It has absolutely been ages since Terry and I were able to take a little weekend getaway together. Since we were both plum tired, the parameters for our jaunt were as follows: our destination had to be within an hour and a half of our house, a restaurant had to be close by (no cooking for this gal), and must have a place where we could sit outside, relax and gaze into the abyss. My plan was to eat, sleep and repeat for the entire weekend. The answer to our query was the Wildwood Resort & Marina in Granville, Tennessee.
Since we were anxious to start our weekend and our check-in wasn’t until 3pm, we decided to grab lunch in historic Granville. Our destination for lunch was the charming T.B. Sutton Store that was built in the 1880’s. I had their chicken salad sandwich on sourdough bread with crinkle cut fries and an ice, cold bottled Coca-Cola while Terry went for the meat and three: salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, pinto beans and a roll.
We still had hours to kill after lunch so we decided to take the self-guided tour of the town. Here’s a little bit about the tiny town of Granville:
“The Cumberland River brought settlers to Granville in the early 1800s. From about 1831 until 1920, Granville was a thriving riverboat town. After riverboat travel ceased, the community was a successful farming area. In the early 1970’s, the river covered farmlands when the Cordell Hull Dam was built. Families relocated and Granville became a ghost town. The river breathed new life into this community in the late 1990s, creating a perfect vacation site. Since 1999, Granville’s mission has been to become a historic destination, telling the story of a small, riverboat farming community.” – Source: Granville.com
We visited the Granville Museum, Sutton Homestead and Pioneer Village with a car museum, the 1950’s era post office and barber shop and the former Security Bank & Trust building that opened in 1931 and is now a clothing shop.
With a population of only 419, Granville relies solely on 10 full-time city employees and 200 volunteers to keep the town vibrant along with tours, events and festivals to ensure a dynamic place of fun and interest including: the Genealogy Festival, Quilt Festival, Ghost Walk, Scarecrow & Artisan Festival, Christmas in Granville, Mayberry Christmas Dinner Theater, Mayberry and I Love Lucy Days, Cornbread-Moonshine Festival, Heritage Days and the weekly radio broadcast of the Old Time Music Hour at T.B. Sutton’s every Saturday night.
Lunch at T.B Sutton Store in downtown Granville.
Check out the Coca-Cola calendar from June 1967. Looks like I was born on a Friday.
Our first stop was the Granville Museum. I would have loved to have spent more time here looking at all of the exhibits but we had to scoot over to the Sutton Homestead for a timed tour of the house. This was the home of Ben and Ethel Sutton, owners of the the T.B. Sutton general store where we had lunch. The Homestead was purchased by the Granville Museum and restored to its original 1947 condition when the Suttons inherited it from Ethel’s parents. The displays are changed quarterly with an overreaching theme.
We started in the parlor then onto the dining room. The table was set with reproduction china from the infamous White Star Line ship, the Titanic. Each place setting was set by each class of passenger from first class to fourth and including a menu description from each class. Next were the two bedrooms donned with homemade quilts, the office, sewing room (standing rolled up in the corner is a quilt that Ethel never finished) and finally the kitchen.
Waiting for a tour of the Sutton Homestead.
Behind the home, the town created a Pioneer Village which included:
“1880’s log cabin, a craftsmen building, barn and farming equipment, blacksmith shop, grist mill, basket weaving shop, Pauline’s Cottage Garden and Antique Car and Transportation Museum”. – Source: Welcome to Historic Granville
Loved the car museum.
Last stop was the historic bank building, post office and barber shop and Aunt Bee’s Quilt Shop and Bakery that we popped into to cool off from the oppressive summer heat.
From downtown Granville, we made our way five minutes back down the road to the Wildwood Resort and Marina on Cordell Hull Lake. We checked into the “Cardinal”, a Saltbox Lake Home they refer to as a tiny modern chalet. It was adorable!
Friday evening we headed over to the marina to sit on the deck alongside Cordell Hull Lake for dinner. Terry chose the braised beef short rib in au jus served with mashed potatoes and broccolini. And since we were surrounded by water, I chose fish and chips. As the sun began to set, we walked over to their outdoor entertainment area, pulled up a couple of deck chairs and listened to live music and karaoke while watching the sunset. Back at our tiny home, we put on some classic tunes and gathered around the coffee table with a bowl of popcorn and played several raucous games of Gin Rummy. It was a perfect ending to a great day!
We slept in Saturday morning and then meandered outside and sat on our deck for a couple of hours savoring our coffee and watching the wildlife; squirrels, a variety of birds including a pair of woodpeckers and an absolutely huge bunny rabbit.
We grabbed an early lunch, splitting chicken tenders, fries and onion rings again sitting outside at the marina. Back at our chalet, we played several rounds of Bananagram and napped off and on while watching a black and white double feature of the “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and “The Creature Walks Among Us”.
Around 7pm, we meandered over to the marina once again for dinner. Terry chose a baked potato with a side of butterflied coconut shrimp with a spicy sauce while I had a fried green tomato BLT sandwich with honey cured bacon on sour dough and Old Bay fries and a side of fried brussel sprouts glazed with jalapeno jelly.
Waiting in the Wildwood lobby to be seated for dinner.
After dinner, as the sun was setting, we strolled along the quarter mile wooden boardwalk that runs parallel to the marina over to the sunset pavilion.
This is what happens when you spend the afternoon watching the “Creature from the Black Lagoon” movies.
On our last morning, we lingered on the porch and enjoyed our coffee while soaking in the quiet. We then packed and checked out and had brunch at the marina. I chose the most amazing omelet with chopped onion, red peppers, mushrooms, spinach, and cheddar cheese with a side of potatoes and a side of bacon. I finished the whole darn thing. Terry went with biscuits slathered with sausage gravy and bacon.
All too soon it was time to head home from our weekend getaway. We met a lot of lovely people, savored our time together and look forward to experiencing many more mini-adventures.