Yesterday was the first full day traveling. We woke up in O’Fallon Illinois and headed east and south through Kentucky and into Tennessee. 

Yes… we did stop at Starbucks for a coffee before skipping out of O’Fallon. Thankfully we did not have as tight of a timeline to reach our destination as the day before. We had plenty of wiggle room for stops. 

Driving through Illinois was very similar to Iowa—rolling hills, farmland, and exits to small towns. When we did get the urge to stop, Jim said we were not stopping in Illinois. We had to cross over to Kentucky first. Whatever! 

So as soon as we crossed into that little sliver of Kentucky, we exited at the first town, Paducah. At that stop I loaded up on gas station snacks and also snagged a jimmy johns sammy before heading out again. 

From there, it was really only a short distance to our destination for the day.. Nashville! 

You know how people say life isn’t about the destination, it’s more about the journey? Well I’m here to tell you that was NOT the case on this day. 

The drive was lacklust at best and the destination was definitely the highlight of our day! 

We stayed at Hotel Bobby in downtown Nashville where they let us check in early. Feeling newly energized by our arrival, we opted to hit the gym there instead of taking a nap. 

Our only time constraint was a 6pm reservation for the Bobby rooftop experience. We were told that the roof was the place to be for sunset. Makes sense. 

And what an experience indeed!

They had a very large, very retro bus that had the inside converted for seating. There were several igloos with seats inside as well. There was a pool, an ice rink, and a couple of stone fire pits surrounded by benches. Definitely an eclectic mix of stuff… and on the roof of a 10 story building no less.

We arrived about an hour before our reservation, grabbed a drink at the bar, and headed into the bus for a seat. Neat-o.

We didn’t stay in the bus long because we couldn’t see the sunset from inside. Turns out though, that despite being on a rooftop, the building had no view of the sunset as it was smack in the middle of downtown and overshadowed by taller buildings on the west side.

Our igloo was arguably the best one cuz it was right on the edge of the building and had the best view.

We stayed nice and cozy in there until the sun was completely down and we had our fill of drinks and Nashville hot chicken.

I had too many drinks actually… and am kind of regretting it today. Still, it was a good time and a very unique experience. That’s really what life is all about right??

Today it’s on to our next stop and the place we’ll be staying for three days and nights.. Smoky Mountain National Park. 

Didn’t you kind of wonder what SMA stood for? That’s right. This road trip is actually our winter Smokey Mountain Adventure!!

It’s only taken 3 days to get there. 🙃

I think that’s it for today. 

See you in the Mountains, 

~Miss SugarCookie