A couple of friends joined me for a long weekend in Tennessee.
Our initial goal was the Blooming Arts Festival in Linden, TN which opened on Friday. We rented a lovely cabin outside Linden, and used it as our hub to visit several spots in Tennessee. The festival opened to cloudy and cold weather, so several vendors were not there when we visited.
There were a lot of booths but we didn’t find a lot to interest us in purchases. It was a small town and we enjoyed getting a chance to visit. From there we went on to Columbia, TN with a quaint downtown.
It was the home to James Polk, our 11th president. We saw the home and visited a number of art galleries and antique shops. Our final stop on Friday was Amber Falls Winery.
We sampled some excellent wines and bought a few to bring home.
On Saturday, we branched out to Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee which is a lovely little town on the outskirts of Franklin, which is a bedroom community of Nashville. There were quite a few art galleries and local flavor shops. Then we went to Franklin, where we visited a converted factory called The Factory which was full of shops and eateries. From there we meandered through some lovely shops along the main square.
We then went to one of the largest local nurseries I have been to. Hewlett’s had so many wonderful plants to look at.
Of course, I had to bring a few home. I also found some wonderful art and treasures to bring home from both days. Our last stop on Saturday was another winery; Arrington winery was huge with a large sloping front lawn littered with picnic tables and hundreds of people out to enjoy the sunshine and the wine.
They had things down to a science. Again, we sampled some really fine wines, but the wind was whipping, and our cups were ready to blow away.
After three nights of fun and games in the cabin, we loaded up and stopped in to visit some new friends in Jackson, TN. for the most amazing brunch. We popped in to see the Jackson Research Station on the way home.
Jason Reeves and his crew do some wonderful things. We saw some interesting plants, but even more interesting yard art. I think I will plan a trip there in July to see their summer festival!
Then it was smooth sailing home, where I unpacked and got to ooh and aah over all the treasures I found! It is good to be traveling again.