Franklin, TN: day 2 (my birthday!)

Day 2. The next morning, we grabbed our very pathetic hotel to-go breakfasts (THANKS, COVID) and headed to Winstead Hill Park, site of a Civil War battle and home to a decent 0.75 mile running path. David and I swapped out baby watching and running, followed by a picnic breakfast and a quick exploration of the park. I was bowled over by the monuments erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy, which stated things like, “...willing to die for a cause they knew was right...” Yeah, not so much, Daughters. 

The view from Winstead Hill

Running in Winstead Hill Park

Before heading back to give the baby a nap, we swung by Target so David could get coffee from the Starbucks inside (all the local coffee we tried was very weak and honestly terrible) and I could buy shoes. As is my wont, I broke a pair of shoes the very first day, while still in the airport, and ended up replacing them with what turned out to be very comfy sandals, so no big deal after all. I have a tendency to break shoes while on trips and dates and it’s most awkward.

We once again sat silently in the hotel room before heading out to the next adventure, a visit to Arrington Vineyards. We ate the leftover pizza before we left, but I packed macaroni leftovers for the baby to eat for lunch. The vineyards were really nice. It was pleasant weather, and the grounds had picnic tables all over, so we could sit in the shade or sun as we wished. 

The Vineyards

We started out with the red wine tasting flight, then elected to go with a bottle of rose, since it was somewhat warm. I had some baby toys, but we couldn’t really put the baby down to roam. The ground was too rough and dirty, with all the grass trampled near the picnic tables. One thing I didn’t bring was a picnic blanket - one of those baby surfaces that is waterproof but washable and has weighted corners to stay down. Not that Mr. Active would have stayed on it, but it would have helped a little! The rose was chilled and the baby mostly chill, so it was fun. In the afternoon, we headed into historic Franklin to look around. This cute area dates to the 1790s, and is a walkable few street with restaurants and boutiques. 

We did some browsing and shopping and then hit up a happy hour at an Irish Pub. But we didn’t see anything we really liked on the menu, so we decided to get an appetizer that the baby could eat, and then go to another restaurant. I picked the Reuben baked potato, and ... it was a disaster. It didn’t sit well in the baby’s stomach, so we spent the entire evening cleaning up corned beef puke. It was so bad that I threw my shirt out when we got to the hotel! But anyway. We found a smooth grassy area for the baby to puke and play for a bit, then tentatively ventured to a restaurant for dinner. Luckily the puking was done, and we enjoyed a nice dinner sitting outside in beautiful weather. I actually got the baby more food, assuming he was hungry after all that barfing, which turned out to be the case. I had mahi mahi tacos and they were quite good! We got some quality crap TV time in that evening - huddled over the ipad, each wearing one earbud. We started watching some of “Selling the Big Easy", since it is a reality TV show about houses on the market in New Orleans. We started watching it because our neighbors were on that show (and by the way, it’s all fake. Their house was never on the market at all, they just wanted the work done to it that was part of the series). I don’t think the pricing on that show is accurate, however. I think they adjust the pricing depending on the market. So since New Orleans prices are so high, they reduce them to reflect their nationwide audiences market prices. There were some homes for sale with prices obviously below market asking prices: usually in the $20-$30k below range. But it was still a fun show to watch, especially seeing streets and neighborhoods nearby!