Visit to Nashville, TN

One of the last stops on our Mother/Son roadtrip was Nashville. This is frequently our last stop on roadtrips. Nashville is such a fun place, even if you only have a day to spend here.

We drove into town and immediately went to Hattie B’s Hot Chicken to stand in line and get some awesome food. Parking is crazy in Nashville. We’ve never had trouble finding a spot, but it comes at a price, that’s for sure. This place is so popular, you definitely need to get there 30 minutes before they open on weekdays and possibly an hour early on the weekends if you want a table. I ordered chicken strips (medium heat) with pimento mac and cheese and potato salad. Owen got the kids chicken strips (southern, which means no heat) with fries. We also really enjoy their lemonade. I think it’s made in-house and it’s absolutely delicious. They’re not over-priced and the food is definitely worth a trip. It was hot outside and the indoor seating is incredibly limited so we did have to sit outside. However, it at least is covered and has fans.

Then, we headed out to the Adventure Science Museum. The cost was $28 for my son and myself. It was amazing! I’m kind of over children’s museums because they all have the same exhibits. So, once you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all. But this is so different. First of all, it’s not just for little kids. There is a section just for them, but I feel like this “museum” is geared toward the older child, which is a welcome change. We played music, defeated germs, walked on the moon, hung out among the stars, climbed a spine, and slid down the digestive system. It was seriously amazing. We only spent about 2 hours here, but it was a fun 2 hours.

Owen’s Notes: “Oh my gosh! My favorite thing that we did there was doing the moon gravity thing. There was a machine that picked me up, lifted me into the air, and then put me back down again. I had to try to walk over to a flag on the ground and walk back. It was so fun, but way harder than it sounds.”

When we were done at the Adventure Science Museum, we headed downtown again to check out the Johnny Cash Museum. The cost was $20 per adult and $16 per child. It is ranked the number one music museum in the world. This museum is fairly small, but still worth a visit. We only spent about an hour here, and even that was pushing it. It seemed crowded, which was a shame, but we still had a great time. There was a ton of memorabilia and informational text you could read, outfits from famous moments and records displayed. But my favorite thing about the entire museum was that there were performances you could watch, a video history of Johnny Cash’s career, songs you could listen to with headphones, and a couple places where you could sit to do these things. They also offered a green screen photo you could buy. Overall, it was a decent museum that I’m glad we visited, but I don’t feel the need to go again during our many trips to Nashville.

Owen’s Notes: “My favorite part of the Johnny Cash Museum was taking a picture in front of the green screen and then getting a picture of me with Johnny Cash.”

Then, before heading back to our hotel, we popped into the Goo Goo shop to pick up some Goo Goo Clusters to bring back home with us. If you’ve never heard of a Goo Goo Cluster, you’re missing out. They are a regional treat that we discovered on our travels and we keep going back for more. It is a disc-shaped candy bar that contains marshmallow nougat, caramel, and roasted peanuts and then covered in milk chocolate. My family’s favorite is the peanut butter, though. Basically, they replace the marshmallow nougat with a soft peanut butter nougat. The Goo Goo shop is located right downtown across from the Johnny Cash museum so it’s pretty convenient when we’re in town. You should give them a try if you’re visiting the area. They also have a little cafe inside their store.

Owen’s Notes: “I love Goo Goo Clusters. We bought the peanut butter ones!”

Our hotel was the Wingate by Wyndham out by the airport at 1 Century Blvd. They have free wifi, free breakfast, a mini fridge, and a microwave. What else you could you want? It was clean and perfect for our needs. We always stay out by the airport when we visit Nashville. It may be farther from the action, but it is significantly cheaper. And saving money on our hotel allows us to spend money elsewhere.

Our trip to Nashville was a great one. I will always suggest this place to people planning a weekend getaway or as a destination on a roadtrip.

Visiting Knoxville, Tennessee

Towards the end of our Mother/Son roadtrip, we decided to take a couple stops in Tennessee. First stop, Knoxville.

We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Knoxville Downtown at 210 W Church Ave for 2 nights. I chose this hotel because it’s so close to downtown. It’s close to public transportation. They have free wifi and a mini fridge. And I’m so glad I did. This hotel was pretty nice! It was probably one of the nicest places we stayed during our trip. Self parking costs $15 a night, which is what we did. There is no breakfast included, but I think you can purchase some. However, we decided to go to a place just a couple blocks away.

We ate brunch at the French Market Creperie Downtown. We started by waiting in line, which was fairly slow moving. After we ordered, we found ourselves a table and waited for our food. It did take a couple minutes, but that’s because it’s made from scratch! I had a mushroom, spinach, bacon, and swiss crepe while Owen ordered a s’mores crepe. They were both delicious! But I don’t think any kid could sit there without a huge smile on their face while being presented with that awesome s’mores crepe.

Owen’s Notes: “I love crepes and when I had a s’mores crepe, I just thought it was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had in my whole life. I want to go there again!”

Then, we walked to the visitor’s center to watch some live music. Every day, they broadcast live on the radio from this location so it was fun to see the two acts perform, knowing that we were watching something that other people around the world were listening to. We really enjoyed the Bird and the Bear. They were pretty good. Inside the building, they have bathrooms, brochures for things to do around town, and a local gift shop. There’s also a great mural on the side of the building that you should check out before or after you see the acts.

Next, we headed off to the Knoxville Zoo. It cost us about $37 for my son and myself. Parking was $5 (but we paid for that at the gate along with our tickets so I’m not sure what’s to keep people from lying and saying that they didn’t bring a car). It didn’t seem to be too busy, but we were only there for a couple hours in the afternoon due to the heat. We saw so many great animals! It was an absolute blast. Owen even got to ride a camel. The elephants were inside, but Owen bought himself a wax one to bring home. They had these wax animal machines all over the zoo. My favorite part to walk through was definitely monkey area. There were multiple different levels to walk through so it was like you were up high with them swinging on branches. Overall, we had a great time. I would definitely recommend a stop if you’re in town.

Owen’s Notes: “Knoxville Zoo was a great zoo. I loved that we got to see so many animals. My favorite one that we got to see was the sleeping tiger. He was so cute. He kept opening one of his eyes.”

Then, we decided to go for a hike to the Bluffs. So, first of all, I was super confused where I was supposed to park. I had heard that you’re supposed to park in one place (so we did) and then, after walking a ways, I learned I could have parked closer. That was annoying. I would definitely recommend googling the bluffs in Knoxville to find out where they are. There are a couple things you should know before going though. The road/path is large rock gravel. So, even with tennis shoes, it was painful to walk on. It’s not a very long hike, but it was pretty uphill so at the end of our day, after we’d already walked A TON, this was a little difficult for me. However, the view that you get is beautiful. Now, while I don’t necessarily recommend going past the sign that says not to go any further, that is what we did to see the amazing views. And clearly, almost everyone else does as well.

The last thing we did that day was to catch a free trolley to the Sunsphere. We took an elevator to the observation deck and walked around it a couple times. The Sunsphere is a free attraction and there is a ton of informational things to read while on the observation deck. Plus, it gives amazing views of the city. There were a couple other people up there at the same time as us, but I definitely wouldn’t say it was busy at all.

Owen’s Notes: “Sunsphere! At first I was really scared because I’m afraid of heights, but once I got used to it, I really really liked it. You could see the whole city from up there. So cool!”

We decided to walk around the World’s Fair Park for a while before walking back to our hotel. We took a couple pictures with the water. Owen’s favorite part was definitely the fountains. He ran through them multiple times and got completely soaked! He was just so happy, though, so how could I possibly complain. Then, we decided to walk back to our hotel and call it a night.

Owen’s Notes: “My favorite part was when I got to go through the fountains. I went through the fountain like 15 times. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to get even wetter, but I had to stop.”

We were definitely exhausted from our day and slept really well that night!