Saturday (November 26) was again moving day. This time we were only going a short distance from Wartrace, Tennessee to the Grand Ole RV Resort in Goodlettsville, Tennessee just outside of Nashville. Check in time wasn’t until 4pm and the drive was only about an hour and 40 minutes so we planned to leave around 215. Somehow, with all the downtime of the last two weeks and the late departure, we still managed to be running late. John was busy finishing up his solution to the mini-split problem – cutting a hole in our house. This would allow the mini split to be housed under the living room area in the ”garage” space instead of being bolted to the back of the house (because that plan DID NOT WORK as we found out in the middle of the highway just outside Louisville when it abruptly fell off) while still giving it enough ventilation to run. By creating a separate compartment for it and sealing that off, it also keeps the house fairly well insulated and the installation of two vents stops any curious critters from getting into the house or storage space while still letting in air for the mini-split to function. We finally got everything squared away and got on the road.
Once we got parked and went to release all of the krakens (cats) from their carriers and secure areas (we let Pallas, Herald and Poe stay in the house under the couch during this trip while everyone else rode in the cars), we discovered that only Pallas and Herald had been secured under the couch and Poe was nowhere to be found. The house is only so big but it still took us a long while to find him. Apparently, he snuck out of the space under the couch while we were wrangling everyone else and hid in the bedroom closet. Before leaving we wedged the laundry basket and John’s desk chair against the closet doors, not realizing he was in there, so he spent the drive tucked in amongst our clothes. We were scared to death but he didn’t seem to have minded his experience at all. We did lose a piece of hose out of the back of the truck that goes to our portable gray water tank during the drive but thankfully that was the worst of our issues this time.
We arrived at Grand Ole RV Resort in Goodlettsville just as the sun was setting (do you notice a pattern with us?) and stopped to check in at the office/store. The staff was so nice! They let you know your lot assignment upon arrival and someone in a golf cart escorts you to your site and even helps you back in. They were still friendly after John accidently ran over a pole marking the site and a pile of rocks and even hung around a few minutes to ask about and admire the tiny house (or maybe to make sure we weren’t going to break any more of their stuff). While the campgrounds was a little disappointing on first glace (mostly gravel with very little grass or trees, campsites practically on top of each other), this is actually one of the nicer places we have stayed in terms of amenities. The office has a little store inside with camping accessories, snacks, drinks and a few souvenirs and a coin operated laundry with 4 washers and 4 dryers that only cost $2 per load! Every day, they serve breakfast from 8am to 10am offering standard fare (eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, etc) at very reasonable prices. Each night, dinner (served 5:30 to 7:30pm) was a different theme : Monday is Lasagna with salad, Taco Tuesday, Beef tips and Noodles on Wednesday, Spaghetti and Salad on Thursday, BBQ with beans and potato salad on Friday, Saturday is Taco Soup, and Sunday is Chicken and Dumplins with Applesauce and Biscuit – each for $10 or less. They also had full water, electric, and sewer hookups (something we hadn’t experienced at any park yet)!
At first, we were a bit concerned about only having one week in Nashville but John took vacation for the week and we figured we would get to do everything we wanted at a leisurely pace. Of course, that means that Angel had to come down with a sinus infection. We still managed to do almost everything we wanted, balancing days of running ourselves ragged with a few rest days squeezed in.
Our first full day in Nashville happened to fall on the weekend of their monthly flea market, which is consistently rated one of the top on the country. We don’t have a ton of room in the tiny house but we still enjoy browsing and seeing what neat things we can find. This was a smaller flea market than usual since it is winter and some of the vendors had begun packing up early because it was really cold and extremely windy but we were still able to find a few items to purchase (earrings for Angel, a t-shirt for John, and a few Christmas gifts to send back home to family).
After wandering through the flea market, Angel was feeling a little worn out due to being sick so we stopped at Twin Peaks for a quick lunch/dinner. This was a pretty big sports bar just about 15 minutes from our “home for the week” and, despite not having super high hopes, we actually enjoyed it. The premise of the restaurant is a lot like Hooters (female servers in short shorts and tight, low-cut tops) but the service was actually good and the food was very enjoyable. Angel had The Hangover (a burger with a fried egg on it) and John had the Spicy Meatball Parmesan sandwich. Neither of us have ever been very into pro-football but almost all of the televisions were tuned to the Titans-Bengals game and, while we probably should have been rooting for the Ohio team, it was kind of fun to get swept up in the excitement of over 75% of the restaurant cheering for their local team.
On the way home from lunch we drove by the municipal building for Goodlettsville and had to stop and check out the super cute little cottages that were decorated and sponsored by local businesses that had been set up in a Christmas Village outside. There were lights and decorations as well and it was just one of those adorable small-town things that leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
On Monday we decided to squeeze in a few things outdoors because the forecast for the rest of the week was mostly rain and we wanted to take advantage of the nice day. We drove down to the Gulch neighborhood for brunch at Biscuit Love. Angel had the Southern Benny (their play on eggs benedict but served on one of their famous biscuits and topped with ham, over easy eggs and sausage gravy) and John had the East Nasty (biscuit with fried chicken, cheddar cheese and sausage gravy) and we got the Bonuts (sugar coated biscuit donuts with lemon mascarpone and blueberry compote) to share. We decided to walk off our breakfast by exploring the neighborhood. We stopped in a few stores and did some Christmas shopping, saw some cool street art including the famous “What Lifts You” mural, and bought a sunflower from Amelia’s Flower Truck.
Then we drove over to Parnassus Books. Ever since we closed our bookstore, we really miss the small bookstore vibe and when we found out this store was owned by author Ann Patchett, we decided to make the trip to visit. We just missed seeing Ann there but were able to purchase an autographed copy of “Bel Canto” which we had both read a few years ago and John really enjoyed. The staff was so sweet and helpful and we ended up chatting with her for a few minutes about the tiny house and our travels.
We still had a few hours to kill before Harley would need to be let out again so we wrapped up our morning by driving to the Nashville Parthenon at Centennial Park. This is a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece that was built in 1897 for Tennessee’s Centennial Exposition. We opted not to go inside to view the Athena statue but did enjoy walking around the outside of the building to admire all of the beautiful carvings and strolling through the park before heading back home for a little rest and relaxation in preparation for our evening plans.
One thing that we definitely wanted to see while in Nashville was the Zoolumination event at the Nashville Zoo. We had grown up near the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio which puts on an amazing holiday light display each year called Wildlights so we were expecting a similar event at this zoo. It was something all together different. This event was more of a Chinese Lantern festival and was full of breathtaking sculptures of silk stretched over wire then lighted from within. The photos that we took do not even come close to capturing the colors and the contrast of the brightly colored lights against the darkness. The exhibits were set up throughout the majority of the park and, while most exhibits were closed, they did have one building open with fish, reptile and amphibian exhibits inside. We already had plans to come back later in the week in the day time so we weren’t too worried about missing any animals and just enjoyed a leisurely walk around the zoo enjoying the different light displays. Maybe the most unique part of the experience was that they were running their small zipline ride that evening. Normally this would just be a kind of scary kids ride but during this event, there was a long line of lights running the length of the zip line. It was only $8 per person so we decided to give it a try. While this is probably not too scary (as it is a child’s ride) in the daylight – being hauled up backwards in the dark was a little nerve-wracking. But it was really worth it to get a bird’s eye view of so many of the lights. Although we had previously purchased a Nashville Zoo membership, this was still $17 per person for admission to Zooluminations but it was money well spent. Neither of us have ever seen anything quite like this and we learned that this is the largest display of its kind in the country.
While we absolutely had an amazing day on Monday between exploring the Gulch, book shopping, visiting the Parthenon and walking the entire Nashville Zoo we were absolutely exhausted and Angel was getting sicker. We decided to take Tuesday as a rest day and got Angel a doctor’s appointment at the Kroger Minute Clinic. John did the grocery shopping while Angel was diagnosed with a sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics.
We had really enjoyed our visit to the Nashville Zoo for the light display but we wanted to go back for a daytime visit to see the animals, too. Because of Angel’s history working with animals at the Columbus Zoo and at Butternut Farms, we love animals and take every opportunity for up-close animal encounters. The Nashville Zoo offers a sloth feeding experience!
We arrived at opening and met our guide for our sloth experience. We were led behind the scenes to meet Fern. We were warned that Fern can be a bit of a diva and does not like to be touched but she was definitely in the mood to eat! Sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside down in the trees of the rainforest so Fern was hanging from a perch in the middle of the room. She has been trained to hang onto the perch with all 4 feet and will be rewarded with food treats when she exhibits this behavior. Fern did fairly well with this but grew a little impatient for her treats at times and would reach out to us and her trainer for them. She definitely had a bit of an attitude but we really enjoyed our visit with her. This experience was a bit expensive ($150 per person for non-Nashville Zoo members) but most of the fee goes towards conservation programs to help sloths, as Fern is an ambassador for her species. Please keep in mind that interactions hosted by AZA accredited zoos are much different than “pay to play” animal experiences with your average Joe Exotic. Fern lives in a top-notch facility that is subject to regular inspection and review and is cared for by a team of experts. She is given the option of participating every day that she works (if she doesn’t voluntarily go into her carrier to come to the interaction room, she isn’t forced and can remain in her habitat all day) and only works 2-3 days per week.
Following our time with Fern, we were able to explore the rest of the zoo on our own. We loved the setup of the zoo – it occupies a smaller space within the city but uses the elevation changes in the terrain and a wonderful bamboo forest to make the best use of the space. At times, you feel like you really are all alone in a bamboo jungle and can forget that the next exhibit (and gift shops, restrooms, and concession stands) are just around the next corner. Some animals that we really enjoyed seeing were the Hyacinth Macaws and Meerkats. The Red Pandas were very active and the tiger exhibit was set up so that the animals had a great napping spot right up against the glass so guests could get a great look.
I think maybe the best part was the Kangaroo exhibit. Like other zoos, we were able to walk into the exhibit with the animals as long as we stayed on a pathway. Unlike other zoos we have visited, we were permitted to touch the kangaroos if they approached us. It was a beautifully cool day and there weren’t many other guests so we were able to sit quietly on the path and allow the animals to get used to us. Some were wary (or napping) but a few did come closer to check us out. John was able to make friends with a small kangaroo who actually came right up to him, sniffed him, tried to pickpocket him, and nuzzled into John’s armpit. Angel had touched a kangaroo pelt before but it was an educational tool used by the Columbus Zoo (which does not allow contact with the roos) and had been worn down by countless hands touching it over the years. The kangaroo fur was incredibly soft and the roos themselves were very gentle and sweet. This was definitely an incredible experience for both of us and will remain one of our favorite memories of this trip.
Following our zoo time, we drove to Hattie B’s for more Nashville Hot Chicken. We had been told that Hattie B’s and Prince’s are THE places to eat so we had to make sure we had both. We love a good food rivalry and often are able to pick a clear favorite but this one had us stumped. We loved both. Seriously, if you are going to Nashville and want some incredible hot chicken, you can’t go wrong at either location. We didn’t try any desserts at Prince’s so we can’t speak to theirs but we did have the peach cobbler and the banana pudding at Hattie’s and they were unspeakably good. The cobbler was ooey and gooey and warm and was a perfect counterbalance to the cold, creamy vanilla ice cream that was served on top. The banana pudding was unlike any we had ever had before. We aren’t sure, but it tasted like more like banana bread instead of vanilla wafers in the pudding and definitely had walnuts in it. It was moan out loud in the middle of the restaurant good. Don’t miss out on those.
I feel like this post has been super long but it doesn’t even cover our whole week! Be sure to check out the next post for more Nashville eats and the rest of our adventures in Music City, USA!
