By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Content Agency
July 16, 2013
Grits and Glamour celebrated the completion of its CD “Dos Divas” in a relaxing way. The duo — comprised of country music stars Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan — took a trip to Mexico.
“We went with our husbands on a couples’ getaway to celebrate the wrap of our new album and stayed at Garza Blanca Preserve Resort and Spa in Puerto Vallarta,” says Morgan. “We were treated like royalty and I’m ready to go back.”
The good friends are busy promoting “Dos Divas,” but Tillis says she dreams of taking some time off in the future to “go to a yoga retreat for a month in Costa Rica or go back in time before there were cars and less heat. I am extremely nostalgic.” For updated info on the singers, who’re both based in the Nashville area, head to their website.
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
MORGAN: Our family enjoys the outskirts of Panama City the most. Panama City is family-friendly and romantic, with long beaches for walking. It’s an easy one-hour flight from Nashville. The area restaurants have great oysters! My personal favorite is Shuckums Oyster Pub and Grill right on the beach. They have the best oyster shooters. A new favorite is Puerto Vallarta, where we just spent some time recently and were treated to a long luxury getaway. It was an oasis.
TILLIS: I’ll never forget the first time I drove the California coast. From Los Angeles to San Francisco, Carmel, Big Sur, Monterey. … If you visit California, rent a car and drive the 101. It’s spellbinding. Sometimes you need the sea, sometimes you need the desert or the mountains. And then there’s Paris.
Q. What was the first trip you took as a child?
MORGAN: My dad and mom took us to Canada. I loved it — the cool clean air, the green mountains and the Canadian accents. That trip is one of my favorite childhood memories as a family. I’d like to plan a trip again to stay in a cabin at one of the wonderful lake sites or stroll the streets of Montreal in the wintertime bundled up in a big furry coat.
Q. What untapped destination should people know about?
TILLIS: OK, there are treasures in the Midwest. I love the Buffalo river area in Arkansas. I just took my mother crystal mining in the Ozarks. For music lovers, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, is a great experience. I also love the Highway 61 — the Blues Route. It is cool and funky and you really understand what shaped the blues. Of course, Nashville, our Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the Grand Ole Opry.
Q. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
MORGAN: Whether in a moment of peace and quiet or exhilarating excitement, savor every minute of every place.
TILLIS: America is an astounding country and I wish we would take better care of it. Sprawl is a four-letter word and the new economy has blessed some places and left others behind. Too many boarded up businesses on Main Street. Don’t get me started.
Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
MORGAN: For quick getaway weekends, we head to Bar Harbor, Me., or Panama City, Fla.
TILLIS: I love to do day trips. I am a big junk and antique hound. I love small towns and the country. I love the stimulation of a great city, but I find I need a lot of green and elbow room to relax.
Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
MORGAN: I would like to visit Bora Bora.
TILLIS: I hear Vietnam is beautiful. I know I would love New Zealand. I really want to spend some time in Charleston (South Carolina).
Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
MORGAN: I take my own blanket and pillow along with my favorite face moisturizer.
TILLIS: I get frantic if I run out of reading materials when I travel. I don’t just sit well. I carry a small library. Sunscreen. I like to dress to fit the city. It’s fun if I can feel like I’ve assumed a new identity for a while. And walking shoes.
Q. What is your worst vacation memory?
MORGAN: My worst vacation ever was when we went to Cancun with the kids! It was during hurricane season. We had to make alternate plans to head home early, cutting our Cancun vacation short. We ended up in Texas at a water park for a whole week! Not exactly what we had planned.
Q. Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?
TILLIS: It is interesting that parts of the English countryside look like the really nice parts of Franklin, Tenn.
© 2013 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY
