So come and visit me in Music City...

Hello friends... blogging to you direct from Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tennessee.

I have been enjoying a long weekend here with Zak, and so far we've done a whole lot of nothing. The resort is beautiful, 100% man-made "gardens" under huge glassed in ceilings, waterfalls and rivers, the works. It's gorgeous and we're having a great time.

We've enjoyed taking in the sights, working out at the great fitness center and pool, and even made it to their Vegas-style nightclub for some dancing. Can't say that I've ever paid $22 for two cocktails, but hey! We're on vacation.

As for Nashville itself, we're gonna get there tomorrow. Will be spending the better part of the day touring the historic Ryman Auditorium and exploring Downtown.

Now that we've been here a couple days, we both are thinkin' we could have planned ahead a bit more, food-wise. The restaurants here are nice, but are overpriced ($17 for pancakes? Seriously!). We found a Cracker Barrel restaurant that's about .75 miles from our room at the resort, and have visited twice. For our dietary needs, there are a few menu options that offer fish or seafood, as well as a breakfast menu that's offered all day long. Tonight for dinner, I had two scrambled eggs, grits and biscuits. Random, definitely breakfast foods, but they did the trick to fill me up. Zak liked his entree of seasoned catfish filets, baked beans and a side salad. Our tab, including tip, was easily half of what it would be had we dined at the resort.

For snacks, I brought several packets of Justin's Natural maple almond butter, a can of Blue Diamond whole natural almonds, and a couple random bars. Honestly, I wish that I had brought 3x the amount of healthy foods, especially fruits and veggies. It would have been very easy to bring a couple cucumbers, a small bunch of bananas, and some apples in my carry on bag. Does anyone know is hummus is allowed to clear through security? Not sure that it's considered a liquid / gel.

Anyway, time for some photos! I really enjoyed this Jam Frakas strawberry bar that I won from Heather's contest. It's from the makers of Larabar, so I guess that's no surprise! The texture was dense, the ingredient list was all stuff I recognized, and I loved the little crunchy strawberry seeds. I haven't seen these around the stores, but if I see 'em will definitely purchase in the future.

I have had my share of indulgences, too. This morning after my workout, this pastry was giving me the eye, so I took care of it :-)

Apricot cream cheese danish... mmm.

Yesterday, I was excited to find a Romano's Macaroni Grill nearby. We had lunch and started with their signature rosemary bread with olive oil, and delicious marinated olives.

I've been thinking a lot about Backstage Pass and am going to be making some changes over the next week, tweaking and revamping the theme and look. I'd like to achieve better consistency with topics, if you have any input I'd love to hear it. Of course, these thoughts don't pertain to just the blog but also to my overall approach toward health, diet, exercise, etc. I believe in rethinking things where necessary, and that evolution is the best approach to problem-solving. Gotta do what works for you!

Anyhow... hope to blog tomorrow with a recap of Downtown Nashville. Cheers, friends!