So
hard to believe we've celebrated Thanksgiving already! Maintaining our
family tradition since the kids went off to college, we vote on a city
where we all four spend the holiday together .. this year Nashville got
the nod.
Firstly,
it is a non-stop flight from LAX on Southwest. That is big, especially
traveling this particular holiday. The trick to avoiding the madness? Go on Tuesday and come back on Saturday. Have
not experienced glitches -- in fact on the return trip we arrived 30 minutes early. (Southwest says next time they run late, we'll be even...) I love having adult children who can meet
up with us. Texting from various airports re travel schedules and
finally all being together for the first time in many months is just
great!
Our
first full day was jam-packed with activities, a list of possibilities I
had collected for some time. We started out at the
The Hermitage, long the
home of our seventh president Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel who
hailed from a prominent Nashville family. Regrettably she died days
before he was inaugurated and he remained single the rest of his life.
The home is over 8,000 square feet on 1,120 acres. Jackson was an
entrepreneur before becoming president and quite successful from a
number of businesses. Several generations of Jacksons lived on the
premises and are in the family plot on the grounds.
 |
| Fall here |
 |
| Hey, wait for me!! |
A few miles away is the vast complex known as
Gaylord's Opryland, including a huge hotel, convention center, performing venue
and the ubiquitous outlet mall. Lunch was a taste of southern bbq at
Whitt's, a small local chain. Vinegar-based and dry (as opposed to
"wet" with sauce), the food was quite good but the slaw was a bit tart
for my taste ...
Late
in the day after seemingly circling the city, we ended up driving
through the beautiful
Belle Meade area and on to the
Loveless Cafe.
Pretty much everyone has a photo on the wall here -- known for their
unbelievable biscuits and fried chicken. Yep, just had to try some. Oh
my, good thing I don't live it the south! This small cafe serves
between 4,000 and 7,000 biscuits a
day, with some 400,000 visitors during the course of a year ...
For
Thanksgiving Day, football is an obvious choice as is a movie. Again a
vote and
Lincoln was the winner .. and what an incredible movie it is.
Pretty much a casting director's dream as there are a huge number of
speaking roles and cast surprises. No spoiler alerts here, save to say
Daniel Day Lewis will likely be an odds-on favorite for Best Actor.
 |
| Roasted quince |
 |
| Traditional meal |
For
dinner, the choices were a bit limited. Rather than one of the steak
houses we could enjoy at home, we opted for the highly rated
1808 Grille
in our hotel,
The Hutton (a great choice, by the way). Of course there
was the traditional turkey but also crab cakes, lamb and other
delicious goodies.
 |
| Banana Beignets with Hazelnut dipping sauce .. |
We
ventured well inland on Black Friday, some 75 miles to Lynchburg.
Why? So we could tour
The Jack Daniels Distillery, largely unchanged
since 1875 when Jasper "Jack" Daniels created the sour mash whiskey that
they brew today. Approximately 400 employees turn out some 156 million
bottles annually, all made on the premises. Remarkably no tasting is
allowed as that particular county is dry! But plently is sold there ..
 |
| With the original Jack .. |
 |
| Well that's just not right. |
 |
| Broadway ... the main drag downtown |
We
finally found ourselves cruising downtown that evening. The
Ryman Auditorium was already sold out so a visit to the real home of country
music will have to wait. But dinner was another story ..
Jack's BBQ on Broadway is rated #1 in this town. And it brought back many a
memory from the last time I ate here. It was September 13, 2001, to be
exact and I know this because we were on the drive across country after
9/11. Of course there were no smart phones at the time so we relied on
friends at home doing research for us. We were told about
Jack's and it is as good today as it was then ...
Most
of our last day was scheduled around watching the classic rivalry of
Ohio State vs. Michigan. Son Sam graduates OSU in May and flew back
from Nashville to attend the game. After another airport run for
Hannah's flight to NY, we settled in close to the airport for the game.
Victory is so sweet!
After
this trip, I now know firsthand why Nashville is consistently ranked
among the best cities in the U.S. Highly recommend a visit there and thanks to all my friends for their tips on what to see and do...
So
hard to believe we've celebrated Thanksgiving already! Maintaining our
family tradition since the kids went off to college, we vote on a city
where we all four spend the holiday together .. this year Nashville got
the nod.
Our
first full day was jam-packed with activities, a list of possibilities I
had collected for some time. We started out at the
For
Thanksgiving Day, football is an obvious choice as is a movie. Again a
vote and Lincoln was the winner .. and what an incredible movie it is.
Pretty much a casting director's dream as there are a huge number of
speaking roles and cast surprises. No spoiler alerts here, save to say
Daniel Day Lewis will likely be an odds-on favorite for Best Actor.
From Lynchburg it was on to Franklin, a wonderful bustling town founded in
1799 and no more than 30 minutes from Nashville. The shops were full
and the town was a shopper's paradise ... only if you are of the female
species. My son remarked it is where husbands die from boredom.
Fortunately the hubby managed to survive. 
Jack's BBQ on Broadway is rated #1 in this town. And it brought back many a
memory from the last time I ate here. It was September 13, 2001, to be
exact and I know this because we were on the drive across country after
9/11. Of course there were no smart phones at the time so we relied on
friends at home doing research for us. We were told about
Jack's and it is as good today as it was then ...
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