Greeneville is in eastern Tennessee – past Knoxville, past Chattanooga, way past Nashville. It’s about an hour and change north of Asheville, North Carolina, and for me, it was cheaper to fly into Charlotte and drive three hours to get there. But it was absolutely worth it – and would have been even if I hadn’t seen any presidential stuff. I mean, scenes like this were worth the trip alone:
That’s not a matte painting – it’s just gorgeous fall scenery in eastern Tennessee. But, of course, I came for the presidential stuff, and I found plenty of that, mostly at the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. Among the many cool things I saw was the building in which Johnson ran his tailoring business:
The tailor shop shows what a man growing up in a remote area like Greeneville in the 1800’s might expect out of life – learning a skill or a trade and doing that for the rest of your life. Johnson, of course, managed to do much more, and the historic sites here show just what a remarkable turn of events it is. The rangers were very knowledgeable and friendly, and I learned a ton for my book.
I’ll tell you more about the Greeneville trip soon, but I have to start getting ready for the next trip – Buffalo is just a few days away!
