New in Nashville, part 2

So after the fan club party, we went over to the area of Nashville known as "The District". With plans made to meet up with our friends again for Bo's afternoon concert at the Chevy Stage outside the Bridgestone Arena, Erich and I took off to make like the tourists we were.

I've been to Nashville twice in the past and have had neither the time nor the energy to see much of the city except the routes to and from whichever venue I was heading to; and see whichever long-haired rock star happened to be headlining. So this time, I wanted to walk. I wanted to explore. We had a few hours before we knew we needed to get back to the Chevy Stage in order to get a good seat for Bo's show. Heading down Broadway towards 2nd Avenue, we just started winding in and out of the shops.

I might be kinda strange but I love tourist traps. Trap me. Go ahead. I know I'm being trapped and I don't really give a damn. I love looking at all the t-shirts, cheesy snow globes and whatever else some hole in the wall might offer to sell me. I had warned Erich beforehand: "I will probably go into every single shop." He told me to go ahead. And true to form, he just followed me around without a single complaint. He enjoyed himself, too. He likes the same things that I do, so we're good that way. But I know he was hot. Reaaallly hot. Me, I was fine but my husband was sorta melting. I stopped every now and then to reapply sunscreen but other than that, I was running full steam ahead.

My mother has been a country music fan my whole life and I thought about her a lot when I was in Nashville. She'd always talked about Fan Fair, which is what CMA Fest used to be called. I know she'd wanted to go when she was younger but to get my dad down there probably would've taken an act of Congress or something. I don't think she could take the heat and physical activity of it now, but I sure did wish she was there with me as we took in all the sites from the Ernest Tubb Record Shop to the Ryman Auditorium. As always, click to enlarge all pics:





Music has always been an important part of my life but even more so in the last five years, since Bo. I've learned a lot about the music business and I tell you, I have so much respect for musicians in general. When you walk down Broadway, you can literally hear dozens of bands and musicians - live music streaming out of every bar and restaurant along the way. Some, of course, are even playing ON the street. One kid in particular was blowing people away.



I felt really lucky to be able to walk around and soak in this atmosphere. Erich and I had a ball. We bought souvenirs - I got a pink Nashville t-shirt and a multi-colored rhinestone encrusted guitar necklace; Erich bought magnets. We stopped in at a burger joint and heard a honky-tonk cover band go from Alan Jackson to Lady Gaga in the span of 10 minutes. We got free Monster energy drinks, Dr. Pepper and McDonald's apple slices. And learned Bo really does have male fans! LOL! We still had our lanyards from the fan club party around our necks and as we walked past a table that was set up on the sidewalk, the guy manning the thing grabbed Erich and said "Bo Bice?? Where is he?? Is he playing somewhere??" Erich, like the good peep-in-training he is, said "Yeah! At the Chevy Stage up the street at 5:45." The guy asked if Bo would be doing autographs and I said "Yeah, he usually does. Just hang around after the show." And there you go.

I'm telling you I could've walked for hours. Well, I did. But I could've kept on going. Not tired. Not too hot. No pain. It's all good. The only time I got sweaty was when I got my picture taken with The Naked Cowboy. The man was dripping. Ew. But still...if the Naked Cowboy is in front of you, you stop. Right?



Let the record show two things: Number one, the hand-on-ass thing was HIS idea. And number two, my husband is a good sport. God love 'im.

We made our way back up to the Chevy Stage and looked for our friends but didn't see them anywhere. Of course, the place was lousy with peeps and we saw some up front (where else would they be?) so we stopped to talk to them. Well, there happened to be an empty seat right between two sweetie pies, Debbie & Sherry. Debbie offered me the chair and well, when someone offers me a front-row seat, I take it. Call me crazy. Again, my wonderful husband told me to have fun and went towards the middle of the crowd to sit with the aforementioned fantastic Mr. Bill.

The chairs made me uneasy. They were these flimsy folding things that I would never have even attempted to sit on pre-op. But I sat down gingerly and it was fine. Then I crossed my legs and the chair moved. I froze and widened my eyes. DOH! That was all I needed, to break a chair at this weight! LOL! Sherry & Debbie asked me if I was ok and I said yes, but the chair moved and made me flash back to a time when I would've been scared to death to sit in it. Sherry assured me "You don't have anything to worry about now." Then Bill came up and put my LP Field pass around my neck. I was totally ready to get my groove on.

Bo took the stage soon enough and again, the man is awesome. I got some great shots this time (much better lighting and my camera prefers natural light, to be honest). Bill had told us to head over to LP Field after the show, that we needed to get there early since it can be a hassle. We could get a free shuttle with our passes, though, so that was good. But then we noticed Bo was definitely coming out for pictures. Now, I need updated pictures. I want allll the pictures with Bo that I can get. So I told Erich, "I'm not leaving."

We stood there and waited as Bo made his way down the line, Patrick shouting at everyone to have their cameras ready. As he made his way to me, he smiled and said "Hi Cindy! You look great, you know that?" Again with the name and 'you look great' stuff. Geeze. I thanked him again and Erich took a quick snap. You can see Patrick behind us still bellowing "HAVE YOUR CAMERAS READY, PEOPLE!!" LOL! Patrick is ok, he really is a super guy. He just has to mind Bo because Bo, god love him, would stand there and talk to people till he was blue in the face if left to his own devices. We don't call him 'Ramblin' Bo' for nothing. And he does have a schedule to keep.









Erich and I made our way towards the shuttles and quickly got on for the air-conditioned ride across the river to LP Field. When we got to our seats, I couldn't believe it! WOW!! We were on the 'floor' in the 16th row. Amazing. I was so grateful. The tiny little chairs were tied together and for the first time, I actually fit into a single seat comfortably and wasn't worried about crowding anyone who might sit next to me.

I looked around the big stadium and was almost brought to tears by several things. The overwhelming generosity and support of my wonderful friends. The fact that I was even there, able-bodied and healthy, looking forward to the show and not thinking about how hot and tired I was, how my back and knees were killing me and all I wanted to do was get back to the hotel and lie down. This awesome man beside me who hates country music, doesn't really even like Bo Bice's music, was probably as hot as he'd ever been in his life but....loves ME enough to make me happy by driving 12 hours one way over a weekend with little sleep to bring me here so I could have joy and experiences I never thought I could have in my life just over a year ago.

Life is sweet.



Final part coming soon: Erich slowly converts to country (maybe) but still needs a translator; bull-riding Bo and LoCash Cowboys (yee-haw!); car trouble and Romanian rednecks...