By 10:15 we were all on our way to Loveless Cafe in the outskirts of Nashville. It was about 30 minutes from the CG. I wondered why we drove so far to have breakfast. Let me tell you, it is not about the journey, but the destination in this case. It is an experience!!!! It was started back in 1951 when husband and wife, Lon and Annie Loveless, first started serving secret recipe biscuits and fried chicken to weary travelers on the outskirts of Nashville! Currently serving more than 500,000 customers a year, the Loveless Cafe can officially be declared a Nashville restaurant institution. We had a 30 minute wait and it was 11:00 AM, but it gave us time to walk around the shops that occupy the former motel rooms. It is amazing how much jams, jellies, meats, biscuit mixes, etc. they sell. They even have a shipping store where you can put food items in a basket or box and for a flat fee of $12.00 they will ship the items to your home or to a friend, etc. The Food Network says, "It's America's Best Biscuit, USA Today says it's "America's Top Down-Home Dining Spot", and Martha Stewart says, "It's the best breakfast I've ever had!"
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| The Loveless Cafe is south of Nashville just off the entrance to the Natchez Trace. |
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| The most delicious hot, light biscuits I have ever eaten!!! |
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| ......but lots of famous people do eat here. There are many, many photos on their walls! |
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| They have opened shops in what used to be their motel! |
Once we got our food, I began to realize why this place is so popular. They are especially known for their secret recipe for making biscuits. They make 7,000 biscuits daily, serve them hot and with their famous peach, strawberry, and blackberry preserves. You can have as many as you can eat. They are positively delicious! Their other specialty is their country ham and it was exceptional too! We were so "stuffed" when we left that we all decided it might be our only meal of the day!
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| Most of us had at least 3 biscuits! They melted in your mouth! Their jellies are delicious too! This was just our 1st plate of biscuits. |
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| Scrambled eggs, cheesy hash brown casserole, sausage and sausage gravy to put over the biscuits. Go Chucky!!! |
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| This is their country ham that they smoke and their red eye gravy which has a little bit of coffee! |
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| We had such a good time with Melissa's mother, Norma Jean, and were so happy to meet her and spend time together! |
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| All smiles waiting for their delicious breakfast. I think they may have eaten some of the biscuits and it brought a smile to their faces!! |
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| We are taking a breather to allow some of the food to digest before digging in again!!!! |
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| This gal makes biscuits constantly and has it down to a "science". |
From there we started our drive on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Ken has been wanting to travel on this highway for a long time. We enjoyed seeing the famous bridge that is quite a unique design and then drove on the highway for about 12 or 15 miles. It goes on for over 400 miles, but we convinced Ken that we didn't need to see all of it!!!!! We had traveled so many scenic highways during this Great American Leaf Tour when the leaves were at their peak, so he agreed to get off and tour some other areas.
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| More beautiful leaves to enjoy! |
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| What a unique bridge! |
We left the highway and drove into the small town of Leiper's Fork, stopping at Pickett's Grocery/Restaurant. What an interesting place. Melissa told us that they offer "meat plus 2". We had never heard of that. It means you order 1 meat and 2 veggies and also get a biscuit or a piece of fried corn bread. Melissa bought 2 of the corn breads so we could try it (Actually they gave them to her as a gift!). The young cashier said they get many celebraties in their restaurant/store and many of them have homes near by including Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, the Judd's, and Jason Timberlake is in the process of building a large home. Wow, and this is such a little "village" type setting.
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| Doesn't quite look like a place that would attract the stars!!!! |
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| Pretty simple place inside Notice how none of the tables match! |
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| Ken was certain that this is a lane to one of the star's home - could it be Carrie Underwood, or maybe the Judd's, or maybe Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman - just use your imagination!!!! |
We drove through a neighboring, affluent town of Franklin, where Melissa spent a lot of time at their bank, courthouse, etc. when she worked for a builder. The homes there were incredible, many of them costing over a million dollars. Driving through the downtown shopping area I quickly realized it was a place where this gal would not be able to afford to buy anything! We also passed the place where their daughter, Crystal, was married and had her reception.
After leaving Franklin, we went to Costco to get some necessary groceries and some new "house shoes" according to Chuck and Melissa. We would call them slippers! When we put our groceries "away", they put them "up"! Up where???? The Hoslers and Gregorys seem to have a language barrier at times! They just don't speak right in the south!!!!!!
We took Melissa's mother home, shared hugs and good-byes, and then the 4 of us returned to the CG around 5. We all did some prep work inside and out for our departure tomorrow morning.
At 6:30 we drove to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel to see what it looked like inside at night. Not as lighted as we had hoped but we got to see a very beautiful 15 minute fountain show to music. The colors and syncrinization was amazing.
Also, I always knew that one of my favorite stars, Elvis, was still alive and I was thrilled to be able to get my picture taken with him. Made my day!!!!
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| I was in "shock" to be with Elvis! |
Back to the CG and we went over to Chuck and Melissa's to watch the Republic Debate. I worked on my blog ad watched at the same time. We all appreciated how the candidates were very civil to each other and how they let the moderators know that they didn't appreciate a lot of their questions. They needed to put them in their place!!!!
We were in bed by 10:30 to get a good night's rest before heading to Atlanta tomorrow and visiting with Chuck and Melissa's daughters and their families.
Our time in Nashville has been busy, but so interesting and so much fun! Thank you Chuck, Melissa, and Norma Jean!
Oh, man, those breakfasts look good!! I can't believe how much Melissa and her Mom look alike... especially their smile!! You look like you're afraid Elvis might EAT you! :))
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