Get Me Back to the South!!! April 25 – 29, 2013

Wednesday morning was brutal breaking down in 27 degree wind chill temperatures and we had reservations near Cincinnati on the Ohio River.  Unfortunately, it was still raining and windy so we experienced another day of cold and wind.  We originally planned to stay two nights, but with the weather being so bad, we decided to get out of Dodge one day sooner and get to Nashville.

If you’ve been watching the national weather  forecasts you know it didn’t do that much good.  The Tennessee Valley has been experiencing record rainfall but at least the temperatures were warmer.  We actually got excited about the temperatures getting up into the 50’s!  We stayed at the same RV park we stayed in when we were in Nashville  last October.  They still have the dinner and entertainment on Thursday nights so we took advantage of it.  After driving all day, it’s really nice not to even think about where or what to do about dinner.

We had lots of plans for the next several days including some we wanted to revisit and some things we just didn’t have time to take in last time.  We had all kinds of plans for Friday because it appeared to be the best day weatherwise, but the rain moved in earlier than expected so we were washed out.  The only thing to do was to go to the movies.  We saw the movie “42” about Jackie Robinson and we recommend it.  

Our Saturday plans made allowances for the rain so off we went to Belle Meade again for lunch.  The last time we were here, we remembered seeing a small creek running parallel to the highway in front of the plantation but this time it was a lot bigger and running with such force it was actually scary.  Most of the roads leading to the main house were covered in water and there was only one road with a substantial bridge that was passable.  Just as we remembered it, the lunch was wonderful.  We started with creamy squash soup and Jim had the pimento cheese with fried green tomatoes and carmelized onions and I had turkey and brie with cranberry relish on cranberry walnut toasted bread.  Is your mouth watering yet?

After lunch we drove to the Fontanel Mansion, the largest log built home in the world at 27,000 square feet, designed and built by Barbara Mandrell and her husband Ken for their family.  Entrance way of the mansion The great room where they entertained guests, it is 5,000 sq feet. Formal dinning roomIndoor swimming pool with a cover so people can walk and dance on when entertaining many people.  

It was impressive to say the least.  The logs came from out west and it took 4 truck loads of logs (each log weighing between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds) for the house and 5 truck loads of other lumber for the balance of the house.  There are 5 bedrooms and 11 baths, indoor swimming pool, indoor shooting range, heliport, and lots of family touches from the family.  The house was sold in 2002 when the children had grown and moved out and now Ken and Barbara live in 6,000 square feet and she traded in her staff of 15 for doing all her own cleaning, cooking and grocery shopping.

The home was sold to some recording executives who decided to use the property more for special events and income rather than a home.  They currently use it for concerts and have added a restaurant and some other buildings are planned for the near future.  In fact, the home scenes in the movie Country Strong were filmed at this house.  If you are ever in Nashville, you might want to check this house out.

Saturday evening was an absolute first for us.  During the Thursday night dinner the RV Park owner talks about all the things to see and do in the area.  Several of the things he mentioned were interesting, but this one really hit a cord.  The Long Hollow Jamboree and Restaurant sounded like a place we had to see and experience.  At 6:30 we headed there for dinner not really knowing what to expect except we were told not alcohol was served or permitted.  When we got there it looked like one of those “good ole boy” places you expect to see in the South but there were no tattoos or Harley’s and the average age appeared to be over 65 years old.  There was a cover charge and dinner was extra.  We realized that was because lots of people did not come to eat but to dance.  As we sat and watched a while, we noticed some of the ladies and men were changing from their boots to their dancing shoes complete with taps.  The band was to start at 7:30 so we decided we had better eat and got some fried catfish and veggies.  Good catfish!

Halfway through dinner, Shirley sat down and introduced herself.  Everyone else knew each other and it was obvious we were new faces.  We got the scoop about the place, the owner, and most of the people and then the band started warming up.  One thing for sure, there is no shortage of good country music in and around Nashville!  The band started and we watched couple after couple dance around that floor with precision and grace.  These folks had been doing this for a while they were good at it.  Before long, Jim and I worked up the courage to try it.  Of course, we didn’t look that good but we had a great time and everyone was so friendly.  During our attempt at a line dance, one lady stayed with us through the whole thing pointing to the direction we were supposed to go.  We danced for two hours and had a wonderful time.  I was sure it was going to take more than two Advil to get over all the dancing, but two was just enough.