Nashville, TN: Home of the Goo Goo Cluster! Wait, they make music here, too?

Sadly, many of us go through strange times in our young adulthood when we experiment with different things. We are feeling lost and trying to figure out who we really are. We hold out from the peer pressure as long as we can. But it seems like EVERYONE is doing it and they are all saying how great it is. So we eventually succumb. I’m ashamed to say that this happened to me for a year back around 2005. I caved in and experimented with…. Country Music. It started out innocently enough. ‘Just one song’, I thought. ‘I’m just a social listener’, I thought. But before I knew it, the local station was number one in my presets. The listening took place over a year before I finally came to a life changing realization. “I don’t like this. Why am I listening to it?” And that was it. I haven’t looked back since.

So, in early March of 2016, when Zac suggested we go to Nashville over spring break, my knee jerk reaction was, “NO! Why on earth would we want to go there? Neither of us like country music! Isn’t that all that they have to offer?” I could think of dozens of other places to go. But Zac had just been there for a worship conference and said he’d really like to take the family out there. And, the mere seven hour drive was a bit attractive to him as well.

So, I conceded to the Nashville idea. I began looking for things to do in the area that did not revolve around the stereotypical pick up trucks, ex loves, or dead dogs. I always like historical museums and when I found that Andrew Jackson’s home, The Hermitage, was nearby I added that to our itinerary immediately. And then, there were these little pieces of heaven that Zac brought home from his last trip to Nashville. Candy ambrosia. Chocolatey, nutty, marshmallowy, bites of sweet goodness. They were called Goo Goo Clusters. And we would NOT be leaving the city until Goo Goos were had by all! And the Nashville Zoo was said to have one of the largest playgrounds in the country. Surely these three things would keep us busy!

We decided to make this our first stay at a Jellystone campground and I realized a major oversight. Our kids had no clue who Yogi Bear was. But the local library provided us with quite possibly the most cheesy, cut rate, ridiculous movie of all time: Warner Bros 2010 production of Yogi Bear. The kids, however, LOVED it. Phoenix laughed harder than I had ever heard him laugh before. Every time those CGI bears shook their furry booties or made another blunder, they got major laughs. And they quickly became excited to meet Yogi and Boo Boo at the campground. What we didn’t anticipate was that the bears would be hibernating during our visit due to the weather still being a bit cool. It was quite disappointing, but rest assured, we will be back at a Jellystone sometime in the near future to meet those bears. Brilliant. Marketing.

I was a bit apprehensive of The Hermitage. I seemed to be the only person interested in going and I was envisioning Zac and I dragging the kids through the place and saying things like, “Stop whining or you won’t get a goodie after dinner!”, “Just be grateful that we brought you here!”, and the ever popular “No! Don’t lick that!”. But I was shocked, amazed, perplexed at how well the kids did there! They had audio tours of the grounds with these handy little units that looked a bit like a circa 1990’s cell phone attached to a lanyard. The kids each got one too with special tracks just for kids narrated by Poll, Andrew Jackson’s pet parrot. The kids loved hearing about the history of the home from a bird’s eye view. And then we were pleasantly surprised to find that Jackson’s grandchildren whom lived in the house were a girl and two boys almost exactly the same age separation as our kids. The fact that all three of them were buried in the back yard was a little creepy, but we got through it. And Phoenix was a real champ. The 2.5 year old just strolled around looking at everything and was such a good sport. I would highly recommend visiting this beautiful and historic home and learning all about living in the early 1800’s and also about Andrew Jackson and his life and presidency.

That evening, Zac took us downtown to check out the local scene. So much barbeque. So many boots shops. So many bars. So little time. We, of course, stopped and purchased boots for everyone. Well, all except Brody who when given the choice between ice cream or boots choose the former. It was clear where his priorities were at and those boots ain’t cheap! It was a real shame though, because did he ever look handsome!

In true Nashville form, every dining establishment had live music. And much to my surprise, it was not all country! We decided to stop and eat in one said establishment, the aptly named Paradise Park Trailer Resort. It quickly became very obvious that we have never subjected our children to live music. Caydence and Phoenix were sitting there covering their ears and asking to leave. We weren’t sure how they were going to manage eating while covering their ears, but they must have adapted to the 100dbs of classic rock by the time the food rolled in. And the food was really tasty! Burgers and tots were enjoyed by all, well except for Caydence who got the traditional grilled cheese. We could be at a raw vegan bar and she would ask for grilled cheese.

And now, it was finally time for dessert! The Goo Goo Cluster store not only had boxes and boxes of the candies, they had a full dessert menu all made with the clusters. We opted for the “Honky Tonk Blonde” which their online menu describes as: “Brown butter blonde with Supremes baked right in, sprinkled with sea salt and topped with one scoop of ice cream, salted caramel, whipped cream, and a cherry”. After we had a moment of silence for Diana Ross and her friends, we dug in! It was the BEST dessert any of us had ever had! Brody was particularly enamored.

It seems like anywhere we go, the kids always have one thing on their minds. We take them to all sorts of fun places! Amusement parks, children’s museums, zoos, science centers… and we have a sense of pride that we are able to enrich their lives in such ways. But still, the longing in their hearts remains for the one place that can offer what no other can. The amazing PLAYGROUND! And wouldn’t you know that at the end of every trip, when we ask them what their favorite part was, it’s always a resounding, “PLAYGROUND!”. Luckily for us this time, the best playground around was in the Nashville Zoo. It was a really charming zoo, but the highlight was definitely the playground. They had a great spiral slide that Caydence and Brody loved. Phoenix, however, would only go down it on a parent’s lap. Yes, his parents. One who just fit into the slide and was heavy enough to make us go twice as fast as the other riders and go flying out at the bottom fast enough to break the sound barrier. And another parent who was just too big to fit and scooted down the slide nearly getting stuck 3 times. But at the end of the day, the kids were totally worn out so it was a major win!

We had many other fun adventures in Nashville, none of which involved country music! But the most important thing that happened on this trip, was the extra fire lit under our butts to make a year long RV trip a reality. Once we came home from this trip, it was a desire we just could not shake. And now, as we are working at purging, packing, and donating our things to make this goal happen, I look back and say, thank you Nashville! Country music and all, you will always have a special place in our hearts!