Day 2! Before we went to sleep last night, I huffed and puffed at everyone about how we had to be up early so we could get to breakfast without a rush in the morning because we needed to be at Pedal Tavern at 3:45 PM no matter what. Well, I was clearly full of shit, because 8:00 AM rolled around and I was still in bed. When 8:30 turned up, Dani and Sabrina were awake and came downstairs to talk the morning through. We were all clearly still tired, and Allyson, Meagan, and Alexis hadn't even woken up yet. We decided we wouldn't leave until around noon. They headed back up to their rooms, but I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, so I started getting ready.

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Everyone slowly started coming alive and rolling out of bed when I got out of the shower around 10:30. With all the bustle of getting ready, we didn't get into our Uber until around 12:30. We were supposed to be having breakfast this morning at Milk and Honey, but when we arrived, the line was so long, it was a 2.5 hour wait to be seated. No, Milk and Honey does not take reservations. Now hungry and caffeine-less, we got coffee as we tried to figure out our next stop. I got a milk and honey latte that was *chef's kiss.* Allyson got a cold pressed strawberry juice that was also great, but overpriced for the size. We decided on walking down the street to Biscuit Love, since I'd read rave reviews about it when deciding on a breakfast spot a few months ago. Unfortunately for us, though, the line was wrapped around the curb when we got there. We were now running out of time to eat, so we ended up grabbing food at the restaurant across the street, The Pub.

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We got mimosas and some brunch plates, then we were off to Pedal. On our walk over, we stopped at a liquor store to get some drinks to bring with us, as drinks are not provided by Pedal. The rules on the waiver we all signed stated that we could not bring glass or any alcohol above 8% ABV, so Alexis and I ended up getting a few White Claw Surges. Some of the other bridesmaids wanted to beat the system, though, and ended up buying a few bottles of lemonade, drinking some, and then filling it back up with vodka for the trip over. Dani was especially crafty with hers, being careful not to rip the sticker that came on the bottle so that it would look like it had never been opened. We got our drinks and took some jello shots that were also on sale at the store. Alexis and I were standing by the door to leave and took our shot, and we both looked at each other immediately and laughed. At 14% ABV per shot, they were strong and no amount of fruit flavoring could cover the alcohol up. Everyone else took their shots, and then we started walking the rest of the way to Pedal.

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When we got to Pedal, we signed our waivers and got gray wristbands, then waited for our tour to start. While waiting, Dani came over to me and asked me if I recognized the girls in the corner of the room. I glanced over and saw 4 girls we'd gone to high school with, standing around and waiting for their tour to start, too. "No way!" I exclaimed at them, and they were equally as surprised. I hadn't seen any of them since we graduated high school. It was such a crazy coincidence. They were in Nashville for a girls' trip and had never done Pedal before. I couldn't get over the serendipity of it all.  Unfortunately, they had yellow wristbands, which meant they were on another tavern. They got called first, so we said our goodbyes and parted ways.

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Moments later, our tour was ready. We were placed with two other groups of girls, one group from Illinois who was in Nashville on a girls' trip, and another group from Lindenhurst who was celebrating their friend's 21st birthday. Some of the girls from that group recognized Meagan, who is also from Lindy. It was yet another crazy coincidence. New Yorkers do infiltrate everywhere, don't we?

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We got on Pedal and onto the road and all started drinking, dancing, and singing along to songs like "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)," "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)," and "Ms. New Booty." I was feeling pretty fine, at a good level with my drinks, and then our Pedal driver made me shotgun a White Claw and it was over for me. Any sensibility I had when it came to calmly maintaining my drinks was out the window.

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Our Pedal bar stop for the day was at Redneck Riviera. We got off and made our way inside and were greeted by a fluffy, lovable black Lab service dog. He looked like Quinn and it sent a pang of sadness into me that made me miss him instantly. We got a round of 12 green tea shots and downed them, then walked back to our Pedal to continue the tour.

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On our closing leg of the tour, one of the Illinois girls felt like she had displaced her kneecap and got off the tavern and sat on the side of the street in pain. Her friends and Allyson (she works in a hospital) jumped off the tavern to see if she was ok. The tavern made a spin around the block, stopped, and our driver jumped off to go check on her, leaving me in charge of the tavern. I hopped into the middle and passed out drinks, then danced a bunch until he came back. Once he and Allyson were back, he announced that the other girls would be staying with their friend and not rejoining us. We continued onward a little bit further, then the tour ended.

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We got off with the Lindenhurst girls and decided to walk to the Wild Beaver Saloon a few blocks away so that we could ride a mechanical bull. We went in, signed up to do karaoke, and paid $5 each to ride the bull. Dani, Sabrina, and I each took turns riding the bull, honestly doing better than I expected us to. When it was my turn, I got on the bull and held on for dear life. This ride would've been easy if I was sober, but of course, I was not. I was gripping the rein so tightly with my left hand that my engagement ring started cutting into the sides of my middle and pinky fingers. Eventually, I couldn't stand the feeling of the ring pressing into my skin anymore, so I dropped off.

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After the bull, we got called on stage for karaoke. I thought it was a "we" activity, but apparently it was a "me" activity with my friends all dancing on stage behind me. I was doing "You Proof" by Morgan Wallen and let me tell you, it was not good, as karaoke is supposed to be. I was lucky I knew all the words and melody by heart, because I was still coming down from all the drinks on Pedal and could not concentrate on the screen in front of me. However terrible of a rendition it was, it was still a lot of fun. We got off stage and decided it would be best to head back to the Airbnb to recharge and change before dinner.

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When we were done relaxing and changing, it was once again too late to be seated for dinner at most places. We called an Uber and headed straight back to Blanco, since we were sure we'd be seated there again tonight. We had queso again as we waited for our food to arrive, and accidentally ordered a double of all of our drinks. When we asked for a double, we thought that meant we were getting double the liquor. When the drinks showed up on our table, we realized they meant double the drink. The drinks were gigantic and we all had a hard time finishing them. We dented them as much as we could, ate dinner, then left for Nudie's Honky Tonk down the street.

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We went straight to the rooftop at Nudies, and the music there seemed to be right up everyone's alley. I cannot commend my friends enough for trying on this trip. Apart from myself, Dani, and Meagan, my friends did not like country and barely knew any songs. I'd made them a playlist of popular songs we'd hear in Nashville before we'd arrived, but even then, they were not thrilled about all the live music being country and having to subject themselves to it. That aside, they really did try to get into the spirit and learn some of the songs and dance along. The music at Nudies, however, wasn't live. It was run by a DJ and they played songs you'd hear in a club back at home, which was perfect for my friends who needed a break from country. They even played Justin Bieber, who if you know me, is the "JB" that 15 year old me thought I'd be marrying. After a few drinks here, we walked over to Honky Tonk Central.

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The band on the first floor of Honky Tonk was hit or miss when we first arrived. The music was either good country, or "eh" in my opinion. Everyone grabbed some drinks and sat down, I grabbed water knowing that I had to fly home tomorrow and didn't want to feel like garbage on the flight back. When a table cleared up near the stage, we moved over to it. The singer on stage noticed my hat and asked me if I was getting married and what my name was. She then said to the entire bar "Danielle down here is getting married on purpose! On the count of 3, tell her not to do it! Ready? One, two, three!" and the whole bar erupted in "Don't do it!" We all laughed and she went back to singing.

 

A few minutes later, I decided to buy a song request. In Nashville, bands don't get paid for their performances, so they make money by charging $20 per song request, and off of the tips they get when they pass around a bucket or hat through the crowd. I'd brought $20 in cash to Nashville just to request a song, but hadn't up until now. I was fiending for some Morgan Wallen, but also hadn't heard any Miranda Lambert since we'd got here, so I went up to the bucket and asked if she could do "Gunpowder and Lead." She said that she could, but then made a big spectacle out of it. She said into her mic, "I love it when girls that are getting married ask me to sing songs about killing their husbands," and then asked myself and the 'maids come up on stage. I froze. I wanted to scream the lyrics in the peace and comfort of the darkness near my table, not on stage for the whole (packed) bar to see. We didn't have a choice, though, as a bandmate came down and escorted us onto stage. I did not have enough alcohol in my system for this, but I was already up there, so I wasn't going to make it awkward. She started singing and we started dancing. It was actually pretty fun by the time it was all said and done. We made our way off the stage and back to our table.

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Alexis' flight back to New York was scheduled to leave BNA at 6:30 AM, which means she'd  have to be in the airport by around 5 or so because she was checking her bag. I looked down at my phone and noticed it was almost 2 AM. I was ready to go home, anyway, but I also wanted to be respectful of Alexis' flight time, so we called and Uber and said goodbye to Broadway.

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When we got  back to the Airbnb, everyone kinda drifted off to do their own thing except Dani, Meagan and I. We sat at the kitchen island and chatted, then Dani brought out the rest of the cake and we ate some of it. Around 3:30 AM, I realized how late it was and that I needed sleep because I wanted to get breakfast before I headed to the airport in the morning, so I said goodnight and went to bed.