Travel Journal: On the Road to Nashville

Once we had to say goodbye to Fort Pickens in Pensacola Beach, Florida, we began making our way north to Nashville, Tennessee which was part of the larger trip home to Chicago.

We took our time and stopped at two fantastic campgrounds in Alabama, spending Easter weekend at Foscue Creek in Demopolis. An Army Corp of Engineers campground, Foscue Creek featured one of the nicest spots we’ve camped at to date, with a leveled and paved site that could have easily fit two Bussies in the spot. In addition to a beautiful site, we were invited to participate in a camp wide Easter Sunday breakfast with biscuits and gravy and french toast. It was a lovely way to spend the holiday and we followed the day up with a big family dinner at our campsite.

Our amazing site at Foscue Creek Campground

Doesn’t everyone sneak their kids Easter candy?

Easter dinner

After a relaxing weekend at Foscue, complete with more turtles than you could ever imagine, we continued journeying towards Nashville and enjoyed an overnight spot at Clear Creek Campground, in Jasper, Alabama. Part of the Bankhead National Forest, we were fortunate to get a pull-through spot which, when you are pulling a vehicle and just doing an overnight stop, is like winning the lottery. Once settled we enjoyed some old school playground fun to help counter balance the drive from Foscue. Watching the boys try to navigate an old wooden play set – complete with a dangerous teeter-totter — was both hilarious, and a reminder of how old Jason and I are.

Stretching our legs after a long drive

After the quick stop at Clear Creek we continued on to Nashville, Tennessee where the rain that had been threatening for the last couple of days finally hit. Thankfully it waited till we were settled at Seven Points Campground, which had the coolest multi-layer pull-through site. I fully believe Jason saw this site as an RVers heavenly oasis, and months later, his eyes still light up when he starts talking about Seven Points. It’s so rare to have such an affordable public campground within a big city, so our bank account was happy, too.

Seven Points Campground

Adult drinking at the Grand Ole Opry Mall

Over the next few days, we were back to urban life, enjoying chain restaurants, malls, museums, and working remotely at the nearby Starbucks since, like the last two campgrounds, Seven Points, had no wifi and we had plenty of work to do.

As we explored Nashville, a highlight for the kids, and for the grown-ups too, was being able to useor Museum of Science and Industry reciprocal membership benefits at Adventure Science Center. While I spent most of our time working in their cafeteria, Jason and the kids had a great time exploring this multi-level space, complete with a very cool simulated moon walk which Jack and Ethan both enjoyed, and feared.

I wish I could tell you we heard a lot of great music while in Nashville, but we didn’t. We did, however, have some totally fantastic BBQ at Bar-B-Cutie. Not only were the prices fair, the service solid, but all the kid’s meals are served on frisbees, which the kids thought was just the best, and I swear made them eat more of their food.

My work buddies

All in all, Nashville was pretty uneventful and we loved it. Days full of balancing work and adventuring, where work wins out more often than we would like, can be disappointing, but we have come to realize during our travels that we don’t have to do everything before we move on, and nothing is stopping us from returning whenever we like. New places are no longer one and done experiences. So, with that in mind, we said “until next time” to Nashville, and turned our eyes to a National Park that’s been on our must-see list for a long time – Mammoth Cave National Park.