Stop #1: Nashville, TN

To stand apart from nature is to deny a part of your soul.

-Angie Weiland-Crosby

When I say laying out this trip was hard… I mean it took months and months of research and slowly piecing together the major places we wanted to see and what lay in between. With the main focus being getting to Yellowstone, I used a “roadtrippers” map system to build stops in between South Carolina and Yellowstone. I didn’t want the driving to be too long but also I didn’t want the stopovers to come up lacking in things to do on the way there and back.

So naturally, Nashville, T.N. ended up being about 6 hours from SC and a good route to head towards to begin making our way out West.

One thing we didn’t want about our stops is for them to feel touristy or like we were doing the same thing everyone always does in these special cities, with some exceptions, of course.

For this first stop, we stayed at Grand Ole RV Resort (see more about this campground in our section of the blog labeled “camping destinations”) in Goodlettsville, T.N. just 20 mins from Nashville.

Here are our top suggestions for enjoying Nashville and the surrounding area:

#1: Enjoy a plethora of antique shopping in Goodlettsville

When we woke up on our first morning in the campground, we needed to get our truck checked out for a smoke/burning smell issue (Go see the amazing team at Johnston’s Diesel and Automotive!). After driving a couple miles back and forth with the motorcycle and truck we noticed quite a few antique stores. We decided to spend the rest of our afternoon browsing the multiple antique stores to see what they had to offer. I was expecting more thrifty finds but instead we found quality and unique pieces. Since we were on the bike, we both chose something small and meaningful that spoke to us to take home as our own.

#2: Explore Belle Meade

Belle Meade (former plantation that specifically made their cash off the breeding of horses) is a landmark just outside of Nashville that documents the history of the area and the ambitious natures of early businessmen and landowners. Belle Meade has a host of options, even for those who don’t really enjoy a history lesson (like Christian for example…lol). As for me, I LOVE history and learning about how the past formed our present.

Following our scheduled staff led tour through the home, we were welcomed to enjoy a tasting at their winery on site. We both felt the selection had variety but also quality (we compared a lot here to Biltmore, which has an overabundance of sweeter wines). Belle Meade also has a super yummy restaurant that incorporates the meat smoking history of the former plantation. We grabbed a bottle of wine we both loved and took it over to the restaurant to enjoy with our food on the screened porch overlooking the parking lot and property.

Belle Meade was rich with activities to explore + educational opportunities which I thought would be quality for anyone with school age kiddos (sincerely, the teacher in me <3). Can I also add – the staff here, every single one, were helpful, happy, and friendly!

#3: And of course, who can pass up a Nashville hot chicken experience??? Oh, and a good hike 🙂

For our last day, the weather had cooled off, so we used the early morning hours to explore Beaman Park Nature Trail with the girls (Sage and Sasha). It had a nice creek that ran through a portion. We wrapped up around 11 and headed towards Downtown Nashville to see what this hot chicken lived up to at Hattie B’s on Broadway. It was SO good Christian wanted a t-shirt to commemorate the tears that flowed… LOL.

Visiting Downtown made us so glad we had not built our trip around the city. Broadway seemed to be a copy & paste the entire way down; loud bars with loud bands all trying to grab the attention of the huge crowds swarming by… can you tell crowds aren’t my thing? Wherever all the people want to be, that is where I do not want to be at that moment. We opted for a small brewery in East Nashville on our way back towards the campground called Tailgate Brewing. They had a wide variety of food + pizza (but we had just eaten so we can’t speak toward that part).

In its entirety, Nashville has a LOT to offer past the most common city hot spots. We encourage you to enjoy what “Music City” has to offer past the music… and the city. 🙂

Our VLOG Post to check out on Nashville!