Hey y'all! Hope you had an awesome week. Mine was packed with so many different activities, I thought I would keep y'all up to date. So let's start with Monday...
Last Monday, I began my day by walking around the Red Sox spring training facility with one of the other wives from the team. While we were there, I got to say hi to Drew, and he quickly gave us a rundown on where all of the pitchers do their drills and where he eats and does his workouts. After stopping by the field, I went back home to wait for Drew to pick me up for the volunteer event that we were going to partake in that afternoon.
The volunteer event Drew and I signed up for was hosted by an organization called "Family Initiative". This organization supports children in the community who are on the autism spectrum. Drew and I played various types of outdoor games with the kids including softball, bucket toss, and basketball. We had a great time meeting and playing with all of the kids and spending some time with the founders of the organization.
After the volunteer event was over, Drew drove me to the airport so I could catch my flight to Nashville to stay with my best friend Sloane and attend the Dan + Shay concert. I hadn't been back to Nashville in over a year and a half so I was extremely excited to get back to one of my favorite cities and see a few of my friends from Vanderbilt. I was also super excited for the Dan + Shay concert since they performed at our wedding last November!
Tuesday was the day of the concert, so while Sloane went to work, I got my nails, hair and makeup done. I'm good at keeping myself preoccupied ;) After I finished my "errands" I went back to Sloane's to get dressed for dinner and the show. For dinner we met up with our friend Claire and went to one of our favorite restaurants in the city, Kayne Prime. Kayne is the nicest steakhouse in Nashville, and owned by our good friend Chris Hyndman. During college, Sloane and I used to go to Kayne all of the time just to sit at the bar and order only the sides on the menu. Trust me, sake steamed brussels with truffle oil, popovers, mac and cheese, tuna crispy rice, and charred broccoli does make for a delicious meal!
However this time, we decided to grow up a bit and actually order a grilled salmon to go with the sides. When we were done with dinner, we made our way over to the Ryman Auditorium for the concert. If you're from Nashville or are in the music industry, than you know how famous the Ryman Auditorium is. Formerly a church, the Ryman has hosted many of music's all-time greats such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and numerous country music hall of famers. Not surprisingly, this was a huge show for Dan + Shay. It was also a very special show for me because their song "From The Ground Up" was the song they performed for our first dance.
The show turned out to be absolutely incredible! We had front row tickets right in the center so it was really cool that Dan and Shay were both able to talk to us directly throughout the concert and look at us and smile during certain songs. We had a blast! Although we wanted to go out after the concert was over, I had to leave for Florida at 5am the next day so we called it an early night.
Wednesday was pretty eventful as well! Once I got back to Fort Myers, I caught up on a little sleep and then got dressed to go to the movies with the Red Sox team. The team had rented out a theater to see Patriot's Day. This movie is about the Boston Marathon bombings and the aftermath of the 2013 attack. It was a very graphic and powerful movie and it was very poignant to sit amongst some of the players who had experienced this tragic event.
Wednesday night, we went to dinner with my uncle in Coconut Point. He took us to a restaurant called Chop's which had a delicious tuna bowl that I recommend to anyone in the area.
Thursday, Drew didn't have to stay for the game since it was against Northeastern so we had a chance to checkout Barefoot Beach in Naples. Barefoot Beach is a beautiful beach, and pretty unique in the fact that the parking area is surrounded by gopher tortoises. Also interesting, the sand on Barefoot beach is mostly made up of large shells and sand-dollars.
Friday, I worked out (which I hadn't had time for all week - yikes) and then played an hour of tennis. That night we got to go to dinner with one of Drew's teammates and his wife. We went to an Asian fusion restaurant and I ordered so many sushi rolls I'm surprised I didn't explode. We had a great time!
Saturday, was my first time attending a Red Sox spring training game! I was shocked to see how nice the Red Sox spring training field is and how many fans come to all of the spring training games. It felt as if we are back in Boston at Fenway.
Sunday, Drew took me fishing for the first time! At first I wasn't sure if I would actually fish, and planned to just lay on the boat and tan, but once I saw Drew and the fisherman casting their poles, I wanted to partake in the action. Drew taught me how to cast and after my third try I caught a fish!! I was so excited and Drew was absolutely beside himself. The fish I caught turned out to be a 6lb bass, which was cool until the guys made me hold it by the mouth while it was still alive. I literally wanted to puke. Grossest moment of my life. I can't even think about it so we will move on. I can think about the fact that Drew and his teammate, who joined us later on the boat, didn't catch a single fish for the next two hours (oops) but maybe they'll have better luck next time.
Xx,
Carolyn
Back in Nashville!
Heading to movie with the Red Sox
Barefoot Beach
Red Sox Spring Training Game
Fishing with Drew
