So I spent part of the day in Clinton, Tennessee with my Momma and Spizzie. In case you didn’t know, none of my side of the family lives in the same town as me. As a matter of fact, my Momma doesn’t even live in the same state as we do!! Luckily, her house is just a little over an hour away, so we can still visit each other.
Clinton is actually another hour away from her, but she’s opening a booth in an Antique Market there and we went to help move a few things in.
Did you know that Clinton is known as “the town with the most antique stores in the South”? That’s what TennesseeAntiqueTrail.com says anyway!!! I don’t know if that’s the truth, but I do believe it is one of the neatest, cleanest little towns I’ve ever seen.
There are definitely a lot of antique shops, but sadly we didn’t get to visit them all. ( Check out www.historicclintonsantiques.com for more info.) We’re planning a day to go back and explore because there was so much we didn’t have time to see. Spizzie always loves looking for old books, but she has now declared that she’s going to take up antiquing!
There are also some promising-looking little restaurants and cafes. I’m definitely a foodie, so the idea of trying those really appeals to me!! We did stop for a snack at the Hoskins Drug Store, Soda Fountain, & Gift Shop. It is a great historic place and they have fabulous milk shakes. There is still a working pharmacy inside and the soda fountain pretty much still has all of the original fixtures.
The dark spots on the booth walls are apparently remnants of the hair cream people used to wear. They would lean their heads on the walls and it left permanent marks!! We learned this from our awesome little milkshake maker Sherry. We also learned that the Police Chief in Clinton is “Hollywood Handsome,” but I can’t verify that!!!
I’d like to stop and take this moment to thank my amazing daughter for taking almost all of the pictures today. I think she’s shaping up to be a pretty awesome photographer.
After our ice cream, we stopped at the Visitor’s Center. We had a great conversation with a sweet lady named Ethel. I think she and my Momma are making plans to go to the Clinch River Fall Festival together. ; )
We decided, at the last minute, to visit the Museum of Appalachia. What a gorgeous place!! They have a huge variety of pioneer dwellings, all of which have different artifacts on display.
One of our favorite parts of the Appalachian Hall of Fame was the variety of musical instrument displays! We are a big music family and my boys play multiple instruments, so this was very interesting to us.
My oldest son is a big John Hartford fan. He says it’s fun to watch him dance and play at the same time.
It was amazing to see the instruments made from household items. A banjo made from the can a ham came in, a cookie tin, and a bed pan–can’t get much more creative than that! Unless you count the guitar made from a toilet seat!!
My Momma paints gourds, so she was really fascinated with all of the different instruments made with gourds. Actually, Spizzie and I were fascinated too!
I love these jail cells–not that I would ever want to be in one! I’m pretty sure if you thought that was your punishment, you would be less inclined to commit crime.
The Mark Twain Family Cabin had a super low ceiling. I’m pretty short, but I could reach it. My big tall guys could’ve never lived in a place like that. They’d either knock their heads off every time they stood up or be hunchbacked from stooping over.
There are several gardens at the Museum. I don’t know what they do with what they produce, but they seem to be growing fairly well.
There are lots of animals roaming around the Museum farm. We saw horses, ponies, cattle, sheep, and lots and lots of peacocks/peahens. The peafowl just roam the grounds. We obviously know not to try to touch them, but they didn’t seem at all bothered when you got close to them. My Momma has visited before and she said she was eating an ice cream cone once and a peacock jumped up on the bench and took it from her. They obviously know that ice cream tastes good!!
This peacock had the longest feathers I’ve ever seen. I wish he would’ve plumed them out, but we weren’t the kind of female attention he was trying to get!!
They are so beautiful. And they have the weirdest call. Makes me jump every time!
I wish we had more time to explore. I also wish it hadn’t been so hot! We were all sweating by the time we finished. Even this peahen was trying to read the thermometer. Poor girl…her neck just wasn’t long enough!!
(I have to include a picture of my two favorite girls in the whole wide world. I love them soooo much!!)
If you pay close attention on your way out, you might get to see the East Tennessee Duck Pond…
The Museum of Appalachia is a beautiful place and I think everyone should visit if they get a chance. Just make sure you watch where you park. I’m afraid this guy might get a ticket…
Sounds like a fun place to visit
It’s great if you like antiques and quirky little shops. I’d like to go back soon!