DAY 23 - MARCH 25 - TENNESSEE
There was a huge thunderstorm in the wee hours of the morning. It was pretty intense with lots of thunder and lightning. It woke us up. Then the wind came up and it started pouring. I was waiting for the tornado sirens to start. Whenever we travel in the South, I fear every dark cloud is going to turn into a funnel, every time the wind comes up it means there is a tornado behind it, lions, tigers, and bears, oh my. But there were no sirens or a tornado. By the time we were ready to depart everything was calm. The drive to Nashville was uneventful, except for a flat tire on the trailer. We were actually driving on it for a bit before we noticed. Crisis #2. After 6 hours and 228 miles we safely arrived at Yogi Bear Jellystone Park in Nashville, Tennessee.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under Tennessee to see a review and more pictures of this campground.
http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/
DAY 24 & 25 - MARCH 26 & 27 – NASHVILLE, TN
Nashville is referred to as the “Athens of the South”. It’s the hub of state government, a culture metropolis for middle Tennessee and the epicenter of the country music world. Downtown, on almost every street, corner there are large black boxes with country music coming out of them. You find yourself tapping your feet as you explore the sights. You can also see Greek-influenced architecture throughout the city.
The new Grand Ole Opry and Gaylord Opryland was across the street from where we were staying. Gaylord Opryland is an exclusive resort that is part of Grand Ole Opry. This resort had a garden conservatory under glass roofs with waterfalls, fountains and more than 10,000 tropical plants. It was all very impressive. We tried to visit this area, but we found it difficult to get into the parking area and when we did get in, parking was $18.00. So we skipped it. Next to all this was a shopping mall. We saw people walking over to this resort from the mall. An idea for next time.
For the next two days we visited two historical homes and plantation:
The Hermitage is the home and plantation of 7th President, Andrew Jackson. This is a 1,120 acre farm with about 40 sites (main home, slave quarters, etc.). Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel and other family members are buried here. He had a Tomb built when his wife died. When he died, he was buried next to her in the same tomb. His home was a cotton plantation with about 200 slaves. When he died in 1845 his only daughter Rachael inherited the plantation and it was ruined after the Civil War and then became the property of the State.
The second plantation we visited was the Belle Meade Plantation; founded in 1807 by John and Susanna Harding. It started with a log cabin and 250 acres and grew into 5,400 acres. It was a thoroughbred horse farm used for breeding, training and racing. One of the horses named Iroquois was an ancestor to Seabiscuit. Wine making was also a tradition of the plantation and they still produce wine. We sampled their wine, liked it, and bought 3 bottles.
We also visited the Tennessee State Museum. This museum has a collection of historic Tennessee paintings, silver, ceramics, textiles, furniture, and firearms. Its Civil War holdings of uniforms, battle flags, and weapons are among the best in the nation. The capital building was just around the corner, so we walked by and took a picture. We didn’t explore it as it was on top of a hill and I did not have the energy to climb up for a closer look.
The zoo in Nashville is excellent! The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere is fairly new. It is small compared to the past zoos we’ve been to. It’s on 180 acres and includes Grassmere Historic Farm that was built by Michael C. Dunn in 1846. He sold to son-in-law, Lee Shute, in 1850. In 1859 Lee sold it to son William. William and his wife loved nature and poetry so named the farm after a memorable place celebrated in the poetry of William Wordsworth. His two grand-daughters inherited the farm in 1952. The deeded it to the Children’s Museum. The Museum developed it into a Wildlife Park in 1990. In 1997, the Nashville Zoo assumed management of the property. This zoo is landscaped in a way that makes you ‘maze’ through woods and jungles. It makes you feel like you are out in the wilds. The animal habitats are large and natural. It’s one of the best we have seen and a ‘must see’ if you ever visit Nashville.
We really enjoyed Nashville, but did not have enough time to see some other sights we wanted to visit. One of them is the Creekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art. In late May Dale Chihuly will have his glass art on display throughout this botanical garden and in various ponds. His hand-blown glass art is spectacular. So we will be returning here for a few days on our way back home to visit this garden. I can’t wait!
DAY 26 & 27 - MARCH 28 & 29 – THE HILLS OF TENNESSEE
Another storm was predicted the night before we departed for our next destination. And it did come. In fact it rained the whole day and it was a very long driving day. Because of the rain, we drove slowly and carefully. At one point during our drive our radio started that emergency warning beeping. We figured it was just another one of those emergency tests. But it was for real. It was a tornado warning (FYI: tornado warning means a funnel has been sighted, tornado watch means the conditions are right for a funnel to form). But fortunately it was for an area of Tennessee that we were not going to be near. Whew. I was scanning the sky and holding my breath for the rest of the trip. After nine hours and 278 miles we arrived safely at Rocky Top Campground in Blountville, Tennessee.
Please see our RV PARK REVIEW BLOG under Tennessee to see a review and more pictures of this campground.
http://charleston-rv-park-review.blogspot.com/
We are up in the hills and near the border of Tennessee and Virginia. At the RV campground I asked where the storm shelter was (when traveling in tornado country, you always ask where the nearest shelter is) and they laughed at me. They do not get tornadoes because the area is too hilly. The hills will break up any funnels if they dare to form. I did not know that. Now I do.
It will be a short visit in this area. There is not much to see here except for some caverns to explore.
We only had time to visit Bristol Caverns, located just outside the border town of Bristol. These caverns are over 200,000,000 years old. In the frontier days, the Indians used the underground river as an attack and escape route when they raided the settlers. The short tour took us along their escape route. The caverns were impressive and our guide was a young man who was informative.
We explored downtown Bristol and visited several antique stores in the old section of town. In fact the antique stores are on State Street where one side is in Bristol, Tennessee and the other side is in Bristol, Virginia. So we had a lunch in Tennessee and went shopping in Virginia.
Our next destination is VIRGINIA.
Virginia facts: 1788 entered the Union as the 10th state. Virginia covers 40,817 square miles and has a population of 7,078,515.
State Nickname: "Old Dominion"
State Motto: "Virginia is For Lovers"
State Capital: Richmond
State Flower: American Dogwood
State Bird: Cardinal
State Animal (Dog): American Foxhound
State Tree: American Dogwood
State Gem: None
State Song: None
No comments:
Post a Comment