One of the best things about living in Middle Tennessee is the beautiful fall foliage and all of the fall activities that we have to offer. I’ve put together a list of my very favorite things we love to do in the fall in the Tennessee-Kentucky area. We live in Clarksville,Tennessee, and we have a true color change if leaves that is beautiful and not to be missed so you can be sure that a lot of the items on the list are outdoors! Living less than an hour away from Nashville, many of our favorite fall activities are located there as well as some of the surrounding areas. We are also just a half hour away from the Kentucky state line so you’ll find some Kentucky locations made my list. I love living in Middle Tennessee in the fall! If we ever move, fall will be high on my list of things that I miss.
Go to a pumpkin patch! There are so many great ones. Gentry Farm, Lucky Ladd Farm, and Walden Farm are all wonderful.
Go to Cheekwood. The mums are breathtaking and the pumpkin displays are amazing. The pumpkin houses are so cute and make a great photo op.
Go on a hike. In Clarksville we love to go to Rotary Park, Dunbar Cave and Billy Dunlop Park. There are some cute trails near downtown Clarksville as well. In Nashville we love to hike at Radnor Lake.
Outside of Nashville there are so many great waterfall hikes such as Machine Falls and Burgess Falls. Late October and early November offer the best chance to see fall leaves.
Honeysuckle Hill Farm. This is a family favorite and a tradition that has so much to offer. There are hayrides, a “pumpkin patch,” mining for gemstones, awesome playground, in-ground bouncy trampoline, zipline, and so much more.
Boo at the Zoo. The Nashville Zoo is so much fun on a regular day, but they also do such an amazing job at creating this wonderful experience during the Halloween season.
Take a drive along Natchez Trace near Franklin, TN. The views of the fall foliage are stunning!
Go on a trail ride with Circle T Ranch! Located near Hopkinsville, KY, they offer a couple near Halloween that include a haunted hayride, and making s’mores and roasting hot dogs over the fire afterward.
Todd County Bale Trail. Some of the best things in life are free, and this is one of them. The bale trial is basically amazingly decorated hay bales that can be found throughout Todd County and has the feel of a scavenger hunt. Just print the hay bale map and enter the addresses into your GPS and away you go! This year there was an Inside Out them for several of the bales and they were adorable! While you’re in Todd County, make a day of it by checking out The Country Pantry and Schlabach’s, Guthrie’s Amish grocery and bakery! Or in downtown Elkton where many of the bales can be found, check out the soda shop or Hampton’s for the best burger and shake!
These are just a few of my favorite things to do Clarksville and surrounding areas! We are so blessed to live where we do with so many rich offerings of things to do and places to explore.
This pic was taken 6 years ago when we stopped off in Chattanooga to eat on our way to the East Coast. I promised myself we would go back and finally keeping that promise!
I’m in the process of planning a short family trip to Chattanooga, and I wanted to share and post my bucket list in the hopes that others might share other ideas for us to add. I would especially appreciate feedback from locals. When we travel, we love to immerse ourselves in the city we are visiting. To pretend for a short time that we live there. While some of the items on our list are admittedly touristy, I always tend to enjoy the non-tourist local favorites the most. Let me know your thoughts and pros/cons of the places already on the list as well. Thank you much!
Tennessee Aquarium (curious how it compares to Chattanooga Aquarium)
The Incline Railway
Lookout Mountain
Coolidge Park
Ruby Falls
The Hot Chocolatier
Chattanooga Market
The Passage Waterwalk
Little Debbie Park
Cardboard Hill
Rosie Mae’s Alpaca Farm
West Village (Shopping)
Clumpies Ice Cream
Tony’s Pasta Shop
Rembrandt’s Coffee House
Yellow Deli
Urban Stack
Mean Mug Coffeehouse
Syrup and Eggs
The Daily Ration
I can’t wait to read any tips or advice you may have to share about your own experiences in Chattanooga!
My high school besties and I have been talking about a Maine girls’ trip for years. This year we all turned 50, and decided to make it happen. My friend Caryn lives in Maine, and she was the best hostess and tour guide we could have asked for. She LOVES Maine and was able to provide us with an experience that only a local could provide, and Maine now has a special place in my heart after this trip! We were able to see exactly why she loves her home state for the last 20+ years. It is my hope that anyone who reads this will want to add Maine to your bucket list of places you must visit. If the words don’t convey the value, the pictures definitely will!
Caryn lives in Falmouth which is just 10-15 minutes north of Portland, and about a two hour drive from Boston which is where we flew in. You can fly in to either Portland or Boston, so it is worth your time to compare costs. We were able to save money and my friend Lori was able to use points by flying into Boston. If you would like to read about our Girls’ Trip to Boston and how to spend 24 hours in Boston with your girlfriends, you can find that post here.
To get to Maine from Boston, we had to pass through New Hampshire. I was expecting to check off two states on this trip, but New Hampshire was an added bonus! I’ve noticed that state lines almost everywhere that I travel are on bridges.
Our first stop was one of my favorite parts of our entire trip. We visited The Cliff House, a luxury hotel located in Cape Neddick, near Ogunquit. The hotel is oceanfront on the cliffs in southern Maine, and such an exquisite hotel with an even more exquisite view! I did not want to leave. You will want to make your way through the courtyard where the firepit is located and back toward the pool area. Be sure to walk along the back side of the hotel for a different and equally captivating view with every turn. There were lots of “oohs” and “ahhs” and so many pictures taken!
If you stop by to walk the grounds at The Cliff House please ask the employee at the gate. We explored with permission and our friend is a repeat customer of the spa there. This is a high end resort and you would want to carry yourself as such while you are there. This belongs on your Maine bucket list!
Our next stop was Kennebunkport. I was so excited to drive through this beach town! I follow an influencer on Instagram, @thenashvillemom. She posts about Kennebunkport, particularly at Christmas, and her posts are so inspiring that you want to go there! To see it firsthand, I understand now why it’s so special to her.
We stopped for lunch in Kennebunkport at The Boathouse, what would end up being one of my favorite meals of the trip. It was a pretty hot day for Maine, but outside the breeze coming off the water was so nice! We decided to eat outside. I always love eating outdoors, and the atmosphere here was part of what made the experience so special. I loved watching the boats and activity in the water and the yellow striped umbrellas added to the charm and overall aesthetic.
The Boathouse in Kennebunkport
The star of the show was the food! The menu was amazing and made it challenging to decide. I find that is almost always a good sign that wonderful food is to come. I got the Maine Coast Monkfish Stew. Sound strange? If you’ve never tried monkfish you are truly missing out; it’s known as “poor man’s lobster” because it has such a similar flavor to lobster, but more affordable. In this soup I really couldn’t distinguish it from it’s fancier counterpart. I also got the lobster fried rice which was such a generous serving and a table favorite. We had lobster rolls in our future later in the evening and the girls teased me about getting lobster items for lunch too, but my love for lobster runs DEEP. It is not possible to get tired of it. Why wouldn’t you get as much lobster as possible while in “lobster land?” We live in landlocked Tennessee and I am convinced now that the flavor and the freshness factor is nowhere near back home compared to what we got here. My friends got a burger and Korean lettuce wraps which they also loved! 100% recommend The Boathouse in Kennebunkport!
After lunch, we headed to the beach! One of the things we had requested to do while in Maine was go to a “real beach.” Goose Rocks Beach fit the bill. Powder soft sand and gentle waves. We didn’t spend a lot of time here, but it was enough for me to get my dose of “vitamin sea.” In the pictures of Goose Rocks Beach below, you will notice a design of concentric circles in the sand. I have always been fascinated with crop circles and how they get them so perfect? I can’t make one circle that isn’t lumpy!
As if this had not already been special enough, our next stop was one of my favorite memories we made on the entire trip. We got to see the Portland Head Light, a real lighthouse! It is Maine’s oldest and most beautiful. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it in paintings and other pieces of art. It looked so iconic. Again, I did not want to leave. Just like at the Cliff House, every twist and turn down the path revealed even a more beautiful view than the previous one. Portland Head Light is must on your Maine bucket list!
Finally, the cherry on top of this whole trip, we were treated to lobster rolls! You should know that you can get lobster rolls just about anywhere in Maine, even some gas stations had them. And you can pay big money for them too. Caryn had a friend who has access to lobster right off the boat, and all the best ingredients. Rolls buttered and toasted properly with lettuce and mayo. He came to her house and made them for us! This was definitely the best thing I put in my mouth on the entire trip and in my top ten for best bites of my life. Another friend and neighbor is a talented singer and guitar player and entertained us by the fire pit afterward. I will not forget this night or the hospitality!
My lobster roll
Amazing!
So good.
This is happiness.
We got to meet our dinner before eating it. That’s fresh!
We enjoyed time by the fire pit and wonderful live music.
I was introduced to the butter bell! And Kate’s butter. So good!
We flew out the next day, but before our flight we had time to enjoy breakfast together and spend a couple of hours at LL Bean and the other outlets in Freeport. I could not have been prepared for how big LL Bean was. It’s multiple buildings that cover several blocks, with other outlet stores nestled all around. And each LL Bean store held categories of items. There was an LL Bean store that was primarily clothing (huge), another for camping, and another for boating. You get the idea. In front of the LL Bean clothing outlet is a photobooth experience where you can take a pic with the giant LL Bean boot or where the ginormous LL Bean backpack. It was fun to watch little kids put on this big backpack! Part of the charm of the area is that the Starbucks, McDonalds, and some other restaurants and stores were formally houses. The whole area is very walkable and there were also some amazing souvenir shops that allowed us to grab some gifts from our families.
This trip to Maine was one that I will never forget and I look forward to bringing my family here (hopefully one day soon) and sharing it with them. When people think of Maine, they may think of snow and cold weather, but we had such nice temps during this July visit! If you have been planning to visit Maine, consider going in the summertime. However, I think for my next visit I would like to see the beautiful fall leaves when they change color.
If you have been thinking of taking a girls’ trip to Boston, I have so many ideas to share. We had the best time! You can cover so much in just one day, and a day is what we had. The first morning we explored the Mission Hill area which is delightfully walkable!
One of the many charming homes in the Mission Hill neighborhood. We loved seeing all of the beautiful wildflowers. They were literally everywhere.
Before I go on about the Mission Hill area and how much we loved it, I can’t encourage you enough to stay in a VRBO or AirBNB in one of the many charming neighborhoods and literally embed yourself in the culture. Staying in a hotel is more about living that tourist life, and we were so much happier choosing to be a traveller instead. This allows you to avoid crowds and really experience the city more like someone who actually lives there.
We found the BEST coffee shop called Green Haus Coffee, and they also sold the healthiest looking green houseplants and succulents. It was incredibly charming. My friend and traveling companion would argue that Solid Ground Cafe made a better latte, and was just a few blocks away. On the same block as Green Haus, we discovered Milkweed, a breakfast cafe with a menu so captivating, it was as if someone took all of my breakfast favorites and compiled them all together. I ended up getting a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant which I devoured. All of these were just blocks away from our AirBNB. Also notable was Il Mondo Pizza, but we did not get to try them.
Green Haus Coffee. This was such a cozy and charming place. If I lived here, this would be my daily coffee stop. The BEST latte, and so many healthy green plants and succulents for sale. I contemplated how to get some back to Tennessee.
Mission Hill was an area lush with trees and beautiful wildflowers everywhere you looked. The brownstones gave you a vibe that you were on the set of any TV show or movie that might take place in a big city on the East coast. There were gorgeous views of the city as you trekked up and down the hilly streets. I lived in San Francisco for several years and this satisfied my craving for the feeling of living in a big city while also having a cozy neighborhood vibe. I’ve missed that so much.
Milkweed, where we had breakfast. This is one of the few pictures I took that gets across the look/feel/vibe of the Mission Hill neighborhood.
While we were in the Mission Hill neighborhood, we strolled through a little park, and found a beautiful Catholic church called The Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Do yourself a favor and go inside that Catholic Church. It has had so many confessionals which fascinated me, and a shrine where you could light a votive candle to pray for someone. We also found a Walgreens that had an escalator. Our Walgreens doesn’t have an escalator! It’s the small, unexpected things I find that are the most memorable when I travel.
Inside The Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Mission Hill.
The escalator to Walgreens. 🙂
We waited for one of our friends to join us, and made our way to the Isabella Gardner Museum. On our way there, our GPS took us through the Wentworth Institute of Technology campus which was beautiful and so charming. There were fun chairs and hammocks strewn throughout the courtyard and we just enjoyed 15-20 minutes in the hammocks! It was so delightful!
Enjoying one of the hammocks on Wentworth Institute of Technology campus.
Our friend Caryn, who we came to the Northeast area to visit, joined us at this point. I hope my girls enjoyed their day, because they entrusted me to navigate us and suggest things for us to do the rest of the time in Boston. I will say we walked SO, SO much we were all fatigued. We Uber’ed to our first destination, but then after that we walked everywhere and probably too much. I feel like if I had planned a little more thoughtfully we could have maximized our time better. There are hop on/hop off bus tours and other buses but these were all very pricey, so we opted to walk. In retrospect, I now realize that Boston is HUGE, and the places you want to go appear really close together on your map. In real life, they are pretty far apart. I am thankful I brought good walking shoes (I LOVE these), and that we checked the weather before packing. For that reason we packed lots of shorts, and sleeveless tops, and THANKFULLY we had lots of shade and cloud coverage and a nice breeze because we visited Boston during July when they were hitting record highs.
All of that said, we started off as a trio by visiting the Boston Public Library. Now that may sound like a strange place to have on your Boston itinerary, but it is extraordinary. This is a massive library, but what attracted me to it was seeing pictures of their gorgeous courtyard on several blog posts I read prior to the trip, AND there is a bar adjacent to the courtyard and a little restaurant/cafe. You can sit in at the bar, and enjoy some of the best tasting and beautifully crafted mixed drinks that I have ever tasted or seen, or enjoy in the beautiful courtyard at the tables they have around the perimeter. We only opted indoors because of the heat – it was just a little too warm for us.
The courtyard at Boston Public Library
The bar/tearoom inside the Boston Public Library.
My pretty drink, a whiskey sour, at the Boston Public Library.
What a unique experience! I have never been to any other library like this one, or this big.
After the library we strolled along Boylston Street which gives you those big city vibes and is rich with shopping and dining options. We walked about three minutes before arriving at Saltie Girl. Can I recommend Saltie Girl? I will say they were some of the most delicious bites I had while I was in Boston but also the smallest and most expensive. It is very posh! The three of us shared what we ordered so we found it to be enough food, but only because Caryn got the fish and chips which was more of a generous portion, as opposed to our salmon and yellowtail.
Our salmon and yellowtail at Saltie Girl. Beautiful, delicious bites, but small.
After leaving Saltie Girl, we found ourselves in a very bougie area of the city, on Newbury Street. We strolled past, Cartier, Armani, Rolex, and Tiffany and Co. At the end of Newbury, we discovered the park that was way high on my Boston bucket list – Boston Public Gardens. If I lived in Boston, I would walk and run here on the regular. The grounds are lovely. We stopped and enjoyed the shade of the trees and just being present and watching baby ducks swim in the pond. We crossed the little pedestrian bridge and debated taking a ride on the swan boats. The pond area was not shaded, and we were getting into the warmer part of the day, so we opted out of the boat ride and continued on to find the bar where everybody knows your name…Cheers.
Pedestrian bridge at Boston Public Garden. Thankful for the passersby who took our picture.
The Cheers bar is RIGHT across the street from the Boston Public Garden which I wish I would have realized in hindsight. You could walk all the way through the Garden under tree cover in the shade and end up at Cheers. Instead, we walked to Boston Common and then down Beacon Street to get there which took a little longer, and was for sure hotter.
Where everybody knows your name…
I had read before coming to Boston that the Cheers Bar is the exact same on the outside as it was during the show filming, but the inside is completely different. I expected to be disappointed for this reason, but once you’re inside, you’re relieved that they’ve added so much more seating and a Gift shop. This allowed us to be seated and get waited on faster. We found our seats upstairs where they had recreated the bar as it was on the set. I sat in “Frasier’s seat,” and had the possibly the BEST IPA I’ve ever had, Norm’s IPA. It was so, so good. We met a couple that sat beside us and were probably twenty years old than us. When we told him we were all 50 or about to be 50, the husband said, “no f’ing way!” very loudly! Ha!
After we left the Cheers bar, I realized we were very close to Acorn Street which is the most photographed street, and one of the most beautiful. It made Architectural Digest’s list of the most beautiful streets in America. It’s in the prestigious Beacon Hill neighborhood. The cobblestone street, window boxes and red brick homes are some of the most notable characteristics. We stumbled off and back on the Freedom Trail during this time.
Acorn Street, the most photographed street in America.
If you are wondering why we didn’t opt to do more typical touristy/historical options, it is for a couple of reasons. One, my friend Caryn lives near the area and I figured she had done those things. I wanted us to all have a chance to do things we hadn’t done before. And two, I felt like I will come back here with my husband and girls and have a chance to do all of those things together it it would be new to us together. Three, I wanted to choose things that I would love to do in Boston that were adult friendly, because I never get to go to any bars or higher-end restaurants when we travel as a family. It’s expensive for a family of four to eat at a the fanciest Italian restaurant. But if it’s just me, it feels attainable and special.
That leads me to our pilgrimmage to Little Italy. We wanted to eat at a nice Italian restaurant for dinner, and also wanted a cannoli from Mike’s Cannoli. They ended up being on the same block! But we had lots of steps to get in before making it there.
We walked through some really cool areas and I wish I had taken more pictures of this part of our trip! I think I was feeling a bit haggard, hot and hungry at this point so taking photos just was not what I had on my mind.
We did stop off at North End Park which was the absolute coolest concept for a park, and much needed for our tired and weary legs! It has a long row of swings for you to swing on, and then sprinklers (think splash pad). I actually took off my shoes and walked through the sprinklers with the little toddlers. I have no shame and it felt so good!
Taking a much needed rest on one of the swings at North End Park.
We were very close to Little Italy at this point, but also Union Oyster House which was on my bucket list. I was very determined during our entire trip to locate raw oysters that cost less than $4 a dozen. Sadly I would be disappointed yet again when we arrived and I looked at their menu. If you are able to shell out the dough, I did read that they have the best raw oysters in Boston supposedly.
Once we arrived in Little Italy we actually went to Mike’s Pastry first. Our logic was that if we ate a big plate of pasta, we would be totally stuffed and talk ourselves out of even getting our cannoli. So we got the cannolis from Mike’s first, then made our way to what I researched and found to be the best Italian restaurant in Little Italy and that was Trattoria Il Panino.
Mike’s Pastry. The BEST Cannoli. This one has to be on your Boston bucket list.
So many things stand out to me now about this little restaurant looking back. The one you will notice almost right away is how it is packed full of tables. You are very (almost uncomforably) close to the tables next to you. It is therefore very loud in the restaurant. It is a lively environment which I appreciated. A lot of times Italian restaurants are so formal and quiet that you feel like the tables around you can hear your every word. So it is unique in that it is packed but also you are free to speak as you wish.
The second thing you will notice is that your meal is brought out in the skillet it was cooked in! Made to order, then not plated, but brought to you nice and hot in the pan. I have never experienced this! Let’s talk about our food. I had a gluten-free friend, and she loved her pasta! So often, gluten-free pasta dishes are tasteless or have an unpleasant texture. This was not the case! I also had a friend who got linguini with shrimp which looked amazing, and I had basically a fettucini that was to die for. We all could tell that the pasta was made in-house and everything was made from scratch. I am very particular about fettucini alfredo and only really like my husband’s (he is a classically trained chef). When I order it at a restaurant I’m always disappointed as it tastes like it was made from frozen. This is real deal! You will not find “fettucini alfredo” on the menu! What I ordered is called Cacio de Pepe on their menu – that is the closest thing I found to fettucini alfredo and it comes across as such, though not exactly.
My Cacio de Pepe. If you are a fettucini alfredo or “white sauce” person, this is what to order!
That was our day and time spent in Boston! If you are planning a trip to Boston, and particularly a trip with girlfriends, I hope this has inspired you and given you some ideas of what you can do and how you can maximize your time there.
Essentially Better Living 