Since we had extra mileage yesterday to get to Conway, today would be a shorter mileage day. That would get us to Nashville early with time to visit the Belmont Mansion.
We came out to a very frosty car this morning on all windows. Despite being 37 degrees, the car was in shade and needed the sun on it a few minutes to defrost. By the time Rob dug the scraper out of the trunk from underneath all of our bags, it had melted. We were on the road at 8:10am.
Approaching Little Rock, traffic wasn't too busy for morning rush hour. We took a break at 10am for a fuel top off west of West Memphis.
It was obvious there had been a lot of rain or snowmelt. The farm fields were more saturated and flooded than when we passed by on our westbound trip. The roads were very dirty and likely treated overnight. That meant the Mazda would be filthy by end of day and Rob would have to find another touchless carwash.
We crossed into TN at 10:30am. At 11:45am we stopped for lunch in Jackson, TN at the Chicken Salad Chick that Michele scoped out yesterday. It was very bright and clean inside, and busy with grandmothers already eating lunch. That's a sign of a good restaurant!
We ordered the BBQ cheddar chicken salad croissant with pasta salad, a pickle and cookies. It's an interesting flavor combo and it was delicious. We googled locations and there are 270 across the US, two are in NOVA--near Fairfax hospital and in Falls Church. Yum!
After lunch, we continued east towards Nashville and arrived at the Belmont Mansion at 2:30pm. The mansion is on the campus of Belmont University, although the mansion came first and the university was built around it. It was the largest home in Tennessee built before the Civil War at 10,900 square feet with 36 rooms in the Italian villa style.
Both enslaved Black people and white contractors built it from 1850 into the 1860s for wealthy socialite and philanthropist Adelicia Hayes and her second husband. Her family was displaced by the Union Army during the Civil War's Battle of Nashville in December 1864. Belmont was the scene for many preparations for this battle. Some of the rooms are recreated to show the Union Army's presence. Michele spotted a beautiful vase hiding behind old socks drying in front of the fireplace.
After Adelicia's death in 1887 and over the years into the 1900s the house became a college for women. Renovations began in 1976 to turn it into a museum to restore as much of its original history when Adelicia lived there.
Other bedrooms upstairs.
This unique staircase leads up to a cupola that the Union army used during the battle preparations. The home's placement on the highest hilltop afforded them an excellent view of Nashville and the surrounding area.
So much for looking elegant on the elegant staircase. After our visit we headed towards the hotel and got the car washed. Our mileage today was 387 miles and we arrived at the hotel at 4:50pm. It was 62 degrees in Nashville. We are staying at the Element by Westin/Mariott, a new hotel brand we haven't tried before. It's by Nashville Airport so we may or may not have a restful sleep!
Dinner was across the street at Darfons Restaurant. It was lively, slightly upscale and delicious. We shared roasted chicken with asparagus, corn grits, marinated tomatoes, a salad and bourbon pecan pie with ice cream.
We changed tomorrow's original itinerary since The Hermitage, where Rob wanted to tour in the morning, is closed for visitors only on that day in all of February, of all days. We had intended a shorter drive day tomorrow to Knoxville after touring Andrew Jackson's home. Instead, we cancelled our Knoxville stay and will drive a full day to Lexington, VA to stay overnight. Driving home all in one day would take 12 hours including stops and lunch (13 hours if you include the time-zone change), so we opted to not push ourselves.
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