Sunday, July 6, 2008

July 2nd


Catchy Title, huh?  I'm thinkin' of copyrighting it.  We'll see...
Here we gooooooooo...
July 2nd began with me getting the car's oil changed.  I know this isn't exciting, but I'm just letting you in what a three-week vacation involves.  We took off with Todd to get the local flavor of Franklin.  First, we went to a local diner called, "Dotsuns."  This was a giant spoonful o' the south!  It was a greasy spoon, to say the least.  As we walked in, the old-timers eyed us for a while.  They knew, oh yes, they knew.  
Our waitress was one giant delightful cliche.  She started in on us using the words "honey," "sugar," "sweetie," and "baby" in every sentence.  The service was excellent.  She also told us some of her personal stories throughout dinner.  The food was good.  Very "down home."  Oh, and the kids got their first taste of grits there.  As a matter of fact, when Alison saw the word, "grits," on the menu, she asked me, "Daddy, what's a grit?"  NO LIE!  Just like Joe Pesci in "My Cousin Vinnie."
After breakfast, we went to a historical place called the Carter House.  This was a very interesting and informative stop.  The Battle of Franklin, which took place at the Carter House and Plantation, was the "beginning of the end" for the Confederacy, according to the story there.  The museum in the house was distinctly Southern-slanted, but it did give respect to the North.  The movie was similar in style.  the use of the word, "Yankee," was spoken with great disdain, while the term, "Rebel," was a source of pride.  The movie was good, and accurately portrayed the haughtiness of Confederate General Bragg that led to the downfall of his troops, the western opportunities for the South, and ultimately, the War.  
After that, we walked around the grounds and looked at some of the bullet and mortar holes that were in the walls of the buildings.
Following the Carter House, we drove around the southern side of Nashville.  We visited Belmont University (home of one of the presidential debates this year) 
and it's rival, Lipscomb University (considered a "liberal" Church of Christ school---Anyone heard of Pepperdine???).
Then we toured the mansions and estates in the area. 
 
Some of those were just astounding.  Really.  Envision the bigger, grander homes in Bel-Aire and Hollywood.  Now put them on pieces of land about one square mile each.  
After that, we went back to Mrs. Stallwood's house and finally met her.  Oh. My. Goodness.  She may very well be the sweetest, most hospitable woman we have ever met.  Plus, she is a firecracker!  Matt, imagine your mom on steroids.  That's her.  From jumpstreet, she acted like she had known all of us for years.  We visited with her for an hour or so, then headed over to Todd's for dinner and disc golf.  
Disc golf was great.  The kids and I played with Todd and had a lot of fun.  
Lou stayed inside and read and visited with his two weimaraners.  After playing nine holes on his property, we started grilling some meat.  
Dinner was good, and we had a great time visiting.
-Dave

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What? No disc golf pictures?
Todd

dave sexson said...

yeah, I was going to add those today because we ran out of time yesterday. Patience Danielsan, patience...
Dave