My Vacation in Tennessee
Last week, my wife and I took a trip to Tennessee. We traveled around the state visiting different areas including the Great Smokey Mountains, Murfreesboro, Memphis and Nashville. It was a great time. Here are some highlights from my vacation in Tennessee.
If you’re planning a trip to Tennessee, you should read this.
The Election is not Over
On our ride, we saw one Trump sign after another. There were signs, flags, and even a painted side of a barn. In the Great Smokey Mountain region, they were selling Trump shirts, bumper stickers and a life size cutout. We brought home a Trump 2024 bumper sticker as a gift. I don’t think the election is over yet. Or, at least, a lot of people haven’t accepted it.
Berry Springs Lodge
Our first stay was at the Berry Springs Lodge in Gatlinburg. This was a bed and breakfast and we stayed in the Crystal Springs room. This was one of the nicest bed and breakfasts we have ever stayed at. The room was immaculate and the breakfasts were out of this world. And, they even provided a nightly homemade treat.
In addition to the huge lodge building, you can walk a path down the hill behind the facility to get access to a fishing pond, beach, and barn with ping pong tables, pool tables and a basketball hoop. And, you can even grab a boat to go out on the pond. The lodge offered a huge back deck with rocking chairs overlooking an awesome view of the mountains.
Deer Farm and Petting Zoo
Our first stop was the Smokey Mountain Deer Farm and Exotic Petting Zoo in Sevierville. I thought this might be too juvenile for us, but it wasn’t at all. We grabbed a big cup of food and made our way around to all of the animals. There were deer, elk, zebras, zonkeys (zebra donkeys), a camel, Sicilian mules and more. My wife made a friend in the zonkey. You can even go inside the cages and pet the animals. Unfortunately, I learned that it isn’t a good idea to bring the food in the cage with you as a deer tried to eat it all.
Titanic Museum
I highly recommend the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge. There is so much to see that it took longer than I thought it would. It tells the story from the time the ship was built to the time it sunk and afterwards. The exhibit pertaining to the musicians who played while the ship was sinking was particularly interesting. And, I loved touching a replica iceberg at the same temperature as the original one, and sticking my hand into water that is the same temperature as the ocean was. It was also fascinating to walk on a replica of the ship’s deck to experience the different slopes as the ship sunk. It got difficult real quick.
Alcatraz Crime Museum
The Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Pigeon Forge was amazing. The museum covered everything from medieval torture to recent serial killers. There were so many exhibits that my wife and I got a little overwhelmed. My wife enjoyed the mobster exhibits while I enjoyed the old west exhibits. They even had O.J. Simpson’s white Ford Bronco.
The Island
The Island in Pigeon Forge has shops, restaurants and rides for the little ones. We ate at Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen restaurant and it was the best dinner we had the entire trip. You have to try the meatloaf. We also did some shopping and it was so pleasant to see mask-less faces and smiling kids. Don’t tell King Fauci that people weren’t wearing masks and nobody was keeling over sick.
The Comedy Barn
I wasn’t sure if the Comedy Barn would be too childish for us, but it wasn’t at all. We attended the show in Pigeon Forge and we were delighted. There was a ventriloquist, a juggler, a magician and music and dancing. The juggler was hilarious and stole the show. The comedy was clean and very funny. They ended the show by asking our military veterans to stand while playing “God Bless the U.S.A.” It was a perfect ending to a perfect evening.
Gatlinburg
Gatlinburg is a gorgeous little town with a lot to do. We went to the Sugarlands Distilling Company for moonshine tasting. And, the bartender was great. After sampling a bunch of moonshine flavors, we went on a spending spree buying flavors to bring home.
We met a couple next to us while moonshine tasting, and it turned out they were Trump supporters too. They made sure to tell us they were from “western” Massachusetts. And, it was hilarious because their cart was filled to the brim with moonshine.
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
While in Gatlinburg, we headed to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. It’s a driving trail where you can make stops and see the Smokey Mountains up close. We did some exploring of some old cabins and walked a trail in the woods. I must admit that I got a little worried on the trail because it didn’t seem like it was going back to our car. At one point, there were a bunch of cars stopped and a man told me he saw a bear. When I looked, I saw the bear’s back from afar.
Laurel Falls
I highly recommend visiting Laurel Falls in the Smokey Mountains. It’s about a mile hike uphill to get to the falls. But, they are stunning. You can wade in the bottom of the falls. And, you can take a lot of pictures. If you like the beauty of nature, this is a must-see.
Market Square – Knoxville
It was pouring rain when we went to Knoxville. Our goal was to visit Market Square. I thought Market Square would be a bunch of shops, but it was just a bunch of restaurants. So, we went to the Knoxville Visitor Center to get some ideas. The rude girl pointed us to the East Tennessee Historical Society. It had tons of exhibits about the history of East Tennessee like the original Indians, the music and the founders.
Stones River National Battlefield
We visited the Stones River National Battlefield in Murfreesboro on our way to Graceland. This was the home to one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War that resulted in one of the most important Union victories. Unfortunately, the Visitor Center was closed, so we took to the grounds ourselves and made our own tour. For history nuts like us, it was intriguing. We saw the fields of battle, graveyards and a fort where a small group of Union soldiers fended off the Confederates. And, we even saw a wild turkey.
Graceland
Graceland in Memphis was not on my original itinerary. But, my wife really wanted to go, so I made it happen. And, I’m sure glad I did. If you don’t know, Graceland was the home of Elvis Presley. We toured his mansion, saw his car collection, saw exhibits from his days in the military, viewed his gold records (and there were a ton), and walked through an exhibit of celebrity costumes inspired by Elvis. The costumes from the rock group “Kiss” were amazing.
I learned more about Elvis than I ever knew. He was actually quite humble, religious and a great father. And, he was respectful of those in political office, including President Nixon. I found it particularly interesting that he did not condone the drug use inspired by the Beatles.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
This museum is in Nashville and I DO NOT recommend it. When we got there, we had no idea where to park, so I followed a sign that looked like it was for the museum and ended up in a car garage costing $30 to park. When we entered, the security guard told my wife that her mask was not permitted and gave her a God-awful face rag to where. She couldn’t breathe in it, so she pulled it down just below her nose. Then, the ticket taker told her she can’t wear it beneath her nose. We got a refund for our tickets and left the museum.
When I got home, I looked at all of the documentation with our tickets and their website. I did not find anything specifying the types of masks that are permitted.
Musicians Hall of Fame
Since the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum didn’t work out, we went to the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum instead. The museum is dedicated to session musicians, engineers and producers. We saw the equipment used to produce music going back a long way. They had exhibits of recording sessions and the stars associated with the session musicians. It was quite interesting to see the big-time musicians that started out as session musicians. The Johnny Cash exhibit was amazing. And, he was also quite a humble and religious person.
The workers were the nicest people. They really catered to the customers and made you feel special. I never saw anything like it in the museums I visited before. God works in mysterious ways, and I’m glad it worked out that we went here.
Lower Broadway
What a surprise! We weren’t sure about going here, but were glad we did. This street of honky-tonk bars and shops was a lot of fun. And, there was live music in almost every bar we walked by. It was crowded and very lively. It started pouring rain while we were there, so we ducked into a little bar and watched a band for a while. We were hungry, so we made our way through the rain to another bar with food. The band there was excellent. They had a girl playing a fiddle and she was really good. And, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” was superb.
Belle Air Mansion and Inn
The Belle Air Mansion and Inn is a beautiful bed and breakfast just outside of Nashville. We stayed in the Castle Room. And, it was so clean and nice. The shower would probably take up our entire bathroom at home. Breakfast was served in the mansion, which was a site to see. The food was tremendous and the hosts were friendly and accommodating. It was convenient to just about everything in Nashville. I highly recommend staying here.
Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery
This historic plantation tells the century-long history of Belle Meade through the stories and experiences of the Harding and Jackson families, as well as the women, men, and children who labored here. They famously owned and bred horses. And, one of those horses provided a lineage including Secretariat and several other Derby winners. In fact, that same horse provided the lineage of every horse in this year’s Kentucky Derby. It was sad that the original horse never won anything himself. The exhibits also included the slave quarters and how the Harding and Jackson families advanced them.
Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage
Andrew Jackson and President Trump are amazingly similar. This stop included a visit of Jackson’s mansion, the little log cabin he lived in before building the mansion, and the grounds around his mansion. We took a horse-drawn carriage ride around the grounds with an excellent guide. And, we toured the mansion, which was preserved perfectly.
I have to mention something I came across in the gift shop. I picked up a book about all of the Presidents and leafed through it. It caught my eye because Biden was on the cover. There were two pages covering Biden and one page covering Trump. I guess they needed two pages to cover the mess Biden has created in our country in 100 days.
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry was our final stop of the trip. If you’re going to Nashville, you must go to the Opry. We saw a lineup that included John Berry, Shawn Camp and Lauren Mascitti, the Del McCoury Band, the McCrary Sisters, Don Schlitz and comedian John Crist.
John Berry brought a tear to our eyes when he sang a song about his father named “The Richest Man.” Lauren Mascitti was on American Idol, and this was her first time performing at the Opry. And, the Del McCoury Band brought the house down with some awesome bluegrass. The McCrary Sisters sang an absolutely stunning version of “Amazing Grace.” Don Schlitz surprised us when he sang “The Gambler” and told us that he wrote the song. And, John Crist gave us a great comedy routine that nailed Covid restrictions and “woke” young people.
Just as at the Comedy Barn, the show ended with our proud military veterans standing while a patriotic song was sung.
Conclusion
We had a great time in Tennessee. My wife even joked that we should move there. It was so nice to leave a blue state and travel to a red state. The contrast was amazing. States like Tennessee, Florida, South Dakota and Texas should be applauded for their handling of the coronavirus. They all have it right, and you can tell when you’re there. You have no idea how refreshing it is to see people’s faces again and have normal interactions. This is how America is supposed to be.
