It’s official, my first visit to an AQS Quilt Show has been booked … Nashville, here I come. I didn’t register for any actual quilting classes, but picked a few lectures and some touristy events. Here’s my list:

• The Quilter’s Link
  Tuesday, August 19, 7:00-8:00pm
• An Evening with Billie Lauder
  Wednesday, August 20, 7:00-8:30pm
• General Jackson Luncheon
  Thursday, August 21, 11:00am-3:00pm
• 200 Years of Quilts with Chris Moline
  Friday, August 22, 10:00-11:00am
• Scrapple with Donna Slater
  Saturday, August 23, 9:00-10:00am
• Quilter’s Fanfare
  Saturday, August 23, 1:00-3:00pm
• Grand Ole Opry – Saturday – 2nd Show
  Saturday, August 23, 9:00-11:00pm

I received my Nashville vacation guide in the mail yesterday, full of wonderful information on places to visit. Here are a few things that have caught my attention:

• Belle Meade Plantation
• Belmont Mansion
• Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art
• The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson
• Travellers Rest Plantation & Museum

How I’m actually getting to Nashville is still up in the air. Right now, I’m looking at driving and extending my mini-vacation to almost two weeks. If I drive, the tentative route will take me from Ottawa, crossing the border in upper west New York, making a slight detour from Google Maps to visit the far northwest Pennsylvania, though I haven’t determined what’s there worth visiting there yet, cutting diagonally across the entire state of Ohio (that state is huge), into Kentucky, then Tennessee.

Coming home would be a much longer drive as I want to hit North Carolina (maybe South?), West Virginia, Virginia (Richmond!!), scoot around to avoid Washington and Baltimore (I don’t see how to do that yet), and into Pennsylvania on the east side, stopping in Harrisburg, Allentown, Lancaster and Reading, up through Syracuse, and back to Canada.

I obviously need a better US map, which I’ll try to pick up this weekend. I’m open to trip planning ideas. Any special must-see places would be appreciated. Aside from quilting (obvious!), I’m into history, civil war specifically, gardens, life in the South, historical architecture.

Anyone want to share a room? I’ve booked into the Gaylord Opryland Resort for the entire conference, August 19th to 23rd. It’s a standard room with two queen beds. If anyone is interested in sharing, send me an email. I figure if I can cut my accommodation costs in 1/2 I’ll be able to buy more fabric and goodies. One thing though, I hate the cold, so if you’re the type that loves to have the air conditioner blasting, then we would not make good roommates.

As it gets closer, I’ll start a list of Who’s Attending Nashville page. If there’s enough interest, perhaps a Quilting Bloggers meet-up is in order one evening for drinks or a morning for breakfast. Thoughts?