Saturday I had a little too much Tennessee Whiskey and I woke up to find that my two Vizlas had chewed a hole through my fence and went on an adventure chasing cats all over town. Tracking them down and fixing the fence is not how I intended to spend my Super Wild Card Sunday lol. Anyway here is a description of our trip.
We had a fantastic time in Tennessee.
The first day we took the Grey Line Tennessee Sight Seeing tour of Franklin Tennessee which was fascinating. You are told the story of the Battle of Franklin. We toured 3 homes that were part of the battle. We stood on floors that are stained from the blood of soldiers operated on in the makeshift hospital. You see a building that still has holes from muskets and cannon balls. You stand on a porch where 6 deceased Confederate generals were laid after the battle. The Battle of Franklin is an incredible story and the tour was very informative. After the tour we drove to The Caverns which is a large cave where concerts are held. Taj Mahal was performing. The cave is an iconic place to see a concert and the acoustics are great. Taj said he has been performing for 65 years and he rocked the place.
The second day we walked around Broadway in the morning. This was on a Saturday. Like Zombie said there were groups of bridesmaids everywhere. They often have the same died hair color or the same dresses. We saw the buses with the tops cut off. Those girls were dancing like their lives depended on it at 10 AM. We ate at Jack's which has the iconic neon sign with the three flying pigs. It is a cool place. We walked down Broadway and took a tour of The Ryman which is the prior location of the Grand ole Opry and is a beautiful building. The tour is awesome. Lady A (formally Lady Antebellum) were performing that night so we bought tickets. We walked down to the football stadium that is a short walk from Broadway before heading back for drinks before the show. We drank at The Moxie and watched 4 different young female performers do sets singing and playing guitar. This was a nice little bar/lobby which is much more chill than Kid Rock's place next door. Kid Rock's place is so loud that people have a hard time sleeping in some of the rooms of The Moxie. Lady A put on a good show and The Ryman was awesome. The streets were closed to traffic after the Luke Combs concert at the stadium that night so the streets were flooded with people. The experience on the street was surreal. The music is so loud outside you must be hearing the music from 12 different honkey-tonks at the same time. This with the beautiful glow of the most awesome double sided neon signs I have ever seen was something I will never forget.
The third day we ate at Martin's BBQ which is a neat place with a beautiful neon sign. Then we headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame. During covid I spent a ridiculous amount of time working completely by myself and listening to music. I became a big fan of Chris Stapleton, Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen and many other current country performers. The hall of fame is very nice. You get headsets so you can self guide at your own pace. I wish we would have moved a bit faster through the older exhibits as I'm really not into older more traditional country music. At the end there was a very large exhibit dedicated to Chris Stapleton that I would have liked to have spent more time at but we had to pick up my brother at the airport. That night we ate at Luke Bryans which is nice inside and the food was good. There are tables by a railing on the second floor where you can watch the crowd dancing and see the band. After dinner we hung out in a bunch of the honkey-tonks. We ended up dancing in a place called The Stage which was fun. I am not a dancer by any means but it was a fun atmosphere, the band was great, and everybody was having a good time.
The fourth day we ate at Peg Leg BBQ which was good. Carey Bringle is famous in the BBQ community and I enjoy his podcast which is called Live from BS Corner. My favorite episode is about how he and his wife got engaged and it is hilarious. Tennessee BBQ is a dry style unlike most of the country that utilizes the common technique is putting a bunch of spice rub on the meat prior to smoking so it definitely tastes different without rub but that is intentional and it is still good just different than other regions. We went back to the County Music Hall of Fame and took the print poster tour which was a lot of fun. You learn about the process of making the old posters that used to be put up to promote concerts and events. They still produce posters there and were working on a big order for The Red Hot Chili Peppers. You get to print your own little poster. After that we drove to Cumberland Caves and took the short cave tour. This cave system has a giant concert area although they have not had concerts for some time. I wish we could have taken the longer tour but my brother's wife wasn't feeling well. The hike isn't strenuous or long and you get to see the concert area and learn about caves. On the way home we drove to several giant springs which were beautiful. When we got back to town my wife did something that she never does which was to put her bag in the trunk of our rental car while we went to eat. After eating we were hanging out at Luke Bryans again when she started getting text notifications about door dash which she has never used. We headed back to find that the car had been broken into and her bag was gone. We were up late contacting credit card companies. I felt so bad for her she truly has never left her bag in the car like that before.
The morning of the fifth day we called the police about the theft. They were very nice and responsive and met us at the car. They took fingerprints and filed a report. We then headed to The Johnny Cash museum. It was ok but not really worth the time. It seemed a little dated and some of the displays were having issues. I wouldn't have done this had I known what is was like. After that we headed to The Grand Ole Opry which is a short drive from Broadway. This is a modern, larger building that is set up like The Ryman. I was excited to see 49 Winchester which is a band I am a big fan of. The Opry is still a radio variety type show so there were 5 different performers for just 2 or 3 songs each and one was a comedian. We took the tour after the show which shows you the backstage areas, dressing rooms, and where Hee Haw was filmed. I wouldn't do the tour if I were visiting again and honestly would much rather see a second show at The Ryman than the Grand ole Opry. After this we headed to Printers Alley which had some cool blade signs like Broadway. We grabbed a pretty good hotdog from the little hotdog place in the alley and headed back to Broadway. We hung out in Jason Alden's place which is fun with a Cadillac above the bar and a great band. Then we went down to Tootsies which I really liked as well. There is a Cadillac on the wall hung vertically above the stage that I missed on the way in but saw on the way out. We did a bunch of walking around that night and saw several decimated bridesmades getting medical help. There are small medical vehicles like an off-road side by side with a box on the back that can navigate crowds and take people out of the area for transfer to a full size ambulance and they were busy. Finally I convinced my exhausted wife to stand with me outside of Whiskey River which has a mechanical bull inside the front window. Watching several people get tossed onto their heads and a bridesmaid have a wardrobe malfunction while trying to hold onto the bull was the perfect way to end the evening and our time on Broadway.
The Sixth day we headed down to Lynchburg to visit the Jack Daniel's distillery. We took the Angel's Share tour which was recommended by a friend who competed in the Jack Daniel's Invitational BBQ competition last year. We really loved this. Our group had people from the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, and Spain. You get to see Jack's office, the spring, the production facilities, and the barrel house. There is a tasting at the end of the tour. The details of Jack's life and seeing the production process of this iconic American brand was awesome. The guys from Europe had such a great time that they each gave the tour guide cash tips and hugged him. My wife and I felt this tour and the next days tour were our favorite part of our Tennessee trip. Lynchburg shuts down earlier than any town I have ever visited. Most places in Lynchburg shut down around 4:30 or 5:00. Barrelhouse BBQ was still open and I have seen the owner compete on TV so I was excited to try it. I have been catering and competing in BBQ for 14 years so I know that it sometimes doesn't turn out the way you plan but this was all around the driest BBQ I have ever had. If you are there early enough Miss Mary Bobo's is legendary in the competitive BBQ community. When competing at The Jack BBQ competition everyone eats there but we got a late start that day and I regret not getting to eat there. That night we stayed just outside of Lynchburg at a bed and breakfast in a house occupied by soldiers during the Civil War. This area had no internet or cell service. We took a long walk down the quiet county lane and admired just how beautiful Tennessee is.
On our last day in Tennessee we got up and headed to our second distillery tour. I have a friend who is a decendent of slavery who is my whiskey drinking partner. His favorite is Uncle Nearest from a distillery in Shelbyville Tennessee. Nathan "Nearest" Green was a slave who taught Jack Daniel the charred sugar maple filtering process that defines Tennessee Whiskey and was his head distiller as a free man after the Civil War. He is the first African-American master distiller on record in the United States. The Nearest Green Whiskey Tour starts in a huge Tennessee Walker Stable that has been converted into a souvenir shop/tour space. You learn some history of Tennessee, whiskey making, and the Green family. The Nearest Green company is fairly young so they are constructing some of the needed facilities but you get to tour the grounds and the barrel house. There is a tasting at the end of this tour as well.
My wife's Grandmother is from the south and she always said that Tennessee is the most beautiful state in America and it did not disappoint. We had a wonderful time.
Thanks to everyone for their recommendations.
We had a fantastic time in Tennessee.
The first day we took the Grey Line Tennessee Sight Seeing tour of Franklin Tennessee which was fascinating. You are told the story of the Battle of Franklin. We toured 3 homes that were part of the battle. We stood on floors that are stained from the blood of soldiers operated on in the makeshift hospital. You see a building that still has holes from muskets and cannon balls. You stand on a porch where 6 deceased Confederate generals were laid after the battle. The Battle of Franklin is an incredible story and the tour was very informative. After the tour we drove to The Caverns which is a large cave where concerts are held. Taj Mahal was performing. The cave is an iconic place to see a concert and the acoustics are great. Taj said he has been performing for 65 years and he rocked the place.
The second day we walked around Broadway in the morning. This was on a Saturday. Like Zombie said there were groups of bridesmaids everywhere. They often have the same died hair color or the same dresses. We saw the buses with the tops cut off. Those girls were dancing like their lives depended on it at 10 AM. We ate at Jack's which has the iconic neon sign with the three flying pigs. It is a cool place. We walked down Broadway and took a tour of The Ryman which is the prior location of the Grand ole Opry and is a beautiful building. The tour is awesome. Lady A (formally Lady Antebellum) were performing that night so we bought tickets. We walked down to the football stadium that is a short walk from Broadway before heading back for drinks before the show. We drank at The Moxie and watched 4 different young female performers do sets singing and playing guitar. This was a nice little bar/lobby which is much more chill than Kid Rock's place next door. Kid Rock's place is so loud that people have a hard time sleeping in some of the rooms of The Moxie. Lady A put on a good show and The Ryman was awesome. The streets were closed to traffic after the Luke Combs concert at the stadium that night so the streets were flooded with people. The experience on the street was surreal. The music is so loud outside you must be hearing the music from 12 different honkey-tonks at the same time. This with the beautiful glow of the most awesome double sided neon signs I have ever seen was something I will never forget.
The third day we ate at Martin's BBQ which is a neat place with a beautiful neon sign. Then we headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame. During covid I spent a ridiculous amount of time working completely by myself and listening to music. I became a big fan of Chris Stapleton, Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen and many other current country performers. The hall of fame is very nice. You get headsets so you can self guide at your own pace. I wish we would have moved a bit faster through the older exhibits as I'm really not into older more traditional country music. At the end there was a very large exhibit dedicated to Chris Stapleton that I would have liked to have spent more time at but we had to pick up my brother at the airport. That night we ate at Luke Bryans which is nice inside and the food was good. There are tables by a railing on the second floor where you can watch the crowd dancing and see the band. After dinner we hung out in a bunch of the honkey-tonks. We ended up dancing in a place called The Stage which was fun. I am not a dancer by any means but it was a fun atmosphere, the band was great, and everybody was having a good time.
The fourth day we ate at Peg Leg BBQ which was good. Carey Bringle is famous in the BBQ community and I enjoy his podcast which is called Live from BS Corner. My favorite episode is about how he and his wife got engaged and it is hilarious. Tennessee BBQ is a dry style unlike most of the country that utilizes the common technique is putting a bunch of spice rub on the meat prior to smoking so it definitely tastes different without rub but that is intentional and it is still good just different than other regions. We went back to the County Music Hall of Fame and took the print poster tour which was a lot of fun. You learn about the process of making the old posters that used to be put up to promote concerts and events. They still produce posters there and were working on a big order for The Red Hot Chili Peppers. You get to print your own little poster. After that we drove to Cumberland Caves and took the short cave tour. This cave system has a giant concert area although they have not had concerts for some time. I wish we could have taken the longer tour but my brother's wife wasn't feeling well. The hike isn't strenuous or long and you get to see the concert area and learn about caves. On the way home we drove to several giant springs which were beautiful. When we got back to town my wife did something that she never does which was to put her bag in the trunk of our rental car while we went to eat. After eating we were hanging out at Luke Bryans again when she started getting text notifications about door dash which she has never used. We headed back to find that the car had been broken into and her bag was gone. We were up late contacting credit card companies. I felt so bad for her she truly has never left her bag in the car like that before.
The morning of the fifth day we called the police about the theft. They were very nice and responsive and met us at the car. They took fingerprints and filed a report. We then headed to The Johnny Cash museum. It was ok but not really worth the time. It seemed a little dated and some of the displays were having issues. I wouldn't have done this had I known what is was like. After that we headed to The Grand Ole Opry which is a short drive from Broadway. This is a modern, larger building that is set up like The Ryman. I was excited to see 49 Winchester which is a band I am a big fan of. The Opry is still a radio variety type show so there were 5 different performers for just 2 or 3 songs each and one was a comedian. We took the tour after the show which shows you the backstage areas, dressing rooms, and where Hee Haw was filmed. I wouldn't do the tour if I were visiting again and honestly would much rather see a second show at The Ryman than the Grand ole Opry. After this we headed to Printers Alley which had some cool blade signs like Broadway. We grabbed a pretty good hotdog from the little hotdog place in the alley and headed back to Broadway. We hung out in Jason Alden's place which is fun with a Cadillac above the bar and a great band. Then we went down to Tootsies which I really liked as well. There is a Cadillac on the wall hung vertically above the stage that I missed on the way in but saw on the way out. We did a bunch of walking around that night and saw several decimated bridesmades getting medical help. There are small medical vehicles like an off-road side by side with a box on the back that can navigate crowds and take people out of the area for transfer to a full size ambulance and they were busy. Finally I convinced my exhausted wife to stand with me outside of Whiskey River which has a mechanical bull inside the front window. Watching several people get tossed onto their heads and a bridesmaid have a wardrobe malfunction while trying to hold onto the bull was the perfect way to end the evening and our time on Broadway.
The Sixth day we headed down to Lynchburg to visit the Jack Daniel's distillery. We took the Angel's Share tour which was recommended by a friend who competed in the Jack Daniel's Invitational BBQ competition last year. We really loved this. Our group had people from the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, and Spain. You get to see Jack's office, the spring, the production facilities, and the barrel house. There is a tasting at the end of the tour. The details of Jack's life and seeing the production process of this iconic American brand was awesome. The guys from Europe had such a great time that they each gave the tour guide cash tips and hugged him. My wife and I felt this tour and the next days tour were our favorite part of our Tennessee trip. Lynchburg shuts down earlier than any town I have ever visited. Most places in Lynchburg shut down around 4:30 or 5:00. Barrelhouse BBQ was still open and I have seen the owner compete on TV so I was excited to try it. I have been catering and competing in BBQ for 14 years so I know that it sometimes doesn't turn out the way you plan but this was all around the driest BBQ I have ever had. If you are there early enough Miss Mary Bobo's is legendary in the competitive BBQ community. When competing at The Jack BBQ competition everyone eats there but we got a late start that day and I regret not getting to eat there. That night we stayed just outside of Lynchburg at a bed and breakfast in a house occupied by soldiers during the Civil War. This area had no internet or cell service. We took a long walk down the quiet county lane and admired just how beautiful Tennessee is.
On our last day in Tennessee we got up and headed to our second distillery tour. I have a friend who is a decendent of slavery who is my whiskey drinking partner. His favorite is Uncle Nearest from a distillery in Shelbyville Tennessee. Nathan "Nearest" Green was a slave who taught Jack Daniel the charred sugar maple filtering process that defines Tennessee Whiskey and was his head distiller as a free man after the Civil War. He is the first African-American master distiller on record in the United States. The Nearest Green Whiskey Tour starts in a huge Tennessee Walker Stable that has been converted into a souvenir shop/tour space. You learn some history of Tennessee, whiskey making, and the Green family. The Nearest Green company is fairly young so they are constructing some of the needed facilities but you get to tour the grounds and the barrel house. There is a tasting at the end of this tour as well.
My wife's Grandmother is from the south and she always said that Tennessee is the most beautiful state in America and it did not disappoint. We had a wonderful time.
Thanks to everyone for their recommendations.
