Life is about the journey, some say. Others might favor the destination and dismiss the travel as a necessary evil. Whichever camp you fall into, it’s inevitable that every trip report must begin with at least a little transit.

If you aren’t a fan of the travel days, feel free to skip ahead to the next chapter. But if you stick around, I promise to make this as entertaining as possible as we get safely en route to Tanzania!

As always, I was anxious to get “vacation” started the exact second my last shift ended. Everyone has their own idea of when a trip truly begins; for me, it’s the moment I walk out the front door of work. The next magical milestone is boarding the plane, but we had a ways to go before that.

As always, a little Vacation Nail Art!

Outrunning a Kentucky Storm

I was off work by an astounding 1:15 PM on Friday the 2nd. My Medical Assistant is the absolute best and had proactively blocked off my afternoon schedule so I could get on the road. If you’re an MA reading this, please know how incredibly valuable you are to the providers you work with! 

Wrapping up early turned out to be a massive blessing. The moment I stepped outside, the wind had picked up and the sky looked downright wicked. I live in Kentucky, which has been hit particularly hard over the last few years with devastating tornadoes and floods. We don’t let our guard down nonchalantly anymore after a good chunk of our city was taken out in 2021. The view outside my office building just as I walked out the door—needless to say, I didn’t waste any time getting to the car!

Just as I got into the car, a tornado watch alert flashed across my phone. This did not bode well for my hour-plus drive down to Nashville. 

My bags had been packed in the trunk for weeks (and unpacked, re-packed, and re-loaded multiple times). I’d gassed up the morning before, so the only thing left to do was hit the gas. By now, the wind was ferocious—violent enough that it knocked out the power to the streetlights, and tree branches were starting to drop. 

With traffic backing up, Google Maps took me on the kookiest backroad route possible. Getting out of town was an adventure all on its own. Finally, I merged onto the interstate and was truly on my way. Luckily, the storm cell mostly moved on, and the rest of the drive smoothed out. 

Pre-Trip Cocktails and Catching Up

Months prior, I’d arranged to meet up with my half-uncle and his wife for a quick evening on Lower Broadway, dinner at Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, and a ride to my airport hotel. 

I rolled up to their house around 3:00 PM. While I thought we would head straight downtown, it turned out my uncle had just laid down for a nap. While we waited, we did the next best thing: chatted over a cocktail with Lisa, caught up, and watched the drizzle outside. Eventually, T woke up, and off we headed into Music City for some honky-tonk fun. 

A Local’s Tip for Nashville Hot Chicken

Parking was easy-peasy, and soon enough we were standing in line for the famous Hattie B’s Nashville Hot Chicken. 

Unfortunately, we ended up at the newer location right on Broadway, rather than the original spot in Midtown. I wasn’t paying attention and let them navigate, and by the time we parked, it was too late to change the game plan. 

Pro-Tip for visiting Nashville: If you want to try Hattie B’s, shoot for the original Midtown restaurant. It has far more local character than the high-production Broadway tourist hub! 

Still, Hattie B’s is an experience. The sheer volume of chicken meals they pump out a night is wild. I ordered the “Medium” (a 2-dip heat level), which is the perfect amount of kick for me. Their sides are spectacular—I went with the black-eyed pea salad, potato salad, and coleslaw, though it also came with a mountain of fries. If you go, definitely look into their bacon cheddar grits and pimento mac & cheese, too. 

Neon Lights and Vintage Country Vibes

I left stuffed to the gills and ready to walk off dinner on the South’s version of the Vegas Strip. It’s a toss-up which city has more neon lights, and they probably tie in the “drunk people per square foot” category. 

I was on a mission to find older style country, blues, or swing—anything that wasn’t just a cover of modern radio country. We lucked out and stumbled into a dive bar named Robert’s Western World, which has been open since around 1950. 

Of the bars we stepped into, Robert’s had the best music by far. The three-piece traditional band played fantastic covers of Johnny Cash, The Highwaymen, and Glen Campbell. The bassist was particularly engaging and completely on point. 

We listened and bopped along for about 45 minutes over a couple of drinks before heading further down Broadway to find a rooftop view. We popped into another bar, but the main stage was wall-to-wall standing room only, playing modern country covers that aren’t really my cup of tea. 

The view from the rainy rooftop was fantastic, but it was getting chilly and late. With that, we called it a night. My uncle and aunt dropped me off at my airport hotel for a very short, very anxious few hours of sleep before the real journey to East Africa began!