On the Way to Nashville

We spent almost a week in Montgomery, a city I've been coming to for 44 years. We had a great time with the family. Highlights include a double-header Montgomery Biscuits AA baseball game from a sky box (the only way to watch a game). followed by an outstanding fireworks show, great meals, the American wedding reception for our nephew, and of course spending time with not only our daughter, Nikki, and future son-in-law, Cory, but also all the rest of the family.

"The Help"
click on photo to enlarge

For all of you who ever watched the movie, "The Help", you know one of the main themes in the movie is toilets, and that all self-respecting Southern families that had (as they were called at the time) colored maids. And while these maids were employed by their genteel families, they had to use a bathroom just for them.

When I came to Montgomery the first time, I "found" that bathroom and decided it was the most convenient one and also offered the most privacy (a prime concern of mine). So I used it all of the time. The first time I was "caught" using that toilet, the family looked at me funny and said that that was the "maid's bathroom". "So?" I replied. They tried to explain it to me, but it just failed to sink in. To this day it is the toilet I still use most often.

Our next stop would be Nashville, Tennessee on our way to Louisville, Kentucky. For this leg of our adventure we took Cory and Nikki along with us in our four-door truck. This meant that our two dogs would now have to share their back seat with Marianne and Nikki, as Cory was in the passenger seat. I was worried that the dogs would complain, but they held their tongues and it all worked out fine.

The pretty countryside between Montgomery and Nashville flowed easily outside of our windows. When we stopped for lunch at a Cracker Barrel (naturally!), we put the dogs into the trailer and turned on the air-conditioner. After a classic meal, we returned to the trailer only to discover that the generator was no longer working. Oh-oh, but after a quick check I discovered that we had run out of propane.

Fortunately it wasn't a problem since there was a RV sales lot just across the street. Getting there was a little tricky, but within a short time we had both propane tanks filled and were on our way again.

One thing that I noticed when we entered this state (Tennessee), is that it seems everybody speeds. Sure, I poke along at 60mph in the slow lane when I'm towing, but folks are really driving fast around here. It took me a while, but I finally realized that when the speed limit signs say 55, it's not the maximum speed, but the minimum speed! Folks are driving so fast that I was almost killed trying to get out of the truck to line ourselves up with a fence post to see if I was moving!

Those who have followed us know that we love to visit presidential birthplaces, homes, and libraries. And along the way I saw the exit at Columbia, TN for the home of the James Knox Polk the 11th president of the United States. Under normal circumstances Marianne and I would have stopped and made it a point to tour the home, but with Nikki and Cory with us, we decided that we would have to pass this way again because of the outstanding history along this trek, including Pulaski, TN, birthplace of the Klu Klux Klan after the Civil War.

Polk, although a relatively unknown President to most, was born just outside of Charlotte, NC, served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from Tennessee, Governor of Tennessee, and defeated Henry Clay as a dark horse presidential candidate in 1844. 

As a child his health was problematic and by the time he was 16 the pain was so unbearable that he was taken to a doctor in Kentucky who operated to remove urinary stones. Polk was awake during the entire operation with nothing but brandy for an anesthetic. Although the surgery was successful, it may have left Polk sterile, as he did not sire any children.

James Knox Polk
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Polk was the last strong pre-Civil War president, and was the first president to have his photograph taken while still in office. He was noted for his foreign policy successes, first with Great Britain over the ownership of the Oregon Country, and then when Mexico rejected the American annexation of Texas, he led the nation to a sweeping victory in the Mexican-American War, which not only gave the United States most of its present Southwest, but also launched the military careers of most of generals who fought in the Civil War, both North and South.

He also oversaw the opening of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Smithsonian Institution, the groundbreaking for the Washington Monument,  the issuance of the first postage stamps in the United States. And he promised to serve only one term and actually did not run for reelection. He died of cholera just three months after his term ended.

Scholars have ranked him favorably on the list of greatest presidents for his ability to set an agenda and achieve all of it. Polk has been called the "least known consequential president" of the United States.

Now you know why I like presidential history, even those that are considered obscure.

Toward sunset we arrived in Nashville and after a maze of highways and roads we found our KOA, which was right down the street from demolished (1997) former Opryland USA theme park. The property is now home to the Gaylord Hotel, The Grand Ole Opry House, Roy Acuff's former home, and the Grand Ole Opry Museum. The surrounding area is a mishmash of fast food joints, mini-museums, two RV parks besides the KOA, and most interesting to us, a Camping World.

After we settled in and cooled off, we walked the dogs among the lightening bugs, and then opted to drive to a Dairy Queen for grab some much needed ice cream treats. 

For the first time ever the air mattress in the couch (or is it sofa?) was inflated and tested. It worked!

Tomorrow we'll be taking the city by storm.