Houston We Have A Problem, Nashville, Antique Archaeology, Broadway, Murals and Bar-B-Cutie

We slept as much as we could and it seemed shorter than it was because we lost two hours flying east.  Our flight arrived on time in Houston at 6:00 a.m.  We got off the plane and wandered to our next gate to our connecting flight.  We had to wait about an hour so we wandered around the airport.  Erika spilled her coffee and had to get a new one.  As it was reaching boarding time, we wandered back over to our gate and waited to get on.

We boarded our plane and left on time at 7:05 a.m.  I was super tired so I slept after we took off.

About an hour on the plane (somewhere over Missouri) the flight started to feel weird.  We flew really low, really fast and the plane got really hot inside.  My stomach started to feel yucky and it was an all around strange experience.  The pilot got on and told us that we had turned around and was heading back to Houston because of a plane malfunction.  The cabin would not depressurize (I was surprised the masks didn't come down) and the A/C unit was not working so he apologized for the inconvenience.

The passengers who had connecting flights for Nashville all started to freak out.  Especially those who had to be somewhere (meetings/business) at a certain time got really upset.  A lot of them found other alternatives to get to where they needed to be.

We got back to Houston and we all deplaned.  Our flight was delayed several times due to the pilots and flight crew not feeling well and had to be seen by doctors.  We were given snacks and water while we waited and we were given a new flight departure which would get us into Nashville around 1:00 p.m.  Mom called dad to let him know the situation and what we were doing.  It would have been bad if we hadn't turned around.

We boarded our new plane and waited for our crew to get there.  It was delayed again because a thunder and lightening storm had rolled in from the east off the Gulf of Mexico.  It was getting so tired of these delays.  I just wanted to be there already!!

The flight attendants told us because of the delays we have suffered today and the inconvenience they gave out a $10 food vouchers to all the passengers for a quick lunch and a $75 coupon for our next flight with United.  Mom decided to stay on the plane.  Erika and I deplaned and went to go find some food near our gate.  We found a place that served sandwiches.  She and I got a sandwich.  Erika also wanted French fries so we found a Wendy's.  We ordered French fries, chicken tenders and a Caesar salad just so we could use all of the voucher money because we didn't get change back.

We hustled back because we saw that they weather delay had been lifted.  Now we can finally leave Houston for good.  We ate our food as we took off.  I took a short nap before our decent into Nashville.  I was so happy that we finally arrived after a five hour delay on our vacation.  Now we will have to hustle to get everything we wanted to see while we were here.

We arrived in Nashville at 2:55 p.m.  We immediately got off and grabbed our bags from baggage claim.

We made our way down to the rental car desk and filled out the necessary paperwork.  I ended up paying for it outright because mom had put the reservation in my name.  He pointed out the signage to follow to the car.  We grabbed our stuff and followed the signs to a kiosk.  A lady gave us some more paperwork and directions to follow about documenting the damage to the vehicle.  She handed us the keys and we walked to the car.  We got a white Hyundai Elantra (similar to Ben's but his is black) and I documented the damage as mom and Erika packed our stuff in the trunk.  We left and got onto the freeway.  It was warm and raining but that soon changed.

**No one uses turn signals and they have what county they are from on their license plates**

We plugged the address into Nuvi and headed to our first place, Antique Archeology.  Mom has been a fan of American Pickers for years.  She was super excited to go finally see a part of it even though it was not headquarters, located in LeClaire, Iowa.  We parked the car in the first available spot and got out.  We it was very hot and humid and I was still wearing my sweats and sweatshirt and changed into a tank top, shorts and flip flops as soon as I could.  The building was awesome in person.  We remembered the episode where they found this building.  We walked up to the store front and went inside to look at all the treasures.  We recognized some of the stuff from the show.  We bought a few souvenirs and were there probably a little less than an hour.

I checked my geocaching app to see if there was one nearby and there was.  A virtual called What Used to Be (GC8343) and I had to answer questions about the building.

It was a really cool rustic building called Marathon Motor Works and it was the Marathon motor car was manufactured here from 1914-1918 but closed due to financial difficulties but continued as a parts and service business until 1918.  I had found my first Tennessee cache!  We wandered around the rest of the building for a while because it was pretty cool.

We plugged in the address to our next location to go visit.  We had to do a few drive byes to find a place to park.  When we finally did we weren't far from the other places mom had written down to go see.  We paid to park for three hours and set a timer on my phone.  We walked to the Goo Goo Cluster storefront.  Mom was more a fan of these than Erika and I were.  I personally have never had them before.  We looked at all the history of it, used the restroom and mom did buy a three pack of Goo Goo Clusters so we can each have one.  Fun fact:  Goo Goo Clusters were named after the Grand Ole Oprey.  They are considered to be the first combination candy bar, meaning it contained several types of candy rather than an all chocolate bar.

We walked up Broadway and had to go into Boot Country to look at all the boots.  They were selling them buy one get on free.  Mom and Erika actually considered getting some but didn't really like some of the colors and styles.  Me, I am not really into boots or cowboy things.  The hats were pretty cool but I wasn't going to buy one because I would never actually wear it.

We walked out and headed up the Broadway and some lady (either crazy, homeless, poor or all the above) asked us if we could spare some money and we said no, then she asked if she could have our Goo Goo Clusters and we said no again.  She said some mean stuff back at us as we were walking away.  We stopped by Printer's Alley, a place mom found while searching for things to go see.  It was fun to learn about this unique area.  At the beginning of the 20th century, Printer's Alley was home to a thriving publishing industry.  The area was home to two large newspapers, ten print shops and thirteen publishers.  It is now known for its night clubs, bars, pubs and various types of music.  It was fun to see some Nashville history.

I got to see where the Nashville Predators played and that my Pittsburgh Penguins beat them in the 2017 Stanley Cup!  Penguins represent!  I wish I would have had my t-shirt with me or a rally towel  But then I probably would have been mugged or something.

We enjoyed the rest of Broadway and headed back towards the car because time was almost up.  Erika opted to stay with the car while we ran down the street to do another virtual cache since we were there.  Winds of Change (GCE7C7) was at the symphony building and I had to count the pillars.  I went and saw the fountain that was also nearby.

Mom saw the pedestrian bridge and had to go see what was on the other side.  I walked with her.  We saw the Cumberland River and where the Tennessee Titans play football.  We walked back and joined Erika.  We were surprised she didn't call us asking us where we went.

Nashville is divided into sections (like most cities are) and we hung out in downtown, the Gulch and 12 South.  We tried to cram as much stuff as we could into the 4ish hours we had left of the daylight.  We were all tired.  Mom wanted to see some of the murals while we were here so we picked a few of the fun ones.

What Lifts You Wings

Flowers Mural

Peace Love Good Deeds

I brought Grammie with us on this adventure because I missed her a lot.  I wanted her to experience it with us since I would not be able to share it with her.  I was so crushed five days ago.

While mom was searching for stuff to do in Nashville, Santa's Pub popped up and she had to go see it.  We plugged in the address and made our way to the pub.  It was in a really obscure part of Nashville but I was sure happy to see this unique place.  It was too bad we couldn't go in for a drink.  We needed to check into our hotel.

We put the coords into Nuvi and headed to the Super 8.  We got there and checked in.  Mom said the front desk person was pretty lame.  She asked if she could upgrade to two beds instead of one (because we booked them before we knew Erika was going) and the guy basically ignored her, gave her the keys and she went to the room.  We had to sneak Erika into the room because they didn't know we had three people.  Everything was settled in and Erika decided she was going to sleep on the floor.  The room was very little with one queen bed.

We got hungry so Erika checked to see what was around us. She found a place down the street called Bar-B-Cutie because she liked the name.  Let's do it!  Erika ordered the sampler, I ordered the pulled pork and mom got a chicken salad.  We got a lot of food for our money.  You can really never go wrong with BBQ.  I love it!

We went back to the hotel, showered and relaxed a bit until bedtime.  Tomorrow was going to be just as busy.

Next Adventure:  Old Stone Fort SP, Jack Daniels Whiskey Tour, Ruby Falls and First Georgia Cache