BFF 1st Annual Getaway!

Today is the second day of our theme week with Brandy². Today's theme is Tidy Tuesday so I decided to Tidy up some loose ends about our Bloggy Friend Trip.

First order of business: Bloggy Friend Trip is soooo lame!!!! So how about this? BFF Getaway? {Bloggy Friends Free-for-all-- because girls, you never know what's going to happen when you get us all together!} I have Brandy at I'm Not Your Average Soccer Mom to thank for the name. Totally all her idea. I would try to take credit for it but she's coming to the BFF Getaway and I'm going to have to face her, if you know what I mean.

Second order of business: When? Friday June 26 to Sunday June 28. If you arrive on Saturday, that's okay, you just might have to meet us where ever we're hanging out at.

Third order of business: Where are we meeting? Franklin, Tennessee. Franklin is a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee and is about 20 minutes from the airport. Franklin is in Williamson County which is the 7th most wealthy county in the nation. Why? Because so many Country and Christian music stars live there. While Nashville is the world headquarters of Country music, Franklin is the world headquarters of Christian music.

Why did I pick Franklin? It's pretty central to several people who said they were definitely or most likely to come and I used to live there. I thought about Nashville but several people are driving and parking can be an issue. Plus, Julia will be coming and she and her friends will be able to provide childcare if we need it. (Yay!!!)

Fourth of business: What hotel?

We will be staying at the Embassy Suites of Franklin/Cool Springs.

I chose this hotel for many reasons, one of which is the large lobby. We can just hang out and talk if we want to. They also have a bar and grill on site that is open until 11:00. We can eat at or just hang out. Breakfast is included with your stay and is a very nice hot breakfast. They also have a free manager's reception from 5:00 until 7:00 where they serve free beverages (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and appetizers (usually chips and dip and fresh veggies and dip.)

I know several of you are bringing children, including me. The hotel looks like it has a very nice indoor pool. Another benefit of the hotel is that is has a shuttle service to many area attractions. We may decide to drive but it's nice to have the option if we want it. If you are flying, you really don't need to rent a car unless you just want to. If you arrive on Friday afternoon I will most likely be the one to pick you up from the airport. If you arrive on Friday night or Saturday, Ross will be the one to pick you.

The price is $139 per night. These rooms are suites and you can have either a room with a king size bed or 2 double beds. I looked at several other hotels and while all were within the same price range, I thought this one would best suit our needs. Currently, there is a $9.95 surcharge for internet service but once I get an idea of how many rooms will be reserved I plan on calling and trying to get that dropped.

Fifth order of business: What will we do? That's a really good question.

Franklin is a old city with a lot of history. They have a very beautiful downtown area with lots of shops and some restaurants. One thought I had is that Saturday late morning/early afternoon we could go there and shop and eat lunch. It's not a big area but there's lots to see. Restaurants include Meridees Breadbasket, Mellow Mushroom, Dotson's Restaurant (a place Wyonna Judd likes to hang out at), Red Pony Restaurant, and Ben and Jerry's and Baskin Robbins. We definitely won't starve.

If we want to do something historical, we could go to the Carton Plantation. One of the bloodiest wars of the Civil War was fought several hundred yards from there and this plantation was turned into a hospital. The soldiers who died in the battle were buried on the plantation property and Carrie McCavock, wife of the owner, took it as her personal mission to locate the families of every soldier there. Robert Hicks, one of Carton's board members, wrote a book titled The Widow of the South about Carrie McCavock's story. It reached #5 on the New York Times best seller list.

Of course, there's a shopping mall close by as well as a nail salon that has about 16 chairs if we decide to go for pedis. {Sorry Kristin, I don't know where the tattoo place is but I can find out if your still game.}

So as your cruise director activity director I'm trying to come up with some low key stuff for us to do. If anyone has some ideas or suggestions, please feel free to send them my way.

What I need to know at this point is if 1) you are definitely planning on going or 2) you might come. I need to get an idea of how many rooms are needed and I need to know if you want a room with a king size bed or two double beds. I also need to know what day you think you'll be coming and if you will fly in so I know that I need to arrange to pick you up. I'm hoping if we can get enough people that we can possibly negotiate a better price. You can either leave this information in a comment or email me at dms052564@gmail.com.

This is really happening! Make plans now!

Oh yeah, and don't forget to drop by the Brandy's²
I'm Not Your Average Soccer Mom
The Buzz



PS> I apologize for the lateness of this post. I went to bed early last night since I only got about 3 hours sleep the night before so I didn't write it then. This morning Ryan woke up with a fever and feeling very bad so it was off to the doctor for us! $100 later we know he has a double ear infection and strep throat. Here we go again.