To Nashville and back, in one piece — part 1

This column starts at the end of the story. In this case, the end of the story is me collapsing in my bed Monday night. I’m usually a hit-and-miss sleeper, but I was pretty much out the second my head hit the pillow. I didn’t dream. I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night. I slept. Like a baby. Now that we know how the story ends, let’s take it from the beginning, shall we? Last Friday afternoon, my wife and I boarded an airplane for Nashville, Tenn. with a group of fellow Platte Countians. Our mission: enjoy the unique opportunity of seeing the University of Missouri football team and the Kansas City Chiefs playing in the same major city on the road on the same weekend. Mizzou was scheduled to play Vanderbilt and the Chiefs had a Sunday afternoon date across town with the Tennessee Titans. Those circumstances alone would have made the trip a memorable one, don’t you think? But I’m going to push the envelope on the tale a little: my travel mates were pretty much the same group that I trekked to pre-Katrina New Orleans with in 2004 to see the Chiefs take on the Saints. Some of you readers will recall that I wrote a two-part column about that trip and that I very nearly got run over by a trolley car on Bourbon Street. True story. Anyway, as you have probably surmised by now, this particular group of folks — whose names have been omitted to protect the innocent (and the guilty) — likes to have fun. Of course, I’ve been known to have a little fun, too, so there’s that. Anyway, back to the story. We were a few minutes late getting out of KCI (and the mini bar at our gate was bone dry as a result), but due no doubt to all of our group packed into the tail section of the plane, festive and shouting M-I-Z every so often, we landed in Nashville a little over an hour later. Then the race was on to see who could grab a taxi quickest for the 15-minute journey to our hotel. Well, Patty and I and two others had to kick a few conflicted Chiefs fans (they had KU hats on) out of the way, but we won the race and were soon checked into our hotel. The rest of our group soon followed and before too long, the lobby was filled with about 25 of us in desperate need of soaking up some of the liquid we had consumed thus far with some good food. Ever heard of Chuy’s Mexican Restaurant? Remember the name — and check out the new location that has just opened near the Country club Plaza. If it’s half as good as the Chuy’s we scarfed at in Nashville, it will be one of the best south of the border joints in town. Anyway, our hunger slated, but our thirst still in need of quenching, we set out to explore. Many of our group blasted off for Honky Tonk Row downtown, while my wife and I and a few other couples wandered around the corner to... bummer, I’m out of space. Key words for part 2: Mizzou, Bloody Mary, Pedal Bar, Fireball, Home of the Chiefs and Johnny Cash. TO BE CONTINUED