From purple mountains majesty to purple lights of the strip club

I have just arrived in Nashville, TN. We just spent a week in Vail for the Teva Mountain Games which was a great event in an incredibly beautiful city. After the first day we decided to rent bikes to cruise from hotel to event site and so on. I had a sweet teal cruiser. As I peddled down the main pedestrian street of Vail Village, the sight in the distance was one I can't do justice with words. These huge looming mountains covered in snow sat quietly, overlooking the whole valley. It was the best way to start each day.

We finished the event yesterday and hopped on a flight this afternoon to head to the next event - Bonnaroo. We're spending a night in Nashville before driving down to Manchester. Let me paint a quick picture of the change of scenery. For the past week we have been living at the Vail Plaza Hotel and Club - a beautiful new hotel with 3 hot tubs, a nice gym, friendly staff, beautiful rooms and smack in Vail Village. Tonight we are at a Comfort Inn just off the highway into Nashville where I can literally see flashing purple and red lights at the strip club across the street. Yep. And tomorrow we will be moving in to an RV in the middle of a field in Manchester, TN...although I'm pretty sure the RV will seem nicer then our current hotel accommodations.


The Atlanta to Nashville flight was delayed, than we sat on the runway for a good bit. However, it was a small price to pay for what I saw towards the end of the flight. The most amazing thing - a powerful lightening storm out the window of the plane. Huge thunderheads nearby with lightening snapping every second...giant flashes of lights, small strobes of it, large bolts shooting down from the cloud. It was magnificent. I tried to catch a photo of it but the power of the skies was too much for me.

Some interesting post-Teva Games tid-bits: I saw some awesome dogs do some impressive things like jumping 6'6" off the ground and into a pool. I had some tasty food at various establishments. I wore my amazing 80's sequined cocktail dress to an event party...it was definitely a major hit. I made new friends. I realized how much altitude really does affect your system...my running skills were severely compromised by being at 8,150 feet.

Things I'm looking forward to this week. Roughing it...I grew up a child of camping trips, and have spent enough time living out of a backpack to appreciate a few days of throwing a hat on and tramping through mud. I will get to see more musicians in concert in 4 days than I've seen my whole life - top choices include: Jack Johnson, Metallica, Tiesto, Vampire Weekend, Kanye West, Tegan and Sara and more. Silent Disco (I'll explain after experiencing). Good friends of mine coming down to work with us. Bonnaroo update will come next week.