August 12, Day 28: Memphis Tennessee

• Miles today:   519
• Trip total:   5350
• Weather: Scattered clouds. High 92F in Nashville TN
• Roads: Speed limit, rapid lane changes around Nashville beltway.
• Today’s Theme: “Smokey Mountain Rain” by Ronnie Milsap
• Rachaelism:  "I'm only eating this salad because it has bacon in it."
• Rodgerism:   "I know what oprah is."  (asked to try fried okra)
• Lesson: Have Teresa drive more often, so I can keep up with the blog.

With the generator going to feed the air conditioner, I can charge the laptop. With Teresa driving, I can edit the photos and rough-out today’s post. With any luck, I’ll have a decent internet connection tonight and stay caught up for a change.

  

Our campground was only a few minutes from the Biltmore Estate, the largest privately owned home in the USA. It has been in the Vanderbilt family since it was built at the end of the 19th century. I explained to the kids that it is kind of like HGTV (Teresa’s favorite television channel) in 3D.

  

It is not possible to describe the house and the grounds and do it justice. It is not just filled with historic artifacts, but the actual possessions of the Vanderbilts over four generations.  It doesn't look like a sterile museum.  (No interior photos allowed, sorry.)  Not bad for a vacation house.

After a couple of hours in the house, we abandoned our plans to explore the gardens since we were running short on time, with a long driving day ahead. It’s a good thing, because it took us about 30 minutes just to drive around them on our way to the exit. The grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, of Central Park NY fame.  They also have an inn, winery and craft village on the estate. If you think you may ever wish to visit, give yourself a couple of days, and keep in mind that on weekends you need to purchase timed entry tickets well in advance. With no air conditioning, morning is the best time to visit in summer.

  

On to Tennessee...

...and finally stopping at one of the Cracker Barrel restaurants that are located at every third exit. The kids are now having a competition with the “peg game.”

We’ll be getting to the campground in Memphis late tonight, so I’ll finish this now (on the road) and post it when we get there.