KY-TN Trip, Day 3, 10-19-2019

First stop was a Tourist Center in Tennessee. Most states have great tourist centers on main highways; lots of info, free maps, clean restrooms. This was out front.

Color is starting to show.

Today we're off to the beautiful little town of Greeneville, Tennessee to visit the home of President Andrew Johnson, who was Vice-President when Lincoln was assassinated. If you decide to visit, be aware that you MUST go to the visitor center first to get a ticket before you go to the house for the tour. We arrived as a tour was starting and had to go get a ticket.

We asked if we could do the tour and go buy a ticket later. No, it's free. So off we went to the visitor center, which is a few blocks away, and by the time we got there, we couldn't get a ticket because we were five minutes late, and next tour was 1:30 and we were on a tight schedule. What?! It's free, but I have to have a ticket?! The government works in strange and wondrous ways. Good website HERE. 

I bought the DVD which will have to suffice. You don't read much about Andrew Johnson, but by the time we left, I really liked this honorable man. Not a big fancy presidential library like Reagan, Truman, etc. but lots of information.

After watching a short movie of Johnson's life, we toured the exhibits at the visitor center.

Maybe if we all had writing boxes this beautiful, we'd actually write letters.

Johnson's father died when he was only four, and at ten, he was apprenticed to a taylor in Raleigh, NC. He received little education as a child, but benefited from listening to readers, who were hired to read to the workers as they made clothes.

Johnson made his way to Greeneville and opened his own taylor shop. Thankfully, it was preserved and now sits in its own wing of the visitor center. Sound has been added so that you hear the thumping of the iron and snipping of the shears.

He must have appreciated the readers, because he hired one for his shop.

The clothes were small (as were the people), but the tools were really big. Notice the size of the scissors compared to the thimble. And there's a flatiron which you can lift  to see how heavy they are. You wouldn't need to go to the gym for weight training after using that all day.

The first home is open by the visitor center and very small. A timeline tells the Johnson story.

A worthy successor to Lincoln. They both rose from humble beginnings, with little education, to the highest office in the US. They both worked for the good of the country though bombarded with criticism and opposed by those who were protecting their own selfish interests. Perfect examples of the American spirit. I pray that spirit has survived. To be clear, I have to explain that while I hate the idea of slavery, I do believe in state's rights. 

This timeline was in the first Greeneville Johnson home which was small, a fireplace in every room, locks on the doors which could keep out a grizzly bear. 

A historical timeline of national events was fun.

We went back to the homestead to take outdoor photos, and the ranger lady was getting ready to lock up. She graciously let us take a few photos of the living room. She said that about 80% of the furnishings are original. 

The bedroom; notice the traveling trunk at the end of the bed - his name is tooled into the leather.

He made his own clothes, of course.

His original cane in the hall stand.

And another of those locks suitable for Ft. Knox.

Johnson's grave is a few blocks away, high on a hill.

All the graves I checked were military from various wars (or spouses), as it was once a national cemetery. Now it's under the direction of the National Park Service. You cannot be buried in a National Park, but you can obtain a permit to have your ashes scattered there.

Andrew has a lovely resting place, made even more beautiful by the fall colors.

Say goodbye to Andrew, time for lunch. What a wonderful lunch. Brumley's is located inside the General Morgan Inn.

We ate in The Library Room. They removed the spines of all these books and pasted them on the wall to look like shelves. You have to be up close to see they're not complete books.

First came the scones with flower butter and strawberry jam. Really yummy scones. I asked if I could have the recipe, and I was told that I could but then they've have to kill me. I decided to pass. 

We both had a cup of crab soup.

I had chicken salad with sugared pecans on top, fresh fruit, and banana bread.

And Bill had blackened salmon salad.

You know I have to give my opinion, right? The scones and soup were perfection. The chicken salad was just chicken salad; and the sugared pecans can't begin to compare with Carrie's. The fruit was just fruit, and the banana bread was terrible. Bill liked his salad, so that was good. I also objected to the strawberry jam in a metal dish, and the soup spilling over the side of the cup. Would I go again? In a hot minute! The ambiance is the star of this show. And the lobby is also very nice.

If you're ever in Greeneville, Tennessee, don't miss this place.

And in the bakery window next door, this unusual wedding cake. It looks appliqued.

Before we got to Pigeon Forge, the rains came. The place was like a zoo. Bumper to bumper traffic. Fortunately, we hadn't planned to visit. I just wanted Bill to see it.

We stopped at the visitor center in Smoky Mountains National Park, where we learned that October is their second busiest month of the year. We didn't get out of the car. Bill took lots of photos, but I was driving the curvy road out the back way, headed for Knoxville, Tennessee. The traffic going out of the park the other way through Pigeon Forge was bumper to bumper for miles. The rain followed us all the way to Knoxville and didn't let up until morning.

Another long but rewarding day.