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Flying Away from Tennessee

Capt Sandy

Well Known Member
When Roy and I started dating almost 15 years ago, I never expected that our flights to the coast for dinner or down the valley for lunch or hiking would turn into journeys across country. I never expected that I?d want to fly anywhere other than the Pacific Northwest. And I certainly never expected that we?d fly as far away as Tennessee - or that I would fall in love with the Smoky Mountains. I?m so happy for the Plane He Built.


https://mailchi.mp/e8cd3ba7c317/ripping-off-the-bandaid

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tips?

We fly over all the time and always see cute little towns, lakes etc that look like great stops when heading to florida or bahamas. We have hit the big tourist places like nashville and knoxvilled etc....but for those that live or fly it lots...any tips on great little places to spend a night or two? Friendly airport, decent basic hotel and a decent meal in a pretty spot is all we need. One time we found a really cool airport on side of a hill..always wished i noted it as i never found it again when i had time to drop in.

Any ideas to put on my list?
 
TN Travel

Any ideas to put on my list?

Here's a few ideas for your travels through TN:

  • Lebanon, TN (M54): If you're coming through in August, the Wilson County Fair has been voted the best county fair in the nation several years running. Original home of Cracker Barrel, you'll find one in town to fill your belly.
  • Murfreesboro, TN (MBT): Use the courtesy car and go to Puckett's Grocery Store for a meal. The original is in Franklin, TN and it was a general store converted to a restaurant. On the weekends there's usually live music. MBT is building a new FBO building and Middle TN State University has an active flight program, so things can get a bit busy there but don't let that stop you from coming. Stones River National Battlefield is nearby too.
  • Shelbyvile, TN (SYI): Take the crew car over to the Bell Buckle Cafe in where else, but Bell Buckle. About a 15 minute drive and the food will not disappoint. Get yourself a Moon Pie and an RC Cola to boot. If you like horses, the TN Walking Horse Celebration happens in the end of August.
  • Tullahoma, TN (THA): Walk over to the Beechcraft Museum. It's right next to the grass runway although I cannot recommend landing on it since it's quite rough. If you feel compelled to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, there's a sky diving center on the field.
  • McKinnon, TN Houston County Airport (M93): Right by Land Between the Lakes park your airplane in the grass on the west end and walk across to the Southernaire Motel and Restaurant. I've had breakfast there and you will not go away hungry. Take off to the west and you'll be over the lake in seconds.
  • Smithville, TN (0A3): Right next to Center Hill Lake. Rent a boat and spend the whole day out there. During the week, you'll have the lake to yourself. On the north side past the dam, you can go canoeing on the Caney Fork River.
  • Fayetville, TN (FYM): Lynchburg, TN is not too far away to take a tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery. When you fly over it on the way in or out, north of Fayetville, you'll see dozens of storage warehouses holding millions of gallons of Jack. Lynchburg is a dry county so no free samples. Head over to Miss Bobo's for lunch but beware the Tipsy Cake.
  • Oneida, TN (SCX): Big South Fork national recreation area is right next door. Hundreds of miles of hiking, riding and ATV trails just in TN and it joins the Daniel Boone National Forrest in KY for many more. The south fork of the Cumberland river goes through the area. Think of this area as the Smokey Mountains National Park but without the crowds. We've been hiking all day out there and never see anyone all day; beautiful but you may want to bring your GPS with you on the trails. Probably the cleanest campgrounds we have ever stayed at.

Well Rick, that should give you a few ideas the next time you travel through TN. There are many more, these are just the ones I came up with off the top of my head. Enjoy!
 
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Thanks

That is perfect.
Very pretty state and most of the time we just buzz over but some nice stops like this with some notes is great. Will make sure i hit some of them.
 
Murfreesboro - get a crew car and go to Slick Pig BBQ. Located just off of the MTSU campus. Absolutely awesome marinated, smoked wings. So good, had 200 FedEx?d to my son?s Air Force pilot training graduation. Lasted about 15 minutes!
 
Karl,
Thank you for the list of great places to visit. My hubby grew up in Oak Ridge, and we were delighted to discover Big South Fork together. What a beautiful place. Last year we flew in to Tullahoma and borrowed the courtesy car to visit Jack Daniels - See my write-up “No Plan to Meet Jack”
http://aplanehebuilt.tumblr.com/post/168905429555/having-no-plan-to-meet-jack

Highly recommend Tullahoma - but don’t tell too many folks about FBO camping and I won’t tell too many folks about Tennessee. BTW, we said the same thing about Oregon - it’s cold and wet there allll the time - miserable - don’t move there. It sort of worked for a while. (Sigh).

Anyway - Route 55 BBQ in Tullahoma was terrific. Also, if in the Big South Fork area, be sure to visit the Primitive Barn near Onieda for some _real_ downhome cooking. Homemade butter even.

Looking forward to more exploring....

Fair Winds, Ya’ll
 
Tennessee BBQ

Murfreesboro - get a crew car and go to Slick Pig BBQ. Located just off of the MTSU campus. Absolutely awesome marinated, smoked wings. So good, had 200 FedEx?d to my son?s Air Force pilot training graduation. Lasted about 15 minutes!

I love wings! Definitely going to try that next time we go to Tennessee! Thanks for the tip.
 
Places to visit in Tennessee

Greeneville KGCY has a newly paved runway and a friendly FBO. The General Morgan Inn is a beautifully restored hotel with a fine-dining restaurant - Brumley?s. Easy access to golf, mountains, history, a performing arts center with first-class performers, and NASCAR at Bristol VA. There?s an auto museum well worth seeing right near the hotel.

Just be sure to arrange for a rental car - or make taxi reservations ahead of time. Otherwise, you could end up sleeping in your plane!

One of my best 2018 airport memories was showing up to depart on a Friday afternoon and being invited to graze the home-cooked BBQ lunch they?d laid out at the FBO.
 
Chattanooga might surprise you. Downtown is kinda like a well restored vintage a/c. Good hotels, several good music clubs, the Tennessee Aquarium (it was great when we saw it years ago, and it's since doubled in size), etc. And supposedly, the fastest internet in the USA. :)

A little farther out, hang gliding off Lookout Mountain, the incline railway, more museums, etc.

Charlie
 
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