Nashville here we are

5-31-2011

We arrived yesterday afternoon in Nashville. We left Milwaukee around 8:15 am- we had to deboard our plane due to a "fatal error" with the altimeter and reboard another plane. The flight was about 1 hr 8 minutes- smooth take off and landing. Steve experienced some vertigo with take off. We landed in Kansas City and had a 2 hour layover. The baby was very active the entire flight - lots of kicking. (not that it matters to most but they actually had real toliet paper at the Kansas City airport- those who have used the bathrooms in Milwaukee would be jealous). We left Kansas City at about 12:20 and landed in Nashville around 1:40. The 2nd flight was uncomfortable for me- I developed a cramp in my right side that left my abdomen in a constant state of contraction and I began to have pubic bone pain off and on- the baby was still kicking and moving a lot. Normally if I have any discomfort I can lay down and the pain goes away but I think being stuck in one position was the culperate. The take off and landing was still smooth. One thing I did notice from other take off and landings that I have experienced while being nonpregnant- is that when you are pregnant - your abdomen shifts slightly and puts lots of pressure on your bladder during that time period. Word to pregnant women definetely make sure your bladder is empty before getting on the plane. I am grateful for being able to fly- other than alittle discomfort on the 2nd flight- it was a great experience and it was the first time Steve and I had flown together. Thank you again to Dave and Marcia who made flying possible for us. Steve has been spoiling me and not letting me lift or carry anything- quite a feat with luggage.

Yesterday it was 95 degrees in Nashville and today it is around the same. Steve and I feel spoiled by the weather- it feels like we are back living in Tampa again. We found Vanderbilt University and Medical Center yesterday. Very easy to find off of West End Ave. The medical complex is very large (makes our new St.Mary's building look like a postage stamp). There are a lot of signs around the complex which helps with navigation. We have our evaluation tomorrow. I will make another entry tomorrow regarding the evaluation ( I will try to add as much detail as I can for the other Moms that will be coming to Vanderbilt for the same evaluation). Our hotel is on West End Avenue about 3/4 of mile from Vanderbilt. There are 3 Starbucks surrounding the drive to Vanderbilt from the hotel - 2 on West End and one on the other side of Vanderbilt- I am adding this tidbit as wi-fi access at our hotel is terrible. Also all of the parks in Nashville have free wi-fi. There is a large variety of places to eat and shop at. There is also a small grocery store named Apple Market on West End Avenue also if needed - our room has a small kitchette with full size refridgerator, microwave, kitchen sink, and two stove top burners- this is a very good thing as we can not afford to eat out frequently. If you continue down West End Avenue into the downtown area- there are several blocks of gift shops, bars and grills with live music and a lot of western wear shops. Great place to just walk and take your mind off of the upcoming evaluation. For the men - at the end of West End Avenue right across from the Hardrock Cafe you can sit in a park that overlooks the river and look longingly at the football stadium.

We miss our girls and the dogs a lot. We keep taking pictures of everything we think the girls would like to see. We stopped at Centennial Park yesterday as they have a replica of the Parthanon that you can walk around- we didn't go inside for the tour. I think the tour is $6 for adults. The replica will be of great interest to Alicia as she loves the movie Percy and the Lightening Thief.