Deb and I drove to Nashville and Destin, FL. That’s right. We drove to make our own schedule so we could truly relax. I have to say it was quite enjoyable seeing parts of the country we have not seen.
We arrived in Nashville after a 7 hour drive from Peoria. My goal was to get some dusk pics of the John Seigenthaler pedestrian bridge overlooking the city. So, we quickly walked from our hotel to the bridge to scope out the best composition. After checking out the spots for pictures later, I flew the drone and waited for the sunset.
Looking up the Cumberland river downtown Nashville at dusk from the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge.
Unplanned composition from the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge
After catching the “pro shots”, we enjoyed Broadway and its Honky Tonk Bars. This gallery includes pics from both the stop down to Florida and on the way back.
Luke Bryan's was the first place we stopped at Thursday night.
301 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201
Our next stop Thursday was at Jason Aldean's bar.
307 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201
How could we skip Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row while we were in the neighborhood?
400 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
If you are ever in Nashville, you need to stop at Five Daughters Bakery on 12th Avenue South. The whole area is worth a visit. Friday morning, we stopped for donuts. They are devilishly heavenly.
1110 Caruthers Ave, Nashville, TN 37204
Friday night, we stopped at BB King's for dinner and some classic Blues.
152 2nd Ave N, Nashville, TN 37201
Friday night, we stopped at the Redneck Riviera where they teach you how to line dance.
208 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201
Friday night, things were getting a little crazy downstairs, so we walked to the rooftop of Blake Shelton's Ole Red.
300 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201
It didn't look that big on the menu! Do not order this. It really didn't taste that good and was a total heart attack desert.
No, we did not go in but just to prove we were in Nashville, we got a selfie at the iconic Tootsies lounge.
422 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
In the category of "you can't make this up", this band crew were hard to describe, so we had to take a pic.
On the way back home on Thursday, we spent the night out by the Grand Ole Opry so we had to do the tour before heading home. Cool place to visit.
On Friday morning, we drove by Vanderbilt University then visited Nashville’s Parthenon. That’s right, they have a full-size replica of the original that I visited in 2015.
How many of you know that Nashville has an exact replica of the original Parthenon? I've visited the original in Athens. This replica gives you a better idea of how it would look if it weren't in ruins.
Taken from roughly the same place as Athens Greece, this gives you a perspective how impressive this place is.
One for me and one for you
Once we arrived in Destin, I was fortunate to capture some good morning shots. I can imagine revisiting and catching even more. The place is gold for morning shots of the sand dunes and fresh water lakes bordering the gulf.
This shot is just off Rte 98 looking over Powell Lake at dawn. I wish I had my grad filter because this lighting and composition turned out well.
After catching the sun rise, my buddy Kurt drove us over to Camp Creek Lake to catch the sun rise from a different angle.
Next stop was Deer Lake for another stunning sun rise shot.
Tried one more lake - Western Lake
This composition of Western Lake turned out better than the first one.
Kurt really liked this composition
With my grad filter, I tried to recreated the first morning but didn't get the right composition.
These remaining pictures were captured driving through Alabama and while in Destin.
Driving to Florida from Nashville, we couldn't help but catch this sign. Deb's favorite movie is Sweet Home Alabama.
When we stopped for gas in Florala (a city bordering Florida and Alabama) I noticed this wall of license plates.
Deb wanted this pic to show Jack
Don't know about you but I found this old school house to be captivating.
56 years old and this was the first time I'd seen a cotton field. After growing up in the Midwest with nothing but beans and corn, this was a welcome experience.
I collect Margaritaville T-shirts. Unfortunately, the store wasn't open yet so I got a selfie instead.
Susan Haefele drove 2 hours over from Mobile to see us while we were in Destin. It was great catching up with an old friend.
Bud & Alley's is an iconic stop in Destin. Deb and I met Susan there.
