Got myself a new hat

As many of you know, I just got back from Nashville, Tennessee. I was there for a work conference. It was my first time to Nashville. It's not called the country music capital for nothing. Country music was playing in the airport, hotels and bars. It was every where. They're proud of their reputation. And since I don't mind country music, I enjoyed my time there. The Country Music Hall of Fame was even right across the street from my hotel. I explored it the last day I was there.

I didn't have a lot of time to explore the city because I spent most of my time couped up in the hotel attending meetings and lectures. Every once in a while there was an hour break or more, which I used to run out and catch some hot, muggy air and to dash in and out of the leather shops. My hotel was conveniently a half-block from the main tourist attractions in downtown. I must have went through a half-dozen stores that sold cowboy hats and boots. I was looking for the perfect cowboy hat. I eventually found the right one. It's my first one ever. You wouldn't believe how expensive some of those hats and boots were. One pair of boots I picked up had a $2,200 price tag. Youch!

Aside from the some of the acclaimed speakers that spoke at the conference, the highlight of my trip came when we went to the Tennessee Titans football stadium for lunch. It was less than a mile away from the hotel. They took us into the locker room and we got to walk through the tunnel to the field. Vince Young's garb was hanging in his locker, which was cool to see. That's the first time I've ever been in a professional sports team's locker room.

There must have been a dozen bars within walking distance of the hotel, including the world famous bar Coyote Ugly. Every one of of them had country bands playing on a stage. On several different nights we went bar hopping to check out the bands. None of them were charging entrance fees. We had a good time.

(You will all be proud to know that the Washington State Department of Transportation communications team cleaned up on awards night. We brought home three separate awards for the work we've done in the last year. How cool is that?!)

(These are two of my colleagues that I went to the conference with. On the left is Lisa Murdock, communication manager for Olympic Region, and on the right is Lloyd Brown, communication director for the entire state.)