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Our Trip to The Hermitage & Franklin, TN

Brandon standing in front of The Hermitage.
 Two weeks ago we headed to Nashville to meet up with Brandon's parents.  Elijah spent 5 days staying with his Nina & Poppy Steve in Arkansas so he was not with us during our trip to The Hermitage.  Eva travels best in the morning so we planned on starting out early in the day.  We would end up arriving early to Franklin and knew that we would have a couple of hours to kill.  Brandon asked me what I would like to do and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  I have wanted to stop at The Hermitage (the home of Andrew Jackson) for years.  I love history (I majored in biology & history in college) and Brandon minored in history while in college.  I am thankful that we can share our love of history and exploring together.   
Evangeline & I had a lovely time walking around the grounds.  (I was a little disappointed about all of the construction.)
 I am also related to Andrew Jackson on my dad's side of the family.  I think Andrew Jackson was kind of a jerk as a president and I would much rather be related to someone else but that's just the way it is.  The Hermitage was beautiful and I really enjoyed our visit.  I found it fascinating to think about gliding my hand down the same staircase or gazing upon the exact same wallpaper that adorned the house during the time our 7th president resided here.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photographs inside so you will just have to take my word for it or visit it for yourself one day.  If you do decide to visit here is a coupon.

 
The back view of the house which is just as pretty as the front.
It was interesting to learn that Andrew Jackson was well known for his hospitality.  Many famous men have stayed in his home.  I think if I lived here I would just spend all day sitting on one of the 2nd story porches.  I have to wonder if any of Jackson's children ever fell off of them.
We were not allowed to take photographs inside the actual house.  This picture was taken inside a slave's cabin. 

Another view of the slave cabin.  I think it was called Alfred's Cabin.
If you do visit know that you will probably want to allow 2-4 hours.  I think we stayed about 3 hours but we could have easily stayed longer.  I think there are more walking trails along a creek which we did not explore.  (The weather turned a little chilly.)  There are also picnic tables on the grounds where you could have lunch.  We did not take Eli with us since he was with his grandparents at the time but I would take him with us next time.  I wouldn't say it is overly kid friendly but we are pretty adventurous when it comes to taking our kids places.  (Our philosophy is kind of have kids will travel.)
The grave.

Walking around the gardens and listening to the audio recordings.  
 I would imagine that the gardens are breathtaking in the summer.  I am so thankful that we finally had a chance to visit.  The Hermitage is one of the largest and most visited presidential homes.  It boasts 1,120 acres and each year 180,000 people visit.
Eva fought taking a nap for most of our trip.  
I really enjoyed adding a fun stop on our way to Franklin, TN (just outside of Nashville).  We then enjoyed a wonderful couple of days visiting with Brandon's side of the family who live in Arkansas and Georgia.  I didn't take anymore pictures the rest of our trip (mommy brain) but we did have a wonderful time visiting the Nashville Zoo and Pinkerton Park in Franklin.  It is always a treat to spend time with family.  
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