May 8, 2014, Belle Meade and Opryland Hotel

Another beautiful day in Tennessee.  Today we literally went around Nashville starting on the east side going south and west to Belle Meade Plantation, continuing around the circle to Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in the north and back to where we started.  Belle Meade (beautiful meadow) was founded in 1807 and became one of the largest thoroughbred horse farms in the south.  Horse-racing was the top American sport in the 1800s and many of the top horses were bred at Belle Meade.  Horses like Secretariat and Seabiscuit as well as every horse to race in the Kentucky Derby since 2003 can trace their bloodlines back to Bonnie Scot at this farm.  Although the 5400 acre farm has dwindled down to 30 acres, the stone fence that once bordered the farm runs for over a mile along the road.  

There is a long driveway leading from the road with the mansion framed at the end.   We started the day by purchasing our tickets and then looking at the outbuildings and gardens until it was time for our tour of the Greek Revival Mansion.  

The irises and peonies, two of my favorite flowers, were in bloom.  There were several school groups at the farm today and some of the buildings had loud screaming children running around but, other than that, we enjoyed the grounds and seeing the dairy, slaves cabin, gardener's house, dollhouse and the carriage house and stable as well as the two room house the owners lived in until the mansion was completed.  

The house tour took us through two stories of the mansion which has all original furnishings from the Harding/Jackson family that built and lived in the house.  Although everything including the house had been auctioned off in the early 1900s once horse betting became illegal in Tennessee and baseball had taken over as the most popular sport, most of the items had gone to family and has since been returned to the non-profit group that runs the plantation today.  

At the end of the tour, we were treated to a wine tasting at the not-for-profit winery on the estate.  It is the only winery in Nashville and one of only a few not-for-profit wineries in the country.  Proceeds from the wine help to support the plantation.  By the time we finished there, it was past lunchtime so we had a delicious lunch at their restaurant.

After lunch we drove up to the Opryland Hotel and Convention Center.  I stayed there for a week in the mid-1990s when I attended my first GFOA national convention.  It is a huge facility with hundreds of rooms but what is most significant is all the plants and waterfalls.  We wandered through all the garden and water sections and I showed Ted where my first floor garden room was in the Delta Section.  I don't remember much about the conference but I do remember the wonderful beignets I had for breakfast.  By the time we were done wandering through the amazing Garden Conservatory, we were ready for a break and headed back to the campground for some rest and relaxation.

I stayed in a ground floor room by the boat ticket booth.