SOLO ROADTRIP IV: DAYS 1-3 [NASHVILLE, HERMITAGE, & LEBANON]

this trip was a long time coming. originally i planned to visit tennessee in 2020, but due to obvious reasons that did not work out. for the past few years i have enjoyed incorporating car camping into my roadtrips, but that becomes a bit more complicated when you have to fly and rent a car. the plan was to fly to nashville & drive throughout tennesssee, but also stop over in north carolina, georgia, & kentucky. spoiler, but i was not able to visit north carolina because of hurricane helene. this trip coincided with the hurricane, which was an experience to navigate. compared to my trips from the past (i normally have had a 2-3 week trip annually since 2017), this one was sprinkled with numerous unfortunate events but more on that in later posts. fortunately they were just inconveniences (in the way they impacted me) & in time, the good rises to my memory & the bad sinks.

my flight was on my birthday. this was the first time i took public transport straight out my door to lax. i could of had an uber, but i have wanted to try public transport to the airport for a while. as my flight was not very ealy, this seemed like a good opportunity to try it out. from my experience, i have no complaints. it was easier than getting to downtown la for work (which i use to do everyday from 2017 to 2020). the biggest issue i have with la public transport is that it is not very practical as la is so sprawling & the hardest part is getting to the metro stations. i recognize this is a difficult problem to solve due to just the size of socal itself. i took a local bus to the green line. from the green line, you can take a shuttle to the airport. it worked well for me & i would definitely do it again if my flight is not too early or late. 

the flight was smooth except i fucking lost my credit card on the plane. i put it in my pocket at the end of the flight as i planned to pick up dinner at the airport, but somewhere between the plane & terminal it fell out. i did not realize until i got a call from my bank when i was waiting for my lyft. a good samaritan called the back of the card. i cancelled my lyft and looked for the card at the airport for the next 2 hours jumping around to the different entities. i talked to the airlines, lost & found, tsa, baggage claim, traffic control, & the police. i was determined to find it since someone had called the number to report it lost. i assumed it was probably someone who worked in the aiport as who else would have bothered to call? i never got my card back. fortunately i had a back up, the credit limit was very low, which sucked because my rental & half my motels were going to be charged at this trip. i ended up having to use cash for everyday purchases. this was also a bummer since the lost card was my travel card that also included travel insurance for my purchases (especially for providing extra insurance on the car rental). but you roll through the punches. i checked in my hotel room & called it a night.

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the next morning i had the complimentary breakfast (it was not very good, but unfortunately all the other breakfasts of my trip would get worst from here). after, i left to pick up my rental car. i did not actually need my car that day, but i accidentally booked it one day early & making any changes (even for less time), would have cost more. it was a cute tiny clown car, a purple/red chevy spark. it was a good car for me, but 2 different employees gaslit me by saying the reader for the tire pressure in the car was wrong when 2 tires were showing as low. now i know more about cars than the average woman & brought my tire pressure gage with me, so i was able to verify the car was correct & the pressure was low. i did end up having to fill up my own tires that day & another time. i left my car at the rental place for most of the day as i would spend my day in downtown & i did not want to deal with parking. from the rental, i took a lyft to downtown.

downtown nashville with the old train depot

first stop was a coffee place where kane brown watched me like a creep

i then walked through downtown to a museum. along the way, i got to see some cool buildings like the old union station turned hotel, the old post office, the old customs house, & an old school building. it was a pleasant little walk & the rain lightened up (it was literally pouring earlier).

the old custom house (c. 1882)

some of the old buildings in downtown

broadway street

the first attraction of the day was the country music museum & hall of fame. this was a fun museum where you can learn about american country music throughout the years & see memorabilia of famous musicians. it was fun to see some recognizable items. i aso think it is interesting to see how tall some of these famous folks are. i got to see items of garth brooks, miranda lambert, the dixie chicks, lainey wilson, & johnny cash.

country music museum & hall of fame. there was a temp exhibit for luke combs.

taylor swift's "mean" banjo

artifacts from taylor swift's "i can see you" music video

after, i made my way to broadway street to see all the venues. i did not do much research in advance, so i did not realize just how many musicians have their own bars. it was fun to see those i recognized and hear the live music from each venue along the street. i heard covers of shania twain's "man, i feel like a woman" & miranda lambert's "tequilla does". for an early tuesday afternoon, the sidewalks got really busy. i was entertained that lainey wilson has a bar called "bell bottoms up."

i stopped at the goo goo cluster factory & got a delicious "cowboy campfire" chocolate (i love marshmallows). she was small, but mighty.

i was tickled that garth brook's bar is called "friends in low places," a song my mom played growing up.

i was surprised how empty the streets of downtown nashville were when you are away from broaday. especially as it was a weekday, i expected to see the daily commuters. i walked toward the river to see fort nashborough, a replica of the old fort that is part of nashville's parks & rec. this was a disappointment. there really was not much to see & transients were living there, so i did not feel comfortable exploring. i walked by real quick & continued on my way as there really was no other tourists around. next was printer's alley & to stop to get a gourmet hotdog. the alley was empty, the hotdog place was closed, & i did not feel safe, so i made a detour closer to where other tourist attractions were. i was surprised as i thought printer's alley was also a tourist attraction, but no tourists were around. 

i continued my walk & passed through the state capitol. i felt safe here, but i was surprised by how empty (of both cars & people) & how there was no security. there were no barriers. i have been to other capitols, and this one was so relaxed. near the capitol building is president polk's tomb, so i did stop to see that. i was starving at this point. i did not plan it, but i passed the market hall. there was not any food that interested me, but i did end up getting ice cream to keep me full for a few hours. 

this place had fancy flavors, so i got coffee with cream & a sweet potato, marshmallow, & praline. it was very good & festive for the harvest season. 

the last plan of the day was a visit to the tennessee state history museum. after, i got a lyft ride to the rental & had a very pleasant conversation with the driver. she warned me it looked like a storm was coming in. she was not wrong. it rained hard & fast. so much so, that vision was poor. i wanted to pick up dinner, but decided to go straight to the motel & wait it out. once the rain lightened up, i drove down the street to ramzy's meat & 3; a traditional cafeteria style soul food joint. 

i got fried catfish, mac & cheese, turnip greens, & what seemed to me to be a cornmeal pancake.

this was the night i learned that hurricane helene was going to be hitting the south. starting this night, i would watch the weather channel so i could start prepping and being informed. being from socal, i did not know what it was going to be like to be hit with the remnants of a hurricane.

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the next morning i left for my daytrip outside of nashville. it was cloudy, but luckily only drizzle. i was excited to get out of the city as generally, i enjoy myself more in smaller cities where it feels more like an adventure. after stopping at a grocery store, the cracker barrel gift shop, & starbucks, i made my way to andrew jackson's hermitage. the home & land was owned by jackson from 1804 until his death in 1845. on the property is the home, reconstructed slave quarters, the family cemetery, a well, & other structures. jackson grew cotton on the property. i decided to buy the cheapest pass that would let me on the grounds & the buildings, except the house (to see the home, it costs more & requires a guided tour - which i am not a fan of). this pass also included an audio tour (my favorite). i was entertained that to pay for my ticket i used a $20 bill with jackson's face on it.

the home is lined with cedar trees

the first stop is the museum attached to the ticket office. though only one big room, i did enjoy the museum. the focus is on andrew jackson's life & where he fits in american history. the grounds itself focuses more on the history of the property & the stories of those who lived there, including the workers & slaves. 

i enjoyed walking in the garden & seeing all the flowers that were still in bloom. i also saw fuzzy bees!

the jackson cemetery in the garden

you can tell that the museum is shifting & sharing more stories about the slaves & workers on site. 

one such person who is mentioned is alfred jackson who was likely born on the property & worked with the horses & fixed the farm equipment. after emancipation he stayed on the hermitage & was a tenant. in 1889, he worked with the lady's hermitage association & was a tour guide when the house became a museum. alfred died in 1901. he technically lived the longest out of anyone on the property, including any jackson family member. he was buried next to andrew jackson's grave, at his request, & his tombstone reads "faithful servant of andrew jackson."

i walked a bit of the fields to get away from the people & hear some nature. so much of the surrounding land is still undeveloped. you can hear the cicadas in the old cotton fields, which is a bit ominous. there is also quite a bit of fauna around, including turkeys & deer. on the property, they also have horses & do horse-drawn wagon tours. i did not do one, but i enjoyed seeing the horses do their thing.

i was starving at this point & located on the property is a winery with to-go food, so i picked up a sandwich & ate it on the patio. i enjoyed this time sitting outside. i was also happy to find that the gift shop sold a cross stitching kit. i also have cross stitching kits from mt. vernon (washington's home) & independence hall (philadelphia) from the same company. i then made my way to lebanon.

but first i stopped at an antique store in an old home off the highway

i was looking forward to visiting to fiddler's grove historic village. both google maps & the website said they were open, but no one was at the general store (where you can buy tickets) & there was no note on the door. since it is an open space with no gate, & people were nearby at the fairgrounds (as the village is on the fairgrounds), i decided to walk the grounds anyways. i was confused since some of the buildings doors were open, so someone was here or left them open the day before. this reminded me of the village that is in bakersfield as it has everything you would expect for a small town (the post office, barber shop, funeral parlor, general store, etc.). there was also a cute boxcar stage. i wish i could have gotten more information, but i did still enjoy walking around & peering into the buildings. 

next, i drove to the main street of lebanon. there was not much to do here. the building were cute & i liked looking at the architecture, but many of the buildings were vacant. i did stop to see an old antique store & an old log cabin.

lebanon's main a street with some of the old buildings

neddy jacob's cabin (c. 1800)

i decided to go to my second cracker barrel of the day (the first one was only to the gift shop) & have dinner. i say this every time, but it is one of my favorite places to go to & find it comforting. i had maple chicken topped with bacon, fried okra, mashed potatoes, & hot tea. i then my made my back to nashville for the night. i did stop to get gas and paid $2.84! i was shocked & felt like i was getting a good deal. in socal it is common to not find gas under $4!