Things to do / Travel Guide
In Central Kentucky and Tennessee you can honor music moguls by singing your own ode or visiting Tennessee's off-the-beaten-path treasure troves dedicated to country charisma. But if music doesn't much move you, perhaps a visit to a whimsical carousel might, and the elegant stance of a majestic mare will certainly capture a horse-lover's heart.
Stepping Back in Time in Central Kentucky
You will feel transported to an earlier, simpler time at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg. Costumed interpreters recreate the old-fashioned Shaker lifestyle at this National Historic Landmark, situated on 2,800 acres of farmland. The village and “living museum” encompass more than 33 buildings from the 1800s as well as 19th-century vegetable and herb gardens. This historical attraction is open year-round.
Eat in the place where the fried chicken frenzy began: Harland Sanders Café and Museum in Corbin is the original Kentucky Fried Chicken kitchen and one of the only fast-food places honored with a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Even health junkies find they can't resist a peek at fried food history.
Horsing Around in Central Kentucky and Tennessee
You'll be in horse heaven when you meet the breeder of nine Kentucky Derby horseracing champions at Calumet Farms near Lexington, and you may just even lay eyes on the next Triple Crown winner! The state-run Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington is another great off-the-beaten-path attraction, drawing more than 700,000 horse lovers each year to its equestrian area and museum.
Don't miss the Horsin' Around carousel-carving school (the nation's only one) in Soddy-Daisy just outside Chattanooga. Visitors tour the studios in which the varicolored wooden figures (ranging from fantastical to mythical, magical to realist) are fashioned. Should you catch the carousel contagion, the Tennessee Foxtrot Carousel at Nashville's Riverfront Park features 36 fun figures from Tennessee's history including Andrew Jackson and the mythical Bell Witch.
On the Move for Music in Central Tennessee
Over on Fifth Avenue South in Nashville you can honor some music mavens of the country variety. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum combines technology and outstanding exhibits for a dazzling spectacle of the country music scene and its stars throughout history. You may want to don a pair of shades to gaze upon Elvis Presley's solid-gold (actually just gold plated in parts) 1960 Cadillac, or for the two-story-high wall of every gold and platinum country record, which also glamorously glitters. The museum's instrument collection (numbering 600+), the artifact collection (including 800 stage costumes), the outstanding music library, and the 60,000 country music-related photographs can keep visitors engaged for hours.
For a little live music action make your way to Gibson Bluegrass Showcase in Opry Mills Mall. Gibson is a top-quality guitar and banjo store, where you can enjoy watching Gibson's craftsmen assembling instruments in their 35,000-square-foot factory on-site. At 6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, Country Music Television's “Most Wanted Live” with Greg Martin is broadcast from Gibson's - all are welcome.
Gallery Hopping in Central Tennessee
Peruse Picasso, Renoir, and Georgia O'Keeffe collections at Fisk University's Carl Van Vechten Gallery in Nashville. The permanent exhibits include some of Alfred Stieglitz photographs as well as pieces from his own collection of 20th-century paintings. Stieglitz's wife, Georgia O'Keeffe, helped install the works. Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery, on 23rd Avenue and West End Avenue, in Nashville also features a range of exhibitions - the university has an impressive 7,000-piece collection with quality works from over 40 countries. Head to Nashville's historic post office and you won't believe its transformation into the Frist Center for Visual Arts, an impressive 20,000-foot exhibit space with four galleries of paintings, sculpture and other visual arts.
The Chattanooga Choo Choo
“Pardon me boys, it that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?” Remember that jazzy tune? The real Chattanooga Choo Choo, in Chattanooga, is one of the most beloved landmarks in the South. You can tour the 24-acre complex, explore a restored historic train, and see one of the world's largest working “HO” gauge model trains.
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