IT'S LIKE clockwork. As soon as the summer heat is ushered out by a breath of fresh fall air, Southerners start thinking about road trips. Whether you're dreaming of a quiet cabin in the woods, antiquing in a quaint town, leaf-peeping on a hike, or finding fresh apple cider ghnuts at a farm stand, it doesn't get much better than a weekend trip to Franklin in Middle Tennessee.
Franklin might be small compared to Nashville, its neighbor to the north, but it has developed a big reputation over the years. Various media outlets (including this one) have proclaimed the city the "prettiest," "most charming" "friendliest," and "most romantic" as well as a "Southern dream town" and the "nicest place in the South." That is quite a lot of hype for any location to live up to, but year after year, Franklin continues to attract visitors and new residents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it was one of the 15 fastest-growing cities in America from 2010 to 2019.
Take a stroll around the vibrant 16-block historic downtown district, and you'll find it hard not to be charmed. Main Street is lined with handsomely restored buildings, many from the Victorian era, that house an impressive array of small businesses, both old-fashioned and decidedly modern. Beginning in the early 1980s, the city and local preservation organizations like the Downtown Franklin Association took on the task of restoring many of these formerly run-down gems like The Franklin Theatre, an Art Deco building from 1937 where people now watch movies and hear live music.
Esta historia es de la edición October 2022 de Southern Living.
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Esta historia es de la edición October 2022 de Southern Living.
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Forging a Legacy - A Fredericksburg, Texas, couple is creating a new class of heirloom cast-iron cookware
When Jay Mallinckrodt pitched the idea of crafting cast-iron cookware to his wife and business partner, Heather, in 2020, she was hesitant. I immediately said no, she recalls with a laugh. But I finally agreed as long as we made something that we would actually want to use ourselves. Like many others during the initial throes of the pandemic, their multigenerational family operation, Heartland Enterprises (which specializes in machining parts for jet engines and gas and oil equipment), was seeing a lull. “No one was flying; no one was drilling, says Jay. So we had time to try something different.
A Butterfly Haven - In the Texas Hill Country, a conservationist is helping monarchs adjust to the changing world
Twenty-four years ago, Monika Maeckle bought a small property on the Llano River in Central Texas as an escape from fast-paced San Antonio. A journalist and marketing professional by trade, she didn't at first realize the value of the location on which she and her husband would later build their ranch. She also had no idea how this decision would eventually transform her life.One October evening a few years later, a friend invited Maeckle to their nearby house, which sat on a watershed with several large cypresses. All these butterflies dropped from the sky and started to gravitate toward the trees, she recalls. Stronger people who could swing a big 12-foot-long pole began trying to capture them, and we waited. By the end of the evening, we'd tagged a couple hundred butterflies, and I left there enchanted.
Oktober Feast!
While I respect your right to serve spooky food in October, you won't find any gory grub at my house this month. Instead, I'm hosting a gathering that's inspired by biergartens across the pond. The focus of the menu is a fondue made with Gruyère cheese and crisp Riesling-like beer-cheese dip but more elevated. It's served with a smorgasbord of dippers such as smoked sausage, grapes, apples, and a few amped-up store-bought snacks, like Mustard-Glazed Pretzel Bites and Smoked Paprika Potato Chips. (Just one taste, and you'll want to add this spice to every bag you open.) Pour yourself a Cider Shandy, and get ready for a good time. Prost, y'all!
The Roast With the Most
Embrace the changing seasons with a cozy pork supper
Roll With It
Company's coming? Bake a batch of these apple-stuffed delights
VIRGINIA PASTORAL
IN MIDDLEBURG, THE COMMONWEALTH'S MOST STORIED SMALL TOWN, OCTOBER WELCOMES A HOST OF TREASURED TRADITIONS
TAKING ROOT
Turn the season's freshest veggies-beets, parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots-into colorful fall sides
THE FAMILY PLACE
When it came time for a young Georgia couple to make an 1800s farmhouse their own, they took it apart piece by piece-then rebuilt it into a home ready to welcome the next generation
Loving Life in Fayetteville
This Northwest Arkansas college town is easy to love and hard to leave
The Road That Raised Me
This lesser-known drive offers the most breathtaking views in the Smoky Mountains
