Is the rolling stone coming your way? Check it here.

Whether you’re a night owl or an early to bed, early to rise type person, you’re not likely to run out of fun and varied things to do in Nashville. Just this past weekend, I took it upon myself to step away from life’s responsibilities and venture out into the city I love to call home.

My Saturday morning began with an early stop at one of my favorite 12^th South eateries, The Frothy Monkey. Something about a coffeehouse in your own backyard makes it all the more comfortable when you sit down for a spell to wake up with a cup India Monsooned Malabar—my own personal favorite.

I had to start the day early because I was meeting a few friends out “in the middle of nowhere” for a horse ride on a friend’s farm. I whipped out my iPhone and punched in the address, hidden in the quaint town of Leipers Fork. According to Google Maps, it would take me around 50 minutes to get out there.

Wow. That got me thinking: One sure thing about Nashvillians is that we take our ease of travel for granted. In just 50 minutes I can get from downtown to a remote farm tucked away in the rolling country. This really isn’t the case with other big US cities, where you have two homes—your apartment and the driver’s seat of your car. Needless to say, the drive was nothing short of therapeutic.

Some of my favorite driving music is the music that can transport me, take me away and maybe take the edge off the road rage. For the past year or so, my driving artist of choice has been Boulder, Colorado’s Gregory Alan Isakov. Passing the lush, cattle-grazed fields under the early sky of sunrise perfectly set the tone for a relaxing morning on the back of one of the coolest horses I have ever met—a horse named Ranger.

After riding for well over two hours through wooded valleys and small creeks, I was able to miraculously pry myself off the saddle. It was especially difficult since it’s not every day I find myself riding a horse, or getting off one for that matter. (I’m still feeling the ramifications as I type today!) One thing that usually suits me quite well after a good horse ride is a nice, hearty meal.

Unbeknownst to me, Leipers Fork is home to two of the best spots for good country cookin’: Puckett’s and the Country Boy Restaurant. OK, If you’re not from the southern part of the US, you may or may not understand the value of a good home-style meal, but (and I say this with the least possible southern accent possible) it’s dang good.

Country fried steak … mashed potatoes … green beans … sweet tea … and Hatcher’s chocolate milk in a milkshake. (A milkshake!)

If that doesn’t make your mouth water, well, is there any hope?

The ride back to Nashville was just as beautiful as it had been in the morning. One amazing thing about this city is the ability to trade cavernous, glass skyscrapers for oak trees and wooden fences in less than an hour. As quickly as you are able to leave one setting, you can enter another.

The day did not end there. As if the plethora of musical genres was not enough, I ended my day at The Schermerhorn seeing one of the finest symphonies in the world. Having just recovered from the crippling flood of last year, The Schermerhorn not only sounded amazing but looked and felt as grand as ever. (It’s vital to mention the fact that whiskey on the rocks adds to the mix quite nicely.)

The classical pieces of the night ranged from Rachmaninoff to Bruckner. I usually gauge a concert by how much breath I’m able to lose. You know the feeling: when the last etching of a chord echoes throughout the hall … you hold onto that last speck of breath in your lungs to hear the note find its end.

It’s spiritual, really.
I always leave the Schermerhorn quietly amazed at what I have just witnessed. It seems to me this city has so much to offer above and beyond what you or I may be aware of.  It’s not everywhere that one can say they were on a horse in the morning and by nightfall in a ballroom listening to a symphony.

This is just an inkling of the ways you could be spending your time in Nashville.

Discovering. Breathing. Living. Listening.
So, now the question, naturally, is posed to you: What will you be doing this weekend?

Grab some of your favorite Brite artists, put them on your favorite traveling music device, and go on an adventure.