Day One in Nashville

At Piranha's

Kelsey Emma and Shane Dial play Haggard, Old Crow Medicine Show & pop country hits for tips at Rippy's.

Cousins from Tampa, Seattle, Sioux Falls & Cocoa Beach meet up in Nashville.

Nashville!

I've wanted to run away to Nashville ever since I saw this 1993 movie about the pursuit of professional songwriting, one of River Phoenix's last performances. 





I'll be in town for a mini-family reunion, with four of my five first cousins, all female. Naturally the girly thing to do is to check out the Tim McGraw/Kenny Chesney show at LP Field with 68,798 of our closest new friends. 


Though good for family bonding, not so great for taking in quality music (like Audrey Auld for example). And though she's not playing while I'm in town, Audrey did give me a list of places to check out. Always open to more ideas & suggestions... 


I'd still kinda like to know the way to Trisha Yearwood's house, though.

Cook's Kitchen

Sally Nichols (née Cook) & husband have owned Cook's Kitchen in South Tampa for the past 18 months. 

Originally from the UK, Sally previously cooked for Prince Andrew and Fergie. 

 I won't make any Weight Watchers jokes, other than mentioning I ate half my weight in brie and cream and sticky toffee pudding. 

The sun never sets on sticky toffee pudding.

It's nice to enjoy the best part of travel (i.e. food) without leaving the comfort of a Florida winter.

#FridayReads: Committed

As an impoverished writer, I'm the last person I buy books for (though they're my favorite presents to give).

But on my recent vacation I spent more on books, for myself and others, than on food. Don't let my waistline fool ya, I'm kind of a pig.

Because my travels were as much about break-up recovery as reconnecting with old friends, one of the books I bought for myself & devoured in flight was Elizabeth Gilbert's Committed.

To quell her own marriage fears, the author researched the history of marriage, and explored its place in Western society as well as other cultures, like the Vietnamese Hmong.

Liz asked and answered her own questions about the multi-millennial-old institution: Why do we humans have it, why do we still need and want it? Did the Christian Right invent it?

Most people I know do not have good relationship role models from their youths or in their lives now. How else are we to learn the right way to be happily married?

I think Committed is a great guide for those of us who may be scared but haven't given up, and want a manual for next time.

I found both flying solo & bad marriages to be lonely, so this sequel to Eat, Pray, Love helped with my journey(s).

Committed is a fine map for getting back on the horse. Even if you never had a horse, or had one a long time ago but forgot where you parked it.

My First Book(store) Tour

Who needs to publish a book in order to embark on a four city book(store) tour? Not me!

I didn't get to stop into all of my favorites, but I sure did fit a bunch into one week. And I even had a fan to greet me.

Occupy The American Dream

Change is uncomfortable, but it can lead to a better way of life for us all.

Very Happ(ening)y December

My first blog post via iPhone as I wait for my flight from PHL to SEA, so excuse any format weirdness.

As I embark on the final phase of my DC/Philadelphia/Seattle trip, I can't believe that I even attempted to pack all this into a one week.

But my MO wasn't the travel itself, rather I'm on a post-divorce mission to check in with many of my long lost girlfriends. People who remind me of (what for sometime seemed like) my misplaced awesomeness.

I often complain about my closest friends being dispersed around the country, but that's what you get when you make a habit of moving every few years.

I'm incredibly fortunate to have made & kept a close girlfriend or two in each place I've inhabited. I'm also looking forward to next week when I'm back home in Tampa, where I have many amazing ladies I'm in need of catching up with too.

Here's Your Sign

Ah, vacation.

At American University

Politics & Prose

National Museum of Natural History