Nashville and the Natchez Trace Parkway

Today being my birthday, Noelle and I drove down to Nashville for a weekend of fun and adventure. We drove down here last night in a steady rain and checked into our hotel, a Comfort Inn, by around 9 o'clock. It doesn't hurt that we've driven into Central Time Zone which gave us an "extra hour"! This morning we headed into downtown Nashville to Centennial Park

and the Parthenon of Nashville.

We enjoyed a brisk stroll around the park before touring the Parthenon.

While the Parthenon, a replica of the one in Greece, is interesting looking, the museum was not all that spectacular. Still, I felt our visit was worthwhile. After the Parthenon we headed into the Hillsborough Village neighborhood where we got some lunch at Boscos Brewery. The food was good and my IPA was delicious.

After we had eaten at the brewery we headed southwest to the Natchez Trace Parkway.

It was a really beautiful

and relaxing drive. Traffic was nearly non-existent, which made for a really peaceful drive. Along the way we stopped several times to get out and go for a stroll. Among the highlights of our walks was a visit to Jackson Falls,

a really interesting and unexpected waterfall. We drove as far south as "The Tobacco Farm",

then headed north along a section of the Original Trace, before making our way back to Nashville. At the northern end of the trace is a well-known restaurant called the "Loveless Cafe."

The southern cooking there was really good. In fact, the biscuits are the best I've ever had. I enjoyed the Pork Barbeque while Noelle had the fried catfish. We both think that some day it would be fun to drive or bicycle the entire length of the Trace to Natchez, Mississippi.