Solo Trip to Nashville

So I'm not sticking to the Blogtember Challenge prompt for today, but my goal for September is just to blog every day this month, so I will definitely continue using some of the prompts but I also want to give you guys some updates on my life.

In August I went on my first ever trip by myself. I felt like quite the adult. I had purchased myself a VIP ticket to Needtobreathe's Tour de Compadres show at the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Tennessee. Now you may be wondering why I chose to go alone. There is a simple explanation: none of my friends really care for my music taste. I always feel guilty and constantly have to check and ensure they are having fun when they go to shows with me. Meh, I just wanted to have the ultimate carefree experience.

And I did. It was amazing. The show was comprised of Colony House, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, Switchfoot, and Needtobreathe (my favorite band ever).

I wasn't really sure what to expect with the VIP thing. So, I waited in line for what felt like hours. They finally call us back and explained how this experience would work: All the bands would come out, they would sing a special song together, and then we would form a single file line, and one by one get our photos with all the bands. No selfies allowed and no one-on-one interaction with the bands. I was really disappointed with that because I've been waiting for 4 years and 5 concerts to meet Needtobreathe, but anyway. They whole thing was over in what felt like 3 minutes. I did get to sit between Jon Foreman (Switchfoot's lead singer) and Bear Rinehart (Needtobreathe's lead singer) which was pretty amazing. I literally only spoke to Bear. I was so disappointed because I'm a huge fan of all the bands playing and I really would have loved to have spoken to Drew Holcomb or Jon Foreman or Seth Bolt...or either Chapman from Colony House. Sigh. But Bear was really friendly. And as I walked away Jon Foreman said thanks and hoped I enjoyed the show. Tear.

 So there ^^ is the most expensive photo I own. Haha.

I met some pretty great people to talk to while waiting. There was a guy, who also came alone, that I talked to a lot. They were streaming the show live online, so the crew actually came up to me and Patrick (the guy alone) and interviewed us together so they could have some feedback from the fans. The interview was painfully awkward so needless to say, it wasn't aired. 

That aside, the show was incredible. There was this amazing sense of freedom being there by myself. I didn't have to care about embarrassing my friends by acting a fool, so I did just that. I was in an area with a lot of fogies who sat through Drew Holcomb. He's one of my favorites so I ain't about to sit through his show. I stood and I was literally the ONLY one standing in the entire area between the pit and the lawn seating. Pretty sure Drew and I made eye contact. Haha. I loved everything about the concert.

I even happened to run into a couple of celebs along the way. Steven Curtis Chapman was there supporting his sons' performance and Ben Rector was there supporting his compadres, as he was on the first leg of the tour. 

I've been a longtime fan of SCC and he was SO genuine and kind. In fact, he helped me steady the phone for our selfie, as you can see in the Ben photo...I was so shaky. I hate that it turned out so blurry but I am seeing him in November so here's hoping for a redo.

At the end of the show, all bands came out and performed Needtobreathe's Brother. I was excited to see Ben Rector was accompanying them on stage as well, and if you look you can see him in the light pink shirt and shorts in the picture below. If you like to creep, like I do. 

Day one of my trip was AMAZING. I explored a little Nashville and then had a fabulous time at the show. 

Day two was a little less incredible. 

As I hit the interstate to head home, I make it about 2 exits from my hotel and then notice the car in front of me swerving. Then I see what looks like a big metal pipe right in my lane. Guess what? I'm going 70mph and there are cars on either side of me. So, what do I do? Hit the pipe. Immediately my car starts shaking and my little caution light appears beside my odometer. Yup, I got a flat tire.

I had to call a tow truck and be towed because I'm a typical, helpless girl who doesn't know how to change a flat. That's an exasperated selfie, waiting on the tow truck. They took me to Firestone at Cool Springs and I got my tire changed and they made sure there was no other damage to the car. They were so nice there, so I have to give them a shout out. 

Anyways, I'm beyond thankful that the flat happened on day two and not day one! So that's a nice little recap of my trip. Sorry it was so wordy and kudos if you made it this far in the post.

Have you ever done a trip by yourself or is that something you'd like to do?