When the city for a conference I try to attend each year was announced as Nashville, I got a wee bit excited.  I’ve been reading a lot of travel buzz about Music City USA, and as I’ve come to learn more about Nashville,  I’m a bit sad to not have some extra time there.  This is one of the rare trips where I’m not able to tack on a few extra days, so I’ll be squeezing my tourist adventures into the margins on this one.

With limited time in Nashville next week, I’ve got an almost impossible to achieve itinerary of things to see and do, but I’m going to try my best.  There are a few barbeque joints to try and I will find a way to sample the local specialty “hot chicken” at least once (probably twice).  Luckily, one of Nashville’s best hot chicken joints is close to the conference hotel.  I hope to set aside one evening to take in some bluegrass and alt-country/Americana music at the wide selection of live music joints.  I think I can fit in a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame and perhaps a quick walking tour of downtown Nashville and some of its relatively new public art installations.   There’s also the allure of venturing out one night to take in Nashville’s triple A baseball team, the Sounds, and their cool retro guitar shaped scoreboard in left field.

Ambitious plans for a short trip, but looking forward to whatever I can squeeze in.  I can always catch up on my sleep on the plane on the way home!