Aug 15 - The Hermitage

We literally ran from the Hall of Fame onto our shuttle back to the parking lot of the hotel so we could hop in the RV and get out to the Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson, before it closed. We made it with no time to spare!

We started with a horse drawn cart ride through the grounds. It was beautiful! There was over 1300 acres and it was all very well kept up by the Hermitage Ladies Association. We saw the remains of a few slave cabins, some were just foundations but some were complete. The original home that Jackson built here before he became President, still stands. The new home that he built is Brick with white wooden columns. When Jackson was elected President, the plantation was run by his house crew under the direction of his most trusted and faithful slave, Old Albert. Old Albert was born on the plantation, and remained there until his death - choosing to stay even after emancipation. He asked that when he died he wanted to be buried in the garden on the property. His wish was granted, and he was buried next to the President and Mrs. Jackson. He was the only slave buried on the property.

The inside of the house was furnished with almost exclusively original furniture of the Jacksons. Even some of the wall paper was original. Three generations of the Jackson family lived on or near the Hermitage, most of who are buried there.

We were the last people out of the buildings for the night, and they locked up after us at each spot as we left the grounds. We were very lucky to have been able to see it all. We ate dinner at a Cracker Barrel outside of Nashville, then we hit the road again for a 4 hour drive to Memphis. We actually had reservations at an RV park in Arkansas, just across the Mississippi river from Tennessee. When we arrived, we could hardly get our sewer and electric hooked up because of all the mosquitoes!! We were swatting and brushing constantly as we moved as fast as we could to get back inside! OWIE!!