KY-TN Trip, Day 4, 10-20-2019

Before we left the hotel this morning, I just had to snap a few photos of the lobby. The flowers were equally beautiful on all sides.

Another of my brothers lives near Nashville, and we had a prearranged time to meet for brunch (lunch), and we were ahead of schedule. We got off the highway to visit Cookeville, TN. Their leaves had started turning.

And I loved their courthouse on the square. All four sides had the same sign.

We met Brother Dan at The Hermitage House Smorgasbord. It was like a visit to Grandma's house. 

Everything is served buffet style, with lots of tables for family seating. Fried chicken and peach cobbler every day. If you're ever near Nashville, give them a try - the nicest people, good food, reasonable prices. Here's the LINK.

I had a great salad, and fried chicken, of course.

Then off we went to The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson, along with a bazillion other people. I guess October is the new September. People were still out in droves. We saw the (not very good in my opinion) movie and the museum, but there was an hour+ wait to tour the house and grounds. I'd been there twice already, and the boys weren't that excited about it, so we just visited the gift shop, had a snack in the little cafe, and talked a lot. I picked up the Hermitage book and I'll bet Bill hasn't even opened it yet. When I say that we "saw the movie" at these places, it's not a full-length film. Most run about 15 minutes.

Some of the photos are from this trip, and some are from my prior visits. Andrew and Rachel deeply loved each other, but were haunted by the drawbacks of the time. Rachel was in an abusive marriage, and filed for divorce. She and Jackson were married prior to the time the divorce was actually recorded, but who knew? No internet in those days; word traveled slowly. Of course, since Andrew was a public figure, every little piece of dirt was aired publicly, and Rachel was called a bigamist. She never got over the insults and ridicule.

The little hump on the back was for carrying swords.

Who knew that venetian blinds had been around this long?

I don't know whether the tooled leather skirt was for looks or some purpose.

The little bell could be rung from inside to tell the driver to stop.

After a little studying, I realized Rachel's wedding veil has "Jackson" embroidered across the bottom.

Back

Side

More great photos and information on their website HERE.

We said our goodbyes to Dan and drove on to Patti's Inn and Suites in Grand Rivers, Kentucky for the night.

We found a place to have Mexican food for dinner. We both had carnitas which were really great. Not so great when they came back up at midnight. I thought there was something wrong with those onions. Bill was fine. Maybe it's just my advanced age.

One more day to go.