Sunday, April 27, 2014

Day 3 and 4 - Jack and Amys Weekend Getaway to TN

Day 3 and 4
Jack and Amy's Eater Weekend Getaway to TN
Nashville, TN
The Country Music Capital of the World!
Saturday, April 19th and Sunday April 20th, 2014

The first two days of our Easter weekend getaway were focused on stuff that I like to do.  Day 3 and 4 was all about Amy's desire to visit the Country Music Capital of the World!  Nashville, TN.

Since I am more of a nature photography type person, I didn't really focus on my photography once we arrived in Nashville.  In fact, most of the time I left my camera behind and just took a few photos with my IPhone.

We hit the highlights that Amy wanted to see like the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum, The Ryman Theater, and a back stage tour of the Grand Ole Opry.  We also walked about 10 miles each day exploring the city.  And we did satisfy some of my desires by visiting five local breweries.

I am not going to create a Flickr Gallery for day 3 or 4.  Instead I will just post the photos here.

Here are some of the photos from our wanderings around Nashville!

 The Nashville Visitors Center

 The Ryman Theater

 Pedal Tavern?  

 Nashville Riverfront Park




 Amy by a fountain





 An Awesome Flight!

 At the Blackstone Brewery

 Me enjoying a sample flight at the Blackstone Brewery

 The Bluebird Cafe

 Grand Ole Opry House




 Jack and Amy at the Grand Ole Opry House


 Inside the Grand Ole Opry House



 Amy inside the Grand Ole Opry House


 

Day 2 - Jack and Amys Easter Weekend Getaway to TN

Day 2
Jack and Amy's Easter Weekend Getaway to TN
Ledford Mill Bed and Breakfast
Old Stone Fort State Park
Baker Falls
Short Springs Nature Area
Machine Falls
Busby Falls
Rutledge Falls
George Dickel Distillery
Cascade Falls
Ole Shed Brewery
Friday, April 19th, 2014

Me at Machine Falls

As usual I was up before Amy, so I made a big pot of coffee and grabbed the camera to photograph the waterfalls outside our Bed and Breakfast.  There are actually two steams that flow over the same ledge forming a pair of waterfalls.

The main one is not very photogenic due to the old pipe that used to provide the water to run the mill's turbine. 

 Waterfall at the Ledford Mill Bed and Breakfast

However, the tributary stream does form an attractive waterfall.

Waterfall at the Ledford Mill Bed and Breakfast

Eventually, Amy emerged from the bed and we enjoyed a nice breakfast prepared by the nice couple the owns and runs the Bed and Breakfast. 

After breakfast we hit the road to do some waterfall wandering.  The weather was perfect for waterfalling, with a nice overcast sky and comfortable temperatures.

First stop would be Old Stone Fort State Park.  An easy 2.6 mile loop trail offers access to several nice waterfalls.

 Step Falls - Old Stone Fort State Park

 Jack and Amy at Step Falls

 Big Falls - Old Stone Fort State Park

 Small Tributary Waterfall flowing into the Duck River

 Blue Hole Falls - Old Stone Fort State Park

Next up we made a quick stop at Baker Falls.  This one definitely requires some trespassing as it is located in someone's backyard.  We did knock on the door of the home to ask permission, but nobody was home.  So we made the quick descent down to the overlook deck.

 Baker Falls

From there we headed on over to the Short Springs Nature area to check out a few more waterfalls.  Machine Falls was my favorite of the weekend!

 Machine Falls - Short Springs Nature Area

 Me at Machine Falls

 I also made it to Busby Falls and found another nice un-named tributary stream waterfall.

 Un-named side stream waterfall

 Busby Falls


Afterwards I realized that Adams Falls is also located within this area giving me an excuse to get back sometime!

Next we made a stop at Rutledge Falls.  I regretted not stopping by this one earlier as it was swarming with people.  Again another excuse to get back to this area to hit this one earlier in the day before the crowds arrive!
 Rutledge Falls

 Stupid People at Rutledge Falls

From there we headed on over to the George Dickel Distillery for another Distillery Tour.  This is a much smaller operation than Jack Daniels but still very interesting.  And today we opted for the tasting tour which meant we got to sample (4) varieties of Geoge Dickel Whisky (note: George Dickel leaves out the E in Whiskey).

 The George Dickel Distillery

 The George Dickel Distillery

After the distillery tour and a few very small shots of George Dickel Whisky, we stopped by Cascade Falls just down the road from the Distillery.

 Cascade Falls

From there, we had a nice dinner at "Fast Jacks" in downtown Tullahoma, where I enjoyed a local beer brewed by the Ole Shed Brewery.  It was good enough that we decided to stop by the Brewery where I got a sample flight of all (4) of their beers.  Good Stuff!

 Amy outside the Ole Shed Brewery

 Me enjoying a Sample Flight at the Ole Shed Brewery

Our innkeepers told us about another waterfall just down the road from the Bed and Breakfast.  So we made that our final stop of the day.  I don't remember if this one had a name, and it is probably barely a trickle during times of low flow.

Small waterfall down the road from the Ledford Mill Bed and Breakfast


The complete set of photos from Day 2 of our Easter Weekend Getaway is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/sets/72157644315355002/






Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Day 1 - Jack and Amys Easter Weekend Getaway to TN


Jack and Amy's Easter Weekend Getaway to TN
Day 1
Rock Island State Park, TN
Jack Daniels Distillery
Ledford Mill Bed and Breakfast
Thursday, April 17th, 2014

Jack and Amy at Twin Falls - Rock Island State Park, TN


My wife Amy, being a country music fan, has always wanted to visit Nashville, TN.  I am not a big country music fan or a fan of big cities, but I went along with Amy's wish and we planned a extended weekend getaway to Nashville.

Go about an hour or so outside of Nashville and you can find plenty of stuff that I like.  So we decided to split the trip into two parts.

The first two nights we booked a room at a little Bed and Breakfast outside the town of Tullahoma, TN.  I had a hard time deciding the best route to get there but ultimately decided to avoid Atlanta and Chattanooga and instead take the northern route along I-40 most of the way.

It was tempting to make a stop at some of my favorite places like Max Patch and/or the Smokies, but instead decided to save our stops for places we have never been.  First stop was Rock Island State Park, TN.

 Great Falls - Rock Island State Park, TN

 Great Falls - Rock Island State Park, TN

 Un-named waterfall at Rock Island State Park

 Twin Falls - Rock Island State Park

 The boat at the base of the falls gives a good sense of scale

Twin Falls - Rock Island State Park, TN

Twin Falls far exceeded my expectations and I was certainly glad we decided to make a visit!

After our visit to Rock Island, we headed on into Lynchburg to visit the Jack Daniels Distillery.  They offer a free guided tour of the Distillery or for $10.00 each you can do a "Tasting Tour".  I was planning to do the tasting tour, but we had just missed it and I didn't feel like waiting around an hour and a half for the next one.  So instead we did the free "non-tasting" tour.

 The Jack Daniels Distillery

 Our Tour Guide

 The Cave Spring where all Jack Daniels begins!

Jack and Jack

After a very interesting tour, we headed on to our Bed and Breakfast located about 15 minutes from the Distillery.

Amy and I like to find unique places to stay when traveling, and the Ledford Mill Bed and Breakfast Certainly fit the bill!

The Ledford Mill Bed and Breakfast

At one time this was a working Mill.  Now it is an Antique Shop and a three room Bed and Breakfast.  We would be the only guests during our stay and the inn-keepers live in a separate cabin, so we had the place all to ourselves!  Except for the two cats which took a liking to us!

 Our Room at the Bed and Breakfast

 The sign describing the Rock Wall

 To the right you can see the Belts from the Old Mill Operation that ran through our bathroom area.

We also had a nice waterfall right outside our door!  So we posed for a few Jack and Amy photos!

 Jack and Amy by our own private waterfall

  Jack and Amy by our own private waterfall

 Jack and Amy by our own private waterfall

With no Internet, no cell service, and no cable/satellite TV there was nothing to do but just relax and enjoy our seclusion!

The Complete set of Photos from Day 1 is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/sets/72157644234918155/






Meet Zoey

 Meet Zoey! Amy and I just adopted this beautiful girl!