The Volunteer State on Instagram: Memphis & Nashville

As I mentioned on Saturday, I spent five days in Tennessee last weekend. My sister of the suitcase (a.k.a. fellow Alpha Delta Pi leadership consultant last year) got hitched in her hometown about an hour outside Nashville, and by some amazing miracle, every single one of the 2012-2013 consultants was able to attend! Not only was it a great reunion, but Jonathan and I took a few days off work to explore Tennessee, considering we were already making the long trip.

One of my favorite signs down this strip said, "First chance for a drink. Next chance 25 feet."

First, we flew to Memphis to explore Graceland and eat as much barbecue as we could stomach. Jonathan literally had three dinners our first night in town. Three! First he had wet ribs, then he had a shrimp po'boy, then he had to try the dry ribs, too. Granted, this was over a period of about five hours as we wandered up and down Beale Street and poked in and out of bars, but I was still amazed at the amount of food he could ingest.

Riding the trolley around the Riverfront Loop. It's only $1 to ride it as long as you want!

I was pretty impressed by this billiards room at Graceland. I think it was my favorite room.

On Friday afternoon, we drove to Nashville to meet up with the other wedding guests. (But first, we drove across the Mississippi border to have lunch because I've never been to Mississippi. ;) The state line is less than 10 minutes from Graceland, so we couldn't miss this opportunity!) Saturday was spent driving to Columbia, where the wedding was celebrated, and getting ready for the festivities.

Little did I know that my former roommate, sorority chapter president and all-around role model and friend would be in Nashville for the Mizzou-Vanderbilt game! I loved catching up with her downtown on Friday night.

The beautiful bride! Thank you for inviting us to be part of your special day. :)

All my friends at the wedding left on Sunday, but Jonathan and I planned to stay in Nashville for another day to do touristy things before driving back to Memphis on Monday morning to catch our evening flight home. Luckily (for me!), my sister Mary missed her flight on Sunday morning and got to spend the whole day with us!

Outside the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville!

Strolling down the Walk of Fame before touring the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Jonathan and I stopped by the Peabody Hotel in Memphis on Monday before our flight to see the famous ducks. I'll admit, I was quite disappointed by the "duck palace" on the roof, but it was fun to see them splashing around in the lobby fountain.

These are all the Instagram photos from my trip, but I have plenty more regular photos! I'm planning to share the rest of our trip in bits and pieces through my Travel Tuesday series so I can focus specifically on places like Graceland and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Are you following me on Instagram? Find me at @mcstroup!