in the POD - Nashville friends

We "escaped" from Gold Rush

The Escape Game, Nashville

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Arrived in Nashville late in the day to visit with our friends Deanna, Brandon and their two young sons (ages 1 and 2). It had been almost a year since we last were in Nashville so there was lots to catch up on! We arrived with bags of groceries and I took over the kitchen to make a big pot of jambalaya while we all stood around and talked as the boys raced around our feet!  

There is nothing like "kitchen time" for sharing - both as the cooking process is under way and, finally, when all are seated together at table. 

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The next day, after the boys were taken to a babysitter, our friends kidnapped us and took us on a rainy day adventure! 

First, lunch. 

Monell's is a Nashville institution that offers Southern food served family style. Located in the section of the city known as Germantown, the building is a historic brick Federal style home filled with antiques and long farm tables. Putting strangers (at first) together for dining is part of the charm and the simple act of passing the food around opens people up to conversation and sharing. Strangely enough, one of the young women at the table was from Rhode Island! Crazy! Her friend was from Los Angeles (!) and they were both attending Wellesley College in MA!

The food was terrific. Biscuits, cornbread and peach jam was on the table to start us off along with pitchers of water, lemonade and ice tea. What followed was non-stop skillet fried chicken, BBQ chicken, pot roast, meatloaf, broccoli salad, cheese grits, rice, beans, green beans and more! And just in case you were still hungry there was bread pudding for dessert. 

Our next stop was The Escape Game. 

Until we walked into the place Tim and I had no idea where we were going and we still had no clue what it was or what we were about to do. A bold move on Deanna and Brandon's part but a good call none the less. Tim is not really a "game" person but this may have been the most fun he's had in a long time. It was GREAT!!  

We did The Gold Rush, one of 3 different games offered at this location and our task was to find the hidden gold with a 1 hour time limit. The games are fully interactive and set in specially designed spaces/sets. We began "outdoors" locked outside a cabin in the woods. Looking for clues, solving puzzles and lots of teamwork allowed us to first get into the cabin, then thru the fireplace, down the chute into the mine and eventually find all 3 pieces of gold which unlocked the door - with 3 minutes to spare! 

The 2 employees said we were the dream team!

And yes - it was perfect rainy day fun.

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Our stay was brief and we headed out early the next morning. 

It was great to have the time together and catch up on their young lives and the choices ahead for them. Tim and I even got to enjoy some time with each of the boys - playing and reading to them. It was a nice substitute as we are both really missing Rosemarie about now........