A few years ago, Myles and I went on a two-week road trip which took us to unexpected places. We were heading to Nashville, Tennessee and decided we would take our time returning home to Pennsylvania.
Our route took us to places we did not expect to visit when we left our home.
Our Route
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Clermont, Kentucky
- Strasburg, Virginia
- Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Nashville, Tennessee
We decided to stop in Knoxville, Tennessee for a night mainly because the drive to Nashville was twelve hours. That’s a long time to sit in a car. Knoxville was ten hours so we were definitely ready to stretch our legs.
We spent a full day exploring downtown Knoxville.
Here is a list of things we did:
World’s Fair Park is in the heart of Knoxville, Tennessee. It is within walking distance to Market Square and has nice walking paths, a children’s park, the Sunsphere, and the East Tennessee Veteran’s Memorial.
The park hosts a variety of events throughout the year. Here is a link to their 2020 event calendar.
The Sunsphere is a 266-foot tower that was built for the 1982 World’s Fair. This tower and the Tennessee Amphitheater, also located in World’s Fair Park, are the only two remaining pieces of the World’s Fair. The Sunsphere observation deck gives a 360-degree view of World’s Fair Park and the surrounding Knoxville area.
The East Tennessee Veterans Memorial honors military service members who have lost their lives during conflicts since World War I. It is a beautiful and peaceful memorial.
While in Market Square we visited a few shops, had lunch and the best Bloody Mary’s at Emilia Italian Eatery. I definitely recommend this restaurant. We only had a few snacks, and I don’t remember what we ate, but I do remember the food was delicious.
After enjoying downtown Knoxville, we headed to our original destination of Nashville. We spent six days and seven nights exploring the city and a lot of what it has to offer.
Nicknamed Music City for obvious reasons, Nashville, Tennessee is a great city to visit. You will need a few days to explore.
Downtown Nashville is probably the most popular place to visit. Main Street, or Music Row as it’s known, has several honky-tonks, restaurants, and shops.
MUST SEE PLACES ON MUSIC ROW
Like any other town, there are always new bars and restaurants replacing old ones on Main Street. These lists are from our visit in 2016.
Other Must See Places in and Around Nashville
- Printer’s Alley
- Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar
- The Bluebird Cafe
- Ryman Theater
- Bridgestone Arena
- Grand Ole Opry
- Willie Nelson Museum
- Dukes of Hazard Museum
- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Attractions We Didn’t Get to Visit
- Parthenon
- Fort Nashborough
- Fort Negley
- The Hermitage
- Belle Meade Plantation
- Belmont Mansion
- International Bluegrass Museum
Kentucky
After our stay in Nashville, we decided to drive to Clermont, Kentucky for a visit to the Jim Beam Distillery.
While searching our route home from Nashville, I found the Lost River Cave in Bowling Green, KY. This is only an hour northeast of Nashville.
Bowling Green, Kentucky
This tour is like nothing we’ve ever done before. I was a little leery to enter a cave because I am claustrophobic but I had to see what this cave was all about.
As we entered the cave through this bright tunnel, I felt nervous and excited at the same time.
We were led along paths through the cave, which to our surprise was very wide open. My claustrophobia was not an issue at all.
The tour took us deep into the earth to a river. Yes a river, far underground, in this cave. We then got on a boat for a short ride around the river, which surprisingly had fish in it.
Clermont, Kentucky
After our tour of the cave, we drove an hour and a half to Clermont, Kentucky.
Myles and I took the tour of the Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, KY. This tour of the American Stillhouse was very interesting. We learned how the famous bourbon is made and got to taste a few samples. I’m not a bourbon drinker, but I didn’t mind the honey flavored sample.
One of the activities during our tour was to wash a bottle, fill it with bourbon, and press your thumbprint into the wax seal. Myles was like a little kid in a candy store during this. The bottle was etched with his name and of course we purchased it.
During the tour you walk through a room with old bourbon decanters. Some of them were really interesting to see.
Another room has a wall covered with tiny photos of Mr. Jim Beam and the distillery. When you take a photo with your phone camera, you see the “full” photo of Jim Beam’s head shot.
There is a cost for the tour, so check the website for current prices and hours of operation.
Strasburg, Virginia
Leaving Kentucky and heading to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania we decided to stop in Virginia to but a “true” Virginia Baked Ham for Easter dinner.
I’m not sure what we were thinking at the time, but we stopped for gas and right there in the gas station was a Virginia Baked Ham. Yes, we bought it.
I know…What were we thinking!!! Buying a piece of meat from a gas station probably was not the best idea, but we did.
This ham was cure with salt. A LOT of salt.
Myles always cooks our holiday meals, and they are always delicious. So he did his thing Easter day for our families Easter dinner.
It came time to eat. We all, all 26 of us, fixed our plates with ham, potatoes, vegetables, dinner rolls, all the fixings for a beautiful Easter dinner.
One person made a comment about how salty the ham was, then another, and another, and another, and so on…
Needless to say we could not eat the ham. In hindsight, we were suppose to rinse and soak the ham overnight to remove the salt.
Lesson learned…ALWAYS read directions. It doesn’t matter how many times you cook something, ALWAYS read the directions.
This made for a funny family memory that we talk about now and then.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
I’ve lived in Pennsylvania most of my life and love it here. There is so much history behind my home state. Gettysburg is a place that I’ve wanted to visit for a long time, so deciding to go to here during this road trip was exciting for me.
I’ve said in a couple of previous posts that I am not much of a history fanatic, but the more places we visit, the more interesting history becomes to me. I find it amazing how it all connects together in the history of our country.
It took us about eleven hours to drive from Kentucky to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania including stops for fuel and food.
We started the next day at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center where we purchased tickets for the narrated bus tour of the Gettysburg Battlefields and areas of the town that were affected by the battle.
Our bus tour guide made this tour very interesting and added some humor along the way. We were so interested that it encouraged us to purchase the CD set for a self-guided auto tour.
This set included 2 CD’s to play in your cars stereo system, a map of the battlefield, and a fact sheet. It narrates the Battle of Gettysburg as it gives you points of interest to stop and walk around. You can also purchase a downloadable mp3 audio file.
This auto tour was amazing! If you close your eyes and listen to the sounds and description of the events going on, it gives you the feeling of being present during the actual battle.
Even though there were a lot of people at the focal points of the tour, it was very quiet and somber. Hearing soldiers yelling and moaning in pain from their wounds really connects you to the battle field you are looking at.
Unfortunately all of my photos of Gettysburg have been lost.
This is an experience you can’t understand until you take the tour yourself, which I highly recommend.
You can find information about this tour here.
Travel Costs
I wanted to include the cost for this two week road trip, but since it was a few years ago, those prices would not be accurate today.
To give you an idea of the cost, here is a list of expenses that we incurred during the trip:
- Tolls
- Fuel
- Hotels
- Food
- Excusions/Activites
Have you taken the battlefield tour? Let me know what you thought by commenting below. I would do it again given the chance.