Monday we returned our rental car and then drove the RV to Nashville to spend 3 days exploring the Nashville area in a rental van with Terry’s family (Debbie, Ralph, Keith, Paula and Kevin).
JACK DANIELS DISTILLERY TOUR, Lynchburg, TN
We drove a couple of hours south of Nashville to the tiny town of Lynchburg to go on a tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery. It was very interesting as we had no idea what the process is for making whiskey. We learned that the barrels stored in the top floors of the barrel houses for maturing (aging) are the “premium” whiskey. Because the barrel houses are not air conditioned, the upper floors have more radical temperature swings causing the whiskey in the barrel to expand and contract more, picking up more character from the oak barrel. And that the black fungus that grows on the trees around a distillery are a giveaway for moonshine stills – definitely not a moonshiner’s best friend.
The Jack Daniel's Distillery. Left column-the Barrel House and how location of the barrel produces different qualities of whiskey. Right column-our group with "Jack Daniel", the black whiskey fungus found near distilleries and our 5-whiskey tasting session.
GRAND OLE OPRY SHOW
The Grand Ole Opry is the longest running radio broadcast in US history. The format is strange at first if you are not familiar with it. The show is one hour and it’s like a variety show with different stars performing 2-3 songs. In between each performer, the radio announcer does commercials. It’s live radio! Sometimes, surprise guests show up like the night we were there. Chris Young was performing and then Cassidy Pope walked on the stage to sing their hit duet. Cassidy Pope was scheduled to be the headliner on the show tomorrow night so probably he’ll walk on and help her out. It’s a surprise to the audience. I don’t think it’s a surprise the stars performing.
One neat thing about the Opry is that you are allowed to get out of your seat, walk up to the stage and kneel down (so you don’t block the people in the first row) and take pictures. There are no security guards, etc. It also ends as scheduled because this is a radio show. It’s really very refreshing.
Exploring Nashville. Top-a night at the Grand Ole Opry. Bottom left-Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. Bottom right-Wild Horse Saloon (closed both times!).
FOOD TOUR IN GERMANTOWN AREA OF NASHVILLE
Paula arranged this food tour of the Germantown area of Nashville through the Local Tastes of Nashville. We met our guide, Christi, at the Nashville Farmer’s Market area and then strolled/ate our way through Germantown for about 1.5-2 hours. We also got a little bit of history and local culture.
Stop 1 – BBQ which means pulled pork with coleslaw on a bun because that’s how they serve it!
Stop 2 – Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, granite globe, plaza with 50 columns, a 95-bell carillon, and stones with the names of musical contributors from Tennessee.
Stop 3 – The Mad Platter, 1239 6th Ave. North for the best rueben sandwiches!
Stop 4 – The Cupcake Collection, 1213 6th Ave. North for cupcakes (strawberry, chocolate, wedding cake, red velvet, sweet lemonade, sweet potato and carrot cake)
Stop 5 – Germantown Market, 1120 4th Ave. North for adult mac and cheese. Yum!
Stop 6 – Christie Cookies, 1205 3rd Ave. North for cookies.
Stop 7 – Tempered Café & Chocolate, 1201 5th Ave. North for chocolates
Other Nashville Germantown food stops recommended by our tour guide:
-Monell’s, 1235 6th Ave. North for breakfast and comfort food
-Steadfast Coffee, 603 Taylor St. for the best coffee in town
PREPARING TO LEAVE NASHVILLE
Before everybody left us to go to the airport they all tried our electric bikes. Each one came back with a smile on their face. Then we said our goodbyes and we prepared to leave Nashville. That means laundry, a quick cleaning, showers, putting stuff away in preparation for our departure the next morning.
The Griffin family trying out our electric bikes before heading to the airport.
People in the southwest Virginia, Asheville, NC area, Kentucky and Tennessee are very friendly. It is not unusual to strike up a conversation with complete strangers while in line, eating at a restaurant or walking around. An example, while we were at dinner one night a couple sat down at the next table. We’d finished dinner so they asked what we had and whether we’d recommend it. The conversation continued through their dinner and ended with them inviting us to visit them in KY for dinner!
Camping: Two Rivers Campground
Electric, water, sewer, showers, Verizon cell/WiFI, laundry