Sorry about the mix-up with the blog posts today! And of course I couldn’t fix it because I can’t get my phone to do the admin stuff here on WordPress. But better late than never, right? I do hope y’all enjoy my little treat below!
I went on a little writing retreat last week near Nashville, TN (more on that in next week’s post). While I was there, I took a little side trip. I’d always wanted to visit Belle Meade Plantation, which is an historic plantation that reached its peak in the horse racing industry. As I learned when I was there, all the thoroughbreds who have run (and won) major races over the last ten years or so can be directly linked to the bloodlines of this farm. How cool! I love this type of thing, especially houses, so the trip was extra fun!
My pictures aren’t nearly as good as the ones on the website, but here’s a bit of what I saw on this cool, windy spring day:
The tour of the house lasted about an hour. What was really interesting was that our tour guides (yes, more than one!) all dressed in period clothing. Each set of rooms had it’s own tour guide–all of whom were super knowledgeable and personable. I truly enjoyed listening to their stories about both the house itself and the Harding-Jackson families.
There were quite a few carriages and sleighs on display in the stable house, with descriptions of how they were driven and what their purposes were.
Touring the grounds allowed me to learn about the dairy business (they were one of the major suppliers of butter and milk to Nashville), one of the original slave cabins, and the mausoleum. The Jubilee project on the grounds chronicles the lives of the 130 slaves who worked the land, and almost half of them that stayed as paid servants after the Civil War.
The grounds had some of the largest magnolia trees I’d ever seen. Considering all the storms we have around here, I’m amazed none of the ones still standing have been split. I bet they are gorgeous in full bloom.
I also enjoyed the complimentary wine tasting. Though I’m not much of a wine person, they had a couple that I enjoyed, including a blackberry wine that was deliciously sweet. While I enjoyed the tour itself, I almost enjoyed my drive over there more. Because of where my hotel was situated, Google Maps took me through some back roads and quiet neighborhoods to get to my destination. The houses along the way were So Awesome! Both old and new houses were all unusual and fancy. Gorgeous architecture that created scenery all on its own. I just regretted that I had no one to drive so I could take pictures. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed my little trip as much as I like sharing it with you. Have you visited any historic homes? Places you particularly enjoyed? I’d love to hear about them!
Dani
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