An eventful pit stop in Tennessee

Last week we tackled the 14 hour drive from Dallas to Louisville to spend the holidays with my family. After driving through the night we decided to take a little break and stop for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel afterwards we slept for about an hour in the parking lot. For us this is normal.

From there we drove thru a Starbucks and ordered some grande drinks and a scone. The line was pretty long, but we knew it would be worth it, we still had many hours of driving ahead of us. When we got to the window the barista told us that it was already paid for. When we looked confused, she said that the person in front of us took care of it. The "secret santa" was a man driving a black truck with a tractor supply co. tool box in his truck bed. It was a totally random act of kindness. Maybe he saw the two weary travelers with a car full of luggage and a baby and he just wanted to spread a little holiday cheer. So far we were really liking Tennessee.

After that we decided we needed to get out and stretch our legs for a little bit so we stopped at a nearby mall. Of course we would happen to pick the one mall full of designer stores that we could only dream of shopping at. Even on my best day I don't blend well in the posh scenes, but especially not after being in a car for over 10 hours. When it comes to road trips comfort trumps style and this includes slippers. I choose to believe that we looked more fashion forward than homeless, although it is all subjective.

As we were making our way past each of the high end shops, none of which we ever actually stepped foot in, we people watched as the affluent shoppers scurried about picking up last minute Christmas gifts. One woman in particular stuck out to me with her red hair that looked like she must have an exceptional stylist. As she walked off my husband turned to me and said "that was Reba McEntire." NO WAY! I gasped, I didn't even recgonize her, he must be mistaken. Then as I turned around to see the store she walked out of all the employees and customers were just as star struck as I and trying to discretely catch another glimpse of the country music legend. As much as I wanted to I didn't say hi or take pictures. I was curious though about who she was with. After some brief online research I figured out that it was her son that she was out shopping with. I know it is somewhat stalker like, whats funny though is that out of all the celebrities out there I never would have thought Reba would be the one I would end up googling about her personal life.

So that was our brief brush with Nashville. Sleeping at Cracker Barrel, free coffee from a stranger at Starbucks, and a star sighting all in a days work. I doubt the trip home will be as eventful, but I guess we'll see.