Time off in Tennessee...

After a physically & emotionally-draining last few days in ABQ... I needed to get away to recharge before my move to Austin. My parents had just bought a house in Tennessee a few months back which seemed to be the perfect place to "unwind" for a few days.

Downtown Nashville, TN

MOM & DAD'S NEW HOME: Last spring (2018), my parents decided after spending nearly their entire lives in California, it was time for a change. Dad worked for California Highway Patrol and was anchored to the state for +20 years. He retired in 2011... and once Mom joined him on "permanent vacation", they packed up their stuff, sold the house & hit the road with just a Ford truck & a 31-ft trailer in tow. They roamed the country in search of a good retirement home... stopping in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi & the Carolinas. They spent close to a year living in that trailer before eventually deciding on Tennessee, buying a home just outside of Nashville. Mom got her farm house... and Dad got his land. All were happy.

COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME: I took a couple days to just sleep & catch up with my parents. But we did a little bit of adventuring once I recouped. We spent an afternoon in downtown Nashville visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame. I'm a BIG Garth Brooks & Dolly Parton fan... so the museum was right up this country gal's alley. (NOTE: a bit pricey with tickets running about $25/person... but worth seeing at least once). We also stopped for drinks & apps at Florida Georgia Line's bar right off Broadway.

ARRINGTON VINEYARDS: Of course, it wouldn't be vacation without good food & drink. My sister tipped us off to a really neat winery down the road from the house. So we spent an evening at Arrington Vineyards -- a winery owned by Kix Brooks (one half the famous "Brooks& Dunn" country duo). It was beautiful! We did a wine tasting at the bar & bought a bottle of their Chardonnay to share. They have a HUGE grassy field between the tasting house & the vineyards where everyone is welcome to bring their own food and lawn chairs. In typical Currie-fashion, we forgot our snacks... but we did remember the lawn chairs! The wine was good... the weather was perfect... we all agreed that we would be back in the future.

Arrington Vineyards | Arrington, TN

THE BEST OF FRANKLIN: we also spent a day eating our way through Franklin, TN. Mom found a famous restaurant called "55 South". (We didn't realize it then but it was actually featured on 'Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives' -- a Currie family favorite on Food Network.) I ordered the 'HOT Chicken Sandwich' -- when in Tennessee... 

We also made a quick stop at a "Biscuit Love" -- a restaurant known for anything & everything biscuit. We had heard that their "Bonuts" were one of their popular items -- so we snagged a table and put in an order to-go. These did NOT disappoint. Fried biscuit-dough covered in cinnamon+sugar & served with a blueberry compote + lemon mascarpone (kind of like a cream cheese). Another place that will be seeing the Currie family again...

Biscuit Love | Franklin, TN

"Bonuts" -- fried biscuit dough covered in cinnamon+sugar, served with a blueberry compote & lemon mascarpone

After a 6-day stretch of good food & daily naps, it's back to Texas this afternoon (TUE). An apartment full of boxes needing to be unpacked awaits me. I'll definitely miss morning coffee with Dad in the backyard & talking about ways to decorate the new house with Mom... but we're already in the stages of planning where & who gets to host Thanksgiving this year... so I'll see them again soon.

​Until then... it's back to TEXAS.

-- KC