TENNESSEE: THE VOLUNTEER STATE
BY CLAY
LARROY
If
you're looking to get away from it all with a trip away from home, don't forget
to travel
smart. Regardless of whether you are traveling to a nearby location for the
weekend or taking a week-long destination vacation, you are always going to
benefit from some tips and ideas on how to make the whole process, more fun and
less stressful. Take time each day to alleviate stress while
traveling or vacationing and you will thank yourself for it when you get back
home. When you want to plan a
vacation contact me!
Boot-stomping music lures you to Tennessee, but if you manage to
tear yourself away from a never-ending roster of stellar gigs, there's no
shortage of alternative entertainment.
First though, cast your peepers over an incredible line-up of 2
million artefacts at the snazzy Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, which
boasts its own songwriting stations where you can pen a tune of your own.
Hit Beale Street in Memphis, home of the blues and the birthplace
of rock 'n' roll, where the likes of BB King and Isaac Hayes have wowed
audiences. Or visit Bristol in September for the phenomenal Rhythm & Roots
Reunion, three days of electrifying musical magic. Be sure to visit the fabulous
Birthplace of Country Music Museum while in town.
Powerful as Tennessee's musical roots are however, be bold and dip
your toes into something different. Arrive in Knoxville in summer, and you can
chuck a blanket on the grass for an evening of Shakespeare, gratis. Cruise
round the 13km (8mile) Gatlinburg loop and stuff your suitcases with stained
glass, jewellery and watercolours produced by the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts
Community, the continent's largest group of independent artisans.
Soar like an eagle on a 21-storey-high rollercoaster at Dollywood,
roar like a bear at a Memphis Grizzlies home game or follow in the footsteps of
Native Americans and Civil War soldiers along legendary trail Natchez Trace.
Whatever you do, you'll find Tennessee to be one big adventure
playground, encompassing forested mountains, cypress swamps, white-water rapids
and cascading waterfalls. The Great Smoky National Park alone racks up 1,300km
(800 miles) of hiking trails (and 1,500 bears). Humming Elvis as you hike is
entirely optional.
Shopping & nightlife in Tennessee
Pigeon
Forge is known for its many major outlet malls. Opry Mills is a shopping and
entertainment resort covering more than 304 hectares (750 acres) on the site of
former Opryland USA.
Nightlife in Tennessee
In Nashville, good venues for live music include Caffé Milano
(jazz, bluegrass and rock), Henry's Coffee House, with acoustic performances,
and Canyon Country Saloon, which features up-and-coming artists. Lucy's Record
Shop sells music during the day, but on Friday and Saturday hosts the latest
alternative performers, and the funky Radio Cafe, an old pharmacy, features
national artists playing blues, country, jazz and rock. The Nashville Scene or the Tennessean newspapers list all live
music events. Memphis has many nightclubs along Beale Street.
Things
to see and do in Tennessee
Beale Street
See where critics claim
that the blues were born, on Beale Street (www.bealestreet.com)
in Memphis. Find restaurants, gift shops, boutiques, parks and nightclubs, as
well as the Beale Street Police Museum and A Schwab's Dry Goods Store, a small
department store which has been in the same family since 1876 and still offers
old-fashioned bargains.
Blount Mansion
Visit the Blount Mansion (www.blountmansion.org)
in Knoxville, the 1792 frame house of Governor William Blount. The mansion is a
National Historic Landmark.
Cumberland Plateau
Visit the ancient
Cumberland Plateau, which forms a natural boundary between Middle and East
Tennessee. Waterfalls, deep river canyons, parks and resorts characterize this
historic region.
Dollywood
Die-hard country fans will
want to visit this all-American attraction in the Tennessee hills, created by
the Queen of Country herself - Dolly Parton. The park's newest attraction is
Timber Tower, the first and only ride of its kind in North America.
Gatlinburg
Take a trip to Gatlinburg (www.gatlinburg.com).
At the base of the Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg offers miniature golf
courses, haunted houses, restaurants, the Ripley's Aquarium, and more.
Get cultural
Explore the many galleries
and museums which reflect Tennessee's Antebellum and plantation history,
including the Carl Van Vechten Gallery in Nashville, which exhibits collections
by Cézanne, Picasso and Renoir as well as displays of work by Georgia O'Keeffe
and Alfred Steiglitz.
Go wild
Enjoy the bald eagles at
Reelfoot Lake (www.reelfootlake.com), the recreational
opportunities of Kentucky Lake (www.kentuckylake.org),
or the quiet, somber atmosphere of the battlefields at Shiloh National Military
Park (www.nps.gov/shil).
Explore the Rock City Gardens (www.seerockcity.com)
in Chattanooga. The subterranean black-lit gnome dioramas and Mother Goose
theme areas are constructed around several interesting rock formations.
Grand Ole Opry
Hear good ole country
music at the Grand Ole Opry (www.opry.com) in Nashville. The opry is the setting
for the nation's longest-running live radio show, which moved here in 1976 (the
original setting, Ryman, has been renovated and is also open to the public) and
is the place to hear country music on Friday and Saturday nights.
Jack Daniel Distillery
View the process of
bourbon-making at the famous Jack Daniel Distillery (www.jackdaniels.com),
120km (75 miles) southeast of Nashville. Much insight into Mister Jack's famous
distilling process is offered during the daily guided tours.
James White's Fort
Walk through James White's
Fort (www.jameswhitesfort.org). The fort still exhibits
portions of the original stockade built in 1786 by Knoxville's founder.
Nashville
Head to 'Music City USA' -
Nashville. The center of Nashville's music industry is Music Row, around
Division and Demonbreun streets. Spanning an entire city block, the Country
Music Hall of Fame (www.countrymusichalloffame.com)
is located in the revitalized entertainment district of central Nashville.
Pigeon Forge
Stay in Pigeon Forge (www.mypigeonforge.com).
In addition to Dollywood, miniature raceways, arcades, Boyds Bear Country
(where you can make your own bear), major shopping outlet malls and more are
available. The city celebrates the culture of the East Tennessee Mountains and
you will find craftspeople demonstrating their skills and selling their wares.
Ride the Incline
Ride the Incline in
Chattanooga, which propels its passengers up a stomach-churning gradient of
72.7° - the world's record-holding, steepest passenger railway. The journey is
worthwhile, especially on a clear day, when the territories of seven states are
visible from Lookout Mountain (www.lookoutmountain.com). Spot marine life View
denizens of the deep at the Tennessee Aquarium (www.tennis.org)
in Chattanooga. The aquarium houses one of the world's largest collections of
freshwater marine life.
Ruby Falls
Experience Chattanooga's
Ruby Falls (www.rubyfalls.com), a spectacular 44m- (145ft-)
high underground waterfall which flows 341m (1120ft) below the surface of
Lookout Mountain.
Taste Appalachia
Try the authentic tastes
of Appalachia at the Farmer's Market, 24km (15 miles) from downtown Knoxville.
The pavilion sells local produce, plants, jams, jellies, arts and crafts. Explore the Great Smoky
Mountains The largest wilderness area in the USA, this national
park extends over half a million acres of the Appalachian Mountains, bordered
by North Carolina and the Tennessee valleys. The park is home to bears,
white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and more than 1,500 species of flowering
plants. The mountains are beautiful in all seasons, but perhaps the best time
to see them is in October when they are showered in color. Pay your respects to the King Elvis Presley's beloved Memphis home,
Graceland (www.elvis.com/graceland), is a Mecca to the
pilgrims of rock 'n' roll. The impressive Trophy Room effectively documents his
impact on the music industry as a singer and entertainer.
The Delta
Journey on The Delta, an
indoor, quarter-mile river, complete with four 25-passenger flatboats featured
inside Nashville's award-winning Opryland Hotel and Convention Center.
REFERENCE
SITES:
I think, being from east Tennessee, you're kinda born with a
little lonesome in your soul, in your blood. You know you've got that
Appalachian soul.
Ashley Monroe
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