Nashville Belle Air Mansion

Staying in a real pre-Civil War mansion 5 miles from downtown Nashville. Unbelievable that people lived like this in the 1800s or now. Seventy seven slaves worked 1800 acres before the Civil War. There's a dungeon in the basement because court proceedings were held in the library. Andrew Jackson practiced law in the "courtroom." Prisoners were held in the dungeon. One of the mansion mistresses had a huge rose garden and sold rosewater. Now the restored building is a grand bed and breakfast. This video gives a good overview. https://youtu.be/8Szh6L59uJE

Heading to Texas

First stop is lovely Hotel Bristol in Bristol VA which straddles the border with TN. We visited the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. Well worth a visit. More concerning were the local newspaper headlines about the problems with the local landfill. The landfill opened in 1998 when the VA part of the city bought a Vulcan quarry and started filling it with trash. Jump forward to now when mysterious noxious odors take over the whole adjacent area - even downtown - especially in the winter. No one can figure out why and all kinds of people are suing each other. BUT the Hotel Bristol is fabulous and the rooftop bar was great when we visited twice.