Gettin' Your Roller Skate On

Last night I went to the Rivergate Skate Center for 21 and over adult skate night. This is my third time to skate here and it is so much fun. The music is amazing if you are into hip hop and R n' B from pretty much every decade since the 60's. You could probably find people skating who were at their prime during each of those decades. The oldest gentleman looked about 75 or 80 and the youngest wasn't much older than 21. It is just a crazy, interesting mix of people skating to the music.

This is a great place to people watch if you like that sort of thing. As the night gets later, groups of people start skating seemingly elaborate and choreographed routines. Stepping I believe is what it is called without skates or line dancing if it were country music. This brings up the point that you probably should go early if you want more of the floor to yourself and you wish to avoid the speed skater groups, though watching them is fun.

Everything starts at 8pm every Sunday night at the Rivergate Skate Center and it is over at 11:30. It will cost you $10 if you need to rent your skates or $7 if you provide your own. I have been with a lot of people to the adult skate and they all have had a blast. No one under the age of 21 is allowed in, for it is that more mature skating experience without screaming kids. There is no alcohol served, so the crowd stays very tame throughout the night... It is truely an event which is about the music and the skating.

Richland Creek Greenway Reopening

Please click on the black and white portion of the flyer for an easier to read version. To find out more about the wonderful greenway system we have in Nashville, go to http://www.greenwaysfornashville.org/ or Metro Nashville's greenway page.

Nashville Deals

Recently, a number of daily deals have been popping up around Nashville. I'll try my best to post all that are currently active. Of course the most popular site is Groupon. They have a great reputation of bringing in lots of money to and focus on local businesses by providing customers great deals. The others on the list may also help your budget in the same way.

Living Social: Very similar to Groupon. There is also a blog that is great for finding things to do in Nashville called "365 things to do"

Kaloopa: This is a Nashville based internet venture that increases your deal benefits as the number of people participating increases. Today you can pick up $15 dollars worth of cupcakes for 50% off! Mmmm... Cupcakes!

Plumb District: Not Nashville specific, but a lot of on line deals.

Adility: Not in Nashville yet, but if you are going to another city on their list, it may prove to be useful.

One thing that you can do when you travel, is use the deals in other cities to keep the price of eating out and visiting sites to a minimum. Just make sure to check the location of the places before you buy so you can make sure you are not going out of your way.

White Water Rafting-Ocoee Style

It had been almost 15 years since the last time I took a white water rafting trip down the Ocoee River near Chattanooga. Two friends of mine and I took off the weekend of October 16 to do one of the guided raft trips down this beautiful, scenic river. The weather was almost perfect and the trees had almost reached their peak color, so this turned out to be an amazing adventure for all of us. Two of us were experienced white water kayakers and one person had never been in white water other than the Grizzly River Rampage back when Opryland was an amusement park.

The tours down the Ocoee are very fun and anyone over the age of 12 can participate. Our trip was through Ocoee Adventure Rafting (OAR). It was a brilliant trip, for our guide, named "DUCK", was very experienced, very professional, and VERY fun. We bounced off rocks, did 360s in the rapids, surfed whitewater, and did a ton of tricks. It was like he knew every rock in the river for he had been a guide since the 1996 Olympics. If I bring a crew down the river again, I will gladly request Duck to be our guide.

This is a trip I highly recommend to anyone who has even an ounce of adventure in their blood. If you go, be sure to ask for Duck at OAR. I can't vouch for the other companies, but I am sure they are all pretty similar. The difference will be your guide.