Cheekwood Holiday Lights, Deep Freeze from an Arctic Front, Allergies and an Unplanned Move

I like pre-Christmas activities, probably even more than the holiday itself as it embodies time with family. My friend and I decided to stay in Nashville overnight and see Cheekwood Holiday Lights, an annual event at Cheekwood gardens. They set up Christmas lights on the trees and multiple holiday arrangements. The event was terrific, albeit a bit cold. The price for the ticket was reasonable, $28 with all the fees included. One thing I would do next time is bring a cup of coffee or tea with me. While they sold beverages there, the lines were pretty long, and waiting in the cold without moving much was just not an option.

After the lights we went to Sam's Place in Belle Meade. The wait was long, the food - average at best, but quick service! Not a place that I would want to revisit any time in the future.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Green Hills where I used my accrued points for the first time! The hotel was pretty good in a lovely neighborhood, but I could not sleep at all thinking about Kitty being alone. I ended up going back to Shelbyville in the morning and coming back for brunch right after I made sure he was okay.

We had brunch at Sadie's with the women I met through Bumble BFF app a week ago. The restaurant would become our favorite just after one meal. It was great to establish solid connections with like-minded people. I ordered something called a "shakshuka".

My friend gave me a Christmas gift of Italian panettone among other things and a lovely Christmas tree. It fit right in on the shelf of my rental.

Sunrises at this Airbnb are just stunning. This was probably the most beautiful one I have ever seen.

The sky was preparing for something though. And that something was an Arctic front that was creating havoc in the neighboring states. It was coming our way brining frigid cold temperatures. With my wall heater I knew I needed something else, so the host offered another electric heater should the temperatures get really low in the apartment.

Indeed, I needed it. The wind picked up blowing a sustained 20-25 miles per hour. It was a bit concerning being on the second floor of a building hearing howling winds. The next morning everything froze, including the faucet that the host told me "would be ok not to turn on" (I did leave the one in the bathroom running through the night). The cold front was moving slowly, so the next couple of days would be very cold.

I decided to revisit Henry Horton park to see the nature in the freezing cold. Needless to say, my toes were not happy, but it was worth it.

My allergies continued affecting my breathing. When I would be in the apartment, I kept having irritated airways. I finally told my host, and she offered to buy an air purifier and take our the air conditioner so that I could keep the window open for additional airflow. If none of these measures worked, she told me she would refund for the days I did not stay there.

I was thrilled with the options, but after another few nights of symptoms continuing I decided to plan an exit strategy and contacted my next host knowing that they had the house available early. We decided that I would move in on December 26th. I let my host know only to hear that there would be a refund only of $300 and only because they were able to book someone else who was coming on January 5th. I was very disappointed, but knowing the fact that the reservation itself was non-refundable, I would take it.

I later contacted Airbnb to inquire if there was some sort of reimbursement with their new Aircover protection policy. They responded 5 (!) days later saying that I would need to provide a physical proof that there was something wrong with the apartment. Really??? How would I show something that is in the air??? I was disappointed even more with the time it took them to respond to me. No wonder more and more people refuse to use Airbnb because of their horrible customer service and lack of any kind of protection for the owners and renters.

On a good note, I was in my new place and on Day 1 I had zero allergies!