24 Hours of Nashville

The idea to surprise Ty in Nashville sparked in my imagination a few weeks ago. It was my parents, however, who made it happen. They got directions, rented a car, got off work early, packed sandwiches,  booked a hotel, etc. It wasn't until we were in the city that I even thought of needing an address.

"Wait. We do know how to get to his work, right?"

I had been assuming that everything had been taken care of. Thanks to Mom and Dad, it had been.

It seemed everyone - my friends at school and those I met in Nashville - was so surprised that I'd go all the way to Nashville for a mere 24 hours. (Obviously, they don't know Ty very well.) When they found out my parents were the driving force (pun intended!) , they were even more surprised!

Yes, I know they're a rarity. :)

Love you guys!

This is what they did the whole time. They switched seats some, taking turns navigating and driving.

This is what I did the whole time. Well, a lot of the time. Should have done more of the time. Okay - about half the time!  Music history exam on Friday. :(

Thankfully, for my parents, I didn't practice my flute in the car. Only the hotel. I'm sorry to whoever was in the room next to ours.

Georgia peaches, anyone?

Since we were in GA, we figured we'd might as well stop by and see Allie and Jeremy and gang. They were kind enough to offer a place to lay our heads for the night. Their new house is amazing!

Iain, Cory, and I all have a habit of getting up early, so we hung out.

These pictures are for Nona, as promised!

Naturally, books were involved.

We headed out from their house in the morning and made our way closer to Ty!

Thanks to the semi-truck, we have lousy pictures of the TN sign. =/

We arrived in Nashville about noon. We did a "drive by" Goodyear just to make sure Ty was really working. ;) Of course he was. But still three more hours till his shift ended.

We did what any travelers in a foreign place would do. That's right. We hit up the local Super Wal-Mart.

We checked into our hotel and grabbed a bite to eat, too. Finally, it was time to head back to Goodyear!

We carefully drove into the parking lot, and I snuck into the front lobby. Two nice men were behind the counter.

After I'd made certain Ty was off at three, I told them who I was and what I was doing.

They, too, couldn't believe we'd drive all the way up there. (I say it really wasn't all that bad, but - then again - I wasn't driving.) I tried to go on, but they kept harping on that. After I told them I was only here for a short time, they really looked at me in disbelief.

I moved on and went straight to the point: "When Tyler gets off can you please make up some excuse to get him in here?"

They agreed, and almost as soon as I had sat down behind a half-wall, I heard, "Tyler! Come clean up this mess in here!"

One of Ty's coworkers chimed in, "Really, man, you gotta go in there."

Their promptings, combined with the fact that he was already cleaning up something in the shop, made Tyler suspicious.

The look on his face, however, told me that he never suspected this.

He just stood there. For a good ten seconds. Blinking and staring at me.

I don't think reality hit until I hopped up and gave him a hug.

My parents and I got to see his apartment (sadly, no roommates were home), and then Ty took me everywhere!

And I do mean everywhere.

We spent most of our evening driving to all the places Ty visits. I wanted to see where he goes to school, where he goes to church, where he likes to eat, etc. We also drove through downtown.

Some pictures of our adventures...

The first is of a trail in the woods by his apartment that leads to a huge lake.

It's so beautiful there.

We even spotted three doe! Can you find one hiding in the woods?

Annnd...then he took off.

Sorry for the lack of quality on these next pictures. Most were taken from a moving car.

Downtown from a distance.

Ty's school. It's a lot bigger than this one building, but this one is the most photographic. :)

On our way through downtown.

And this is a mailbox for a marina. Ty wanted me to take this. Here you go, Ty. :)

Sunday morning we had the privilege of going to Ty's church. Sunday afternoon came much too quickly. After a nice lunch, we had to leave. I know I'm smiling in this picture, but I certainly didn't feel like smiling. :(

The weekend was over way too soon, but it was more than worth every moment spent in the car. Right, Mom and Dad? :) They would say so, too. We all had a wonderful time. I certainly didn't want to come home and go to school Monday morning. Now I'm just pressing on till Thanksgiving. Only two more weeks! I miss you, Ty!