Tennessee | Imamother

amother

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 4:56 pm

Hi! I'm iyh going next week with my husband to Tennessee. I'm taking along my 8 month old baby. Besides for the smoky mountains, what else is there to do? We enjoy basically everything. Anyone knows kosher food situation?

amother

RosePink

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 5:26 pm

Do you want to say where in TN you're staying? I'd imagine in Memphis you could find some kosher food. Not so much in Gatlinburg.

amother

RosePink

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 5:57 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I'm landing in Nashville but I'm not sure where I'll be staying yet

Chabad of Nashville does offer take-out meals for tourists. That's probably all there is but we travel all over and always find basics to get by. Tuna, mayo, peanut butter, jelly, cereal, almond milk, etc. etc. Bread is the only tricky part because I keep pas. So I bring along and if I run out we go to rice cakes or whatever.

doctorima

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 7:03 pm

Reposted from a similar thread last week:

The Great Smoky Mountains are beautiful, and the surrounding gateway cities of Gatlingburg and Pigeon Forge are full of family-friendly fun activities. Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga also have some interesting things to do, but they're more urban and quite spread out, so it's best to choose one area of the state to enjoy unless you're going for a longer trip.

As for food, there's not much. Memphis has a place in the local old age home that's pretty good, but that was it when we were there. You can check to see if Nashville has anything, but be careful that it's under reliable hashgacha; PM me for details if this is relevant.

Zahava94

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 8:31 pm

I'd recommend sticking to the eastern half of the state, and spending most of your time in the Smokies, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. It's also worth a trip down to Chattanooga to see Angel Falls and the caverns. There are great waterfalls all along the eastern edge of the state, near the base of the mountains. It's worth driving through the Tellico River Gorge, the Tail of the Dragon to Fontana Dam, and to the top of Sugerloaf Mountain to the Ocoee River overlook. If you have a couple days in the Smokies, it's worth driving out to Asheville NC, which is a really cool little town, and driving to the top of Mount Mitchell, the highest US peak east of the Mississippi River.

doctorima

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 9:09 pm

Great detailed advice from Zahava94! The falls in the cave in Chattanooga is called Ruby Falls though. If you're in the area definitely go to Rock City at Lookout Mountain. We preferred it to the over-touristy falls, but both are worthwhile if you have time. And if you make it to Asheville, do not miss the Biltmore mansion.

amother

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 10:18 pm

Thank you all! Where would you recommend being for shabbos? I want a nice area because I think there's no eiruv...

Zahava94

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 10:20 pm

doctorima - Good catch, I stand corrected Smile

Though there is an Angel Falls in northeast Tennessee near Knoxville that has a fantastic hiking trail at the big south fork of the Cumberland river.

OP - for Shabbos, there's a chabad in Knoxville, Chattanooga or Asheville NC. I'd recommend reaching out to all three and see what makes the most sense for your trip.

doctorima

Tue, Jul 12 2022, 10:52 pm

I believe that DH spoke to 2 of the Chabads that Zahava mentioned and found out that their minyan situation was unreliable, at least when we were in the area. Also some of them were in very residential areas with no nearby readily-available lodging options.

We ended up driving quite a distance to spend Shabbos in a more established community, though we were planning to head in that direction anyways after Shabbos, so it wasn't such a detour.