The past three days are a blur. There were so many dog jumping competitions, cook-offs and country music that I couldn't help but say "yee-haw" with a southern drawl. It's now a day later and the sound of "Achy Breaky Heart" is still ringing in my ears.

I came into this experience covering CMA Fest for CMA.com with the outlook that I would be learning more about country music and I would be able see what this Nashville tradition is all about. What I didn't realize is that I would be transported into another world over the course of the weekend.  

Let me set the scene a little more for you. Imagine a blazing sun with 95 degree heat by 10 a.m. every morning. In the high heat, the smells of sweat, carnival food, beer and urine were plentiful.

Though I fought getting a sunburn and the urge to use my gag reflexes when accosted by the smell of urine when walking the sidewalks of Broadway, I did learn a lot about country music. I found myself being pulled into the world of these hardcore country fans. It was sort of fun to walk through the Convention Center to see crowds gathering for the autographs of Bucky Covington and Chris Young while high pitched screams of "I love you" echoed off the walls. And when getting pushed and pulled through the photo line in front of the nightly stage at LP Field, I found myself excitedly wanting to get pictures of the singing Kellie Pickler and Luke Bryan, despite the fact that I had never listened to their music. It was suddenly about getting the right shot no matter what. I could feel myself understanding a little bit more about what it means for these die-hard fans.

The weekend was definately a cultural experience in addition to a musical one. Not only did I learn the lyrics to a myriad of country hits, I also learned a bit more than I would have liked about people and their bodies. There were a variety of muffintops, saggy pants displaying a range of underwear, boobs of all sizes spilling out of tanktops  and men scratching their bare bellies throughout the festival. But you know what, I think it must have been the heat that made everyone so comfortable with themselves. Despite too much cleavage and butt crack reveals, the festival truly was a good ole' time.