DO remember Kim and Alicia constantly reminding me how much I suck. I eventually fell asleep on my bed listening to Pink Floyd.

In the morning, we ate a quick breakfast and rushed off to the Country Music Hall Of Fame. While I didn't know most of the artists, nor do I give a damn about country music, but I could still respect how cool all the stuff was. We also danced to a high school choir and band while there. Their parents took pictures of us. From here, it was time to head home. I played cards, listened to music, and then... and then... and then watched Dude, Where's My Car? We also stopped at KFC, sadly not in Kentucky.

Overall, it was an amazing trip, and a great way to get to know people on my floor more. Now if you'll excuse me, I've posted enough to not post for another year.