Botanical Gardens Tour - Day 1 - Thursday, July 29, 2021 - Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, Nashville, TN

 In order to break up the long trip between my home and the state where my parents and sister and her family live, I planned a trip of botanical gardens to visit along the way.  This would be my first solo road trip in a long time and a chance to enjoy some gardens without having to worry about whether a travel companion was getting impatient as I chase yet another bumble bee.  

My first stop was Cheekwood Estate & Gardens in Nashville, Tennessee which is about a three hour drive from our home.  I had requested a timed ticket for when they opened at 9 which meant an early morning but was very worth it as the temperatures climbed.  The high that day in Nashville was supposed to be 99*F with a dew point close to 80*F.  Even though it was morning so hadn't reached those temperatures yet, I would be lying if I said it wasn't hot and sticky!

I didn't get tickets to the mansion as that is something my husband would really enjoy and we will be back to Nashville but the gardens surrounding the mansion are absolutely breathtaking.  I'll let my photos do the rest of the talking.

Artist Sean Kenney had created these lego animals that were found throughout the garden - a special exhibit this summer.

Rabbits made out of legos - part of the exhibit by Sean Kenney

The Japanese Gardens were really designed well with views from quite a few angles. include from above on a small hill

After about two hours, I decided it was time to continue on my journey.  I was staying at the Fairfield Inn in Champaign, IL that was about 6.5 hours away.

Nashville, TN - February 8-9

We decided to make a quick trip to Nashville, knowing we would be back for future trips and so not feeling the need to do everything, especially considering the long week we had and so could really use some downtime.

We drove up Saturday and took a tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, TN.  It is really interesting that such a well known distillery is actually located in a dry county!  So don't expect to go out for drinks at the local bar after your tour, you won't find a local bar or a restaurant serving drinks.

The distillery is located in a small town but clearly that town thrives on tourism and gets a lot of visitors.  The next open tour wasn't for a couple of hours so we went and wandered the town (which is really just a square surrounded by shops) and found some barbeque for lunch.

The tour takes you to the various buildings on the property.

Our tour started with this view of many of the distillery buildings

This where they make and store the charcoal which is so unique to Jack Daniels whiskey.

Pallets of wood are stacked just right to burn so they make the maximum amount of charcoal.

Here are two fire old fire engines; below is the "REO Speed Wagon."

The spring from which is the source of all water for the whiskey process

Jack on the Rocks

Jack Daniels' office

Another view of the water source

The outside of the office building

The distillery building we toured - they do not allow photos inside.

The tour was a pretty neat tour that ended with samples of some of their best whiskey.

We spent the evening relaxing in our hotel.

Before heading home on Sunday, we decided to visit Andrew Jackson's Hermitage.  Andrew Jackson purchased this property prior to the war of 1812 and then lived there again after his presidency.  After his death, his heir (an adopted nephew) inherited the property.  Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), his heir quickly found himself in deep debt and the property went to the state within about 7 years.  It has been in the government's possession ever since and so has been preserved amazingly.  A visit to the mansion gives you a chance to see it exactly how it was when Andrew Jackson lived there including all the furniture, beautiful hand-pained original French wallpaper, etc.  It is one of the best preserved presidential homes in the US.

Trees lined the path to the mansion

The mansion which was built after Andrew Jackson was a key general in the War of 1812

They didn't allow photos inside the mansion but I was able to get this photo and the next lookin in windows - here are two examples of how the rooms were furnished.

The cabin of the most prominent slave who ended up making money by giving tours once Andrew passed away.

The burial sites of Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel

The original cabin Andrew Jackson built which he lived in prior to the War of 1812, while he lived there the inside was covered in wallpaper - Rachel loved wallpaper.  It later became slave quarters which is how it is set up right now.

Just a cool looking barn on the property

This weekend gave us a chance to get just a taste of all that Nashville has to offer and we hope to come back soon