Life in the olden days

Nashville, TN – Today was a day for high collars and cravats, and hoop skirts and bonnets. Actually, fleeces, gloves, and parkas were more like it to ward off the very chilly temperatures that descended on us overnight.

We had booked a bus tour with Peter, the GrayLine rep, yesterday – remember how thrilled he was to have customers?  Well, last night we had a call to tell us the tour was off, because we were the only ones who’d signed up.  The plan had been to visit the Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson’s estate, and BelleMeade Plantation, as part of a six-and-a-half hour bus tour. Fortunately, we had what we needed to take the tours anyway – on our own.  It was a very worthwhile day.

The Hermitage wasn’t far from the KOA campground, so we went there first.  We were met at the front door of the mansion by Jim, dressed with a collar, cravat, caped black coat and….earmuffs!  Not quite vintage garb, at least from the chin upwards, but essential on a day that hovered around freezing.

The gracious rooms inside gave us a glimpse into the lifestyle of the 7^th US president in the years after his retirement. He was in poor health, we learned, from a bullet that lodged near his heart following a duel when he was 39 and remained there till his death at age 78.  We were amazed at how many things he accomplished throughout his life, especially considering this major challenge.

We strolled along the pathways of the estate, and saw examples of buildings where Jackson’s many slaves lived, plus the garden where the president and his wife are buried.  The Hermitage was a large and busy farm in his day, but now the fields have been replaced by huge expanses of lawn which, in warmer weather, will most likely be beautifully green.

After a quick lunch, we set off for BelleMeade Plantation, to the south and west of the city.  We would never have found it without the GPS, which took us on so many twists, turns, pikes, parkways and interstates that it made our heads spin!

As we waited for our guide to show us through the mansion, we chatted with the only other couple in our little tour group.  They were the Olsons from Olympia, Washington, and they told us they’d come to Nashville to see their two sons perform the song they had composed.  “Sunrise”, by the Olson Bros Band, had won a national songwriting contest, and the boys won $5,000 and a trip to Nashville to perform it and meet with some agents.  They were clearly very proud parents.

Inside the BelleMeade mansion were large rooms with high ceilings, opulently decorated with brocades and crystal chandeliers, carved wooden furniture, ornate ceramic vases, and silver tea services.  We were allowed to walk right into each room (instead of peeking in the doorways, as we did at the Hermitage) and examine the everyday objects of their lives, such as quill pens, leather-bound books and bone china teacups.  It was quite an eyeful, but afterward Val declared he was “plantation-ed out” for the time being!  So we’ll check that off the list for a while.