Last Thursday a storm whipped through town with a flash flood warning and a tornado watch. The next day, with clear skies, I boarded a flight to Nashville without a hitch. I was happy to touch down for a sweltering weekend in Tennessee while things have started to cool off at home as summer comes to a close.

After unpacking, my friends and I headed to Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa for a Tex-Mex dinner and Broadway views from the cozy rooftop. We strolled Broadway, surveying the neon lights and the celebrity bars that line the street.

Many of the bars are multiple floors with many stairs to climb, and each floor has music, whether a DJ or a live performer. In Nashville, live music is almost a given, and it’s not all country. I heard bands play the usual rock song requests, like “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, “My Hero” by Foo Fighters and “Zombie” by The Cranberries, played a few times.

On Saturday we hopped on the bike seats of a pedal tour to manually motor our way up and down Broadway. With the group mostly women, our guide started off with Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” fittingly opening with “Let’s go girls!” And go we did.

Christian, our guide, was a lively DJ and excellent photographer, offering to take pictures, replenishing low drinks and — the most important part — playing good music. I was so wrapped up in singing and waving to strangers that the 1.5-hour tour flew by.

After our pedal tour we returned to Broadway to cap off our weekend before flying home. We made sure to go back to bars we liked and try places we missed the first night. By the end of the night, I couldn’t bear to hear John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads” or Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” one more time.

While Nashville is a great destination for a weekend trip, there is plenty to do off Broadway. Country Music Hall of Fame and Johnny Cash Museum, which I’ve visited previously, are great archives of musical artifacts and history.

I’ll need a vacation to recover from the weekend, but I’m sure I’ll be back to Nashville to explore more of the city.

— Caroline Craig, administrative and advertising coordinator