Minigan’s Christmas Vacation

2019 – Our first Christmas in Nashville! It was a little difficult with no family at all here but we turned it into a great holiday filled with lots of love and laughter! We started off sleeping in on Christmas Eve. Great way to start the day, right? We had decided we would head out to our Christmas Eve destination around 2:00 so we had plenty of time. I even had time for a nice walk around the neighborhood. Everyone had their Christmas lights on and you could just feel Christmas in the air. Even though it was 60 degrees outside. The walking trail was very busy. People jogging, families walking, groups of women walking, animals being walked……… Everyone was smiling and saying Merry Christmas. It was very festive!

Once I got back, Jim and I decided to let Felix out for a bit before we left so he could get his outdoor time. We thought is would be nice to sit outside with him, have a little glass of wine and enjoy the weather for a few minutes. While we were sitting out on the patio, our neighbor came out and started talking. We sat there talking to him for at least 30 minutes. We talked about his world travels and our world travels. We really found out a lot about him and his family, which was quite nice. We also found out then if Felix is outside and they leave their door open, he walks right in and makes himself at home!!!! That’s our boy! Before we ended the conversation, he went in to his house and handed Jim a beautiful box with tea leaves in side and a beautiful little tea pot from China. He said he travels to China often and ends up with a lot of tea and many tea kettles. It was such a nice gesture!

We finally were ready to head out. Christmas this year was to be spent at the Opryland Hotel. We were really excited to enjoy all the lights and the atmosphere of a beautiful venue. I had never been to Opryland so I was really excited.

We arrived and I was in awe immediately. Christmas filled the air. Lights, Christmas music, ornaments everywhere and everyone was dressed in Christmas outfits. Everything from Christmas pajamas to very dressy Christmas outfits.

We checked into our room and immediately headed out to explore.

Throughout the afternoon and evening we explored everything. Restaurants, the ice skating rink outside, the stage where they had two people performing “country Christmas music”. It was so much fun.

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We had a beautiful dinner in an open air restaurant in the middle of the hotel so we got in some really good people watching also! Always a plus.

There was also a very nice carriage ride that went around the front of the property. It didn’t last long but it was very nice. Our horse’s name was Bill and he was a good boy.

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We retired somewhat early so we could get a good night sleep.

Christmas Day we woke to………… well, each other. Great way to wake up on Christmas morning! We had a reservation on the General Jackson for our Christmas brunch so we didn’t have a whole lot of time. We had breakfast, got a bite to eat, checked out of the hotel and headed to the boat.

Our tour up and down the Cumberland was so much fun! We were seated at a table for 10 and enjoyed everyone’s company. One family was in the midst of holiday travel and chose to stop here for the night and cruise the Gen. Jackson for a break. Another couple was from Clarksville, So many things in common. Another couple were born and raised in Poplar Bluff, MO. They had moved to this area a few years ago and retired. There were so many interesting stories. The weather was beautiful again. We stood outside a lot of the time watching the river. The river was up so we were not able to go all the way downtown to turn around. The boat would not have fit under the bridges. It was still a very nice cruise.

The entertainment was amazing and very festive. Beautiful people with beautiful voices performing Christmas music and having fun. Afterward, they had a writer’s session and we got to listen to an “up and coming” artist. (If you see a John Deer ad in the near future with a song during the commercial, we heard the guy that wrote it play the song in person!) Only in Nashville!

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All in all, it was a quiet Christmas but also very enjoyable. We had a very nice quiet evening to end our Christmas vacation and went to bed very appreciative of all we have. Life is good!

Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas magic!

#magicbethemagicchristmasmagic