On Monday, Andy and I went to Lynchburg, Tennessee with his parents and aunt and uncle (who are visiting from Tampa, Florida). A couple of months ago they had made reservations to Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House for all of us to enjoy a wonderful ‘supper’ of the best home style, country cooking. We left our house around 9:15 and arrived in Lynchburg’s town square around 10. We walked around for a bit, since we didn’t have to sign in with Miss Mary Bobo’s until at least 10:45.

Once we did check in, several others started pouring through the doors, including an entire tour bus full of people from up North…65 people total. At 11am they rang the supper bells, and a hostess escorted smaller groups (of about 8 to 12 people) into assigned dining rooms. This place was a historical haven for me! They underwent a renovation back in 2006, and they did a beautiful job with all of the historic details.

While our table of 11 passed around the delicious bowls of food, we learned the history of Miss Mary Bobo’s. Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House began in 1908 when the young spinster assumed ownership of the historic Salmon Hotel. It used to be a traveler’s hotel and was built over a flowing spring. Miss Bobo died in 1983, just five weeks short of her 102nd birthday. She remained sharp-witted and involved in the Boarding House all her life. Lunch included generous helpings of friend chicken and pork tenderloin, six vegetables and side dishes (the fried okra and broccoli/cheese casserole were my favorites), hot cornbread, freshly brewed ice tea, homemade dessert (fudge pie!), and a hot cup of coffee. There is always at least one item on the menu that contains the local hometown “product” (Ole Number 7) in it…this time it was delicious candied apples!

front parlor to the right

front parlor to the left

the dining room we ate in (and my birthday fudge pie…it was scrumptious!)

middle dining hall

back dining hall (there were also 3 upstairs and 2 in the basement)…I LOVE the wallpaper in this room

After “supper” we headed towards the Jack Daniel’s Distillery for the tour. It was a nice, relaxing way to walk off the delicious food. It’s also interesting to know that every drop of Jack Daniel’s is made less than an hour away from where we live…in a dry county, but that’s probably for the best for Lynchburg hah! I’m definitely not a whiskey person, but it was a really interesting tour!

Jack and I have the same basic measurements…both 5’2″ and 120lbs!

The small white building is the only original building of the distillery. It was originally the office, and was restored to look exactly as it was back in Jack’s days (the 1800s). Apparently he bought the distillery when he was only 13 years old!

The black stuff seen on all of the trees and buildings is a natural occurring mold that grows because of all of the alcohol vapors in the air. This growth was/is useful for cracking down on illegal distilleries.