Kicking Gas and Taking Names

Friday was a perfect weather day in Tennessee.  We started off at Denny's, ordering off the over 55 menu -- boy, was that good!  Cheese and bacon omelettes, browned redskin potatoes, English muffin and orange juice -- with AARP discount only $13.  We're rockin' this senior citizen thing.

We could have made it to Nashville in a couple of hours from Cullen, Alabama, but decided to take a scenic route called the Natchez Trace Parkway.  According to our AAA travel book, it is a 444 mile parkway stretching up from Mississippi through Tennessee, which is based on a footpath used by the Choctaw and Chicasaw Indians for trading.  It later became a thoroughfare for pioneers heading west.

While making our way from I-65 to the Parkway, we noticed that every bridge expanding even the smallest waterway was named for some brave man -- someone who fought in World War I, or the Korean War.  This seems to be a very "southern" thing, as we had noticed much the same in Birmingham (Kelly Ingram -- whom the park is named for -- was the first to die in World War I).  I imagine families fighting to get their courageous uncle or grandfather in line for a piece of concrete and a sign. One even had a flower and big red ribbon attached.

Soon we did the touristy thing -- made a wrong turn -- and we stumbled into a little town called Lawrenceburg -- the "Historic Downtown" -- a public square with resident gazebo, clock tower, and awesome statue of Davy Crockett.  He is quite revered in this part of the country, having given his life at the Alamo and all.  We took a stroll through the shops (the set up is very much like Shaker Square), and it was mostly (you guessed it) antique shops -- and really bland antique shops.  Absolutely nothing of interest.  There was also a Christian bookstore and a storefront country radio station. And, by the way, Jimmy Buffett music was playing from loudspeakers in the gazebo and could be heard all through the downtown area. Seemed a little out of place, but, okay. Other than that, I can assure you not much is happening in Lawrenceburg.

All hail Davy Crockett!!!

We found the parkway shortly thereafter. If you've ever been on the Blue Ridge Parkway, or basically any other kind of scenic drive, then you have a pretty good idea of what we saw, sans the mountain vistas.  We stopped at a memorial for Meriwether Clark -- of Lewis and Clark fame -- back in the day he was found dead in this area with a gunshot to the head.  No one knows if it was murder or suicide, but the made sure they marked the place carefully with a memorial.  Poor guy.  I just pictured him, alone in the world, not knowing that every school kid in America would someday learn his name, or that in Tennessee they would honor him with a concrete memorial, plaque, and a flag perpetually flying at half mast.

The part of the park with the memorial is used for camping and hiking.  I really did want to hike -- it felt great to be in the woods.  I wandered in for a while and just stood and watched the tree tops bending gently in the wind.  It felt good to be on an honest to goodness footpath through the woods.

Jim wasn't up for hiking. He just hung out with a lizard by the trailhead.

Jim's lizard friend

Enjoying the woods

As we got closer to Nashville, we came upon Birdsong Hollow (Franklin, TN).  There is quite an expansive bridge with stunning views -- mostly of the gigantic houses of the people who live in Franklin.  It seemed to be a popular stop, so we obliged-- walked to about the center of the bridge, took requisite pictures, oohed and aahed about the giant house on the hill.  Back in the parking lot, a little car with "Guinness Book of World Records"' and a motorcyclist had just arrived. We asked what it was about and its called the "Ride the Future Tour" -- an electric car, motorcycle, and two other electric vehicles traveling from the east coast to the west to promote electric energy.  You can like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.  Their motto, by the way, is "Help us Kick Gas!"  We assured them we were halfway there, driving a Prius and all, which got us big high fives all around.

Epic.

Riding the Future Tour car

Moving on, we munched on pretzels and drank peach tea while meditating on the scenery.  I couldn't believe how superbly relaxed I became, and Jim, too.  Probably a good thing, because Nashville is a big city, baby, with lots of traffic and competing highways and let's just say -- manic!  We have severely underestimated the size and scope of this town.  Getting around is insane, what with no logic to the street design and several "circles" where you'd damn well better know where you're going.  A little too much for us Ft. Myers folks.  But, we're soldiering on, in the fine tradition of all the brave men so revered here in Tennessee.


Next blog: Grand Ole Opry and more Nashville highlights.

Hanging out on the bridge over Birdsong Holler