Nashvegas-- The land of hotels with only one entrance...

Well folks, we made the 12 hour trek to Nashville, step one of many on our trip across the country.

We started off in a typical manner-- me nagging Tim about being late/slow/taking his time. And, for those of you who know him, that doesn't go over well, but I just can't help myself. So, we finally got on the road around 830 a.m., stopping at Wawa for breakfast.

For awhile, the trip was uneventful...blah blah I-64, blah blah I-295. But then, cool thing happened that just made my day: pulled up behind Mr. Brett Brownell, who was on his way to a very important meeting in DC. So, we rolled up beside him, smiled, waved, called each other on the phone. Maverick gave him a high-five for encouragement through the window and we continued the drive. Funny thing-- we had just passed our exit at that point and had to turn around. Amazing how God knows when both sets of people just need a little "pick me up" to make it through a tough day. :)

We then get back on track and begin our quest to find a license plate for each US state: Geeky, I know, but you gotta do whatever you can to help the time pass. For the next 8 hours, we gabbed, listened to music, complained about bad drivers, etc. Mr. Maverick was in an adjustment phase, perpetually shaking like a leaf for the first 10 hours. We think that he swears we were giving him away. He was thinking that I just got him a new collar to "pretty him up" and we were gonna drop him in the middle of farmland to fend for himself. After 10 hours, I guess he figured we would have done it already, so he calmed down and enjoyed the ride.

Sample of what was pumping through the speakers:

"The River"- The Boss

"Rise" (Into the Wild Soundtrack)- Eddie Vedder

"Freedom"- George Michael

"Dig"- Incubus

"Hallelujah"- Jeff Buckley

"Say Hey (I Love You)"- Michael Franti

"You Are The Best Thing"- Ray LaMontagne

"Come Let Go"- Xavier Rudd

And so we arrive in Nashville-- on fumes. We went on a mission for a gas station and the hotel. In scoping out the hotel prior to checking in, we realized that there would be no separate entrance to smuggle Maverick in. For all that know him, he never barks and is no trouble, so we figured we might be able to "forego" the pet fee. We got creative. Decided to park across the street in overnight parking to avoid the valet, put him in Tim's backpack and roll up. Little did we know the hang-ups that would shortly ensue.

1) Front desk inspects everyone going through the lobby

2) The valet stand is the only way to enter the hotel

3) it's blazing hot outside at 8pm and

4) I have a squirmy dog that hates his mom for trying to put him in a backpack.

So, we bail and I call the front desk begging for mercy. The manager is sympathetic (you'll understand why in a moment) and offered us (2) comp. breakfast tickets and comp. internet--which I am writing you from now.

So, here are the expenses:

$39 room (great deal!)

FREE breakfast

FREE Internet

$6 fake overnight parking garage (ching)

$22 valet charge (after finding out about the doggie) (ching)

$30 room service (ick)

$75 non-refundable pet fee (ching ching ching)

Starting the first leg of the trip $100 over budget= priceless lesson that I'm not very smart and that honesty is always the best policy.

Day one: complete. Tomorrow, we are going to attempt to walk around Nashville a little and then make our way to Memphis, TN. Wish us luck. We're gonna need it.

“Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God.” - Kurt Vonnegut