2 years ago when Matt and I took a little baby moon road trip, we stopped for an afternoon in Nashville. It was such a neat city with so much to see, do, and hear! It was fun just for the afternoon, but I couldn't help but imagine how fun it would be with some more friends (and not being pregnant :) ). I started thinking about Matt's 30th birthday and knew I wanted to get something fun planned for it, and try to surprise him with whatever it was.
I talked to a few of friends for ideas and we all landed on Nashville! Halfway between us/our friends here and our friends in GA and a perfect location for a long weekend away. I started planning at the beginning of the year and got really serious in the Summer. I knew I wanted to try to surprise him. I don't know if I've ever really been able to! But I wanted to try. I talked to Matt's boss and was able to find a Friday that would work well around a weekend near his birthday that he could take the day off (without him knowing). I started planning with everyone and got the ball rolling!
The morning of surprise, I got up with B and we had a normal morning waiting for Matt to get up. He had been waking up around 830 for work so I knew the time was coming near. Around 8:30 I couldn't wait anymore, so we went into the room to say "Good Morning". I proceeded to ask if he was going to shower to which he answered, "yes, eventually". Almost like-of course I am going to, but right now I need to wake up a bit. In true Jamie fashion, I continued with the awkwardness:
"You don't have to go to work today."
"Haha, I wish!"
"Well, you don't!
"Don't what?"
"You don't have to go to work today."
"Elaborate please" (slightly annoyed and very confused)
" I talked to your boss and have it all planned. You don't have to go to work today, we are doing something fun for your birthday."
So he then calls his boss to confirm haha.
Once he was more confident that he didn't have to go to work, I told him to get ready and we were leaving soon. He got ready and dressed and walked downstairs to Amber and Rob sitting in the living room (SURPRISE #2!). They were coming with! I had everything packed and ready waiting for them in the garage to load into the car while Matt got ready. We didn't want him to see the luggage and know it was overnight. We all got in the car, dropped B off at the sitter, and made our way! We kept trying to have him guess where we were going, but just kept driving right past all the exits (downtown Indy, French Lick, Louisville). After we passed Louisville, we told him we were all going for a weekend in Nashville! Woohoo! SO fun.
The whole ride down I was texting with his friends to plan a way to meet up. First stop was a bar close to the hotel. I had Hunter and Amanda (from GA) meet us there. They sat far away and once we ordered drinks, Hunter came from behind the bar and served Matt his beer. It was GREAT!! (SURPRISE #3! and so good).
I hurried everyone to the hotel to get ready because we were leaving soon to go downtown (and his last surprise was coming still). We all got checked into our rooms and then came a knock on our door. He, of course, assumed it was Hunter or Rob but to his surprise he opened the door and in busted Tracy and Troy! (SURPRISE #4!) That was the icing on the cake. Seeing Matt SO happy and so surprised made all of the stress and planning worth it. I love seeing him happy!
Now for an amazing (and hilarious) weekend to celebrate the big 30 year old!
We took the shuttle downtown and made our way to the Escape Game! We had a reservation for the 2nd hardest room they have and had 60 minutes to work together to crack the code and escape the room. We had no idea what to expect. But we cracked the code and made it out with 4 minutes to spare! It ended up being SO much fun and the absolute perfect way to start out trip.
After the game, we ate some dinner at Hard Rock on the roof and planned our night. We walked the strip and listened to the music and took in the sights. We went to a few different bars and sang and danced and laughed so hard and had an absolute blast. Such a perfect group of people to be with! I couldn't have imagined a better time.
The next day we slept in and took our time getting ready. We ate a good lunch and then made our way across the street to walk around the Opryland Hotel. It was beautiful! We strolled through until it was time to go get ready for dinner. We had reservations at Lockeland Table. It was delicious and the atmosphere was so neat! We got all dressed up and had an awesome time relaxing and eating.
After dinner, we went to a line dancing bar downtown and then made our way to more of the bars for music! Such a blast.
I am SO glad the trip worked out well and that the surprise worked. I couldn't have imagined a better weekend. Start to finish, one of our best memories to date! So thankful for these friends we get to share life with :). Happy 30th Matthew!
