Mini of Nashville Homecoming

road trip: Knoxville, TN to Nashville, TN & back
Odometer:  6000 miles n ticking

On July 10^th and 11^th I made my first motoring journey with the Smoky Mountain Minis club. We were headed to Mini of Nashville for a Homecoming. I was nervous about this trip because as you’ve read earlier, the Navigation Lady went a bit bonkers in Nashville. I made the group promise, promise, PROMISE, they would not lose me. : )

We met at a BP station in Oak Ridge to start our convoy up to Nashville. A rest stop provided the setting for a leisurely picnic lunch. I gotta tell you, it was pretty fun driving in a line of MINIs down the highway. It was, however, a bit difficult to drive the speed limit.

Along the way we had some terrible weather. That really sucked since I had spent a few hours the night before making sure Mr. Q sparkled and shined. I was only anticipating touching up the wheels once at my destination. I’m afraid Windex, paper towels and wheel cleaner wasn’t going to make a dent in muck that now covered Mr. Q.

Holiday Inn is where we stayed. Not too bad a place. My room had a lovely view of the roof AC stuff and a hill of dirt. When I had checked in, there was a sign on the lobby desk warning us that because of the construction, there may be some blasting. BLASTING??? I was really hoping I would not have a rude wake up call!

Oh, at this point I must commend the Nav Lady for keeping her head about her, and guiding us safely to the hotel. Not one glitch. Now back at the Mini dealer, it was hotter than hot. This is after all the south, it’s July, and there had just been thunderstorms. Nav Lady said it was 95 degrees and I would guess the humidity was a 95%. It’s a dry rain ya know.

To me, the parking lot was the fun place. There were so many MINIs lined up. I loved seeing them all and how even with all those cars, no two were really a like. I spent a little time in the parking lot showing some folks who were thinking about buying a Mini convertible, the navigation system. When I ordered it, I did it site unseen. They never had a car on the lot with one in it. Definitely not a common option.

Guess I got ahead of myself; the Homecoming was also to introduce the new Mini Cooper Convertible. I ooooed and ahhhhed appropriately … though I’ve never been a fan of ragtops. HOWEVER, that’s not to say if you didn’t GIVE me a 62 Vette that I wouldn’t take it. : )

While I am leaving out a lot of the highlights and details of this trip, it was fun and I had a great time getting to know some of my fellow car club mates. Mini of Nashville is hoping to make this an annual event. It makes for a nice weekend trip. They put on a good show … even if the band sung “Rocky Top”. (Shaking my head). The English Ale was good; it almost made up for the Fish n Chips. : )

Sunday at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel

“Oh My Gosh.” This hotel is definitely on my list of places to revisit. A few of us stopped here Sunday morning for Brunch. I can see, where with more time and perhaps while staying here, brunch could become an event. It was worth every penny. The food was lovely and plentiful. So many choices, some quite decadent. The gardens were so lush, I felt like I was back home. Actually the scale of the hotel reminded me a lot of something you’d see in Las Vegas … though perhaps just a touch smaller scale.

If you’re in the area for breakfast, definitely check it out. You won’t regret it!

The trip home was uneventful. This is a good thing. Ol Nav Lady didn’t go bezerk and got me home safely. : ) I’m looking forward to the next Mini trip.