{Girls Trip} - "I Don't Know About You, But I'm Feeling 22 (HOURS in Nashville)"

Taylor Swift ~ The ERAS Tour

What an ADVENTURE!

It all started early Sunday morning when Hubby & I were able to score some last minute tickets to Taylor Swift's final show in Nashville (for later that night). Our girls were showering and getting ready for church, and as they got out, we told them to grab some cute shoes and meet me in the car for a surprise road trip... 

They were pretty shocked and not sure at all what was going on...

With that, we were out the door, as I had already packed a small suitcase with a few dresses for them to choose from!

I quickly texted one of my good friends, and unknowingly to me, she (along with her two girls) was on the way about 15 minutes behind us!

That kicked off a whirlwind 22 hours of mural hopping, taking shelter, weather delaying, and dancing in the rain, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

We made a couple stops along the way...

and grabbed lunch (and a selfie) at Buc-ee's in Cookeville, TN...

before checking in to our last minute hotel in Brentwood, TN, about 20 minutes south of the city.

We got changed quickly, and headed into town to make a brief stop in Hillsboro Village at one of my favorite murals, Drippy Lips ~ designed by Donald "Drawbertson" Robertson and painted by Out East Boys...

before meeting up with my friend, B, and her girls, that were staying within walking distance of the stadium. The stadium was set to start allowing people in at 4:30 with the opening acts beginning at 6:30, and B and her girls were running a bit behind, but we decided that this was all better with friends (M made the final call whether to head on to the stadium or wait, and it proved to be a very good one!), so we headed on over to their hotel!

I am SO GLAD that we did!

Right after we got settled happily hanging in their room, eating their snacks (they made the decision Saturday night and were a bit more prepared than we were) and waiting on them to finish getting ready, we saw this message from the stadium (shortly before 6:00)...

The view out their hotel window looked like this...

and the weather alerts on the television looked like this!

Suffice it to say, we were thankful to be in a dry hotel room (with snacks), rather than sheltering in the concrete concourses of an outdoor stadium!

About an hour later, we saw this message from the stadium (around 7:00)...

As the rain poured on, and the lightning continued to strike, our hopes were starting to dwindle...

and we were getting a little delirious, too!

{elevator fun}

We weren't sure whether to try and get dinner at a restaurant and continue to wait it out, or what, so we decided to drive around the block and check on things around the stadium, ultimately planning to end up in my parking space, (supposedly) closer to the stadium, about half a mile from our friends' hotel...

We got a little turned around as the GPS started pointing us FURTHER AWAY from the stadium (still about half a mile from the hotel, but in the opposite direction)! Yep, that's right... Bless...

So instead, we headed back to the hotel and decided to try and eat something at the restaurant in the hotel lobby, only to find out that it was closed on Sundays. So, we ordered corn dogs, nuts (dubbed "hot nuts" ~ they were quite spicy!) & olives, pretzel bites, and Shirley Temples for the girls from their bar menu, and continued to wait.

After our lovely "dinner", we headed back up to their room to wait (and took a few pictures in front of a fun mural by the elevators). Hey, anything for entertainment at this point!

Just as we were losing the last bit of hope for any chance that the show would actually happen, we saw this message from the stadium...

Wait...  What?!?!?

We were immediately reenergized and ready to go!

Then, one last message was posted (shortly after 9:30)...

Eeek!!!

So, about 5 hours after the gates originally opened, 3 hours after the first act would've started playing, and about an hour and a half after Taylor typically takes the stage, we were set to start heading that way!

We quickly caught a rainy cab ride...

and made it to the stadium...

and to our seats just in time...

the whole adventure made that much sweeter not knowing if the show would even happen...

Taylor ended up taking the stage right after 10:00 and played straight through (spontaneous bouts of rain and everything) until right after 1:30 the next morning...

What a night/morning!

After the concert, we walked back with our friends to their hotel (stopping at a mural along the way)...

got our car, and made it back to our own hotel by 3:00!

The next morning (err, make that after a few hours of sleep), we grabbed brunch at one of our favorite Nashville institutions, Pancake Pantry...

made a stop at another favorite mural...

and started the trek home, stopping in Knoxville for a quick dinner at another favorite, Petro's Chili & Chips...

Smiles were constant and voices were lost, as core memories were made, and I am so thankful for this whirlwind weekend with my girls...