I am currently on temp assignment in Wisconsin. 

 Open or copy and paste this link:
http://hellofromwisconsin.blogspot.com/

The Belle Meade Plantation

I visited the Belle Meade Plantation today.  What a beautiful place.  Margaret, our tour guide was AWESOME!  The history of this place is captivating.

Imagine that the Kentucky Derby was almost the Tennessee Derby.  Due to circumstances the owners were forced to sell their horses and most were bought and moved to Kentucky. Bonnie Scotland from this estate is an ancestor to the last 8 Kentucky Derby winners, remember this when making your bets next May.

http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/BonnieScotland.html

http://www.bellemeadeplantation.com/

Centennial Park & the Parthenon

Located on West End and 25th Avenue North, Nashville TN.

The park is beautiful. From the duck pond to the train and airplane, there is so much to see.  There is also a child's playground.

The birds and squirrels almost seem tame.

The Parthenon is a must see for anyone visiting Nashville.  The building itself is amazing.  The art inside changes as exhibits are rotated. Athena is always there to welcome you on the upper level.  I have been a couple of times and the size of the statue never ceases to amaze me.

Breaking Bread

119 Front Street, Smyrna, TN

A tiny cafe on the circle on Front Street.  Home style southern cooking.  

I was not impressed. The food was just ok and I was disappointed in the menu.


I had the meatloaf if you can call it that. There didn't seem to be anything other than meat in the loaf. It was swimming in a tomato vegetable sauce that was pretty good on it's own. 


When I think of Chicken and Dressing, I don't think of a goo of shredded chicken mixed with a runny dressing mixture. 


I did like that they peeled their potatoes as I do not like the skins in my mashed potatoes.

Papa's Hot Sauce

2910 Old Fort Parkway, Murfreesboro, TN

Who would have thought there would be an entire store devoted to Hot Sauce?  Papa's Hot Sauce is just that plus they have a small cafe inside the store.  There are only a few tables as I imagine most people get theirs to go.

The pulled pork was almost as good as my nephew's, but maybe I am biased when it comes to pulled pork. Their potato salad is different than any I have ever encountered. It has a spicey sauce. The slaw seemed to be just cabbage and dressing but very tasty. I loved the cornbread, (it is hard to find in a restaurant). Theirs is cooked in a loaf pan and is the real deal.

If you are looking for an new sauce or an interesting gift, this is the place to go.

M & V Soul Food

 281 North Lowry St Smyrna.

A quaint little place in the K-Mart Plaza.

The red beans and rice was awesome. The slaw was OK. The corn muffin with jalapenos and corn was interesting. I also ordered fries, they were over cooked.(The lady at the counter said they had experimented with the fries and this was how most of their customers liked them.)

Sis had white beans that were too salty. 

They gave us a free sample of fried pickles and banana pudding. I am not a fan of the pickles but the pudding was good. 

 If I go back I will just have the red beans and rice with the muffin. 

Buffalo Wild Wings

430 Sam Ridley Pkwy W, Smyrna, TN, Smyrna TN. 

Not impressed will not go back. I ordered the platter. The wings were breaded and soaked in sauce making the breading soggy. The wings were also over cooked. The nachos and cheese sticks were cold when they arrived. The only good item on my sampler platter was the onion rings.

Blue Heron Cruises

 

I took my son, DIL and grandson on one of Captain Jim's cruises.  Captain Jim is a character and made the trip lots of fun. We took the cruise on the last week of October 2011.  I expected to see more wildlife.  The fall color was beautiful and didn't disappoint. 

I would recommend taking a cruise with Captain Jim and Blue Heron Cruises. The price was unbelievably inexpensive for a 2 hour cruise on the Cumberland River.

http://www.blueheroncruises.com/Home.html