My wife, Kelly and I were loooong overdue for some R&R, so when we saw that things were starting to calm down with the pandemic back in June, we planned to celebrate our Silver Anniversary (25 Years) by making an escape from San Antonio into the back woods of rural Georgia in a little town called Trenton, that hugs the borders of Tennessee, and Alabama Kelly had lived around there before we met back in her wild days, and had a childhood friend and family that still lived there; so we planned our relaxing vacation to spend a week in the south.
We planned a 3 day excursion to Trenton and carded out 2 days to spend in Nashville. Kelly’s friend, Lia, Lived right inside of Lookout Mountain in a flight park that specializes in Hang gliding. Her hubby, Scott, was an avid hang glider and all around hippie type who was a free spirit, Air brush artist, fun loving, all around good guy. They also have a very sweet little girl who looks like sunshine in human form.
So Kelly and I flew to Nashville on a Friday and hopped in a rental car. We then proceeded to drive from Nashville to Georgia, about a 2 hour drive in some truly beautiful mountainous countryside. Kelly got hangry around 9 PM so we made a stop in some Podunk town and hit a little roadside buffet; the place had all of the comfort foods that we love; fresh fried chicken, mashed taters with gravy, catfish, mac & cheese etc…it was heaven and my tummy was very happy! I love good old southern cooking. Well we got to our Air B&B outside of Trenton around 10 PM. It was hella-dark and the GPS had no idea where to send us so we drove around lost for a little bit, but eventually found the “Woody Cabin”, a very cute cabin tucked away in the hills. It was clean and quiet and very cozy…there were a few bugs but hey, it was a cabin in the woods! Also, the owners made sure to leave us a very nice greeting celebrating our anniversary. It was just too bad that I forgot to mention my wife’s name in the correspondence…
Our Visit to Trenton was awesome! Lia and Scott were great. Kelly and Lia of course yapped the entire time along with Lia’s Mom, Sondra, another fixture in Kelly’s life.
Scott and I were like 2 grown up children who were forced on a play date. But we gelled instantly and had a great time conversing about all sorts of nonsense like music, art, movies and of course, hang gliding.
The little one was shy at first, but I was able to break through a few times by playing ball and chasing firefly’s with her; she is such a sweet little girl. We also all went to to Chattanooga for an afternoon to visit the Tennessee aquarium. Let me tell you, that was one of the best indoor aquariums that I have seen in a very long time. If you ever pass close by to downtown Chattanooga, do not miss out on the opportunity to visit this place. It is a must see!
Then, thanks to Lia and Scott, Kelly and I got to go up for our first hang gliding experience. Because of safety, we went up tandem with a certified instructor. The experience reminded me of my Airborne days with the excitement of going up into the unknown, but unlike the Airborne experience, hang gliding is much smoother and relaxing. I felt like a bird in flight at 2000 feet.
Glenn’s Flight Video
Kelly’s Flight Video
That was some serious fun and I think I found a new hobby! After all fo that fun, it was time to leave 
and head to our next adventure in Nashville. We got a really nice Air B&B right next to downtown so we went down to Broadway Street which is a lot like Bourbon St in New Orleans, without so much urine on the street. We hit the Honkey Tonks (my fav was Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk), that place was alive! I had a few beverages and walked around…
The music all over Broadway was amazing and the food was really good. I got a chimichanga that was nothing short of stupendous! I actually went back the next day and got a second one before we flew home…that’s how damn good it was!
We went to the Ryman (Original Grand Ol’ Opry), The Country Music Hall of Fame and the Johnny Cash Museum. We both love to experience history and being so close to the all of that country music history was moving for sure…
Lastly, before we left, we took a river boat ride on the Cumberland River that runs through downtown Nashville; the weather was perfect for it and it was very scenic. Finally, we went a found a local attraction called the Parthenon, a full-scale replica of the Greek Athenian original Parthenon. It was erected in 1897 during the Tennessee centennial celebration and is quite a piece of art.
Sadly it was time to fly back to San Antonio, but our vacation was a ton of fun and we got a whole bag of memories; we’ll definitely be going back for another visit…I need those chimichangas….
