Car Rentals Tennessee

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Things to do in Tennessee

• Tennessee State Museum
  This marvelous museum represents the history of the state from its beginnings to the 20th century, with emphasis on the Civil War, frontier age and Jackson.  Covering over 60,000 square feet of exhibits that stay here, there is also a hall that holds the rotating exhibits with 10,000 square feet.  The total area is 120,000 including the third floor.  Showcasing one of the biggest collections of civil war memorabilia in the country; weapons, battle flags and uniforms adorn the gallery.  Sitting on the bottom floors of the James K. Polk building in Nashville, it also is shared with the Tennessee Performing Arts Center; with a new building coming in the near future.  There is also a military gallery depicting the country's many military battles, from the Spanish-American to World War II.  There is a gift shop that sells hand made crafts, Tennessee memorabilia and jewelry.  Within the museum, you will find outstanding displays of silver, furniture, weapons, paintings, a print shop, painting gallery, grist mill and much more.  In their first Tennesseans gallery, they have a display of mastodon bones dated over 10,000 years ago, Dover flint mace of a Mississippian chief some 500-700 years ago, a steatite shaman's medicine tube, Hutcherson and Thurston pictographs, and artifacts from the Paleolithic, Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian eras.  In the frontier gallery, the musket used by Daniel Boone and other weapons from that era are shown; as well as a 200 year old dugout canoe, frontier cabin, grist mill, and Conestoga wagon.  Other exciting memorabilia include the sword that the English used to surrender at the Battle of King's Mountain during the Revolutionary War, first die of the Davidson County seal used in Nashborough in1783, a desk made by William Patton, in 1815, and the most exquisite piece of Tennessee furniture known, a portrait painting of John Sevier by Charles Wilson Peale and a beautiful pair of moccasins given to James Robertson during the treaty ceremonies with the Chickasaw.  The Cracker Barrel Quilt gallery is home to over 300 hand made quilts, the best in the state.  Between the years 1815 and 1850, the state was the embodiment of this country's politics and expansion vision with President Andrew Jackson at the helm.  Jackson was the first president from the land west of the seaboard states and a hero that helped the age of government, both the state and national, where the regular people were heard and counted.  In this gallery, the exhibits of Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, Jackson and President James K. Polk are displayed.  A few of the special items include; Andrew Jackson's inauguration hat, a powder horn given to Davy Crockett, the $240 check given to the survivors of Crockett's estate from the republic of Texas, President Santa Ana's wine chest and document box, the quill pen used by President Polk to sign the treaty with Mexico, a 1812 uniform coat from the war and a reconstructed middle class farmer's cabin.  There are many more incredible and beautiful displays, exhibits and antiquities that are shown here and it would be a wonderful excursion to visit.
  

• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
  The museum is located in Nashville, Tennessee and was created to identify and keep the continuing history of the traditions of the country music industry and educate the many people coming to visit it.  The Country music Hall of Fame  was announced in 1961, and the first three people inducted were Fred Rose, Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers.  A bronze plaque with a likeness of their faces, and small biography were made in bas relief and unveiled by Ernest Tubb at the Grand Ole Opry.  In 1963, the hall of fame and museum was to be constructed on Music Row in Nashville, and the Country Music Foundation was formed.  The museum was opened in 1967 and closed in 2000, so that the new museum could be opened the next year.  In May of 2001, the grand opening of the new building was held, which cost $37 million to build.  Inside the museum, an exhibit gives details of the music's history over the 200 years before, with video clips, recorded music, menu of live performances, public programs, museum store and a restaurant.  The outside is interspersed with images of Amanda Price and if seen from above, resembles a bass clef.  While the north west corner comes out like a tail fin of a 50s Cadillac. 
  

• The Parthenon
  This marvelous replica is the only one of its kind in the world, and was built in 1897 to be part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.  This pseudonym, the Athens of the south, helped with the decision to build this replica as the centerpiece of the 1897 fair.  Many of the structures were based on ancient buildings, but the Parthenon is the only exact replica, constructed of brick, plaster and wood; then rebuilt on the same foundations of concrete with a follow-up project started in1920 and finished in1931.  Presently it is an art museum and the hub of the Centennial Park, a big public park west of downtown Nashville.  Alan LeQuire re-created the Athena Parthenon statue sits within the center of the building just as it did with the original, except it is complete with the exact dimensions.  Plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles that are in the Naos or east room of the main hall, were cast from the direct casings of the original sculptures.  Many of the originals are in the British Museum in London and some in the Acropolis Museum in Athens.  It contains a permanent collection of 63 paintings by 19th and 20th American artists.

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• Graceland
  Graceland, a name that is known all over the world, as the home and resting place of the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley.  The big white columned mansion sits on 13.8 acres in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, 12 miles from the city center and 4 miles from the Mississippi River.  Today it is the king's museum, which was opened to the American and world public in 1982, and then was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, and finally made a National Historic Landmark in 2006.  Elvis, his mother and father; Gladys and Vernon Presley and grandmother are buried here within the Meditation Gardens.  The property was originally owned by S.E. Toof, publisher of the Memphis Daily Appeal and named for his daughter Grace.  The land that is called Graceland was given to Ruth Moore, a niece, in 1939, who with her husband Dr. Thomas Moore built the American colonial mansion.  Elvis bought it in 1957, wanting more privacy and security; as well as the boisterousness of the fans that drove by his former house.  He moved in with his mother and father, but Gladys died the next year, then Vernon married Dee Stanley in 1960 and she moved into the home.  Priscilla Beaulieu came to Graceland in 1962 and stayed with Elvis until they married in 1967 in Las Vegas; lived with Elvis five more years and then they separated in late 1972.  Another five years would pass and then the king would be found in his bathroom, dead of an apparent heart attack.  The controversy over his death still remains today and it is one of those mysteries that will never be solved; like Marilyn Monroe.  The  mansion contains 8 bedrooms and bathrooms, with Corinthian columns and two big lions sitting on the sides of the portico.  After buying the home, Elvis had some large renovations done to the property, which included a fieldstone wall put up around the property, wrought iron music themed gate, racquetball court, Jungle room with waterfall, and swimming pool.  In 1976, the jungle room was made into a recording studio where Elvis would record his last two albums. 
  

•  Mississippi River Museum at Mud Island
  Surrounded almost completely by the Mississippi River, this peninsula sits in the limits of Memphis and when the Wolf River was diverted from its path along the east side of the island, it now goes north, and the island is accessible by foot bridge, monorail, ferry and auto.  The Mississippi River park includes rafts, pedal boats and bike trails; as well as a scaled down model of the river itself from Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans and is hydraulic operated.  There are markers that tell what cities are located where and a brief history of them, with the Gulf being an old waterpark that was called Bud Boogie Beach.  The museum showcases the history of the river and the lower valley, with a big emphasis on the riverboat that hauled freight, passengers and goods up and down the mighty river for almost a century.  They have a full scale model of a riverboat there.  The amphitheater that holds 5000 people has seen some of the best in music business including; James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Journey, Sting, Jethro Tull, Styx, Billy Idol and many more.  The north part of the island is called Harbor Town and contains many single family homes and apartment complexes.  At one time the Downtown Airport was located there with just one runway and used mostly by businessman and shoppers, but closed in 1970.

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Local Restaurants in Tennessee

Marlowe's in Memphis This restaurant is just down the road apiece from Graceland and is happy to have many fans stopping by to try the best ribs joint in the south.  The atmosphere is fantastic but loud with well lit areas and comfortable seating, the action just keeps on coming.  It is a family and casual affair, no fancy dans here, but the food is plentiful and great tasting with good down home cooking that sticks to your ribs and you'll never leave hungry.  Nothing fancy here, except perhaps the taste that would cost you more elsewhere or where the refined decor adds another $10 to your ticket.  So put on your boots and jeans, grab your girl and head over to Marlowe's and join the fun.  Some of the offerings are; sandwiches are; Elvis burger, Marlowe burger, fried chicken, bbq pork and catfish.  Entrees include; t-bone steak, country fried steak, southern fried pork chop, chicken tenders, medallions of beef tenderloin, lasagna homemade and Mississippi Delta catfish.  Soups and salads include; Marlowe's house salad, club salad, chef salad, bbq salad and dinner salad.  Appetizers are; buffalo wings, basket of fried dough, sausage and cheese plate, fried mushrooms, fried pickles, cheese sticks, combo platter and homemade chicken tenders.  BBQ ribs are by the half order, rack for two, bbq pork, rib pork, bbq chicken and bbq spaghetti.  Desserts include; pecan pie, hunka hunks apple pie, Mississippi mud cake, lemon ice box pie and fudge brownie sundae. St. John's in Chattanooga Set in the former St. John's hotel built around the turn of the last century, this magnificent restaurant is part of the completely refurbished hotel that had become a brothel, then sat empty and finally almost torn down in the late 1990s.  The menu is changed daily depending upon the many wonderful ingredients that can be located locally and are absolutely fresh, wholesome and very flavorful.  The fruits and vegetables are picked that morning and brought to the restaurant as soon as possible, with fish or meats flown in the day that they are to be served.  Their motto is that everything is as fresh as it can be and it is the best quality.  Following are some of the fantastic fare that is ready for your dining pleasure; Alabama Red Haven peach salad with Crabtree Farms opal basil, mozzarella and prosciutto; summer truffle risotto with baby arugula and poached farm egg.  First courses offered include; smoked summer corn and white bean soup with butter poached Maine lobster and chili oil; Wildwood Farms' organic lettuces with goat's cheese, white balsamic vinaigrette; Wildwood Farms' Heirloom tomato salad with parmesan soufflé, basil and sherry vinaigrette; warm beet salad with mozzarella, pea shoots and cucumber vinaigrette.  Main courses include; Alaskan wild king salmon with local farm vegetables, bulghur wheat and red wine vinaigrette; parmesan braised veal breast with Riverview Farms' stone ground grits, okra and sungold tomatoes; smoked Hudson Valley duck breast with sweet potato puree, onion confit and cherry port sauce; roasted rack of lamb with Crabtree Farms' zephyr squash, gnocchi and mint pesto; roasted beef filet with crushed Yukon potatoes, Crabtree Farms'  young garlic and capers.  And the desserts; warm chocolate pudding with roasted peanuts and caramel ice cream; carrot cake soufflé with cream cheese anglaise; chocolate molten cake with espresso-chocolate ganache and smore ice cream.

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• Raft One Whitewater
  Featured on MSN and tripadvisor, this white water rafting experience is the thrill of a lifetime and on the Ocoee River, you are going to be in the middle of it all.  Located in eastern Tennessee, operating out of the town of Copperhill, Tennessee, this river is located in the beautiful Cherokee National Forest and was the site of the 1996 white water rafting competition for the Olympic games.  The class 1-5 rapids are fantastic, offering over 15 miles of various difficult white water that will take your breath away and pump it into your lungs like no other sport.  With three sections of the river to raft, you will absolutely have the best time of your life and never forget a single moment.  These rafters have over 20 years of experience on this river and are dedicated to given you the best and safest time on the river that you could ever want.  Their immense lodge can handle any group up to 64 and is perfect for family get togethers or reunions.  This company started out using military surplus rafts and then have gotten the sturdy rafts that will take you down the river.  They also have rafting rights from the TVA and serve over a quarter million people each year.  Another venue that these outfitters have is the mountain bike rentals that go through the forest.  You can add a bike day to your excursion to travel the river by raft and experience the wonderful sights, sounds and smells of the Cherokee National Forest.  These folks also have a campground area for tents with men's and women's bathhouses, on their 3.5 acres property.  There are also plenty of areas around in the Blue Ridge Mountains that will have great campgrounds, cabins or lodges for you to enjoy your best vacation.  Fly fishing on the Toccoa River is another option for your to consider when you come.  Just imagine floating slowly down the river, swishing that pole back and forth waiting for that awesome trout to jump up and bite.  They can pack your fish for the trip back home or whatever needs you might have.  This is a full service outfitter and one of the best in the area, as you can tell with the recommendations by MSN and tripadvisor.
  

• Raccoon Mountain Caverns
  This cave is one of two that are found in the Chattanooga/Hamilton County, Tennessee area.  The other is Ruby Falls, which is about four miles away.  This cave was found by Leo Lambert, the same person that opened Ruby Falls, and when he heard of a blowing crack at the base of Raccoon Mountain decided to have a look.  He knew, as an experienced caver, that if air comes out of a mountain of rock, then there must be a cavern or other large open area behind it to allow a big volume of air in it to force some small bit out.  He found this cave and opened it to the public in 1931 and it has been exciting and rewarding for all those that have visited.  It went through half a dozen name changes before getting its present name, but it is a marvelous cavern to explore.  It is the state's highest rated cave and you even have the opportunity to pan for gemstones.  It is a marvel to view and is also rated as one of the most beautiful of the top ten caves in the nation.  There is over 5.5 miles of caverns to explore along the mapped passage and new discoveries are being found all the time.  They have a 45 minute tour or their famous wild cave expedition.  The cave is about 60 degrees all year round and that is why it is open all year.  The panning fees aren't too expensive, and do include a chance to pan for fossils and arrowheads besides the regular gem search.  If you have ever thought about starting a personal rock collection, then this is a great place to start or just to add to your collection.  They have a campground and the views of Raccoon Mountain and Lookout Mountain will leave you breathless.

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• James K. Polk Ancestral Homestead
  This beautiful brick home was built by the 11th President's father in 1816, while he was at the University of North Carolina.  James was the youngest President to have been elected to the office up to that time, issued the first postage stamp, started the Naval Academy, added three states to the union, started the Washington monument and pushed our borders all the way to the Pacific Ocean.  He was also the youngest President to die in office.  He was born in North Carolina, where he father was a farmer and surveyor, and was 10 when the family moved west.  Arriving in Tennessee, he learned all the important values that a young man should, and although he was able to handle the hardship of the frontier life, he was considered frail.  Just before he reached his 17th birthday, he had to have surgery for stones in his urinary tract and when it was done, James was ready to head to college.  Getting just two and a half years of formal training, he was admitted to the University of North Carolina and entered as a sophomore.  Graduating with top honors in math and the classics, he went back to Tennessee desiring to become a lawyer and after apprenticing for Felix Grundy and clerk of the senate, opened his own law practice.  Gaining success and notoriety, he ran for the state legislature at age 27 and won.  While serving in the legislature, he  met and married Sarah Childress, who eventually became his confidante and helped immensely in his campaigns.  Supporting fellow Tennessean Andrew Jackson, he was elected to the U.S. Congress at age 29 and he was there for 14 years and Speaker of the House twice.  He became concerned about the growing influence of the Whig party in his state and returned home to run for governor and won.  After his two year term, he was defeated twice more and people thought that he was waning as a politician, although he stayed active in the Democratic party.  In the 1844 Democratic Convention many recalled his ethics and partisan devotion and considered him a vice presidential candidate.  However, history had other ideas for this great man and when the party couldn't decide between Martin Van Buren and Lewis Cass, he was nominated as the dark horse.  His challenger was the popular Henry Clay of the Whig party, but James promised to open the lands to the west, the statehood of Texas and the acquisition of the Oregon territory.  Although many feared another war with Great Britain or Mexico, the majority of the people liked his idea of the continental nation spreading from one shining sea to another.  He was of course elected and strove to make his dreams possible.  With difficult negotiations with Britain, Oregon was annexed and after a two year war with Mexico, the territories of New Mexico and California became part of this nation.  While he was in office, this country grew by 800,000 square miles, lowered tariffs and started the Federal Treasury. 
  

• The Hermitage
  The museum honors the many contributions of the Tennessee marble company and the marble that was quarried around the area.  It is located in one of the wings of the former company and was started in 1880 by politician and businessman Redfield Proctor.  The marble was quarried from Proctor, Rutland, West Rutland and Danby; and after the railroads arrived, it became the biggest producer of marble in the world.  Some of its marble went to the Washington Monument, Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Arlington National Cemetery and the United States Supreme Court building.  The rest of the building and quarries are owned by OMYA, that supplies industrial minerals. The museum offers a self guided tour of the company's history, the uses of marble in industry, architecture and art, and the geology of marble and various other local stones.  There is a short video about the entire business and process, showing the employees quarrying, carving and shipping the marble.  Also exhibited are geological exhibitions, an artificial cave and a well kept triceratops skeleton.  There are big slabs of decorative stone, with the Danby white and green verde antique.  There are granites, imported marble, sculptures, busts of the U.S. presidents, the Last Supper and numerous works throughout the museum.  An artist's studio is set up so that visitors can see the carving of the marble and ask questions, as well as a kitchen and bathroom using the stone in the surfaces.  A nearby quarry is also part of the tour and huge blocks of unfinished stones sit all over the place.  There is a gift shop with all sorts of marble items for sale and items that are bigger can be inquired of.

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• Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
  Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and his former home site contains a tailor shop, two homes and the grave site.  The Andrew Johnson National Cemetery contains the remains of his wife, Eliza McCardle Johnson and his son Brigadier General Robert Johnson, David Patterson, a U.S senator from the state and his son Andrew J. Patterson.  With sixteen acres on the property, there are three areas containing the Andrew Johnson homestead, the cemetery and the Andrew Johnson Visitor Complex.  This complex has the museum, Andrew's tailor shop and the visitor center.  The tailor shop is one story and one room, being left the same as it was during his time here.  In 1923, a memorial building was constructed around the shop to keep it in pristine condition.  The homestead is much the same as it was when Andrew and Eliza lived there from 1869 to 1875.  Andrew had bought the home in 1851, but was occupied during the war years with soldiers.  After vacating the White House in 1869, it needed some refurbishing and the Greek Revival brick house standing two stories is a magnificent rendition of that architecture.  The cemetery was started in 1906, as Andrew owned 23 acres outside of Greenville called Signal Hill.  When he died, he was buried on the property and in1878, a 28 foot marble statue was put on his grave.  The statue was so spectacular that the hill's name was changed to Monument Hill.  His daughter Martha Johnson Patterson inherited the property, willed that it become a public park in 1898; and in 1900 wanted it to become a national cemetery so that the government would be maintaining it.  It was done in 1906. Johnson was the first President to be impeached and the first to get into office with an assassination.  When the southern states seceded from the union, Johnson was a U.S. senator from Tennessee, and did not quit the Senate when the state seceded.  Through the war, he became the most important war Democrat from the south and he was a staunch supporter of Lincoln and his war efforts.  In 1862, President Lincoln made him the military governor of Tennessee, which was occupied, and Johnson became a great leader against the rebellion in that state and helped start the reconstruction.  He was the nominee for the Vice President in 1864, on the National Union Party ticket and was elected with Lincoln in 1864.  When Lincoln was murdered in April of 1865, Andrew Johnson became the 17th President of the United States.  Upon being made the President, he started the Reconstruction called the Presidential Reconstruction until radical Republicans gained office and took control of the Congress in 1866.  Andrew was anxious to get the confederates back into the union, so he was cautious with them, against the civil rights bills and became part of a bad dispute with the radicals.  These radicals in the House impeached him in 1868 saying he had violated the Tenure in Office Act, that they had enacted in 1867 over his veto, but one senatorial vote kept him from being impeached.

• Cumberland Caverns
  The second longest cave in Tennessee, at 27.6 miles is the 14th longest in the states and the 64th in the world.  In 1810, Aaron Higgenbotham discovered the entrance while surveying the Chickamauga Trail on Caldwell Mountain, and since he was the first to enter, it was named after him.  Another smaller cave was found nearby and named Henshaw Cave.  This cave had a great amount of saltpeter, used in the making of gunpowder and was mined during the War of 1812 and the Civil War.  Higgenbotham Cave soon became a favorite spot for people to explore during the 1800s and many left their names on the ceiling in the most popular room called the Ten Acre Room.  In the 1940s, it was explored by members of the National Speleological Society, and during the next decade expanded its known areas.  In 1953, a connection between the two caves was found and it was named meatgrinder because it was small and of its shape.  The cave was leased from its owner Andy Powell and opened to the public in 1956, under the name of Cumberland Caverns.  Inside are many areas of interest such as the Monument Pillar that is a big flowstone formation; the Lemon Squeezer, since its tallest point was 11 inches; Crystal Palace because it is made of gypsum; Bubblegum Alley, along the same lines as the Palace, but is wetter and bumpier making it very difficult to get through; Devil's Backbone, since it has three spelunking caves and the Hall of the Mountain King which is the biggest cave room in the eastern continent.

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• Burgess Falls State Park
  The state park in Sparta, Tennessee, encompasses a steep gorge where the Falling Water River drops 250 feet in less than a mile, ending in a spectacular cataract waterfall 136 feet down.  A cataract waterfall is one the is very powerful, as the picture to the right will show you and by going to the waterfall itself.  The Burgess Falls State Natural Area is 350 acres and run by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.  The Falling Water River winds across the Cumberland Plateau into Center Hill Lake and the Caney Fork River, where the state natural area starts just above this and travels to a point where it drops 900 feet above the Highland Rim to a little over 600 feet at Center Hill Lake.  Over the eons, the rapids of the river have carved a deep gorge in the rock just above the mouth, with numerous cascades and waterfalls, getting stronger and bigger until it dumps into the lake.  The Falling Water Cascades just below the Burgess Falls dam, it goes over a 10 foot embankment of rocks and down from the cascades drops 30 feet more at Little Falls.  As the river bends to the north, an 80 foot waterfall known as Middle Falls, come up and downstream from these falls, the river bend west and the grandeur of the Burgess Falls drops 136 feet.  These falls drop into a huge gorge of limestone with walls 100 to 200 feet high.
  

• Shiloh National Military Park
  This park preserves the battlefields of Shiloh and Corinth, with the main area of the park in the unincorporated town of Shiloh, which is 9 miles from Savannah, Tennessee.  Another area of the park includes the town of Corinth, Mississippi; which is 23 miles southwest of Shiloh, with the battle being six months long trying to gain control of the railroad junction at Corinth.  After the battle, Union troops came from Pittsburg Landing to gain control of Corinth in May, then stopped a confederate counter-attack in October.  Shiloh was one of the first important battles of the Western Theater of the American Civil War, being fought on the 6th and 7th of April in 1862, between troops led by General Grant and Don Carlos Buell with 65,000 Union soldiers and 44,000 Confederate troops led by Albert Sidney Johnston; who was killed in the battle, and P.G.T. Beauregard.  The battle ended without a real victor, but over 24,000 men were either wounded, missing or killed.  Grant held the field, but did not follow the Confederate troops as they withdrew.  It was named after the small log church near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee; Shiloh Methodist Church.  The national park was started in 1894, because local farmers' pigs kept digging up dead soldier remains.  The total area is almost 4000 acres. 

May 12, 2011