On Day 6 We are Nashville Bound

Kiddo was behind the wheel as we crossed the mighty Mississippi separating Arkansas from Tennessee. Memphis lay before us, a snarling mess of interchanges. I don’t know who was more nervous, the newly licensed Kiddo or his fast aging grandma in the back seat.

Once beyond Memphis, the highway opened up to rolling hills covered in green. Our hearts were pounding. Next stop, Nashville. Oh my word – there were so many things we wanted to see and do in Nashville. I had made a list. First up, Broadway! Then the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center with it’s beautiful hiking trails right in the heart of the city. For boutiques and bakeries, there was 12th Avenue South. Nashville boasted a Botanical Garden, the Goo Goo Chocolate Company and Sucekum Planetarium. And on our way out of town we planned to visit the home of Andrew Jackson.

Big plans indeed. Hubby and I aren’t big on cities or crowds. While it was really something to walk about on Broadway, we knew Nashville wasn’t where we wanted to be. At least not today.

Still, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have lunch in one of the many Country Artist owned eateries. After checking the menus, we settled on Luke Bryan’s place. Hands down, his was the best menu for down-home cooking with an upscale flare.

Naturally, our meal had to start with Nashville Chicken Bites. Hubby went for the Elk Burger, while I chose the most amazing Bison Meat Loaf. Skewers of Bison-Beef Meatloaf glazed in smoked ketchup is served over a mound of garlic mashed potatoes. The whole dish is swimming in a mote of roasted pearl onions and peas served up in a Bourbon Demi-glaze. Believe me, this is one meal I will be recreating.

After lunch, we headed straight back to the car, snapping a few photos of the skyline on the way. It was time to get out of Dodge, so to speak. Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage House was quickly becoming a nice second stop before heading to Clinton and our home-away-from-home for the next week.

One of my favorite men from history has always been Stonewall Jackson. Perhaps it was in part due to Hollywood’s portrail, with Charlton Heston’s bigger than life Jackson featured in the 1958 film The Buccaneers. And there’s that fun song of the Battle of New Orleans. We all know the best part of that song.

We fired our cannon till the barrel melted down
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round
We filled his head with cannonballs and powered his behind
And when we touched the powder off the gator lost his mind

Sometimes it’s not a good idea to see someone you thought you admired quite this up-close and personal. I had to keep reminding myself as we toured the grounds and listened to our guide regale us with life on the plantation, that this was a very different time. Attitude were different. We’ve learned so much from the mistakes of the past.

Andrew Jackson and his family lived for years on the property in two small cabins. Once his Plantation was complete, the cabins were taken apart and rebuilt to house his slaves. They stand as reminder of the sins of the past.

As we toured the home, I could not help but to notice things in this home that I have in my own. I love collecting old dishes, serving platters, things used for entertaining with that unmistakable style of days gone by. It’s a shame we cannot photograph the inside of the house except during a few stolen glances through the windows outside looking in.

One could easily spend an entire day exploring the 1,000-acre site, listening to the winds as it carried the distant sounds and muffled voices of long ago.

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Over the course of the next 22 days I’ll share discoveries of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Our route home will take us through parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona we had not seen before. Until at long last, we’ve made it home again to the central valley of California. I do hope you come along.