Days 84-86: Tennessee (Part 1)

by | September 2014 | 1 comment

Day 84 (8/23/14): Nashville, TN

When we arrived at our campground in Nashville yesterday, it had been extremely hot and dense with humidity. Kentucky had been humid but not unbearable. We had actually even enjoyed the moist air at times. Nashville was a whole new level of humid though. We were sweating profusely through our shirts as we got set up at our campsite and weren’t sure if we’d be able to handle the sweltering, heavy air. Luckily today though it was overcast and began drizzling, cutting through the thick humidity.

We headed into downtown Nashville excited to check out the country music scene. The downtown area is interesting with older looking buildings scattered among modern high-rises. While some of the brick buildings added charm, most of the venues seemed to be chain restaurants, and the streets were extremely touristy. We stopped in one of the many bars to grab a drink and listen to some live country music. While we were there, we got to talking to a couple of the bartenders. One of them had lived in Nashville for about a year while the other bartender had been there for roughly 9 years. Both of them wanted to move out of Nashville though, which got us wondering why everyone raved about Music City.

IMG_7762After finishing our drink at the bar and listening to a couple of country songs by a live band, we continued walking up the street. However, we quickly decided that downtown Nashville was too touristy for us. We had reached our fill of downtown and headed north to the Hermitage area. Hermitage was disappointing though and seemed like it was perhaps one of the not-so-nice areas the bartenders had warned us about. Hopefully we’ll find some better Nashville suburbs during our stay.

 

Day 85 (8/24/14): Nashville, TN | Brentwood, TN

Always on the lookout for good restaurants, we wanted to have breakfast at the Pancake Pantry in Hillsboro Village. That didn’t happen though because when we arrived, the line was wrapped around the building! Starving, we decided to settle for the restaurant next door but were extremely dissatisfied. Feeling gypped, we agreed to return to the Pancake Pantry tomorrow hoping it wouldn’t be as busy on a Monday.

After glancing around Hillsboro Village, we were slightly disenchanted to discover that the “village” seemed to consist of only one block with a just a couple of restaurants and shops. It appears to be growing though and is located near the universities (Vanderbilt and Belmont).

From there, we headed over to the neighboring 12 South area. The street of 12 South was more bustling and spread out with other eclectic eateries and boutiques. We then drove through the surrounding neighborhoods of Belle Meade and Oak Hill, which we really enjoyed with their quaint craftsman and stone houses. If we wanted to live near Nashville, those seemed like nice areas fairly close to downtown.

As we continued driving, we came upon a shopping center and ran a few errands. While we were checking out, we started talking to the girl at the cash register about Nashville. We asked her, “If you could live anywhere in Nashville, where would you live?” She said Brentwood, so we headed there next finding that it wasn’t too far away. It seems like everything is conveniently located within just 10-15 miles of downtown.

Once we reached Brentwood, we were in awe of the countless palatial mansions spread out on huge lawns. I couldn’t stop taking photos of the impressive homes! Come to find out, Brentwood is one of the wealthiest cities in America.  Also, the county Brentwood is located in is one of the top wealthiest counties in the nation. We weren’t surprised by those facts.

After drooling over the beautiful massive houses, we headed back to downtown Nashville. We ended up on Music Row and enjoyed seeing the old homes and buildings converted to music studios and agencies. The surrounding area had a good energy with a younger crowd and eclectic bars and restaurants.


Day 86 (8/25/14): Nashville, TN | Franklin, TN

Determined to try the Pancake Pantry, a Nashville tradition, we went back to Hillsboro Village. Luckily, our theory was correct about Monday being a better day to go to the breakfast joint. There was still a line, but it was much shorter and didn’t wrap around the building this time.   It definitely paid off to go back. Both the food and service were excellent! I’m usually not a fan of frilly pancakes, but the Apricot-Lemon Delight pancakes were delicious!

The Parthenon in Nashville

The Parthenon in Nashville

After breakfast, we visited The Parthenon in Centennial Park, which is an art gallery modeled after the original Parthenon in Athens. It was a fascinating sight to see, especially since it was so odd and random that they decided to build a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Nashville, TN. Why? Why the Parthenon? And why Nashville?

Next we decided to check out the area by Nordstrom and Whole Foods like our strategy in Vancouver, WA. Traffic had been pretty good in Nashville up until this point. As we approached the mall with the Nordstrom, we hit our first traffic jam. The Whole Foods was located in a nice little outdoor shopping center though. From there we drove through the nearby Belle Meade and Forest Hills neighborhoods. With lots of mature trees and secretive residences tucked back from private driveways and entrance gates, they both seemed like well-off, established areas.

One of Justin’s friends, Eric, gave us a great tip to check out the town of Franklin about 20 miles south of Nashville, so we headed there next. Thanks for the recommendation, Eric! We were pleasantly surprised by the Main Street of downtown Franklin. The charming town had the quaint Small Town America feel we had been looking for! Another great thing about Franklin was that it had free parking! How refreshing! 🙂 We stopped at Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant for some country cooking and tasty beverages served in mason jars. We partook in the refreshing Peach Tea with a splash (or two) of peach moonshine and enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere of the interesting little cafe/market.

For dinner later that night, we decided to have Hattie B’s Hot Chicken as our last meal in Nashville. Hattie B’s is known for their fried chicken with different levels of hotness: Southern (no heat), Mild or Medium (touch of burn), Hot! (feel the heat), Damn Hot (fire starter) & Shut the Cluck Up!!! (burn notice). You can choose how spicy you want your chicken to be with the hottest version being “Shut the Cluck Up!!!” Haha! We weren’t brave enough to try the ultra spicy version. However, the Mild & Medium chicken we ordered had some heat but was super tasty.  In fact, it was some of the best fried chicken we’ve ever had! Hattie B’s was definitely a good meal to complete our time in Nashville!

Follow Next Destination Unknown on Pinterest

Affiliate Disclosure

This post may contain affiliate links or links to Amazon. If you choose to purchase anything through these links, I may earn a commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me and my blog. You’re the best! See the full disclosure for details.

Join the Free Blog Launch Course and learn how to start a blog in just 7 days!

Let’s Connect!

Briana Nickas of Next Destination Unknown

Behind the Blog

Hey there! I’m Briana, a blogger, hiker, traveller, RVer, photo-taker, and National Parks lover who is passionate about exploring the great outdoors while practicing clean living for a healthier lifestyle to continue doing the things I live for. My goal is to inspire others to live a life focused on wellbeing and wandering. Join me!

READ MORE

Top Blog Categories

RVing

RVing

Blogging with Next Destination Unknown

Blogging

A Few of My Faves…

1

RAKUTEN

Get cash back on your purchases through Rakuten for free! This is seriously one of my favorite things in life!


2

SITEGROUND

Reliable hosting for your self-hosted WordPress website is a must! SiteGround is not only reliable, but it's also affordable!


3

DIVI THEME

If you want to design a custom WordPress website without having to know code, the Divi Theme is the way to go!


4

WP ROCKET

Boo for slow websites! Does your WordPress blog need a major site speed boost? You need the WP Rocket plugin!


5

MAILERLITE

For an affordable yet customizable email marketing service, MailerLite is my go-to choice!

Powered by…

Divi WordPress Theme
WP Rocket - WordPress Caching Plugin

Earn Cash Back

Get Cash Back with Rakuten!

Go Natural

Try natural skincare with 10% off Primally Pure!

Use code NDU10 for 10% off your first Primally Pure purchase!

Go Shopping

Get What You Need from Amazon!

Try RVing

Blogging Tools I use, LOVE, and highly recommend:

  • SITEGROUND I use SiteGround as my web hosting provider for this self-hosted WordPress blog. Their plans are affordable and include must-have features. Learn more about SiteGround and their web hosting plans HERE.
  • DIVI THEME – I love the Divi Theme’s page builder to create a fully customizable website. Plus, it comes with some super handy plugins! Get 10% OFF the Divi Theme HERE.
  • WP ROCKET – Site speed is critical for blogs. I use the WP Rocket Plugin in conjunction with my SiteGround hosting and their SG Optimizer plugin for a super fast site. Check out the WP Rocket plugin HERE.
  • CANVA – Canva makes it super easy to design eye-catching graphics and Pins for your blog. Sign up for a FREE Canva account and try Canva Pro FREE for 30 days HERE.
  • MAILERLITE – I love using MailerLite to design and send engaging emails to my subscribers. Get MailerLite FREE for your first 1,000 email subscribers HERE.

You may also like…

Leave a Comment!

1 Comment

  1. pagedogs

    Justin,

    Great to talk to you this morning. I’m looking forward to seeing where you guys end up. Our blog is at: http://olddogsnewtruck.wordpress.com/

    We’re heading in the same direction, so may run into you again!

    Happy travels,

    Brenda

    Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Days 87-89: Tennessee (Part 2) | Next Destination Unknown - […] flavor. We purchased a Mason jar of the Peach Moonshine to try to recreate the Peach Tea we had…
Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Treasure Chest of Freebies with Free Resources for Blogging, Travel, RVing, and Hiking

Unlock the Treasure Chest of Freebies!

 

Sign up for the key to unlock the Treasure Chest of Freebies and get your free Travel, RVing, Hiking, Wellbeing, and Blogging resources!

Success! Check your inbox for the key to unlock the Treasure Chest of Freebies.