Date Night in Franklin, TN

Downtown Franklin at night

The conference took up not only a lot of Bob's days, but it would include some early mornings (breakfast) and evenings. We took advantage of the time to have some date nights while we were there. Of course, the entire week was a date for us! 

I didn't do a lot on this day. I headed back into Franklin and wondered a tiny bit. I did find a rather large mall. About 10 steps through the door, I was stopped by a very good saleswoman at a kiosk. She tried hard to sell me on some skin care products from Israel. I was able to finally extract myself and just enjoyed walking around and window shopping. I didn't plan to buy a lot on this trip because we had to get it home somehow. Our checked bag had been slightly overweight when we came down so we needed to keep that in mind.

We went out to dinner at Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant in downtown Franklin. Great southern food. And since this is Tennessee and we were close to Nashville, they have live music often at night. We enjoyed listening to Camille Rae during our dinner. She was amazing. As in as good as anything I've ever heard on the radio. 

Low light meant Bob needed a little help to read the menu. 

Downtown Franklin

The circle on the edge of downtown. 

Franklin is a suburb of Nashville. In fact, I realized while planning for this trip that oftentimes people will say Nashville but really mean a suburb of it. We were told the conference was being held in Nashville. It was actually in Franklin. 

The city of Franklin is large, well, compared to where I live in Maine. Franklin has a population between sixty and seventy thousand people. My town? It has between four and five thousand. However, Franklin has done well in preserving its downtown area. I headed there on Monday morning to wander around. 

These trees were fascinating. 

Finally figured out they are magnolia's about halfway through the week. 

Loved the name of the store. I refrained from going in though. 

I love paper goods and knew it would be too much temptation. 

There were historical markers and quaint shops. I wandered in and out and just took in the wonderful spring-like day. After I grabbed some lunch at Chick-Fil-A, I headed out to do some more exploring. We do not have many Chick-Fil-A's in the Northeast. In fact, there is only one in Maine and it's located 2-1/2 hours north of where I live. I am not going to share how often I ate there during the week. It was a lot!

Nearby there is an old factory that has been converted into shopping. The Factory at Franklin. 

Inside the entrance to The Factory.

It was full of neat little shops including a bakery and this guitar store. It was actually closed but I loved the sign on the door!

I spent quite a bit of time wandering a large antique store located there. I always enjoy a good antique shop. I rarely buy anything but the history of the items is enjoyable. 

Ending the day, I did something I have never done before...I went to the movies...alone. I have to say, it was fantastic. I say Hidden Figures and it was absolutely phenomenal. If you haven't seen it, do it! 

While I enjoyed all that Franklin had to offer, my hubby was stuck inside at the conference all day. I'm not sure he minded all that much...

And yes, that is the actual studio and Dave's chair he's sitting in.

The Start of a Historical Week

When we were planning for our trip to Tennessee, we had a couple choices as to when to get there. My hubby's conference started with a welcome at the hotel we would be staying in on Sunday night. Most people fly in that day and hit the ground running. Being the not morning person I am, I petitioned to head out on Saturday instead. That would allow us unrushed travel and allow Bob to get some rest before the start of a busy week for him. Thankfully he agreed. I wasn't looking forward to heading to the airport at o'dark thirty Sunday morning. 

This also allowed us to attend church in the "buckle of the Bible belt." We did a little research and opted to try Brentwood Baptist. It's located in a suburb of Nashville, aptly called Brentwood, and it was located between where we were staying in Franklin and Nashville. It was also what one would call a "mega-church." 

This was their main campus, but they also had five other campuses in nearby areas plus other ministries. They have over six thousand people attend each week. It was amazing to see such a large church. There were about a thousand people in the service we attended. They have four services on Sunday morning. 

We opted to attend the "traditional" service which had a full orchestra playing. They also had a full choir (those chairs behind the orchestra were almost full when they came in) and it was all led by two men and two women leading the songs. It was beautiful, powerful, and overwhelming. The minister was also spot on in his teaching. It was a fantastic way to start our week. 

After church we decided to play tourist. This would be one of the only days Bob would have time to explore Tennessee. Most of his time would be spent doing this...

That's Dave Ramsey up there talking...

After listing out the options, we decided to go check out Andrew Jackson's home - The Hermitage.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous while we were there. It was like a late April - early May day here in Maine. Short sleeves and jeans were quite comfortable. Flowers were beginning to bloom. After all the snow and cold we had left behind, it was balm to our souls.

We waited in line for about an hour to get a tour of inside the house. I always find old homes interesting although I wasn't thrilled with the waiting. 

As part of the admission price, you are given a recording wand that had a wealth of information about the area making it a wonderful self-guided tour. I did use the time I was in line to learn more about the Jackson's and their plantation. 

Unfortunately, like most historical buildings, we couldn't take any photos inside the house itself. Trust me, it was worth the wait...maybe. 

Jackson and his wife, Rachel, are buried here.

The original Hermitage. Quite a bit different isn't it?

Bob and I had a fantastic time exploring the grounds and the out buildings and such. It was a wonderful way to start off our week.  

Traveling on a Jet Plane

In February my hubby and I had the opportunity to go to Tennessee for a week. He would be attending a Dave Ramsey Entreleadership conference for business owners. I was tagging along for the ride. 

We haven't been on a plane since 1999. In that year I flew three times. I had never been on a plane before that and I haven't been on one since. We typically drive everywhere. Needless to say a few things have changed since I first rode a plane. Namely 9/11 which has beefed up security and my need for an insulin pump.

I also had no idea what to pack, how much to pack, what I would need or not need. In other words, we both over-packed by a lot especially since I ended up doing laundry one day while we were gone. It was an adventure that was for sure!

Not only do a wear an insulin pump but I also wear a continuous glucose monitor now. Essentially it will measure my glucose level every five minutes and communicate with my pump. It doesn't negate the need to still stick my finger, but it helps me keep tabs on where my levels are going - up or down. This is essential when traveling because one gets busy and forgets to test or doesn't realize levels are trending up or down. 

All the research I did before I left (and yes, I did a lot) didn't really tell me if I could go through security wearing them. I would find one place that said yes and one that said well, it may be okay but it's up to you. Ack!

We flew out of Portland (Maine that is) and when we arrived for our flight we were pretty much the only people there. There was no line at all for the TSA check. (God's provision #1). I also happened to be TSA Pre-Check (God's provision #2). And there were some amazingly helpful agents who helped allay my fears about the body scanner damaging my (extremely expensive) equipment. (God's provision #3). I skipped the x-ray and did the body scanner. I had to have my hands swabbed for explosive residue after going through to ensure my equipment was legit. I'm thankful my first experience flying in over 20 years was so relatively easy!

We had just had two massive snow storms before we left. It's the most snow we've had in a couple of winters. I took this photo just to show the size of the snowbank (it was taller than me - close to six feet tall). I was looking forward to heading south!

We had a layover each way in New York. 

Our flight from Portland to New York was short - less than an hour. The flight attendants literally had about enough time to serve everyone before we were landing. We flew under the clouds as well. I had the window seat and spent most of the time snapping photos of the land.  

                                         

                                         Ski area

                                                                                      Topography in real life

Our flight from New York to Nashville was above the clouds and about two hours total. We both spent the time reading and relaxing, well as much as you can when you are sitting in the back of the plane near the engine. Overall it wasn't a bad flight. 

Tomorrow I'll share about our adventures, day by day. We packed a lot into our week there. Well, hubby spent most of the time learning. I was able to play tourist and loved every minute of it.

Traveling

This year I have found myself traveling to new places. I've flown on a plane (which I hadn't done since 1999). I took a long road trip with my family to areas of the country we had never seen before. And I included a yearly visit to my aunt and uncle at the ocean. And it's only July. And I haven't shared about any of it. And I'm home this long holiday weekend with lots of free time. Fair warning. Lots of photos, posts, and information heading your way. I can't wait to share about our adventures!

Boston Adventures

A few weeks ago I headed to Massachusetts for the weekend with a friend. We had plans to explore Boston and also go to a used curriculum sale plus IKEA. A fun weekend all the way around!

Years ago I had walked part of the Freedom Trail with another friend of mine. I have been planning to do this with my boys now for a few years but we haven't been able yet. Nicki & I thought it a good idea to walk it together so we could enjoy it without kids wanting to move on faster than we wanted to. It was an absolutely gorgeous day to spend walking around the city.

We were staying with my aunt and uncle in Hull. By car, Hull is about an hour from Boston - depending on traffic. However, they have a commuter ferry that leaves directly from Hull and it only takes 20 minutes to get there by boat. It's also far cheaper than parking in the city for the day.

We headed off following the familiar red brick path to our first destination - Paul Revere's statue and then on to the Old North Church. 

The last time I was here was probably in the late 1990s early 2000s. Like I said, it's been awhile. There is a new memorial garden set up in the courtyard of the Old North Church. These are blank dog tags that represent all the deaths of our soldiers since 9/11.

 Just as I had remembered, the Old North Church is just beautiful in its simplicity. There is just something about churches and graveyards that I find fascinating. And on this day, I was able to indulge my love of both. (Admission is by donation. Suggestion of $3/person.)

When we left the church we headed north by accident. We didn't realize at the time that we were headed the wrong way. Technically not the wrong way, but not the way we intended to go. We soon came to Copp's Hill Burying Ground which is someplace I hadn't been before. As I mentioned earlier. I find graveyards strangely fascinating.

The really cool part about the old graveyards in Boston is the history buried there. We found many stones dating back to the 1700s and some even in from the 1600s. There were many from the Revolutionary War as well as those who were part of the shaping of our country. I just find that extremely fascinating. 

Here is buried in a

Stone grave 10 feet down

Cap. Daniel Malcolm, Merch

Who departed this life

October 23d, 1769

Aged 44 years

a true son of Liberty

a friend to the Publick

an Enemy to oppression

and one of the foremost

in opposing the Revenue Acts

on America

As we continued north after leaving the burying ground and started across the Charlestown Bridge, we realized our mistake in direction and backtracked. While we would have loved to have checked out Bunker Hill and the USS Constitution, the majority of the Trail was south of us so we headed back that way.

This time we stopped at Paul Revere's house and took a look inside (admission is $3.50/person). As my uncle has said before, "He's not home right now." Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take photos inside the house so an outside shot will have to do.

Nicki and I overhead an interesting conversation while we were in the house. There are all kinds of tourists out this day and many made a comment about how wonderful it is to see houses, artifacts, and even graves from the 1600s. There was a woman from Scotland in the Paul Revere house and she said that in Europe they see things much older and how we are so fascinated with things that aren't really that old. It's all about perspective I guess.

We headed to Quincy Market and grabbed some lunch there. I'm not one for crowds but I do enjoy the Quincy Market area. Crazy I know.

After lunch we headed out to see Faneuil Hall since it's right there. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day due to a graduation that was to be held there. As we left to continue on our way there were some street performers dancing so we stopped to watch. They did a lot of jumps and breaking and were fun to watch.

There final act was this...

We headed to the Old State House next. There is a museum inside but we opted not to pay the admission price (Adults $10, children 18 & under are free). We browsed the little gift shop and then headed on our way.

The next stop was the Old South Meeting House. All day long we seemed to hit most spots just before or just after large school groups. This was one of those types of stops. However, we opted again not to go in and look around (Adults $6, children 5-17 $1, under 5 free).

We stopped at the Park Street Church next. This church was just as beautiful as the Old North Church. (Suggested donation of $3/person.)

The Granary Burying Ground was next. This may have been my favorite. Many of those who helped shape our nation were buried here. 

Samuel Adams

Paul Revere

Franklin Family Memorial

Josiah Franklin

and

Abiah his wife

lie here interred.

They lived lovingly together in wedlock

fifty-five years

and without an estate or any gainful employment

by constant labor and honest industry

maintained a large family comfortably

and brought up thirteen children and seven

grandchildren reputably. 

From this instance Reader,

be encouraged to diligence in thy calling

and distrust not providence.

He was a pious and prudent man;

she a discreet and virtuous woman.

Their youngest son,

in filial regard to their memory,

places this stone.

As we continued our walk, we soon found ourselves at the Boston Common. Since we were so close to the Public Garden, we decided to go check out the Swan Boats. We actually had thought about doing a Duck Boat Tour, but we still had a used book sale and IKEA to go to the next day so instead we opted to do the Swan Boats as they were far less expensive. (Adults $3.50, children 2-15 $2, children under 2 are free.)

Baby ducks!

Make Way for Ducklings statues 

On our way back to Long Wharf to head home, we stopped at King's Chapel Buying Ground.  Much smaller than the other two, it's next door to King's Chapel.

Both Nicki and I wear FitBits. By the time we ended up back to the boat we had well over 20K steps. We decided that we would walk back from the boat which was another two miles and change. By the end of the day she had 30K steps and I had 27K steps. It was definitely a long day but worth it. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed a day in Boston.

I'm planning to take my boys back in September and walk it all again. I'm not sure they'll go as far as Nicki & I did, but we'll hit the high points I think.