Old Hickory

We had a good night’s sleep.  The neighbors next door were quiet after 11 or so and we all slept well.

We woke around 6 am and watched the morning news and had breakfast before leaving around 8:30.  We arrived at Andrew Jackson’s Nashville home, The Hermitage.  We had an interesting and informative tour through the mansion and a walk across the grounds to the original log home that Jackson and his wife, Rachel built when they purchased the 1000 acre tract that they built to the magnificent plantation.  We also visited the slave quarters and the other buildings that supported life on the Hermitage.  We especially liked the beautiful gardens with a wide variety of flowers and herbs. 

Many of the plants were identified with signs and the volunteer gardeners were very helpful.  The garden privy was built like the proverbial brick outhouse.  A group of third graders from a local elementary school served as junior docents for the day.  We were impressed that the children were able to present information to visitors at their assigned stations throughout the grounds.  They were dressed in period clothes and were very much in character.

We stopped at a Penn Station for lunch which was good although it took forever to get our food. We drove to the Grand Old Opry House to take some snapshots outside then to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  The display of tropical plants was as good as many conservatories.   There is even a canal that runs through much of the hotel public space where visitors can take a gondola ride.  It is quite a place and has nearly 2900 guest rooms making it one of the nation’s largest non-casino hotels.

We came back to the room to relax around 3:30 and make plans for dinner.  We met Mary’s Aunt May Anna, her cousin, Sandy and Sandy’s two daughters, Maria and Anna along with Maria’s friend, Tanner at the Loveless Café.  This restaurant is a Nashville landmark and from the quality or the food it is easy to see why.  The menu is Southern home-style cooking with fried chicken as a specialty.  The restaurant is located just west of Nashville on the Natchez Trace and has been in business since 1951.  Emily had excellent grilled catfish, Mary had pulled pork and Steve had smoked turkey.  Everything was excellent and the portions were huge.  Mary & Emily bought a slice of Goo Goo Clusters pie back as a snack for later.  We enjoyed the conversation and stories over the meal.  It was really great seeing them all.

We returned to the Knight’s Inn for the evening and will plan to our visit to Belle Meade Plantation and Cheekwood Art and Gardens for tomorrow.

View Larger Map