Wendell Smith Restaurant | Nashville, Tennessee

While in Nashville, Markus and I were determined to get some Southern food. Being in Korea for two years, you start to crave it. The closest is Korean BBQ and while it is delicious it really can't fulfill that craving. For dinner we wanted to eat somewhere inexpensive and well known. I read lots of reviews about Wendell Smith. It's definitley a dive, which I love.We went around 5pm so it was filled to the brim with the elderly there for the early bird special. I think we were the only ones there that didn't have white or gray hair. It was pretty awesome.

All three of us decided to order a "meat and three" which is exactly what it sounds like. We tried to get a wide variety of sides, my cousin Joy even ordering this weird fruit jello concoction.  Before we knew it, our table was filled to the brim with heaps and heaps of food. For the most part, it was good but it wasn't to die for. The fried fish and hush puppies were really tasty, but it's hard to ruin fried food. The fruit jello was exactly what I thought it would be, terrifying. I tasted a little and couldn't continue. It reminded me of hospital food. Everything else was just okay. If I were to go back to Nashville, I probably wouldn't go back and would try another dive. It's definitley worth a try if you're in the area, but it left me wondering if there were other delicious places.

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum | Nashville, Tennessee

I feel like I have to be honest with you, dear readers. I am not a fan of country music. Any time I hear it, I immediately get an uncomfortable feeling and seek any means to stop it.  I know it's a bit harsh, but it's the truth. I don't get annoyed by much, but playing country music is a sure fire way to irritate me. So with that in mind, imagine how I felt when my lovely cousin Joy suggested we go to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Both Markus and I were uninterested, but she really wanted to go. We exhausted every possible option to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't budge. She even went as far as buying our tickets for us, so we had no choice but to go. I feel really lame telling you this story, because in the end, I actually enjoyed the museum.

Despite not liking country music, I'm a huge fan of folk music. I know, it doesn't make sense. In the museum there was a great section dedicated to old folk music. They explained the inception and evolution. It was great stuff. The rest of the museum was less about the music and more about the people that create the music. They even had some of the things that famous people owned. There were so many lovely items such as real blue suede shoes, a golden piano and a custom gun car. Anyway, I'm pretty sure there is a valuable lesson here about not judging things before actually experiencing it. Even though I enjoyed my experience, it still didn't change my mind about country music. I still don't like it. I'll stick to folk music, sorry country fans.

Antique Archaeology | Nashville, Tennessee

When Markus and I were living in Korea, we scoured the internet for interesting television shows. Through the encouragement of our dear friend Brittney, we watched an episode of American Pickers. It's a show about two guys that drive all over the country looking and "picking" for really strange and old items and paraphernalia. After that first episode, we were hooked and watched heaps of episodes. Every time we watched an episode, we dreamed of "picking" and visiting Mike Wolfe's Antique Archaeology in Iowa. We knew were were moving to Chicago and that it wasn't too far to drive.

While were driving around Nashiville, I remembered I read online that Wolfe opened a second store there. Thankfully, my dear cousin Joy was flexible and fit it into her packed itinerary. We had a great time exploring the store. The space was a lot smaller than I thought and it didn't have a lot of "picked" items. It was more geared toward fans of the show and I was a little disappointed. It's okay though, I was happy to be able take the detour and see some strange things.
 

Music Row | Nashville, Tennessee

Back when Markus and I were driving from Tampa to Chicago in September, we made a stop in Nashville. My dear cousin, Joy, was on holiday and she invited us to join her for a couple days. Markus and I visited Nashville for a quick day trip back in 2009. I loved the city then and I still love it. We revisited Music Row and it was still a dynamic and thriving part of the city. I wish we could've spent more time there, but that just means we have to go back!

Wandering Wednesday | Tennessee Road Trip | 2 of 3

On the second part of our Tennessee road trip, we drove to Pigeon Forge and to the Appalachian Mountains. These were the first mountains that I ever saw up close. Also, this was the first time I went hiking and I was very excited. I couldn't have thought of a better place, the Appalachian Mountains are beautiful.

Interesting side note, Markus and I are wearing strange looking neon t-shirts because my students were fundraising for a missions trip to Mexico. The spray painted Mexican themed designs onto t-shirts. At the time, it was all the rage. And now? I still stand behind my decision. I would do anything for my kids and if wearing a shirt while in the Appalachian mountains is a way to support them, I would do it again and again.

We drove up one of the mountain listening to soundtracks and rolled the windows down. Between the five of us, no one said a word. We were in awe of the beauty that surrounded us. We finally made it to the top of the mountain and parked.  We walked on a little trail to the very top. This was the first time I ever walked anywhere that steep and my legs were so confused. They didn't understand what was happening. It was quite an interesting experience.

While exploring, we found the Appalachian Trail and the boys were ecstatic. They managed to convince Victoria and I that we should hike the trail. When we started, it was great. I felt like a real explorer on my first mountain adventure. Then after about 20 minutes, I was done. My legs turned to jello. I was having trouble breathing. It wasn't a good look for me. Despite all that, I'm still really happy that my first mountain hiking experience was on the Appalachian Trail. How sweet is that?

Wandering Wednesday | Tennessee Road Trip | 1 of 3

In the summer of 2009, Markus and I went on a second road trip. At the time, I was teaching middle school and high school students at a private Christian school. This school was very different from other schools. They encouraged the teachers and students to form healthy relationships. Teachers were seen as mentors and role models for the students. I know it sounds a bit strange when you're outside of the situation, but many of my old students still check in and catch up. Some even still ask for advice, so in all honesty I think it was a good thing. 

I explain all of this because in the summer of 2009, Markus and I went on a road trip with some of my students, Trevor, Jordan and Victoria. Victoria's grandmother owned an awesome cabin in Tennessee, so Victoria planned a trip with Trevor and Jordan. Through a strange course of events, Markus and I ended up going with them as well. Which was very fortunate.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

UFO House

We made a lot of great memories on that trip. One of my favorites was when we drove through the night from Florida to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We were all exhausted and tried to sleep in the car on the way. It was impossible. We went straight to Ruby Falls when we arrived in Chattanooga, but we were too early, around 4 am. We didn't check into a hotel over night because we were going straight to the cabin after Ruby Falls. 

So, we decided to camp out in the parking lot and sleep. All five of us tried to get comfortable and finally we all fell asleep. I remember waking up and only seeing four of us in the car, Trevor was missing. I was sitting in the driver's seat and looked in the side view mirror and saw Trevor's feet and legs on the ground. He was lying behind the car. I freaked and immediately jumped out to see what happened. When I finally reached him, I realized that he was just sleeping. We didn't run him over. A few minutes later, a security guard came over and told him he couldn't sleep on the ground in a parking lot. It was quite funny and we all couldn't stop laughing.

Another place we visited was Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee. I've always wanted to go to a plantation and added bonus, this one was supposedly haunted. The area around the plantation was the site of one of the bloodiest battles during the Civil War, The Battle of Franklin. The battle only lasted for five hours, but resulted in about 9,500 dead, wounded or missing soldiers. The actual plantation served as a hospital for the wounded and dying. When we toured the place we could still see blood stains in the floorboards. It was definitely eerie, but also very interesting learning about our history. 

The first part of our trip was a lot of fun. We stopped at random places we saw on the road. It was very reminiscent of our Florida road trip we took earlier in the year. We basically did whatever caught our eye. We were watching a lot of Supernatural then, so it was basically like were hunters on a weeklong hunt. We stopped at creepy caves in mountains, walked through deserted forests and visited haunted houses. It was great.  Though we never saw any ghosts, you bet your bottom if we did, we had gasoline and salt on hand.