Nashville is a phenomenal place, and somewhere I could probably be happy living the rest of my life. Still, there are times when I miss the small country town I came from.
My friends from home hog hunting one morning
My town is nothing special to any normal passerby and definitely a place you could drive through without noticing. It is one of those towns with charm that could be missed entirely because of people’s unwillingness to venture into an area they know nothing about, or even to look twice a place that doesn’t immediately grab their attention with flashing lights and exhilarating attractions. The casual observer would totally miss out on things such as our beautiful caladium fields and the hundreds of hand-painted murals.
My friend Ashley covered in mud after riding 4-wheelers all day
With no doubt in my mind, people would purposely pass our famous and locally loved “family restaurant,” better known as the “Truck Stop” restaurant, without a second thought. From the street view, the “Truck Stop” looks like one of those places your mother would rather have had you “pee your pants” than enter when needing to use the restroom as a child. However, if you are a lifer in our tiny community, you have probably eaten there for at least one meal nearly every day of your life. Chances are that you eat a specific meal at a specific table, at a specific time.
To the majority of people, activities such as hog-hunting, fishing, mudding, bonfires and four-wheeling sound about as fun as poking yourself in the eye, and referring to eating at the “Truck Stop” as the highlight of your day, sounds like the worst part of a bad dream. However, in what most would refer to as the perfect definition of a “Podunk town,” these activities growing up were the proverbial description of a great time!
Describing the tiny piece of the world where I grew up was necessary because my blog post for the week brought me to a place that was so much like home.
My boyfriend and I standing with the waterfall at our backs
I decided to venture about an hour out of Nashville into Tullahoma, Tenn. and immediately I knew this wasn’t the typical tourist town. It is about as opposite from Nashville as it comes. There are no big city lights, no flashy buildings or nightclubs and the stars at night are as visible and as bright as they can be.
The town had about five billboards and each one was used as an advertisement for LightTUBe, the cable, phone and internet company for the city. If you have any desire to watch television, use the world-wide web or do anything with technology in Tullahoma, LightTUBe is the only game in town; the need to advertise for it gave me a good laugh. Gondola Pizza & Steak House serves as the most hopping place in town.
Off to the side of the big waterfall, a smaller waterfall flows out of the rocks
When making a trip to Tennessee, Tullahoma is one of those places people tend to pass through without noticing and can only describe later as, “that town with all the cornfields and gas stations.” However, if you ever find yourself in this quaint, modest, country town be sure to scratch more than just the surface. There is so much hidden beauty and historic sites to see in Tullahoma that I would have undoubtedly missed if not for my recent weekend trip.
My boyfriend lives in Tullahoma and attends Motlow State Community College. Upon arriving he immediately asked me to go for a drive with him. When I asked where we were going he said, “to see the real Tullahoma.” I laughed and said, “oh ok so we will be back in, like, five minutes, right?” Knowing how small the town was, I really thought this was some kind of joke.
My first view of the waterfall as I was walking up
To my great surprise, the first place he took me was the original Jack Daniel’s Distillery. This is where in about 1865 Jack began making the first sour mash whisky. Tours of the distillery are recommended, but unfortunately we did not have time to take one. The ironic thing is that the Jack Daniel’s Distillery is located in a dry county, meaning if you ask for a drink while in the distillery, the most you will get is a big mug of iced tea or lemonade because alcohol is not permitted. We enjoyed seeing how they preserved the building and how everything for sale inside and items displayed all around, really look as if they came straight out of the 1920s. Secret No. 1 of the small town, uncovered.
Seeing the distillery was great and educational and all that jazz, but the highlight of my day was when he took me to see the waterfall. When he told me where we were headed, images of a diminutive manmade pond with slow trickling water somehow managing to struggle out of a tiny hole in some pebbles, came to mind. I never predicted the incredible sight I was about to see.
As we exited the truck and began walking to the waterfall, I looked to him and asked what that rushing, whistling sound was. As the temperature dropped and we continued climbing higher and higher, I repeated my previous question. He answered with, “It’s the waterfall.” Now he is not a liar and this is not the sort of joke he would tell; therefore, I began getting extremely excited, increasing my pace. My 5’1″ petite stature and tiny legs began to match his 6’4 massive strides and soon enough we were there.
Picture taken from my phone while I was wading in the freezing water
I stood, mouth gaping in amazement at the beauty of this immense waterfall created by nature alone, and I was even more astounded at where it was located. There in little Tullahoma Tenn., I saw this exquisite form of art with sparkling crystal clear water. I couldn’t break my stare as I tried to fathom how nature could place the massive rocks jutting out in multiple directions ever so perfectly so that the swift-moving water flowed down and rippled the still lake at the bottom so serenely and skillfully as if it were being personally guided. All these factors came into play and offered onlookers a magnificent view.
I wouldn’t have guessed in a million years something this gorgeous and miraculous would be in the town that I dreaded going to because of fear of boredom. The water is spring-fed, so it is freezing cold, but we stayed there for hours and just walked around on top of the waterfall and in the frigid water until dusk and until we were thoroughly exhausted.
Therefore, I guess what I learned through these amazing encounters is to always dig beneath the surface; the saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover” holds true in more situations than I realized. Never underestimate something that you haven’t fully explored and haven’t taken time to experience; you never know what you might discover.
Experiences in Nashville 