Downtown From Above

A Different View of Nashville

Downtown Nashville • July 15, 2026

By July, I was starting to get out and see more of Nashville instead of just knowing it as the place I'd moved to.

This night took me downtown and up to one of the rooftops, where I got to see the city from a completely different angle. I could've stood up there taking pictures forever — and judging by my camera roll, apparently I almost did.

I was still missing home badly during this time. Nashville still felt new, and there were plenty of days when I would've packed up and gone back home without thinking twice. But then I'd have a night like this, when I'd look around and think, okay... this part is pretty freaking cool.

I didn't know yet what Tennessee was going to become for me. I was still figuring that part out. But I was beginning to find little things here that made me want to keep looking.

Across the Pedestrian Bridge

I just love the city lights!

After the rooftop, I headed toward the pedestrian bridge and walked across the river. This was still early enough in my time here that seeing Nashville like this felt new to me, and apparently I thought I needed photographic evidence of every single angle of it.

From the bridge I could see downtown lit up behind me, Nissan Stadium across the river, the boats and lights on the water, and the city stretching out in both directions. Every few feet seemed like another reason to stop and take another picture.

I think this was one of the first times I really understood why I was becoming so drawn to the city lights. During the day Nashville could still feel like this unfamiliar place I'd moved to. But at night, standing above the river looking back at everything glowing, it felt different.

I still missed home. A lot. But for a little while that night, I wasn't thinking about where I wished I was.

I was actually enjoying where I was.

The City Lights

Maybe Nashville was starting to give me something of my own.

I think this was one of those nights that planted a little seed without me realizing it.

I was still terribly homesick. If somebody had asked me then where home was, I wouldn't have hesitated. Home was Alabama. Home was my kids, my family, the roads I knew, and a life that felt familiar. Tennessee was still the place I was trying to figure out.

But I couldn't deny how much I loved seeing Nashville like this.

The buildings glowing against the dark sky, the lights reflecting off the river, the bridges, the view of the city from above — I could stand there forever just looking at it.

I didn't know then how many times I'd eventually go looking for a view like this when I needed to clear my head. I didn't know how much sunsets, overlooks and city lights would become part of the way I found a little peace for myself.

That night, I just knew I thought it was beautiful. And for the first time in a while, being here didn't feel quite so bad.

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