Our FIRST Back-to-Back Cruises!!

After we booked our first Rock Boat Cruise this year, we got a great deal on Michael Franti's Soulshine at Sea Cruise just before it on the very same boat, so we said, hey, why not!! Let's cannonball!! 

Tuesday, November 2 - We flew down to Miami this afternoon after work and spent the night at the nice Marriott Miami Biscayne Bay Hotel to await our boarding and departure tomorrow of the Michael Franti Soulshine at Sea Cruise!   

Flying out of Nashville at sunset was lovely.  Let's hope for more great sunsets coming our way!

Wednesday, November 3 - This was our nice little breakfast view this morning at Biscayne Bay as we ambled over to a nearby Starbucks for a light breakfast before heading to the cruise-port to get checked-in, Covid tested and board the ship.  We both worked remotely this morning before heading over to the port which we will have to have to do the rest of the week as well since we aren't officially off work until next week's cruise. 

We got vaxxed, tested and are ready to go!!   It feels nice to know everyone on board will have gone through these same rigors to provide a safe and fun atmosphere. 

This was my first of many white Russians of the trip for me as I gazed out at the swanky new NCL Terminal before departing from Miami this afternoon.  Drinks are unlimited and included in the dirt cheap price we got for this first cruise. 

Another white Russian as Franti says "raise your glass for no fuckin' reason!" - so we did!!  Michael and the Spearhead band put on an awesome sail-away show on the way out of the port.  

The weather clouded up as we headed out to sea, but the rain held off and the Miami skyline looked kinda cool all shrouded in gray.  

One of other main reasons to jump on this great deal of a music cruise was that one of favorite bands to see live, Fitz and the Tantrums, were aboard.   They put on a great show out on the pool deck tonight.  

Thursday, November 4 - Soulshine Cruise Day 2  The ethereal Allen Stone had a great show today on the pool deck stage.  We've seen Allen a few times as an opener. but this was our first time seeing a full set by this gifted artist. Great singing voice, catchy tunes and pretty damn funny! 

We also enjoyed today sitting in on the taping of the Michael Franti's podcast,"Stay Human" with Michael Fitzpatrick of Fitz and the Tantrums.  

The buffet food on The Norwegian Gem was surprisingly creative and good.  We never once went to the sit-down formal dining room for any evening meals because it also usually conflicted with a musical show of one sort or another. 

Friday, November 5 - Soulshine Cruise Day 3 - We were dodging weather all day today as we had our one stop on the cruise at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. 

While NCL owns part of the pretty and private Bahamian isle, they don't have a dock there and so we had to tender over to Great Stirrup Cay from the ship.  The water was a little choppy, but not bad and we dodged a pretty heavy downpour as well on the way in.  

The Norwegian Gem and ominous clouds.  Amazingly, we only got a few drops of rain on us while we were on the island. Ashlee even ran into Spearhead guitarist, JB , and got a selfie with him!

After some morning work on the boat, we were able to get some afternoon beach time in, hit the also-included bar, and a swim in the beautiful waters of Great Stirrup Cay.

Back on the boat after our beach time, it was Fitz and the Tantrums time again on the pool deck stage, but this time under a dark, threatening sky.  The show was good but we were a tad disappointed that it was basically the same show as the first one (included the same silly pre-song banter?) and felt a little canned. Well, hey, they're from LA where everything is canned...but even pretty Noelle who now lives in Nashville kind of blew us off when we ran into her in the halls of the ship later on.  Well, everyone can't be Michael Franti...unfortunately.  

One our best "finds" in new-to-us music was the band, Tropidelic, out of Cleveland, OH.   The funk, soul and hip-hop musical group are entertaining to watch and hear.  

Back out on the pool deck stage later, Michael Franti and Spearhead blasted on through light to moderate rain.  The show only had to cut a little short by weather.  Watch and learn, Fitz and the Tantrums....Spearhead drummer, Manas Itiene. was all smiles despite the weather. 

Saturday, November 6 - Soulshine Cruise Day 4 -  The Miami skyline was once again in view today, but this time decked out in several shades of blue.  Note the huge tanker ship running parallel with us along the shoreline. 

Sunset on our last full day of Soulshine was a fitting end to a beautiful trip with Franti and friends.

We and Franteeeee!  We love you, Michael!! Thanks for a great cruise!  

Sunday, November 7 - Time to dock and then rock!  It's (finally) Rock Boat time for us! We've been trying for years to get on this floating music festival, but it continually sells out fast with tons of repeat cruisers.  I guess the only good thing about Covid is that it allowed us to scamper on board when others couldn't or wouldn't as this awful pandemic continues to linger. 

Hey there, Scarlett Lady, we hope to get a ride on you or one of your sisters soon. ("That sounded kinda dirty, fella"...- Jim Gaffigan).   What we do hope is to eventually take a trip on the fairly new Virgin Cruise Line.  If it's as cool as some of their hotels, it should be worth it.   It was a beautiful day back in the Port of Miami as we closed out on music cruise for another one on the same boat! 

Maybe staying on board instead of leaving the ship during the transition was not the best choice, but we got through it with a bit of waiting and patience.  We got tested again and cleared protocol and were back on the deck in the sunlight again before too awful long.   Best thing was we didn't have to move any of our crap since we had the exact same room for both cruises! 

We try and stay positive on this blog, but we have to say that the hosts of The Rock Boat, Sister Hazel, who we used to really like are a shell of themselves now.  Mainly because frontman, Ken Block, has basically lost his voice.  They sound awful and it's painful to watch and listen too.  It's probably time for new hosts to take over this cruise.  Our first show of mention (and our vote for new hosts of The Rock Boat) was and is Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness (photo above).

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Same boat, so same great food in the buffet.

Monday, November 8 -  Rock Boat Day 2 - Hello, Big Blue!  We were supposed to be back at the  Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas today.  But despite pretty weather, the seas were deemed too choppy for tendering into shore.  Since we were off work officially now.  We spent the unscheduled full-day-at-sea day relaxing, lounging and reading out on the deck watching Big Blue do her thing. 

Despite no beach time today in the Bahamas, Andrew McMahon still got to ride the waves tonight in his next show out on the pool deck.  What a great show and what a great performer!!  

Tuesday, November 9 - Rock Boat Day 3 - We've crowned this the best day of music overall on The Rock Boat.  Up until now, we were actually a little underwhelmed overall.  But today changed our minds with great shows all day and night.  We started by attending the Jon and Andrew Show, a back-and-forth of songs by the front-men of the two of the biggest acts on the ship.  We came for Andrew McMahon, but we were very impressed with Jon Foreman of Switchfoot.  He's got a great voice.  We now have to put their shows on our to-see list after this.  
We saw another great acoustic show by the two of the guys from Bowling for Soup.  They are basically the American version of Barenaked Ladies with sort of silly songs with clever lyrics that just kind of stay with you.  Their banter was even funnier. 

Nashville was well-represented with long-time Rock Boat alumnus, Will Hoge, putting on some of the best shows on the ship.  His vow to not play any of the same songs on all of his shows was impressive and only adds to his legendary performer status.  Take a hint, Fitz and the Tantrums...and he talked to us genuinely on the elevator one day...take a hint, Noelle, of the Tantrums...

The guy's got a thing for pool floats, you know?  What made this even better was that Andrew's "friend" in this show was a life-size version of our beloved Chad beverage pool floaty from our pool.   Kudos to Ashlee for snagging this great shot.  

That's Cuba and a downpour in the distance.  Another beautiful day at sea as we sailed toward Jamaica. 

Wednesday, November 10 - Rock Boat Day 4 - Welcome back to Jamaica!  This time we were on the north side of the island in Ocho Rios.   We were supposed to go to the Dominican Republic to start with, but Covid does what Covid does.  We had a waterfall excursion planned for the DR, so we were happy to see a similar trip ashore here. What we didn't realize what that this one more than a "just look at the waterfalls" trip.  Here at The Blue Hole Falls we were given the opportunity to jump in the base of it!!  And we did!  But not from the high platform seen behind the tree.  We chose to jump in down and to the right of it.  It was still a jump and still thrilling and a little scary, but we did it!  

Oh, yeah, there was a second jump!!

As a change of pace, we were asked to climb UP nearby Konoko Falls which cascades over brown-sugar-looking rocks for a couple hundred feet plus.  And we did it! (with some nice lifeguards' help). What a fun day and the weather held out nicely for us despite a dreary forecast.  

The Ocho Rios overlook from the Konoko Falls Park was stunning.  Look at our pretty (giant) boat! 

Making friends in Jamaica.  The Konoko Falls Park has a small zoo as well and we were able to have this beautiful parrot sit on both our arms, and I also got to hold my first large iguana.  Very cool!   What a fun day in Jamaica, yea mon!  

We were in the 2nd row for the 2nd Will Hoge show out on the pool deck stage tonight.  I think Will would be impressed with my rhyming skills there!  

The most unique and beautiful sunset of the entire trip was tonight as we were leaving Jamaica. 

Thursday, November 11 - Rock Boat Day 5 - Just a man and his piano...looking for a pool float, no doubt.  Love the Buc-ee's sticker on Andrew's piano.  

Better than front row, we were at the stage for the final Will Hoge show on The Rock Boat. 

Friday, November 12 - We docked today, and disembarked with no issues.  We were set to fly home in the early afternoon, but after 5 delays and 3 gate changes, we finally took off around sunset.  We each got a great view of The Everglades as we had back-to-back window seats on our American flight home.  It was a great trip and a learning experience as well.  We learned that back-to-back cruises are fun, but a big commitment.  We learned that The Rock Boat is great, but we are not sure it's the be-all end-all in terms of music cruises.  And we still believe Michael Franti should run for president with Will Hoge as his VEEP!! 

Saturday, November 13 - Will even answered me on Facebook!  Maybe Franti should be the VEEP?  

Let's FALL into AUTUMN in Vegas, Mandy

Tuesday, September 21 - We headed over to the Hollywood 24 Theaters in Nashville tonight to catch five episodes of one of our favorite classic sit-coms ever, "The Golden Girls" on the big screen.  We haven't laughed that much in a movie theater in a long, long time.   Beforehand, we had a tasty dinner at the always great Vui's Vietnamese Kitchen in nearby Berry Hill. 

Friday, September 24 - We headed to Nashville tonight to see actor/comedian, Michael Rappaport, at Zanies.  He's in one of our favorite movies of all time, Beautiful Girls, in which he's very funny. and he's uber-liberal which we like.  We had VIP seating and were even supposed to meet him after the show, but Covid shit-canned that.  Thanks, you stupid virus.  This was his first time in Nashville and he was very funny as was our local host for the evening.  With our VIP seating next to the stage Michael even incorporated us into his act by first asking if I was a vegetarian and closing the show by asking Ashlee if she'd ever done crack cocaine!  LOL.  

Saturday, September 25 - The line-up was just too good to miss Pilgrimage Fest this year, so we loaded up today for our third visit to the Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin.   We were joined by our friends Danny and Brenda (who are also letting us crash at their place nearby over the weekend) and Chris and Tarryn coming back into town from way up in Indiana.   Seems that a lot of folks are Jonesing to be outside for some good music and good time these days as it was announced that general admission tickets were SOLD OUT.   It was also comforting to know everyone in attendance was either vaccinated against Covid or a had a negative test within 48 hours of the festival. 

Our favorite performance of Day 1 was Amos Lee on the smaller of the two main stages.  We were able to get pretty close and enjoy his great vocals and tight band.  

We started the day with a good show by Houndmouth on the main stage who we've never seen play live before.  Better Than Ezra's sunset show and headliner, The Black Keys closed out the day on the main stage as well.    We had some great food in the food truck oasis and some tasty libations throughout the day as well. We also had incredibly nice weather all weekend

Sunday, September 26 - The smallest, shortest and BEST set of Pilgrimage Fest DAY 2 was Butch Walker in the American Triangle Tent.  But then again, Butch always brings it.  

The rest of Day 2 was filled with solid shows by Jamestown Revival, The Black Pumas (our first time seeing them live) and an amazing sunSET by Cage the Elephant who remain weird, remain entertaining, and remain rock-and-rollers.  We closed out the day and the weekend with veteran (makes us feel old to say that) festival players and headliners, The Dave Matthews Band.  Another great festival and another positive experience that will probably having us coming back again.

Saturday, October 2 - We had to go to Chattanooga today to get our permanent renters, Alexis and Hunter, settled into Ashlee's mom's house (goodbye for now, AirBnB), so we went a little further south first to Ringgold, Georgia, to see our niece, Ella, practice for a horse show next weekend.  This is her atop her family's newest horse, the beautiful Fred.  Great shot, Ashlee! 

Monday,  October 4 - We've gotten back to walking some at the Don Fox Park and were rewarded tonight with not only the benefits of exercise, but a pretty nice light show too. 

Friday, October 8 - Will Hoge and 3rd and Lindsley for the first of a two-night stand there.  Will's one of our favorite local artists, and I personally consider him the "Springsteen of Nashville."   We will be seeing a lot of Will again soon as he is scheduled to play on the Rock Boat Cruise that we are taking in early November.  Tonight's show was 

Saturday, October 9 - We had dinner and did a bit of ghost hunting in the supposedly haunted woods at Short Mountain Distillery in nearby Woodbury tonight with our friends Bethany, Wendy and Charly.  Dinner was good as were the cocktails beforehand.  The ghost-hunting didn't yield a whole lot, but it was a beautiful starry night with lovely temps for a walk in the haunted woods. 

Monday, October 11 - No Time to Die - man, are we gonna miss Daniel Craig as James Bond - he's the best ever in our opinion and his swan song film that we saw today at the Roxy Theaters (recliners!) here in town was awesome.  Clocking in at over two and half hours, it moved really well and was a great story.  We even liked the controversial ending (spoiler alert:  he bites it).   

Thursday, October 14 - We jumped on a plane to VEGAS, BABY!! after work today with our friend, Bethany.  We got in pretty late, but still walked around a little in The Venetian where we were staying to take in that Vegas Vibe.  Our shared room was big and roomy and even had a decent view of the High Roller Ferris Wheel all light up at night. (photo above)  

Friday, October 15 - The weather was beautiful during our whole stay albeit a bit cool for the pools at The Venetian.  This was our first time in Vegas during the fall.  I actually worked (some) from the room today while the girls shopped and wandered around The Strip.  We got together for a happy hour beer at Trustyworthy Brewing located in The Grand Canal Shoppes mall later that afternoon. 

We got dressed up nice and headed out to an early dinner and we did  it Old-School Vegas, baby!   The Golden Steer Steakhouse is a historic spot that's been a mecca for famous names for decades (our table was near Elvis' famous corner table).  The ambiance inside was awesome.  The wait staff were excellent.  We had our Caesar salads made right at the table!  The food was amazing as well.  What a fun and cool old piece of nostalgia.  Now if we could have only rented this awesome vintage convertible sitting out front!! 

A rare photo of me not in cargo shorts/pants.  Most people I know would be shocked.  But it was worth it for The Golden Steer.  Note the awesome Old Vegas ambiance background! 

Speaking of vintage!  He writes the songs, baby!  After dinner, we went to the Barry Manilow concert and we were in VIP seating right ON STAGE!!  Well, stage right, that is.  He is in residence at The International Theater at the Westgate Resort and he's trying to break Elvis' (there's that name again) record for consecutive shows there (back when it was The Vegas Hilton).  Barry was great and had tons of energy for being 78 years young!   We all had a great time especially when he popped out right in front of us during the show.

Saturday, October 16 -  Besides, Barry, our other main reason for coming to Vegas this time was today when I started my $1,500 WSOP poker tournament that I won entry into online the year before last (thanks, Covid) and finally got to cash in today to play live. I played the Monster Stack No Limit Hold 'Em Event # 30.  It was a long, grueling day but I managed to get my starting stack up to 120K at the dinner break.  But two devastating cooler hands in a row did me in late tonight and I was out.  Frustrating and disappointing, but still a fun experience again.  I shall return!! 

Sunday, October 17 - The girls had a spa day today and did some more shopping, so I rambled around and had some good craft beer and played a little more poker (again to no success...oh well). We've been amazed at watching the new MSG Sphere under construction as part of The Venetian domain.  It's going to be a state-of-the-art music venue and we can't wait to see who they might bring in for it! 

Monday, October 18 - It turned into another day apart for us today as I decided to change my flight so I could get back to Nashville early and attend the Monday Night Football Game.  The girls kept their late flight and I was able to pick them up from the airport after the game which worked out kind of perfectly.  The one thing we did share today was watching the amazing Oscar-winning documentary, My Octopus Teacher, on Netflix on our separate plane rides home.  I watched it first and was astounded at how moving it was and recommended it to Ashlee, and then she and Bethany in turn watched it coming home as well.  
Thanks for the good times as always, Vegas.  We shall return! 

 

Friday, October 22 - We dropped by the opening day of our new craft beer bar on The Lebanon Square called The Cedar Tap today.  It was crowded and the food was a bit limited and underwhelming, but the beer was good.  Things will hopefully improve in all aspects.  A great addition to our little town!  Cheers! 

Saturday, October 23 - Our tour of local J. Alexander's restaurants continued tonight in Cool Springs with dinner at that location.  With the 2-hour wait for a table, we had to sit at the bar, but the food was just as good there!  Time to go to Memphis at hit the trifecta! 

Sunday, October 24 - We were lucky to grab a couple seats tonight to the last of the SOLD OUT shows for the incredible 8-night-stand by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at The Ryman.  It was worth it.  What a knock-out of a show!  The opener, Adia Victoria, is a lanky, sultry blues-singing devil.  She was outstanding!  And Jason's just a living legend and his band are amazing!  Despite not knowing a lot of his songs, every one played was phenomenal.  Best show at The Mother Church in a long, long while! 
Before the show, we had some excellent pizza at our first visit to Slim and Husky's in the ultra-crowded (and ultra-cool) 5th and Broadway complex across the street.   

Aging like fine wine, look who's 49!!

Monday, August 16 - We went to see James Taylor and Jackson Browne at The Bridgestone Arena tonight with our friend, Bridgette.  This is our fist time seeing ol' JT, but we have a tense history with ol' JB who played The Ryman  several years back without belting out one hit...we were kinda steamed! This time he did some hits and was pretty darn good.  James Taylor was excellent as well.  We had burgers before the show in the arena at a Rotier's kiosk.  They were tasty and we now regret never going to the original location on Elliston Place (circa 1945) before it closed recently.  

Tuesday, August 17 - We were back at The Wilson County/State Fair tonight with Ashlee's co-worker and our friend, Danny, and his wife, Kim, who had neither ever been to the fair here, plus our local friend, Bethany.  Our first stop was the yard-bird exhibits and I apologized to this fellow above about all his cousins out there roasting on a stick.  Delicious!  We did have some great food including a thick-cut baloney sandwich and some deep fried Oreos. And the temps and humidity were actually reasonable enough for us to stay a good while and see most of this giant well-run fair. 

Tuesday, August 24 - We saw the new Respect film tonight at our local Roxy Theaters ($5 night, free popcorn and recliners!).  Since we never got to see Aretha Franklin play live, I guess this is as close as we are gonna get.  The movie was well-done, but did seem to avoid some touchier subjects and wash over some glaringly negative aspects of Franklin's life that weren't so good.  

Friday, August 27 - We headed out tonight to catch the comedian drag queen, Aunt Mary Pat, at the Lipstick Lounge in East Nashville.   We've been a fan of his/her hilarious routine on social media for a while now.  The show was fun, but we were definitely out of our element a bit.  We had dinner beforehand at East Side Bahn Mi that was simply outstanding!  We also had a beer afterwards at Crazy Gnome Brewing completing our East Nashville Night.  

The first birthday present of this year's Ashleextravaganza arrived today.  It was this cool clear toy candy cat hand-made at Shane Confectionary up in Philadelphia.  They are the oldest candy shop in the U.S.  Time to do some kitty-nibbling!! 

Saturday, August  28 - As the AirBnb windfall continues down in Chattanooga, we worked most of the day down there today getting it ready for the Labor Day weekend visitors.  After three positive reviews from three consecutive stays, we had an open weekend and it was time for a little deep-cleaning, lawn care and other chores.   

Sunday, August 29 - Well, we were supposed to see Harry Connick, Jr. at the new FirstBank Amphitheater outside Franklin tonight, but Mother Nature had other ideas.  After a two-hour weather delay and a command to evacuate the site due to lightning, we gave up and headed out only to hear Harry took the stage around 9:30.   Too late, too wet, too bad.  The new facility is beautiful, but getting in and out is a bit of a nightmare, and this particular situation was not handled well.  We may have to give this place a few years to work out the kinks before we come back...if it's even still around.

Wednesday, September 1 -  Forget fancy, expensive birthday cakes.  The cake that makes Ashlee (and me) the happiest is this Chantilly Cream Vanilla Bean Sheet Cake from Trader Joe's.  There's not a better-tasting, moister cake around and we will fight you if you disagree!!   Probably going to go get another one before Ashlee's birthday because this one isn't lasting long,

Friday, September 3 - We stopped by the new Seven Cedars Butcher Block today on the square here in Lebanon and got some beautiful locally-raised beef steaks for grilling out over the upcoming long holiday weekend.  

Saturday, September 4 - We spent a fun day day and evening in Nashville today serving as tour guides to Ashlee work friend, Karen, and her boyfriend, Tony, who were wrapping up a long cross-country trip with another visit to Music City.  Before meeting up with them, we had a great lunch at Homegrown Taproom in Donelson.  Our first stop as tour guides was the always-fun Marathon Motor Works Complex where we had drinks at the newly-updated and expanded Corsair Distillery and Taproom.   We then wandered around the rest of the complex checking out some shops and the cool displays of the old car manufacturing equipment and then into the (new? it was to us) Tennessee Legend Distillery for a tasting of their wares which were surprisingly good.  I grabbed us a bottle of their Dirty Cream liqueur for our future coffee additions at home!  Delicious! 

We did some food-touring next including a stop at the Martin's BBQ down in Nolensville where it all got started.  Finding some Nashville hot chicken for Tony was next on the agenda and after finding out it would be an hour and fifteen minute wait for some of it at Prince's on Nolensville Road, we decided to head to East Nashville instead and check out the long-time staple there, Bolton's Spicy Chicken and Fish.  A few tears and snot-bubbles later, we had some really HOT chicken at this classic institution.  It's cool to know that Anthony Bourdain actually stopped here during his adventures in Nashville.  Prince's may be famous, but Bolton's is where it's at! 

Our next planned stop was nearby.  The always-fun CAMP Bar presented by the 308 Bar is a staple for us with out-of-town visitors.  Their national-park themed cocktails are always fun and all about presentation.  We represented the Smokies, Mammoth Cave, Glacier and Yosemite NP in our selections tonight.  

Our last stop of the night was right next door at the legendary Dino's (Restaurant?) and Dive Bar.  This was another Anthony Bourdain stop when in Nashville. and it was somewhere Tony and Karen had actually been before on their last visit here.  But we never have been in here despite being in Bar 308/CAMP several times.  It's definitely a dive, and we just had drinks since we'd been eating all day, but it was fun to say we've actually been inside now before it gets closed down with all the changes in East Nashville lately...you just never know.  

Wednesday, September 8 - Tonight's the night for BFFFL Draft # 22 - Ashlee and I settled in on the couch tonight for another draft in the Burgess Falls Fantasy Football League.  I stole her star from last year by picked up Derrick "King" Henry with an early draft position while Ashlee stewed with a much lower draft pick.  In the end we were pretty satisfied with our teams and look forward to another season on the virtual gridiron against each other and our friends. 

Sunday, September 12 - Happy Birthday, Ashlee!!!....wait, where is she....?  With all the Covid mess over the past year-plus, Ashlee was Jonesing for a cruise.  Her and her girlfriend, Mollie, found one they just had to take and I told her that was fine with me since I couldn't go.  It's her birthday after all.  She had a great time and had so much built up credit and freebies on the cruise, she didn't even use the Celebrity Cruise gift cards I got her.  Just save 'em for the next one I guess!!