From time to time you just have to throw out the rules and jump in with both feet. While we were visiting with Bob and Linda in Savannah, Bob talked about a hotel in Charlestown called The French Quarter Inn. Well, while we were waiting for our tour to start at the Owens-Thomas House. I called them up to see and made a reservation for Monday and Tuesday Evenings. Didn’t know ANYTHING about the place just took a leap of faith and booked it.
The French Quarter Inn entrance
The French Quarter of Charleston is a section of downtown and is basically within the original “walled” city. The area began being called the French Quarter in 1973 when preservation efforts began for warehouse buildings on the Lodge Alley block. The name recognized the high concentration of French Merchants in the area’s history.
The stairs lead from the Valet to the main lobby.Lobby of the hotel
At the French Quarter Inn, old world charm meets Charleston’s authentic southern hospitality with extensive daily amenities in a comfortably upscale setting. The Inn is located in the city’s Historic District just steps away from the bustling City Market and the city’s top dining, shopping and cultural destinations.
The patio was open all the time and we had breakfast here. Lovely, no noise and private.
Having undergone a design refresh in 2016, the 50-room property features turn-of-the-century inspired elements invoking a European flare while remaining true to the property’s southern roots. The lobby features elegant design touches, including hand-crafted iron work and a majestic skylight.
Our room!
Our room, on the first floor, had two queen beds a large bathroom with both a tub and a separate shower and windows overlooking Market Street. When we checked in we did have some sparkling wine (they call it Champagne but it doesn’t come from the Region so it’s really sparkling wine) and got cleaned up prior to going to dinner at SNOB (Slightly North of Broad)
The restaurant sign SNOB – quite a story, too long for here, about the name.
where we had a lovely dinner!
Janeen trying to figure out what to have – twice as hard here.Squash Blossom – Stuffed with cheese and herbs.Trigger fish – this was fantastic.Duck Breast – purple cauliflower ginger custard, spring pea & peanut gremolata, honey thyme reductionDavid enjoying his Trigger Fish.
Having so much fun, even before getting to bed for the first night, I booked a third night! Sometimes you just have to splurge and enjoy things and it seemed about the right time to do this as we start our trek north!
The following day we headed into Savannah to catch the Hop on Hop Off Trolley. Our Trolley
The Savannah Hop On Hop Off Trolley
tour took us past a bunch of 17th, 18th and 19th century historic buildings, around the 24 squares usually with statues in the center
The Confederate Soldier – 1879.John Wesley – Founder of the United Methodist Church
and along the river.
Florence Martus, also know as the “the Waving Girl”, took it upon herself to be the unofficial greeter of all ships that entered and left the Port between 1887 and 1931.
As Savannah was spared by Sherman’s destructive March to the Sea, there are a number of buildings that date back to the early 1800’s.
The Green-Meldrim House built in 1850’s
Savannah has had an active seaport for years what with the cotton trade and all the other items coming and going along the river.
The Savannah Harbor Range Light – a 25 foot cast-iron ornamental shaft, resembling a street light, was the rear light to help ships navigating past obstructions in the water.
It currently is the third most active container-shipping center on the East Coast.
One of the oldest places in town is The Pirates’ House.
Pirate House
It has been a restaurant and tavern since 1753. A portion of the structure was built in 1734, making it the oldest standing building in the state of Georgia. At one point, it was rumored to have a tunnel from the basement to the river where those who drank too much were shanghaied into becoming sailors.
At stop number 8, on the Tour, Janeen decided we would hop off and tour the Owens-Thomas House.
Owens-Thomas House
Built in 1819 its original owners had some financial issues and it was purchased by George Welshman Owens in 1830 and occupied by the family for many years.
The garden was originally a work yard.Janeen in the garden
Restored and now maintained by Telfair Museum it is a wonderful example of period architecture and furnishings, including the slave quarters.
Upstairs of the Slave QuartersParlor on the first floor.Lady’s ParolorMaster bedroomStairway going to the upper level of the house.Here we are at the stairs in the House.This was the informal dining room.Formal dining room
After the tour of the house, we headed to Leopold’s Ice Cream but the line was out the door and down the street, so we passed. Back on the trolley, we finished the circle tour and headed to dinner with Bob and Linda at B Mathew’s Eatery.
After leaving Nashville, we spent a couple of days just relaxing and doing basically NOTHING but catching our breath. Once we were back to full strength, we drove to Savannah to meet up with Bob and Linda Reeves.
Bob and Linda – nice to reconnect after all these years.
Bob was my boss when I worked at Leigh University some 40 years ago. We had not been in contact with him really since that time but as part of our road trip last June when we reconnected with Myrt, who also worked at Leigh, I reached out and he invited us for a visit. We arrived at their place on Skidaway Island on Thursday afternoon.
They live in a private, residential community with several golf and country clubs called The Landings on Skidaway Island. There home,
Bob and Linda’s home on Skidaway Island. Just a little place on the lagoon.
a small place of about 4,800 square feet (I upsized when I retired Bob said) right on a lagoon was wonderful to call home for a few days.
The large screened porch on the back of the house and the lagoon where alligator’s live!
Skidaway Island is just south of the main part of Savannah by about 10 miles and virtually the entire island is made up of this private community. With walking and biking trails, several different golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools and all the usual stuff it seems like a really nice place to live.
One of dozens of model airplanes Bob has made – this is a SpitfireHere’s a Bf 109E – flown by Adolph Galland.
After getting settled in, and some laundry started, Bob took us on a driving tour of Savannah to give us a quick overview of the City.
The southern Oaks interlocking over the rod with Spanish Moss. Lovely.Spanish moss in abundance!
It was a great way to get a little orientation prior to our venturing out on our own the following day.
Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia having been established in 1733 along the Savannah River. General James Oglethorpe and settlers from the ship Anne established the settlement with the help of Tomochichi, a Yamacraw Native American, who befriended them early on their arrival.
During the Civil War local authorities negotiated a peaceful surrender to General Sherman, thus saving Savannah from destruction. The City has diverse neighborhoods with more than 100 distinct areas. There are 24 different squares in the city many with statues of significant people from the past.
Sunday – Mothers Day – a trip to an old Southern Plantation seemed like the thing to do. In 1807, Virginian John Harding bought
This is the original log building dating from 1807.Split rail fencing and the old log house.
Dunham’s Station log cabin and 250 acres on the Natchez Trace – the main road through Nashville. Harding did sufficient business to build the first of two mansions on the property.
Front of the Mansion.
The plantation, that he named “Belle Meade,” French for beautiful meadow, and known as the “Queen of Southern Plantations”, was not used for farming, but rather various service enterprises such as a blacksmith shop, cotton gin, and a grist and saw mill. By 1816, Harding was boarding horses for neighbors such as Andrew Jackson and breeding thoroughbreds for the plantation which became renowned throughout the world. William Giles Harding inherited Belle Meade Plantation in 1839 and enlarged the mansion and the estate into a 5,400-acre plantation with
Slave quarters – there over 100 slaves prior to the civil war.
136 enslaved people. Racing and breeding operations came to a halt in the South with the onset of the Civil War but the plantation was able to survive during the war.
After the Civil War, Harding resumed his successful horse operations, though as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 there was a reduced workforce. Of the 136 slaves living on the plantation prior to the war, only 72 workers chose to take employment with William Harding, though most lived off the property.
The front of the smoke houseInside of the smoke house
In 1868, his daughter Selene Harding married Confederate States Army General Williams Hicks Jackson on the one condition that the couple stay at Belle Meade following their marriage.
One of the upstairs rooms just showing how work might have been done.Room cleaningThe upstairs ‘guest’ bedroom – note the cat on the foot of the bed.
Selene managed the household affairs and Jackson co-managed the farm with his father in law. In 1875,
Pride of place – the horse painting on the wall.
Harding and Jackson decided to focus exclusively on breeding, turning the plantation into an internationally renowned Thoroughbred farm and showplace.
Front sitting room.This was the Gentleman’s Room.Front lobby entrance and stairs to the second floor.Front parlor
Belle Meade had many successful studs, including Bonnie Scotland and Enquirer, whose bloodlines still dominate modern racing. Jackson brought Belle Meade international fame by purchasing Iroquois in 1886 to stand at stud, becoming the leading sire of 1892. In 1881, Iroquois had been the first American-bred Thoroughbred race horse to win the prestigious Epsom Derby in England..
Janeen, my lovely wife, at the green houseThe Green House and garden shed.This was the doll house for the children to play in just adjacent to the Mansion.The dairy on the property.
Following William Jackson’s death in 1903, and that of his son later the same year, it was decided to sell the plantation as a result of years of adverse financial conditions. A business syndicate called The Belle Meade Land Company purchased the plantation and developed the residential neighborhood of Belle Meade.
Inside the Carriage houseJaneen ready to get in and take a ride.
The mansion had a series of successive owners, and remained a private residence until 1953, when the State of Tennessee purchased the mansion and eight outbuildings on 30 acres. The state in turn deeded the property to the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities.
We toured the Mansion, Smoke House, Carriage House and other building on the property. There is also a winery making wine from local grapes as well as from juice shipped in from California and Washington.
Beverage Time!
An aura of Victorian elegance and family business of a plantation has been preserved by the APTA and a “catalog” of Tennessee thoroughbreds adorns the mansion walls to this day. Southern magnolias adorn the grounds and southern hospitality is preserved as surely as the gold tempered red panes of glass over the entrance to Belle Meade.
Saturday we decided to go to the Ryman Auditorium and then to the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum. Two different events in one day! Fortunately they were only a few blocks apart and while the Ryman is filled with history, it wouldn’t take long to tour. Arriving for our self guided tour shortly after it opened, it is clear this is a special place. As a result of a tent revival experience, Thomas G. Ryman, captain of several riverboats and a well to do man in Nashville, decided to build a permanent structure for the Union Gospel Tabernacle.
A painting of what it might have looked like when it was just completed.
This was to be places were all people could gather and worship – along with be entertained. Upon his death in 1904 it was renamed the Ryman Auditorium. Over the next 20 years or so, the Auditorium limped along until Lala C. Naff took the help and started booking various acts.
Displays of some of the performers who have been on the stage of the Ryman.
It wasn’t very long before she had made a repetition of bring quality entertainment to the Nashville community. In June of 1943, the radio show The Grande Ole Opry moved in to do it’s weekly broadcast both providing a steady income stream and making the Ryman a household name across the country.
When you walk through the doors of the historic Ryman Auditorium, one thing becomes clear right away: this isn’t just another nightly music venue, and it’s so much more than a daytime tourist stop. This place is hallowed ground. This is the exact spot where bluegrass was born,
This is really the official birth place of Bluegrass music.
where Johnny Cash met June Carter, where souls were saved and a slice of history was nearly lost. It was right here that country music found an audience beyond its own back porch, and countless careers took off as deals were signed on napkins and paper scraps backstage.
The upper level – the entire place holds something like 2,900 people.All the seats are really church pews – don’t think the hard wood would be comfy after a while.Here we are on the upper level of the auditorium
Showing it’s age,
Janeen with a statue of Minni PearlDisplays on the upper level held items from some of the performers at the place.
it was closed and the Grand Ole Opry House was opened across town and the doors closed. It was saved from the wrecking ball and restored 2012 and brought back into prominence with performances again.
After the Ryman, we walked the several blocks to The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Entrance sign on the outside of the building.Here we are at the entrance to the Museum
Chartered in 1964, the museum has amassed one of the world’s most extensive musical collections. As the collection continued to grow, a new building was opened in 2001 to house the collection and make it more accessible to the public. In the museum’s core exhibition, Sing Me Back Home: A Journey Through Country Music, we were immersed in the history and sounds of country music, its origins and traditions, and the stories and voices of many of its architects. The story is revealed through artifacts, photographs, and text panels, recorded sound, vintage video, and interactive touchscreens.
Just as we got off the elevator, on the 3rd floor, was an entire section dedicated to Loretta Lynn.
Loretta Lynn had an entire area dedicated to her life.
Starting from her early Kentucky years through a west coast pathway to stardom, it was a huge collection of things – dresses, sheet music, notes, photographs, musical instruments – lots and lots of stuff. It was an interesting introduction to the life of one of Countries’ most memorable performers.
The wall on the left had posters and posters and posters – the display areas on the right were part of the historical collection.
From there we wondered around learning more about Country Music then you could ever want! Displays of the early pioneers of the music to modern day were represented. Many with displays of special clothing designed by Nudie Cohn plus the
Front of Webb Pierce car.Inside of the car – silver dollars on the saddle in the middle.
1962 Pontiac Bonneville convertible that he customized for Webb Pierce. Elvis Presley’s 1960 Solid Gold” Cadillac limousine was also on display. With hundreds of historic musical instruments, including Maybelle Carter’s Gibson L-5, Earl Scrugge’s banjo, Bob Wills’s fiddle and Bill Monroe’s mandolin
bill Monroe’s Gibson F-5 on display
there were things everywhere.
Gram Parsons’ legendary Nudie suit, on display at the Country Music Hall of FameA close up of the front of the Nudie SuitLots of interesting guitars where on displayPairing of cloths and instruments for a number of people were on display.All of the inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame have a plaque in this room.Another display of folksA display of some of the early country music performers.
The audio tour was well worth the extra cost and we spent the better part of 3 hours touring the building. It was well worth the time and effort to visit.
