Final Stop: Cracker Barrel

After traveling thousands of miles across the United States since May 26th, we've arrived for our last meal together at the promised land:  Cracker Barrel.  In a half hour Joe will board a bus in Indianapolis to ride back to Chicago and I will continue alone to Flushing, MI.

Fun facts from the trip:
Total trip length: 5,187 miles (attached is a map of our route).
We spent eleven nights with family/friends, five nights camping, and four in discounted hotels.
Sean never used or carried cash the entire trip.  Only credit or debit.
Joe's favorite moments:  Camping in the upper peninsula of Michigan and our night out in Nashville.
Sean's favorite moments:  Our entire day and night in downtown Chicago and the dune buggy rentals in Silver Lake, Michigan (thanks dad for the dune buggy recommendation).

We are thankful for everyone who hosted us and we're glad to report to our friends and family that we don't hate each other after so many hours on the road.  If one conclusion could be drawn from our trip, it would be that America's diverse people make our country great more so than beautiful landscapes or natural resources.

We also agree that America's greatness needs further investigation.  Greatest Country Tour 3.0 may be in the works!

Opryland Resort and the Hermitage

Our last two stops in Nashville were an enormous resort and a presidential estate.  The Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center has a manmade river complete with waterfalls flowing indoors among restaurants and gift shops.  We were told we couldn't leave Nashville without seeing it and it was an impressive sight. 

Next we visited Andrew Jackson's home, The Hermitage.  Admission was free for military and the audio tour was excellent.  Our twenty minute drive from Nashville would have been a four hour commute by horse and carriage in the 1830s!  The founding fathers liked to mimic Greek architecture because they saw themselves as descendants of that republican society. Jackson was elected as a war hero from humble origins on the frontier, but he upgraded to a large plantation estate for his retirement.   We walked the grounds, visited Jackson's tomb, and learned from the docents about day to day operations on the plantation.

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

We saw and heard some interesting displays describing the growth of country music. Some of them include Webb Pierce's silver dollar convertible, Lee Greenwood's belt buckles, custom jackets, and numerous guitars and outfits from big name artists. Sean and I listened to artists we both haven't heard before, but want to explore further during our time in the deep south. It was a great museum that the Music City is certainly proud to claim as its own.

Nashville Nightlife

Our night got off to a great start when we found a perfectly located free parking spot on Broadway Street. As soon as we sat down to order burgers, we could tell Nashville was special because the duet playing acoustic guitar was fantastic.  We could have stayed there and listened to them all night but we needed to see what other bands were playing.  Since none of the bars had a cover charge, we could literally run across the street and into a new place when we heard our favorite songs.  Even though it was a Wednesday night, most venues were packed with people dancing and singing along.

We entered one of the few places without live music to watch the end of the Stanley Cup Finals game.  Naturally we gravitated towards the other Chicago fans and got to know a family from Hinsdale.  For those not familiar with the Chicago suburbs, Hinsdale is near Downers Grove where Joe lives, so it was fun to cheer on the Hawks with fellow Chicagoans.  The Hawks won in the third overtime on an incredible goal.  Go Hawks!

After the game we went back to hopping from venue to venue before finally retiring to our hotel.  If you're a fan of country, rock, or live music in general, Nashville's nightlife blows away most of the major cities in my opinion.  I'm glad I didn't go to school there.  I would never have gotten anything done!

Fort Campbell, KY

Our drive to Nashville took us right past Fort Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division.  The post was built during WWII and the 101st quickly gained fame for their performance during D-Day, Market Garden, and Bastogne (see Band of Brothers).  We visited the museum and checked out some of the outdoor memorials.

Gateway to the West

The St. Louis Arch commemorates the Louisiana Purchase, the Louis and Clark Expedition, and the western expansion. The windows at the top allow you to look out over the Mississippi and the city, but also straight down. Sean and I were fortunate enough to climb to the top of this engineering masterpiece of such a large scale in little pods that are engineered to keep you level with the ground the entire ride.

Yesterday evening we had a chance to stay at Mary Jo and Tony's place in Cedar Hill, just outside the city. It was a beautiful piece of property, where we also swam in their in ground pool. The house was actually designed by my very own, Uncle Marty!

St. Louis Bound

Our day started with the rising sun at 5:30 this morning when we did our morning workout on a run through Downers Grove. We said goodbye to the family and made a quick stop in the happening farm town of Morris, IL. It was great to see Uncle Terry, Aunt Suzanne, and Emma. We are especially thankful for the pancakes from Aunt Suzanne and the sack lunch provided by my mom with the added snacks from the Dingbaums.