Our youngest son, his darling wife, and our sweet granddaughters live five hours away, which means until they develop teleporting to the level of Star Trek, we don’t get to see them as much as we’d like (that would be every day).
But we recently hit upon a fabulous idea…We meet them midway for a weekend. Why we didn’t come up with this earlier is a mystery. It seems so obvious now.
Anyway.
In case you’d like a fun weekend getaway with your grands, I can highly endorse Nashville! We all had a blast.
Our Meeting Place
Since we wanted to make the most of the two-day window we had, we all got up early and drove to Nashville.
And, since our hotel rooms wouldn’t be ready until the afternoon, that meant we needed another meeting place.
I scouted out local parks because I thought the girls might need to get some wiggles out after their two-and-a-half-hour trip.
The park closest to where we were staying was Centennial Park, located in Nashville’s west end. It could not have been better!
There were activities going on at the Parthenon that the girls could have done, but we opted for a less organized morning. (Truth: Chi Chi and Pop wanted the girls’ full attention for ourselves!)
So, we spread out a Frozen blanket near the Parthenon and the lake and commenced enjoying each other.
Exploring the Park
I had put together some Adventure Backpacks, so we rummaged through those first. The girls blew bubbles, drew on the sidewalk with chalk, and climbed trees until it was time for lunch.
We went to a nearby hotdog vendor, but you could easily pack your own picnic lunch to bring. Or, pick up some of that fantastic Hattie B’s chicken, which has a branch close to the park.
All that fun on top of a car ride meant one necessary next step. Naps! We headed to Opryland Hotel to check in for a quick rest.
And maybe a cookie or two…
Then it was back to exploring!
Exploring the Resort
The hotel offers so much to do! You can sign up for one of their packages, which are seasonal. While we were there they offered “Once Upon A Spring” events and activities, including an all-new interactive live show – Paint Me A Fairytale, Spring-inspired scavenger hunts, art activities, cookie decorating, live entertainment, and more!
Also, SoundWaves, an indoor water park featuring four acres of combined indoor and outdoor water attractions, is open year-round.
Honestly, there were so many things to do in that resort that we didn’t scratch the surface.
We decided the girls were a little too young to fully enjoy SoundWaves, so we hopped on a shuttle and headed over to OpryMills mall.
After a “train” ride through the 1.25 mile mall, Pop and I sent the parents off for a little retail therapy. Then the girls and I (Pop gets vertigo) took a spin on the carousel.
Our last stop was dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, where we fit right in with the monkeys.
We can’t wait to go back!
We’re already planning our next weekend…or maybe even just a day. The way I figure it, we have approximately three million more itineraries to conquer and nine trillion more meals to eat together. At least, I can hope there are!
Have you experienced some fun activities in Nashville with your grands? Tell us what you have done with them there, or let us know about other fun weekend or day-trips you’ve made.