Road Trip - Entry 2 - Camping is good!

- Nashville Cont'd: 
Our adventure had not ended in Nashville within just a day. Oh no! There is ALWAYS more to do in this vibrant town and we were finished yet, but our time was limited. Going into our second day of our 4000 mile road trip, I had already made up my mind on one specific thing that we would do while in Nashville. I am a huge, if not the BIGGEST advocate for Pancakes. Since I was young, pancakes were always my thing. So, when I found out Nashville had something called "The Pancake Pantry" I had my mind made up. 

Goal 1: Make it to the "Pancake Pantry" 
             Josh and I checked out of our hotel in Brentwood. Since we had checked in after dark the day before, we were pleasantly surprised when we began driving the country roads that surrounded the area. Beautiful fenced in homes on amazing acres of land, surrounded by matured trees. We enjoyed the scenery so much that we actually stopped through a few neighborhoods just to continue viewing.  After checking out the beautiful homes and few quaint streets we headed towards town, taking a slight detour to participate in something a little touristy. 

​Pancake Pantry Detour:

            "I believe in Nashville" Mural - 2700 12th Ave. S. 

We had to get a picture with the infamous "I believe in Nashville" mural. Just to add to the moment, I must add that although it's not noticeable from the picture we were surrounded by construction crew workers who stopped and cheered us on as we posed for this picture op. I would highly recommend going when they aren't building something next door :) 

Destination: Pancake Pantry:
After our brief detour we were back en route to find our "breakfast of champs." We were very lucky because when we arrived their was a parking spot on the side street located behind the restaurant. There is a parking lot located directly behind "The Pancake Pantry" however, you do have to pay to park there. Of course we had to wait in line, which by the time we were seated had wrapped around the building. Don't let that scare you, it goes very quickly, and is well worth the wait. We ate, drank coffee and left pleased. I had pancakes which were sweet and buttery. My day was made.  

The Pancake Pantry is conveniently located right in the heart of Vanderbilt University which was a stop that we had on our list. It is certainly a different perspective to Nashville than just staying in the downtown scene and/or the Grand Ol' Opry. Vanderbilt is beautiful and we had a blast exploring it. And, if time allows, there's plenty of local shops around to check out. 

~ Peabody School of Education: Being an educator you can't help but be in awe of the program over at Vanderbilt. Their credibility of having one of the best educational programs in the country is quite incredible. Of course I had to go and snap some photos of this moment. Education excites me! 

After exploring Vanderbilt and the surrounding areas we decided to drive around and see what other mischief we could get in to.  A few stops that were on our list that I highly recommend to others: 
               ~ Music Row - Midtown - Not as touristy as I was expecting. Just businesslike - Fun to drive through. We did it a couple of times just to make sure we were soaking it all in  - RCA B is also in this section. You can take tours, however we did not. We just snapped a few photos instead. 
               ~ Grimey's used music store - Some great finds in this little place if you're into the whole music world. They also had a coffee shop attached, some books and even great helpers willing to show you were to find the greatest vinyls. 
             ~ White's mercantile - A down to earth store with neat eclectic finds. Owned by an amazing musician, Holly Williams, who obviously has neat taste and wants to share it with others. Fun find of the day. 

After some more exploring we worked up an appetite. We stopped in at Elliston's soda shop. If you are in Nashville you HAVE to go here! It was simply amazing and what was even more appealing was how they had kept the place in the same conditions as I expect it was years ago. The atmosphere made you feel like you had stepped into a locals wonder. Don't even get me started on their milkshakes!

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White's Mercantile

We finally decided it was time to begin our route out of Nashville. Our next destination for this 4000 mile road trip was Memphis. We decided we would camp in between Nashville and Memphis instead of trying to make it all the way there. En route to the campsite we decided to ride through and explore some of the neighborhoods of Belle Meade just outside of Nashville. So worth it! Even though it was rainy this particular day we saw some extravagant homes and had a blast just riding around exploring one last time before heading out. 

After exploring some of the neighborhoods in the Belle Meade area we hit the road to Dickson, Tennessee where we would be camping for the night. Yes! We camped in the back of our SUV. Yes! We had planned this. In fact, both Josh and I were extremely excited about this particular night. Everyone we told thought we were somewhat crazy for attempting this but in fact, it was probably the best nights sleep we had on our entire two week, 4000 mile trip.  
We had packed an air mattress and some blankets, so we rented a camping spot right outside of Dickson, bought some chicken and veggies and set up camp. Some of the fellow campers who were staying at the site came and asked us if we needed assistance setting up our tent. I guess they were getting worried when it began to get dark and we had not set anything up. But, in fact, we were all set! We put down the back seat, blew up the air mattress and stuck it in the back. Josh had made some screens for the windows that were magnetic to keep the bugs out, but would allow fresh air in. It was by far one of my favorite evenings of our entire trip. Josh made a campfire and cooked while I read. Then, we finished out our evening by eating a fantastic meal, playing checkers, and snoozing to the sound of rain hitting the hood of our car. 

Next stop, Memphis, Tennessee