Nashville - Part I

We took our annual Memorial Day Weekend trip with our friends. Every other year we end up in Chicago, which we visited last year. In between we pick a place we've never really visited. Our only stipulation is that the city must be within driving distance after work on Friday (so no farther than six hours – and that's stretching it). Two years ago it was St. Louis. This year it was Nashville.

I have to say, our timing sucked. Not only was it the warmest weekend there (in the 90's), the cicadas hatched (which they do every 13 years). The place was swarming with the big buggers. They were everywhere!

I know they don't bite. It doesn't matter. They fly at you. They land on you. They're BIG! And they're noisy. Deafening in places. You can see them on the trunk of this tree (which was the closest I would get to take their picture) if you look hard enough. There are singles toward the bottom of the trunk, but a big mass of them up on top.

I think I became everyone's entertainment when I flapped my arms every time one of those bugs would fly by.

Besides the annoying insects, we had an enjoyable time in the Music City. We saw a show at the Grand Ole Opry, took a dinner cruise on the General Jackson, and a city tour on Segways. Even with the warm weather, it wasn't extremely humid. The wind helped keep it comfortable. I'm just glad it didn't rain. I've seen enough of that for awhile.

But it sure would have been nice to visit the city without the infestation. I've never even heard about these bugs until we moved to Ohio. We must not have ever lived in an area long enough to experience them! They certainly never lived in Southern California. I think I would have remembered them.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I know the weather was good around here. Hope it was wherever you are, too. It's about time we saw the sun.