Columbia, Tennessee

Columbia is about 1 hour South of Nashville. Two hours if you happen to hit traffic at around 5:00 pm, which I did yesterday when I arrived.

But I had my audio book player hooked into the stereo in the rental car, so I was able to finish the last two hours of 1776 -- the history book by David McCollough. The timing was just right -- Washington finished stomping the British at Trenton and Princeton about the time I pulled into the hotel parking lot.

I'm in the mood for some lighter fare now, so I started listening to a Nelson DeMille novel. It's a spy thriller -- at the moment I can't think of the title. I need a change of pace from history.

Columbia is the home of Stan's Restaurant and Country Store. Stan's opened in 1947 and originated the country cookin'/country store combo concept that Cracker Barrel later "borrowed". At least, that's what the locals tell me -- and they wouldn't make something like that up!

What's nice about Stan's, though, is that it isn't jam packed with senior citizens and there aren't 100 RV's in the parking lot. Food's good, too!