The Hermitage
Photos by Drew
When I wrote that post about imaginary southern travels and how I wanted to see the Hermitage I had no idea I’d be going there so soon. But on Saturday when we were in Tennessee and the weather magically turned nice, my parents and Drew and I got in the car, picked up Lauren and Neil in Nashville, and drove off to spend the day at the old plantation where Andrew Jackson lived. Unfortunately I didn’t wear the magical Steven Alan dresses or See by Chloe sandals on my imaginary wishlist; H&M striped dresses and old estate sale scarves aren’t quite as good, but they did the trick for the day. Plus I actually wore sensible shoes for once and probably enjoyed myself 10 times more because of it . . . it’s amazing to be able to walk around forests or jump across creeks without having to worry about silly platform heels getting in the way.
We actually took the tour this time, and I’m glad we did because with a president like Andrew Jackson there were lots of good stories to fit in . . . And of course the rooms and 19th century wallpapered hallways were too pretty to miss, especially since everything seems to have been left alone since the time of the Jacksons. We weren’t supposed to take pictures inside, but Drew snuck lots of them, which was good, because since the outside of the building is being restored at the moment we couldn’t get any proper tourist photos out in front. No white-columned, southern porch photos for us!
It was OK, though. There was so much to see outside. There’s the family graveyard, tiny and Victorian and set off by Andrew and Rachel Jacksons’ elaborate tomb; there are wooded trails and streams and a spring that ends in a little stone building that served as an early type of refrigerator; there are beautiful gardens near the house, and not so near it there are slave cabins and cotton fields and other reminders of southern plantation life before the Civil War. I like that the tour and the short film we saw beforehand didn’t gloss over this part of Jackson’s life and presidency, and they certainly didn’t hero-worship him either.
There was a little headset you could also listen to get more information, but I’m a bad listener and was too busy being goofy with Drew and my family to remember to put my headphones on at every landmark. Besides, making jokes is probably my favorite part of family outings anyway.
