The Big Chill

If you're reading this and you live in Nashville, you may not realize just how little time you have left. Thanks to an abundance of fried foods, we live in one of the fattest states in the nation. And despite playing host to a profitable health care industry, it turns out we have one of the highest rates of brain cancer in the country. That oughta make gas prices look like a minor nuisance.

But that's just us. We're a city of meat-and-threes and smoke-filled dive bars butting up against sleek high-rises and swanky organic eateries. We're a songwriter's loftiest dream and often a musician's worst nightmare. We like our chicken hot and our celebrities humble. And the slower, arguably better pace with which we embrace the new (and never quite get around to discarding the old) is all part of our dusty, lacquer-coated charm.

So when you snuggle up this fall, don't just brace yourself for the winter blues. Instead, think of this as the fall of your life—the prelude to that big hibernation in the sky. As you drive down familiar haunts this autumn, look at them like you're waving your final goodbye, and this time, stop in. Lucky for you, we've come up with 125 things you should do before arriving at the diamond musical-note encrusted gates in your Nudie suit.

What follows ranges from the indulgent to the romantic, with a heaping helping of whimsy thrown in the middle. All the stuff hidden in plain sight you might never get around to trying while the business of life keeps you busy living. So go breathe the smoke at the Villager Tavern deep into your lungs and feel the supple ice cream of a cone from Bobbie's Dairy Dip slide down your throat. All in all, not a bad way to go. —Tracy Moore

Have afternoon tea at the Hermitage Hotel.

Valet your car while you shop at the Belle Meade Kroger.

Eat at Athens Restaurant on Franklin Pike at 3:30 a.m. after a long night of drinking.

Have a pie and a pint at Family Wash.

See The Time Jumpers or The Doyle & Debbie Show at the Station Inn.

Take in a Nashville Sounds game on Thirsty Thursdays for some good ol' Americana: Triple A ball, peanuts and Cracker Jacks (for cheap!).

Have Grimey help you find a record.

Take a ghost tour downtown.

Catch a Nashville Rollergirls derby show from the casualty seats.

Head to night court late on a Friday night to see the action (and maybe catch a celebrity coming in). 

Eat a fresh doughnut at the Donut Den on Hillsboro Road.

Chow down on a pulled-pork sandwich at Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint in Nolensville.

Buy veggies at the Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning.

Wander around the Tennessee State Fairgrounds Flea Market the fourth weekend of every month (and check out the mullets).

Go canoeing down the Harpeth.

Ask the Happy Dancing Man for help at the White Bridge Road Target.

Down a Casa Margarita at Rosepepper Cantina on Eastland.

Tour the Yazoo Brewing Company, especially near happy hour.

Shake your booty to The Dynamites.

Go to Lea's Summit at the highest point in Percy Warner Park and take in the view.

Bike the greenway.

Climb the indoor rock wall at Climb Nashville.

Drink out of the dog bowl on your birthday at the Villager Tavern, and let the bartender take your picture.

Rent a pontoon on Percy Priest Lake.

Watch an all-ages punk show at The Muse.

Eat a cheeseburger and a chocolate-dipped cone at Bobbie's Dairy Dip as the sun sets and the outdoor speakers play the Night Train to Nashville CD.Catch a puppet show at the downtown library.

Drop some change for a busker on Lower Broad.

Buy fish heads from K&S Market on Nolensville Road.

Get in a fight outside Springwater.

Take your kids fishing at Bucksnort Trout Ranch.

Hit Second Avenue and look for the old blues guy who's always strumming his guitar (or falling asleep in his wheelchair).

Watch the Shakespeare in the Park troupe warm up before shows at Centennial.

Eat, picnic or make out at the top of the stairs at Percy Warner Park.

Eat, picnic or make out in the Japanese Garden bamboo trail at Cheekwood.

Play a game of washers on the back patio of 3 Crow Bar in East Nashville.

Grab a pint and watch a midnight movie at The Belcourt—especially on rowdy Fridays.

Try a taco from any random lunch stand in Nashville. (We recommend the elotes, or grilled corn, at Taqueria Dona Tere just off I-440 on Nolensville.)

Visit the Dyer Observatory.

Fly a kite with the Parthenon as a backdrop.

Sing karaoke at Lonnie's in Printers Alley.

Do the "Time Warp" at The Belcourt's Rocky Horror late show.

Drive by Jack White's house; point at it.

Eat family-style brunch at Monell's.

See the view of the state Capitol from the Bicentennial Mall.

Visit the new Sudekum Planetarium at the Adventure Science Center.

Ride the Zamboni at a Preds game.

Tour the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.