Nashville, Tennessee & Dubuque, Iowa
December 25, 2024 - January 2, 2025
Okay, are you ready for the LONGEST driving roadtrip Jill and I have ever taken?! Well here it is! On Sunday, December 23rd, when we started adding up how much it would cost to ship the kids' Christmas presents (plus out of sheer want to see them) we came up with the crazy idea of driving their presents to them! Looking at the map, it was pretty much a straight shot from our house in Champions Gate, through Nashville, to Dubuque so...why not?! We used to do crazy trips like this all the time (see numerous previous travelogue entries) so why not do another one! The bonus to this trip would be a side trip to St. Louis to see the Blues play! I had always wanted to catch a game in St. Louis and voila' - it fit into the travel plans!
We started out on Christmas morning for Nashville. Packed up the car with all the kids' presents and we were off! Along the way we stopped at the Buc-ees in Fort Valley, Georgia. We were texting with Sara and asked if anyone in Nashville wanted anything - her reply was 'Greg wants you to get a selfie with Buc-ee'. Ask and ye shall receive! Buc-ee just happened to be coming out to take pictures with all of his faithful fans and there we were!

Fueled up and a full cadre' of snacks in hand it was off to complete our trip to The Music City. Arrived there around 5:00ish and went to the hotel to check in and get set while Sara and McLean finished up Christmasing with the Pillon's. When we caught up with them we headed to M.L. Rose Craft Beer & Burgers to grab some dinner. A great spot and one of only a few places open on Christmas night! After dinner we headed back to the hotel to crash for the night.
On Thursday Sara didn't have to work so she was able to hang out with us during the day! We started out by having lunch at the 12 South Taproom & Grill. This was a spot we had been to a few times in the past, especially when Sara was going to Belmont. After lunch, we toured around Nashville a bit, drove around Belmont, stopped at the hotel, and then decided to try a dive bar that Jill had found (they actually describe themself as a dive bar - so we were really excited to see it!). It's called Santa's Pub and it was everything we had hoped for! A few cheap beers and some conversation took us right up to the time we were meeting everyone for dinner. For dinner, we met up with McLean along with Greg and Debbie and Hank at Dicey's Pizza & Tavern. Great spot that Sara and McLean had been wanting to take us to - it did not disappoint! After dinner, the four of us grabbed a night cap at Diskin Cider before heading off to the hotel for some sleep before contiuing our adventure!
Friday morning rolled around and we were onto the next part of our adventure! I had always wanted to see a St. Louis Blues game in person - and even after going to and graduating from Saint Louis University over eight years still hadn't made it! Until now. We drove from Nashville to St. Louis, arriving there with a little time to kill before going to the game. We didn't want to check in to the hotel so instead headed to the Schlafly Tap Room for a couple of pints and some food. We had been here a couple of times in the past - like the space and the beers as well! Afterwards, made our way to the game. I had bought parking a block or so from the game (the 'parking ramp' was sold out). Got to the rink just before they opened the gates opened. Hit the store and bought a Blues jersey - had to have one and it was identical to one I had when I was much younger (as was someone else). We walked around the rink, grabbed some pics for our other site, and settled in to our seats. We were in the front of the upper deck on the end on the aisle - so pretty perfect! The Blues won the game and fun was had by all! Stopped at Imo's Pizza for a St. Louis style pizza and some wings. Then off to the hotel - this trip we stayed at the Drury Inn & Suites St. Louis Forest Park - a location we've stayed a quite a few times before.





On Saturday morning we set out from St. Louis and headed north to Dubuque, arriving late afternoon. Mike and Stephanie were at holiday celebrations with her family so Jill and I were on our own for the evening. We headed for Dolph's to have a drink or two, some food, and watch the Iowa State football game. After the game, we stopped at Jubeck Brewing - Jill is a fan of their brews so it made sense! Hit up the Texas Roadhouse by the hotel for a late night dinner before calling it a day and night.
Sunday was Christmas for us with Mike and Stephanie (it helped that the Bills were playing and there were World Junior Championship games on too!). We hung out at their house, opened presents, and I went to the Hy-Vee to get ingredients for vodka rigatoni! Was a nice, relaxing Sunday for sure.
On Monday, we picked Mike up from his house and went to downtown Dubuque. Stephanie had to work that evening so she couldn't join us. We started at 7 Hills Brewing Company for lunch before going to Dolph's to watch the Iowa football game. A bonus was - there is an Iowa alumni band that plays at Dolph's! Was pretty cool to see! We finished the day off with having dinner at Los Aztecas before taking Mike home.
Tuesday was New Year's Eve and we had a day of celebrating planned! Started off with breakfast at Sunshine Family Restaurant. The we picked up Mike and Stephanie's before heading to Dolph's. They had an Irish New Years Eve celebration planned, complete with an Irish musician and the Dubuque Fire Department Pipe and Drum band. From there we headed to the Diamond Jo Casino for a dueling pianos show that lasted until just after midnight - HAPPY NEW YEAR! Took Mike and Stephanie home before heading back to the hotel.

Wednesday was orginally our 'head home' day. However, the more Jill and I thought about it - the more we realized New Years Day was probably not the best idea (see 'New Years Eve at Casino' LOL!). So, we extended the stay another day. Stayed in the hotel watching football until mid-afternoon, then went over to Mike and Stephanie's to hang out and have some dinner. Pretty chill (hungover) day.
Thursday was 'the' day. While we broke the trip up on the way north, the trip home was going to be a marathon. Had some thought of breaking this part of the trip up as well, but in the end we had enough of hotels and just wanted to be home. So, we set out from Dubuque at 9AM (central standard time), stopping at two Buc-ee's along the way in Georgia for snacks and gas. Also stopped at another random gas station somewhere in Illinois. Finally pulled into our driveway at home at 5:30AM (eastern standard time). An epic trip for us for sure!

