These fantastic restaurants near Nashville boast fabulous food and lots of small-town Southern charm. This post was written in partnership with Visit Rutherford.  Nashville’s restaurant scene is on fire right now, but while this means more options on the food front, it also means higher prices, longer waits for a table, and the disappearance of […]

Get ready for the ultimate Chattanooga family vacation. If there’s any city I feel completely knowledgeable about (besides Nashville), it’s Chattanooga, Tennessee. My oldest stepdaughter enrolled at UT Chattanooga in 2008, my younger stepdaughter followed her a few years later, and at least one of them has lived in Chattanooga ever since. We generally visit […]

A while back, I wrote about my favorite ‘secret’ hiking trail in Nashville — the Hidden Lake trail at Harpeth River State Park. It’s a gorgeous trail with a fascinating past, and most people who read the post were excited to find out about it. Notice I said MOST. ‘Well, I guess it’s not a […]

Years ago, when I was a young reporter for the ABC affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina, I interviewed a minister who’d been a local leader in the Civil Rights Movement and had worked closely with Martin Luther King, Jr. The interview took place in his home, and before we arrived, he’d pulled out albums full […]

There’s nothing like visiting a town when it’s all dressed up for Christmas. We’ve been scheduling a Christmas weekend getaway each year for some time now and these trips have ended up being some of my all-time favorites — and it’s no surprise when I think about it… As fun as my own hometown’s holiday traditions […]

There’s no lack of things to do this Christmas in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County! Here’s your complete guide to the 2018 holiday season. This post was written in partnership with Visit Rutherford County.  You want to enjoy Christmas this year without having to brave the massive Nashville crowds. Savor the season without a stampede of […]

On an overcast morning in Gulf Shores, Alabama, we loaded the kids up in the car and set off without telling them where we were going. “Won’t you give us a hint?” my son pleaded. “Does it involve video games?” “Nope,” I said firmly. “Definitely not.” “Does it involve dessert?” my daughter asked hopefully. “Uh, […]

Just a few minutes from Nashville, Rutherford County is filled with crumbling antebellum mansions, interesting historic buildings, and the site of one of the Civil War’s most important battles — So it’s not surprising that it is also home to a number of really amazing ghost stories and haunted places. I’m sharing some of my […]

As a family, we are ocean-obsessed. We take every opportunity we can to go to the beach and while we’re there, we waste no time on the sand — Instead, we’re in the ocean as much as possible. We boogie board if the waves are up, snorkel if it’s clear, play ocean games, look for […]

If I had to be reincarnated as an animal, you’d better believe I’d come back as a zoo baby. I mean, think about it… These little guys live in the lap of luxury, they get waited on hand and foot by the zookeepers, they don’t have to worry about predators or finding food, and they […]