Day Trip to Falcon Rest, McMinnville, Rock Island State Park, and Mountain Goat Restaurant, Monteagle, TN
6841-6842 Stop at Loves Hillsboro, TN @9AM
6844-6859 Travel Viola, McMinnville, Rock Island 9:41 A.M.
6860-6923 Rock Island State Park Rock Island, TN @ 10:15–11:40 A.M.
6924-6937 Falcon Rest Mansion Museum & Murder Mystery McMinnville.TN @12:03-2:06 PM
6938-6945 Travel Viola, McMinnville @3:01-3:20 P.M.
6946-6960 Stop at Mountain Goat Restaurant, Monteagel, TN 4:01–4:30 P.M.
We were up at 3:30 A.M. and left the house at 4:30 A.M.
We stopped at Jack’s in Athens for single gravy and biscuits and a Diet Coke
My biscuit wasn’t done, so I returned, and they gave me one that was cooked.
But it still gives me gas, and I burped all the way to Tennessee.
Our first stop was the welcome center at Rock Island State Park. The park ranger told us about the park and offered to give us a guided tour. So we loaded back onto the bus and followed the park ranger.
We stopped at the Beach Area, and everyone got out and walked around.
Our next stop was the short waterfall and the old abandoned cotton mill.
The ranger turned on his flashing lights and removed the roped-off area so we could park on the grass.
Everyone got out to take pictures of the waterfalls and the surrounding area. We thanked the park ranger and began our journey to Falcon Rest, about an hour away, for lunch and a murder mystery show.
We arrived at the visitor center and were greeted by our guide and owner.
We were all led inside the mansion and listened to the guide, then each was given a part to play in the murder mystery while we enjoyed our lunch.
Hubby played the part of George Beech (the town drunk), and I played the part of his wife, Marie Beech.
For lunch, we were served Strawberry Pretzel salad, Baked Chicken, Potatoes, green beans, a roll, and Chocolate cake topped with a cherry and a dab of whipped cream.
After lunch and a show, we were given a guided tour of the mansion. No photos were allowed inside the mansion.
We took a group photo on the mansion’s front porch.
We shopped at the gift shop, thanked our guide, and headed to our next stop.
History of Rock Island
Rock Island State Park is a state park in Warren and White Counties, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. The park is named after the community of Rock Island, Tennessee, which in turn was named for an island on the Caney Fork, upstream from the Collins River confluence and the Great Falls Dam. Rock Island State Park is centered on a peninsula created by the confluence of these two rivers and extends downstream to the headwaters of Center Hill Lake.
We stopped at Mountain Goat Restaurant and gift shop, where Hubby and I enjoyed a slice of Chocolate Cheesecake topped with pecans and drizzled with chocolate and caramel, a Diet Coke, and a coconut chocolate bar.
Took a few photos, then loaded onto the bus and headed to Scottsboro.
We arrived a little before 6 P.M., with a two-hour ride home.
No stopping until we reached home a little after 8 P.M.
Another wonderful day trip with Backroads Tours LLC
Bus number 3004 on Eagle Christian Tours, Rome, GA, with Barbara Dudley as our driver.
Angie, our guide.
