The Dennis Diary: Off to Tennessee

This past weekend, Rob had a CRNA conference in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (right outside of Nashville) so the kids and I decided to join him. My mother-in-law was also nice enough to accompany me up there. We had to take two cars, because no adult can fit in the back of our 4runner with two car seats, and I wanted to have someone with me during the day so I would be able to take both kids out. I'm not brave enough to attempt any solo adventures by myself yet. Rob left extremely early Friday morning to get to the conference by 8:00 a.m., but we didn't leave until after Camille's Pediatrician appointment. We weren't in a rush and Rob wasn't due to finish up until 6:00 p.m. that evening.

The drive up went well, but took almost double the time it normally would...6 hours for a 3 and a half hour drive. Road trips always take longer with children, but you can expect to add even more time when you've got a nursing infant who's not really on any type of schedule yet. Rob met us at our hotel after the last speaker finished and we all went out to dinner. That was our big outing for the day. We were pretty exhausted from traveling and headed back to the hotel post-dinner to get some "rest"... or as much rest as you can get with a newborn.

Saturday, Rob was at the conference again so Claudia and I got breakfast and then took the kids to the Nashville Zoo. When we first drove up, I was incredibly impressed. We have an annual pass to the Atlanta Zoo, which we love, but this zoo looked even better! We were pretty disappointed when we got inside and started walking around. The zoo was closing early due to a Halloween Bash and there honestly weren't very many animals. The zoo is also extremely spread out so it seems like you have to walk a mile between each habitat. I will say that the scenery is prettier than the Atlanta zoo, but a two year old isn't really there for the gorgeous landscaping. The Atlanta zoo is better in that there are so many animals to see and you aren't walking far from one to the next. Tripp kept asking to see the lions and bears and we never did find any. There was a limited selection of animals at best. Camille did great and only started to cry when she got got hungry as we were walking back to our car.

That evening, we met up with Rob at the conference center and then went to grab dinner at Chili's. The kids seemed pretty worn out from our zoo outing so after eating, we all decided to go back to the hotel to hang out and put them to bed. To make it easier on us and to make sure Tripp would be able to sleep, we got an adjoining room with Claudia. This way Tripp could sleep in her room and not be woken up by Camille during the night.

On Sunday morning, Rob had to be at the conference until noon so Claudia and I just hung out at the hotel, let Tripp watch cartoons, got ready and packed, and went to eat at the continental breakfast buffet. The highlight of my trip probably happened during this breakfast. We were sitting in the restaurant, there was only one other older couple in the room, when I looked up and who do I see? None other than the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears, Jay Cutler! I'm a Falcons fan, but also a football fan in general so I knew it was him right away. I did the dorky thing and said "OH MY GOSH" really loudly. He looked straight at me, but I felt kinda stupid so I never did ask for his autograph. I called Rob to tell him what happened when we got back to the room. He said I should have asked if Tripp could get a picture with him, but my phone happened to be charging in the room. Darn! Oh well, it was still neat to spot a celebrity at the Hampton Inn & Suites of all places!

We met Rob at the conference center around noon and the rest of the day consisted of traveling home with a few stops to nurse and one to eat at Cracker Barrel for lunch. We may not have done a ton while we were in Tennessee, but I'm just proud of myself for making the trip only 3 weeks after having Camille. Would I ever travel that soon after just having a baby again? I told myself no at the time...