Day 47: Indianapolis, Indiana to Franklin, Tennessee

It did not make geographic sense to go home to Vermont with Greg's next game slated for New Orleans, so we said "good-bye" to Indianapolis and headed south toward Nashville, Tennessee, aiming to take in a few historical sights on the way. Our route went right by the stadium, so we stopped for this selfie. 

As you can see from the parking lot, it was raining slightly. Unfortunately for us, the rain would become a downpour midway thought the journey. Turns out the trucks don't worry about such things. They continue to speed past you at alarmingly close distances even when visibility is poor. 

Our route took us through Kentucky, a state I have never visited. I'm sure that there are lots of lovely parts but they weren't much in evidence from the highway. 

While I am not a fan of Kentucky's exports in terms of senators, they do know how to make whisky, as we learned from many "historic landmark" designations on the freeway. We made a brief pit stop to take a picture in front of one of them. Alas, no free samples in the era of covid -- and, of course, we were driving. 

Scenes from the road.           Louisville skyline (right).

Greg is really adept at finding odd roadside attractions. And he's a fan of "Muffler Men" from the 50s and 60s. Lucky for us, there were several available sightings on our route.

  

                    

When we arrived in Nashville we saw signs (literally) of the final presidential debate, then just a couple of days away. 

Nashville seems to be a pretty cool town. There is definitely a building boom going on. We saw a lot of modern structures under construction. When I googled "up and coming cities 2020," Franklin (a Nashville suburb) was ranked #3. There are many lovely public parks and the weather was perfect for walking. Centennial park (below) featured a surprising structure. No, we're not in Athens.

 

The Parthenon in Centennial Park, in Nashville, Tennessee, is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It was designed by architect William Crawford Smith and built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.  (from wikipedia)

                                                                                     

We spent the night in Franklin and stopped at a civil war battle site the next morning.

Franklin, Tennessee: House with 1,000 Civil War Bullet Holes. Not a nice place to be during the Battle of Franklin, where bodies lay six feet deep. (below, text from wikipedia)

  

                   

Here is the overall map and an inset of the journey from Indie to Nashville. 

Next stop: Birmingham, Alabama