Nomad Life - Day 51

After a wonderful week of exploring, tasting and visiting in the Blue Grass State, it was time for me to depart this morning.  I'd earlier made plans with my niece, Ella, to get together near her school in Nashville and had a big drive ahead of me.  I was awake (after another restful sleep) by 0600, got ready and was packing up my car before 0700.  Michael and Camille had suggested that we have breakfast together and I'd asked if I could treat them - they accepted my offer and we departed for a nearby (still Shelbyville) Cracker Barrel at 0730.  At the restaurant, I ordered a Hashbrown Casserole - it was delicious and filling.  I visited with Michael and Camille for just over an hour before I finally said goodbye (0850).  From there, I got on I-64 and headed west.  Traffic was pretty light but there was still some construction to contend with - I passed the time with some audiobooks.  Reaching I-265, I drove around the southeast side of Louisville until I was able to get on I-65.  During this part of the day, I saw a lot more signs for Distilleries on the Bourbon Trail and considered stopping (especially when I passed Bardstown).  Wanting to get to Nashville ASAP, I didn't tarry in the area.  Along the way, I was reminded of the few years I'd visited Louisville regularly (see 1989 to 1991): Bernheim Forest, Fort Knox, etc.  Apparently, I could have stayed in Kentucky for a lot more time than seven days...  Just before I crossed the KY/TN border, I realized that I was going to arrive much earlier in Nashville than I'd planned because I had finally reached the Central Time Zone!  This meant that I had time for a walk nearby and, since it wasn't too hot yet (low 80s), I stopped at the Tennessee Welcome Center to ask for directions to a rail trail.  At first, the ladies working there didn't know what I meant but they collaborated and sent me towards the town of White House, which had a paved trail.  When I arrived there (1030), I realized I had roughly 45 minutes for outdoor activities and started south from the Andrew Jackson Trailhead of the White House Greenway.  During my walk, I found several interesting birds with my Merlin app, explored some side trails near the James K. Polk Trailhead and ended up logging about two miles in the time I had allotted.  As I finished (1115), I noticed that there was a LOT of traffic and people in the immediate vicinity - there was some kind of festival happening in town.  I would have liked to have stayed but, by then, I had lunch reservations with Ella on the east side of Nashville.  Fortunately, I didn't have too long to drive and I arrived at the Nectar Urban Cantina by 1200.  Ella texted that she was running behind so I went inside the restaurant to get a drink of water.  When I first looked at the menu, I found it to be quite "granola", with all kinds of organic drinks with "superfood" additives.  Almost everything I saw was also related to breakfast or brunch.  When Ella arrived at 1215, though, she found a completely different menu that I'd missed - it was mostly Mexican and Latin American food that was much more to my liking.  I got the Burrito Bowl (with a cheesy ground beef as my protein) and Ella got a special salad with avocados and chicken.  While we ate, Ella and I talked about her life in Nashville and made preliminary plans for a potential 2026 Thanksgiving Celebration.  I also gave her details about my Nomad Life (she had lots of questions) and we made plans to go to The Hermitage later in the day and to meet up at Belmont University the following morning.  After wrapping up our meal, I left my car at the restaurant and rode with Ella (in her Subaru Outback) to the site of Andrew Jackson's home.  Since I was a little boy, I'd been interested in visiting this historic mansion and I was very happy that Ella was interested enough to go with me.  We arrived in time for us to join a tour of the home at 1345 - it was amazing to see all of the original items and learn about the history.  It was quite warm (high 80s) outside by this point but the interior of the house was air conditioned.  Once finished with our tour, we were able to use some recording devices (that seemed to be activated by RFID chips at each sign) to learn about the Jackson family and the enslaved people who worked for them.  We paid our respects to the President at his tomb and then toured the museum (including viewing a film).  After walking through the pleasant gift shop (done by 1545), we returned to Ella's car and she drove me back to the Nectar Urban Cantina.  After saying goodbye (1605), I drove a short distance to Church of the Holy Rosary so I could attend the Saturday Vigil Mass.  Once parked, I walked around nearby (to complete my 10K goal for the day) and then went inside the church to prepare for the 1700 service.  It was interesting to see yet another Parish in action and commune with my fellow Catholics in new and different places.  Afterwards (1755), I departed to the east (Lebanon Pike, back roads and a brief drive on I-40E) until I reached my hotel, the Super 8 Hermitage (1815).  Once I was checked into my room, I faced a big choice: stay in or go out for more exploring.  I was tired and knew that the time difference was going to affect my sleep patterns.  As a result, I spent the entire evening resting and blogging - I finally caught up on all the days of the trip!  By (the new) 2225, I was ready for bed and turned out the lights.  Another great day of Nomad Life!