TN Archives - There Goes Connie

Another Franklin Frolic with Grands — The Factory, Part 1

10/05/2015 By: CCPearsoncomment

On a recent Saturday, Steve and I found ourselves in Franklin, TN once again with 3 grands eager to get out and have some fun. We decided to explore a place that was fairly familiar to them and completely new to us — The Factory. It is self-described as “a one-of-a-kind retail and entertainment complex listed in the National Register of Historic Places and in near proximity to the nationally-recognized Main Street of Franklin, Tennessee.”

Two serendipitous meetings happened while we were there. Well, at least I (the former elementary teacher that I am who believes that “once a teacher, always a teacher”) felt they were serendipitous.

We met Ronda Friend, a delightful author of children’s books and musicals, who says that her “heart’s desire is for children to fall in love with reading, writing & the fine arts.” She drew the kids in with her props and tall tales and even shared some costume items with them before they posed for this picture. I bought 5 of her books – the Down on Friendly Acres series — to share with all the grands when they come for visits. Each one teaches a moral lesson amid the funny antics of her characters. Ronda and her husband live in Franklin, and she is available for school assembly programs. From what I observed, I believe she’d be a hit.

We continued our wanderings and met another very talented young woman — artist DeAnn Hebert — who was working in her studio at the time. DeAnn has a gorgeous website where you can peruse the works she has for sale, read her story, and even take a pictorial tour of her lovely home. She was very kind and approachable and had no problem posing for a picture with Birti and Luke. DeAnn was recently commissioned by Willie Nelson to paint an old church. See it here. I would love to have one of her paintings in my own home. Better start saving and looking around for the perfect spot.

In my next blog, I’ll share scenes from the Farmers’ Market and make a lunch recommendation. And, don’t worry, Rome and Somerville grands. Your turn is coming soon. 🙂

Loveless Cafe in Nashville, TN — Where the Food Royals Eat

07/29/2015 By: CCPearsoncomment

There are hundreds of reasons to go to Nashville and all of its surrounding communities — entertainment, shopping, sight-seeing galore. But, even if you can’t think of a thing to do or buy or see, you might still want to work in a visit to the Loveless Cafe for breakfast, lunch, or dinner sometime soon.

I did my homework before my Silver Fox and I visited recently — which meant that I studied the website, double-checked directions, took note of suggestions (including one to arrive after 2:00 p.m. to avoid a long wait), eagerly perused posted recipes, and stared hungrily at the menu. You might enjoy doing the same thing. Only beware. We arrived at 2:00 p.m. on a Friday, and the wait was still over an hour. This is a VERY popular place.

The cafe itself is relatively small, which helps to explain the wait times.

But, there are other places connected to the cafe to check out while you wait.

I would have to compare the menu at Loveless to that of Cracker Barrel, only cranked up another notch. And, be prepared to spend a little more money for your meal. I’m not sure why they decided to serve alcohol, but it is available if you want it.

Fried chicken is a specialty, but I didn’t want to go TOO FAR off of the Health Wagon, so I opted for a veggie plate with fried green tomatoes being my splurge. It was very tasty.

Silver Fox chose the veggie omelet. I’m not sure why he waited so long in line just to order an omelet, but the point is that their ARE healthy options if you choose to take them.

The Loveless Cafe served its first batch of fried chicken and biscuits in 1951. According to the paper placemats on each table: “Today the Loveless Cafe serves more than 450,000 guests a year and makes up to 7,000 biscuits a day — still using Annie Loveless’s original recipe!”

When you walk into the lobby of the Loveless Cafe, you will be impressed by the floor to ceiling photos of celebrities who have visited this iconic Nashville cafe. I wanted to know more. After being served in a friendly, timely and helpful way, I asked our cute waitress Katie: “Who are the most famous people you have ever served since you started working here?” She thought for a moment and then said (rather modestly, I thought): “I’ve seen quite a few celebrities, such as Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney, but the ones I remember waiting on personally were Al Gore, Paula Deen and Martha Stewart.” I don’t know about you, but Paula Deen and Martha Stewart rank among the Food Royals in my book. The moral of this story? If Loveless Cafe is good enough for them, then it’s probably good enough for the rest of us.

Fayetteville, TN — Around the Square

07/27/2015 By: CCPearson6 Comments

Fayetteville, TN would very much like to be “a great place to spend the day shopping and eating.” From our visit to this town, I’d say that they are very close to reaching their goal. The merchants are trying their best to get folks to give them a try. For sure, if you are shopping for antiques or fabric, then you will certainly scratch those itches. Sir’s Fabric is a large place with a wide enough selection that it warrants having customers drive in from miles around.

Antique stores located on Main Street include:

Magnolia Mall Antiques

Sissy’s Antiques and Interiors

Flashback Antique Mall

West Side Antiques

Fayetteville Antique and Craft Mall

Those could keep a shopaholic humming for several happy hours. But, what about LUNCH?? A very important element for hosting shoppers who STAY contented.

We wandered into a place called Honey’s “Home of the Original Slawburger.” A slawburger? Honey’s, as we learned, even hosted a Slawburger Festival this past April. There was a big turnout, so it is expected to become an annual event. Mark your calendars. 🙂 This year’s winner consumed 11 slawburgers in 10 minutes and won $200.00. I hope that was enough to cover the antacids for the days afterward. 🙂 Honey’s has a diner atmosphere with lots of stools at the counter and 6 booths in the front section. It used to house several billiard tables, but those have been removed.

I would call it a first cousin to Dub’s in Athens, AL or Penn’s in Decatur, AL On the day we visited, my Silver Fox ordered a B. Chegg (bacon cheeseburger with egg), and I had the Delta Dawn. Small, relatively inexpensive, but NOT in the healthy eating category.

Other lunch choices within a few steps are O’Houlihan’s and Cahoot’s. Just peruse their menus and then let me know if you try one and have a good experience.

From my perspective, I’d love to see the “powers that be” find someone to open a tea room on the square, a place that ladies could oooh and ahhh over. Some great chicken salad, a scrumptious quiche, strawberry pretzel salad and fruit tea might make all the difference. Do I hear any “Amens” from my readers?

The best bet for a clean restroom on the square (for now) is inside the Lincoln County Courthouse.

The Lincoln Theater located on the square boasts that it “is now all-digital” and had two currently running movies. ??? Not exactly something to back up traffic but still a pretty good step of progress to boost the number of folks coming downtown.

There were two ladies’ shops that looked intriguing — Beautiful Me and Pretty Discoveries — but I had mercy on my Silver Fox and walked right past.

So, here you have my thoughts about Fayetteville. To get there, take Exit 14 off I-65 and drive 20 miles east. You just might find exactly what you’re looking for and become a big fan of slawburgers in the process. 😉

Historic Main Street, Franklin, TN — Through the Eyes of Grandchildren

07/01/2015 By: CCPearson4 Comments

How excited my Silver Fox and I were when our son, his beautiful wife, and their three children moved just an hour and a half up I-65 from their previous town which took a minimum of 9 very hard hours to reach! Franklin, Tennessee, is in a magnificent part of the Volunteer State and is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. A million and a half more people are expected to move in during the next 10 years. Imagine what that means for the economy, the schools, the highways, the stores, and, of course, the churches. Our son is the new pastor of The Church at West Franklin. If you or any of your friends are nearby on a Sunday, I really hope you’ll attend a Sunday worship service. I believe you’ll get a warm welcome.

But, I digress.

A few days ago I had the privilege of having those three grands all to myself for about 4 hours, and I decided to let THEM show ME downtown Franklin. I knew that I could find lots of treasures and interesting products on my own, but what fun would that have been?? I wanted to see this new town through their eyes. Naturally, that meant going to a kid-friendly place for lunch and for a treat, but between the two restaurants, we also explored 6 exceptional stores. The assignment I gave them in each store was to spend several minutes looking around and then show me either their favorite item(s) or the ones they found most unique or interesting.

First stop– since I had just picked them up from Vacation Bible School — was LUNCH. MELLOW MUSHROOM, located right at the beginning of the blocks we wanted to explore, was their immediate choice. Oh, and before I forget, allow me to introduce the day’s main characters — Luke, age 10; Seth, age 8; and their sister Birti, age 7.

Don’t worry. Once they posed for this photo, we DID use our best manners. 🙂 After devouring every bite — and using the restroom (very important), we began our quest for special “things.”

SAVORY SPICE SHOP

Of the six stores we visited, this actually turned out to be their favorite, even edging out the toy store. Surprise! Surprise! Here, you are invited to smell and taste, so they went straight to work. The employees have devised a very hygienic way to do that, which they carefully explained. I was proud of the way the kiddoes followed directions.

INSPIRATIONS ON MAIN

Luke really enjoys art/painting. Birti, as you’ll see, is partial to jewelry and sparkly, swirly, girly items. Seth has recently gotten interested in learning to play the guitar. Could it be the influence of nearby Nashville, Music City, by any chance?

HEY DAY

Luke found a book he loved when he was younger. Birti, again, found accessories. Seth made a bee-line for the Auburn items.

PATCHWORK PANTRY

This is a pretty store. Again, it was artwork for Luke, jewelry for Birti, and a fun saying for Seth.

THE HEIRLOOM SHOP

Lots of breakables here, so we mostly looked without touching and even “used our inside voices” to promote calmness and decorum. Not that they needed any reminders, you understand. 🙂

MAIN STREET TOY COMPANY

Luke LOVES dolphins, Seth gravitated to the Civil War figurines, and Birti found the Barbies. They also showed me a sign they liked.

FRANKLIN THEATER

Luke proudly told me that he would be going to a drama camp in the upcoming week, and their final production will be at the Franklin Theater. Now Granddaddy and I will know right where to come. 🙂

SWEET CECE’S

Finally, it was time to cool off, sit down, and enjoy a treat. What could be better than yogurt and toppings in this attractive place with a vintage vibe? We all satisfied our chocolate cravings on a very hot afternoon.

After this break, I believe they could have happily kept going, but it was time to rejoin their parents. Before long, I’ll likely return for an all-about-me shopping trip, but yesterday I was shown things I probably never would have found on my own. No breakage occurred. A big win in my book.

An Afternoon Inspired by Beverly Lewis

06/03/2015 By: CCPearson1 Comment

I am a big fan of Christian novels by Beverly Lewis. If you’ve never heard of her, check out her beautiful website here. Beverly was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which has a high concentration of Amish families. She grew up observing the lifestyles of those unique people and learning about their very strict, conservative beliefs and practices. She has woven many facts about the Amish into the fictional storylines of her books that feature these hard-working people going about their daily lives.

On a recent Saturday after learning that one of the largest communities of Old Order Amish lived less than an hour and a half from our house, my Silver Fox and I decided to ride out and explore. We discovered that from Hwy. 72 West from Athens we could take either Hwy. 207 in Rogersville to 98 then on to 43, or we could drive west a little more and just hit Hwy. 43 in Killen and have a straight shot to Etheridge, TN. Either way, you will find yourself first in Leoma, TN and then Lawrenceburg, TN, both of which have plenty of gas stations and places to eat.

As we came into Etheridge, we immediately spotted the Amish Welcome Center. We had planned to eat lunch there (folks coming out gave it rave reviews), but a wagonload of people were leaving on a tour, and they had room for two more. We bought our tickets ($10 each) and hopped on. It was a good decision. The people already on board were very friendly, the driver was knowledgeable, and the horses were cooperative. It felt “right” to hear the clippity-clop of horse hooves as we passed through the well-tended farms of the Amish people. We stopped at several to look more closely at the baskets, furniture, preserves, and baked goods they had for sale. At the end of the day, we had a fresh loaf of sourdough bread, muscadine jelly, orange marmalade, chow-chow, farmer’s cheese, and a fried peach pie. The peach pie, however, didn’t survive long enough to make this picture. Delicious!

The wagon tour lasted about an hour and a half. Here are some of the facts that our driver shared:

1) The Amish first settled in the area in 1944, and currently there are 250 families living in Etheridge.

2) There are about 20 one-room schoolhouses scattered throughout the community. Children go to school until the 8th grade or their 14th birthday, whichever comes first. They don’t learn English until they start school but instead speak a Pennsylvania Dutch dialect of German.

3) They all rise at 4:30 a.m. and work until sundown.

4) They have no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no running water, no vehicles with rubber tires (such as tractors or automobiles), and no telephones.

5) We were asked to refrain from making any photographs. The Amish consider photos to be “graven images” which are strictly forbidden according to their beliefs. They also don’t have any mirrors in their homes to avoid developing attitudes of pride and emphasis upon their appearance.

I’ll save other facts for you to hear about when you make your own visit. Fascinating people indeed. One important tip — use the bathroom before you leave on the tour. You won’t be invited to use the outhouses.

When we got back, the restaurant at the Welcome Center had closed for the day, so we got directions for two others nearby. We went into The Meat Market/Texas BarBQ. It smelled amazing, but the line was long. We ended up at Edna’s Country Cooking and enjoyed it a lot, especially the working jukebox and the musical selections of our fellow diners. 🙂

We’re looking forward to returning to Etheridge several times this summer to buy fresh produce. Maps to the farms are available at the Welcome Center.

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