We’re Ready to Go — CMA Fest in Nashville, Here We Come! 🤠🎶

Well folks, we’re back! This isn’t a cruise-related trip, but we’ve had several relatives and friends ask to follow along—so here we go! 😊

Since returning from Australia, we’ve been keeping pretty busy—and loving every minute of it. Our nearby 11-and-“3/4” year-old granddaughter (and yes, she’ll remind you that the 3/4 is very important! 😄) has made herself right at home again, with plenty of visits and a few fun sleepovers sprinkled in 🛏️. She attends the same elementary school her mom once did—just a couple of blocks from us—and they’re both incredibly involved. Which, by extension, means we are too!

We also had a great visit over Easter when our youngest daughter and her family came down from Sonoma. It turned into one of those truly heartwarming weeks—watching our granddaughter team up with our two young grandsons (ages 4 and 6) was something special 💕 (and yes, just a little bit tiring being in the middle of the action… but in the very best way! 😂).

Toward the end of March, I got my heirloom tomatoes in the ground 🍅—an annual tradition that friends and family have come to expect. We end up giving away about 90% of the harvest, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s just nothing like a perfectly ripe tomato straight from your own garden. 

Here’s a photo of our tomato garden from a couple of years ago. The tomatoes were still green at the time, and each plant a different heirloom.

And of course, we squeezed in one of our favorite road trips—heading up to Paso Robles and Santa Barbara County to pick up our wine club shipments and taste through the latest releases 🍷🚗. It’s a trip we make at least twice a year and always look forward to… tough job, but someone has to do it! 😎

Now on Tuesday, we’ll be flying to Nashville for a week at the Country Music Association (CMA) Fest 🎶🤠. We’ve been to Nashville before and had a great time, so we’re really looking forward to this visit.

We’re especially excited because our son and daughter-in-law will be meeting us for the week from their home in Idaho. It’s been a while since we’ve spent time together somewhere other than visiting each other’s homes.

We’ve had a few friends express surprise that this Cuban-born boy enjoys country music! I have to admit, it definitely wasn’t the soundtrack of my youth or early adulthood—or Debbie’s (I was more into salsa 💃 and Motown)—but over the past ten+ years, it’s really grown on both of us. So here we are, getting ready to experience one of the crown jewels of country music!

We’ll be in Nashville for six days—originally it was going to be seven, but we need to fly home a day early to attend our granddaughter’s elementary school graduation 🎓. And seriously… who schedules a graduation on a Monday?! 🤔 I’ll save that rant for another time.

We’ll miss the closing night, but I’m sure we’ll still have an amazing time. We’re especially excited to see a mix of new and longtime favorites, including Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson, Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini, and Ella Langley. 🎸

We are flying Delta from LAX, non-stop, in First Class. And we’ll be staying at the Thompson Nashville Hotel (by Hyatt) in the Gulch neighborhood, just a short walk from all the action on Lower Broadway—aka Honky Tonk Highway 🍻🎶

The Honky Tonk Highway is a famous four-block stretch along Lower Broadway, packed wall-to-wall with historic, multi-level bars and nonstop live country music. From morning all the way until 3 a.m.—and with no cover charges—it’s one of Nashville’s must-see spots, glowing with neon lights and buzzing energy. Live music kicks off early and rolls on 365 days a year, giving the whole area that signature “neon canyon” vibe. Known as the heart of country music, it’s been a launching pad for countless rising stars. And just steps away sits the historic Ryman Auditorium, home of the original Grand Ole Opry. 🎶 Last time we were in Nashville, we did a behind-the-scenes tour at the Grand Ole Opry a few miles away, and we highly recommend it.

For those who haven’t experienced it, CMA Fest isn’t just a music festival… it’s more like a full takeover of downtown Nashville. For a whole week, the city turns into one big country music venue, with stages set up all over the place and live music coming from just about every direction.

The headliner shows are held at Nissan Stadium on four nights (Thursday thru Sunday), featuring some of the biggest names in the business like Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, and Blake Shelton. Safe to say, they don’t exactly struggle to fill the seats.

During the day, there are multiple stages scattered around downtown, and many of the performances are actually free. You can wander from one stage to another, stop when something sounds good, and keep moving when it doesn’t. Not exactly a tough assignment… although it may require a gallon of water (or something a little stronger) to get through the afternoon. 😄

They also have Fan Fair X, where fans can meet artists and catch smaller sets. A big draw for a lot of people.

Overall, CMA Fest is less about one specific show and more about the atmosphere. It’s busy, it’s loud, and it’s Nashville at full throttle. Should make for some good blog material.

Stay tuned for lots of details, stories, and photos. 📸 Feel free to ask questions, there is an email link on my profile. 

Just a quick note on how I typically handle my daily blog updates. I usually post in the afternoon, covering the highlights from earlier in the day. Then, in the following day’s post, I’ll recap the previous evening’s activities. This approach keeps things flowing without me having to stay up into the wee hours trying to document everything in real time—something I’m quite happy to avoid! 😄