Well, while all of you were pampering your mothers for Mother's Day, I left my mama with my kids and my Gran and jaunted off on an overnight trip with my husband. We were gone a total of 28 hours but they were well spent and were just what we needed. We hadn't been away since after Christmas and with Granny here we don't get "alone" time very often. Mother graciously offered to come and stay at our house. Amelia and Dinah went to stay with and be spoiled by Papa. Ty and Tess stayed here at our house and got a break from helping out with the little ones. The arrangement worked out wonderfully.
We like to try and stay close to home when we get away so that we don't waste time just riding in a car and so we can get back quickly if needed. We thought we might get to stay in Pickwick but that didn't work out. So, we decided to go to Lawrenceburg, TN to check out the Amish scene. Sounds romantic, doesn't it? We had a wonderful time so don't rush to judgement.
Mom came over and spent the night on Friday night so that I could get good rest before we left out early the next morning. Eric and I went to Selmer that evening to go to their Wal-Mart and get groceries. We like to change up the routine a bit sometimes. :) On our way out of the store he wanted to look at the RedBox to see if they had a movie that Coach Daniel recommended. The box had it so we rented Parental Guidance with Bette Midler and Billy Crystal. It was really funny. I recommend.
The next morning we left out around 7:30 and began to mosey our way to Tennessee. We stopped in Savannah and had breakfast at The Toll House. It was our first time there and we enjoyed it. I would describe it as Savannah's version of Martha's Menu. The bacon was excellent and our waitress was attentive and nice without hovering too much.
With full stomach's we hit the road again with our eyes toward Lawrenceburg. Thankfully, we could listen to KLOVE almost all the way there. It's inspiring songs were the soundtrack for our countryside drive.
Before we got to Wayne county, I started seeing signs like Bigbie Ranch and Flat Gap Creek, Persimmon Lane. The fit the landscape perfectly as we passed grazing land with goats and long-horned cattle. When we weren't surrounded by rolling hills, we were flanked by beautiful layers of rock that had been blasted out years ago to make the road. It wasn't surprising to see the Wayne Co. Rock Company a ways down the highway where piles of different sized gravel and beautiful slate encircled their building.
17 miles outside of Lawrenceburg, we saw our first Amish buggy and team, traveling down the 4 lane. Even though there were no signs asking us to lower our speed, we had read online to make sure that we were watchful for the Amish travelers. The sides of the the highway had extra wide, shoulders. Buggy-wide shoulders, I believe.
The scenery changed and corn silos and wheat fields appeared. Then just before you enter Lawrenceburg, the highway narrows, becomes two lanes and curvy. David Crockett Elementary School welcomes you with a blue tin roof.
We went directly to the downtown area. We found it easily from the highway. After parking we walked to their square. The weather was beautiful, not too cool, not hot. In the center of the roundabout inside the square is a gazebo. As we walked, I heard fiddle music. We found out later that they were playing bluegrass music in the square every Saturday in the month of May. These men were just setting up for that. We antiqued all morning to the sounds of a bluegrass band.
We headed toward Ethridge, TN to tour the Amish community around noon. We stopped at The Amish Mall to get a map of the farms and the goods they offered. We had read about that map when we researched the trip on the internet. The map is just a pencil drawing, but it helped us greatly. Each farmhouse is numbered and at the bottom of the map the numbers are listed with the products that each farm sells.
Before we set out to the farms we did some more antique shopping and then we ate at Country Mill Restaurant. There was a buffet of country cooking at which you were served your choice of meat and vegetables. I got a barbecued chicken breast and Eric got country-fried steak. The food was delicious. They did bring me sweet tea instead of unsweet, and seemed too busy with the customer load to come by and check on that. Maybe if we hadn't been there when it was so busy the service would have been better.
With full bellies, we set out on our Amish adventure. We drove slowly with our windows down, making the most of the experience by absorbing as much of the setting as we could. All of the Amish houses were white farmhouses. Some of the ones that we stopped at sold their wares from the porches but others had set up small sheds by the road. They sold things like furniture, tack, candy, baskets, hats, quilts, baked and canned goods, tomato stakes and small garden plants. We bought fresh bread, butter, peanut brittle, chow chow, "pool room" slaw (like a hot mustard slaw), small cedar sticks for my dresser drawers and closets, and small bead bracelets for the girls.
Before we left we looked at several options for a hotel room. After some research online, I found out that the only places to stay in Lawrenceburg were motels. I haven't stayed in a motel since high school. I am not really thrilled about the doors facing the outside instead of inside a secure building. We said that if we didn't like the looks of things we could always drive to Florence that night and spend our Sunday there. After seeing Lawrenceburg, though, and scoping out the most recommended motel, we decided we wanted to stay there. We checked into the Richland Inn that afternoon and could not be more pleased with the room considering the price we paid for it. It was clean and had everything that we needed. It was quiet and I never felt unsafe.
After resting a bit, we hit the highway again to find a place to eat supper. We just drove until we saw a restaurant that looked like it might be good with a lot of cars in the parking lot. Those parameters took us to the Kuntry Kitchen.
Ok, I've already revealed my snobbery with the motel experience, so I guess it won't surprise you that I also have preconceived notions about restaurants that use K's where C's should be (This one misspells the word entirely). Also, "fine dining" alongside a catfish with a top hat and cane don't seem to go together. We knew from the motel that my prejudices could be wrong so we gave it a try. We had the recommended catfish and it was mighty "fine". So, I guess they were right. Their other specialty was onion rings and I regret not having any. Maybe I'll make it back to Lawrenceburg to get some.
The Crockett Theatre was right across the street from the Richland Inn. We saw that they were showing the movie Home Run. I had not heard what the movie was about except for it being a baseball movie that had a great message. The movie wasn't released in all theaters so we were glad for the opportunity to see it. It made me laugh and cry and think and feel. I encourage anyone who loves a good movie with a good message, to go see this movie. Here's the trailer:
It was a lovely ending to a beautiful day.
I'll fill you in on our Sunday morning in another post.
(My favorite Antique stores were New Moon Antiques and Arts on the square in Lawrenceburg and Rusty Nail Trading Post in Ethridge, TN.)
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