Country Ham and Moon Pies

We got home from Nashville last night a few minutes before 8 p.m. I don't have the energy this evening to do an eloquent wrap-up post of any kind, so this will be what Stacey calls "one of them bullet posts."

• I landed in Nashville late Tuesday night. I've started going late at night instead of waking up and taking the first plane out. I just do better when I get a good night's sleep.
• Wednesday I worked a full day.
• Thursday afternoon Cole flew in and we attended the annual Hammock Publishing Christmas party. View pictures here. Dinner was great. Rex was as generous as ever. And the party bus was a scream. I think it got to about 17 degrees while we were out that night, so I feel like I've officially seen winter.
• Friday I worked half a day, then Cole and I grabbed a bite to eat at the Flying Saucer and visited the Tennessee State Capitol. It was a little cold to be strolling the grounds, but we did it anyway. It's a beautiful building. Visit if you get the chance.
• Friday evening we drove to the Loveless Cafe for dinner. Well, we ate breakfast foods at dinner, so I guess it still counts as dinner. Again, it was incredibly cold! We got there during their last hour of being open, and we wanted to do some shopping in the "Hams and Jams" giftshop. Our waitress called the giftshop to see if they were still open, and they were actually trying to close up. But the kind lady at the giftshop stuck around for us to do some shopping. Biscuit mix, t-shirts and a magnet, and we were on our way to get lost in rural Tennessee.
• Saturday morning we slept in a bit before hitting the road to Lynchburg. We did the touristy thing and took a tour at the Jack Daniel's Distillery. Our guide was a hoot. I didn't understand every word that came out of his mouth, but he made the tour very entertaining and educational. Maybe one day the hair in my nose will grow back. Sniffing that stuff in the middle of the mellowing process will clean your sinuses right out!!!
• After our tour, we headed out of Lynchburg looking for a speck on the map called Lynnville. Laura had tipped us off to the Southern Living article about a gentleman named Colonel Littleton. I think we drove for probably an hour, winding in and out of the hills of rural south Tennessee. There were miles and miles of the drive where we couldn't pick up cell service. And you know you're driving through really small towns when there is horse poop on Main Street. When we finally hit Lynnville, we stopped for directions and ended up having a late lunch at a place called Soda Pop Junction. It's apparently pretty famous in those parts. After shopping at the colonel's place and visiting with the sweet ladies there, we took our mini Moon Pies (order something from him and you'll get one too!) and headed back to Nashville. This time on the interstate. We were drained enough from our day if whiskey-sniffing and driving winding roads that we ordered room service and stayed in.
  
• Sunday morning we got a fairly early start and fueled ourselves with breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. We timed our visit perfectly because by the time we sat down, the line to come in and eat was down the sidewalk. It was a little warmer on Sunday, so we walked around Centennial Park and enjoyed the Parthenon and the squirrels.
  
• Side note: If/when you shop for Christie Cookies, shop at the Village Green location. We stopped by there for our regular Christie fix. The place looked open from the parking lot; there was a gentleman inside working. But upon sticking our heads in and asking, he was he was in fact closed and asked what we wanted. We only wanted a couple, so he hooked us up and would only take about half what a register would have told him the total was. He was so kind to us, and never made us felt like we were ruining his day or not moving fast enough for him. That is now officially my favorite Christie location!!! Visit there soon and do your cookie business there.
• Although I didn't have room for it, we had lunch at Maggiano's. That's the same place where we had the Hammock Christmas party last year, so we knew it would be good. Then we headed to the airport to catch a flight back to the Lone Star State.

See all my pictures of the trip here. I'll let you know when Cole's are up. I'm sure I'm probably forgetting something, and if I am, I'll fill in the blanks later. G'night!!!