Category: In the Meantime

Virtual Reality is the new Reality??

Written by Jordan Campbell on May 1, 2020. Posted in In the Meantime, Uncategorized.

Zoom, Teams, Skype, FaceTime. The NFL Draft, American Idol, zoos, and museums. For the last 7 weeks, we’ve worked our jobs, visited our friends and family, attended school, and watched life happen, virtually. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been pretty amazing to see the drive and ingenuity in people to ensure our world keeps turning, but for many of us, the “virtual” aspect of all of this can be stifling.

My two boys have watched countless nature and zoo virtual experiences, but their faces yesterday when they found a caterpillar in backyard said it all. They have filled books and refrigerator doors up with paintings and crayon drawings, but to take them out to Charlie Daniels Park to actually see the colors jump off of the caboose mural said it all.

As I said, we cannot deny all the incredible things done virtually over the last couple of months, but now we can start this transition from “virtual” to “reality.” The reality of things is this: Wilson County is a pretty great place to visit and a pretty great place to be! So start searching our website and start virtually planning the reality of a visit to WilCo!

Jason Johnson, Tourism Director

Split Bean Roasting Company

Written by Kaitlyn Vail on April 24, 2020. Posted in In the Meantime.

Kaitlyn here to hijack Ashley’s “In the Meantime” blog! Something you should know about me is that coffee actually runs through my veins. So, it’s no surprise, one of my favorite places to frequent in the county is Split Bean Roasting Company located at 110A East Main St, right off the Lebanon square. It is a veteran owned coffee shop that has been a WilCo staple for many coffee addicts since 2018. Owner, Chris Cox roasts the coffee on site. What started off as a hobby roasting coffee beans, turned into opening the shop in January 2018. Along with fresh coffee, they have specialty espresso drinks. I have been hooked on the iced mocha since the moment they opened their doors. And if you’re not a coffee fan, they have an assortment of loose-leaf tea, iced tea, fruit smoothies and limeades. They offer breakfast and lunch options, along with baked goods all day (just saying the “Big Ham ‘N Cheese” croissant is worth getting there early!).

However, with COVID-19, we are watching how businesses are coping with the restrictions and still be able to provide services to general public.

Split Bean will continue to provide fresh roasted coffee even though the shop is currently closed to the public. Simply order online here. Place your order by midnight on a Thursday for it to be ready for pickup at the shop on Fridays from 3-6pm, or you can choose to have it shipped to your house!

So now that we bought our coffee beans, how can we bring that freshly roasted coffeehouse taste to our home? Thankfully, Chris is willing to let us in on some secrets on getting that perfect brew.

The Final Stretch

Written by Jordan Campbell on April 21, 2020. Posted in In the Meantime.

Tennessee is in its final stretches of “stay-at-home” orders. While group activities are a little further down the road, the economy will soon be getting a needed boost with the phasing in of non-essential businesses. Today’s “In the Meantime” is all about how you can make the most of this “home stretch” of quarantine.

Getting that Virtual Diploma

Written by Jordan Campbell on April 17, 2020. Posted in In the Meantime, Uncategorized.

How do you fit all the milestones teachers and students lost during the COVID-19 pandemic into an approximately 350-word blog post? It isn’t easy. There aren’t words for how these students and teachers are feeling right now. There aren’t emotions for the milestones they are missing out on- last days, proms, commencement ceremonies, senior nights, end of school parties. Yet here I am, trying to put the lack of words and emotions into words.

Demeter’s Common

Written by Jordan Campbell on April 14, 2020. Posted in In the Meantime.

We got to stay home, but we need to get essential items and we still want to support locally. How on earth do we do that anyway?

Not All Superheroes Wear Capes

Written by Jordan Campbell on April 3, 2020. Posted in In the Meantime.

I know that Ashley is usually the author and architect of these blogs, but today’s is getting hijacked by me, Jason. Twice a week, Ashley does a great job of highlighting some amazing places in Wilson County. Those “doing great things with the cards they’ve been dealt”, those “finding a way to make it work”, those “glass half-full” people. We hope you continue to appreciate and support these businesses as much as we do! We truly have some amazing people in Wilson County trying hard to bring some happiness and normalcy (or new normalcy) in these times. Please keep an eye out for more featured businesses ahead.

Breeden’s Orchard

Written by Jordan Campbell on March 31, 2020. Posted in Blog, In the Meantime.

Maintaining a sense of normalcy in a time that is so full of uncertainty can be hard. Breeden’s Orchard in Mt. Juliet is trying to keep as much “normal” in the world as they can. Starting March 31, 2020, they will be open Tuesdays 9-1, Thursdays noon-4, and Saturdays 9-1 to offer locally grown and sourced produce and products.

Stardust Drive-In

Written by Jordan Campbell on March 27, 2020. Posted in In the Meantime, Uncategorized.

To quote Joe Nichols, this weekend looks {mostly} “sunny and 75!” Maneuvering your way through the COVID-19 pandemic can be hard. Self-isolating and staying in your house isn’t easy, especially when you have stir crazy kids home from school, but with the weather looking wonderful this weekend, the Visit WilCo Team wants to tell you about one of our all time favorite attractions in WilCo: The Stardust Drive-In located in Watertown, Tennessee.

Sassy Pecan

Written by Jordan Campbell on March 23, 2020. Posted in In the Meantime.

What do you get when you mix together two sassy women, pecans, and a whole lot of southern flavor? You get one of Watertown’s staple restaurants and confectionaries, Sassy Pecan. Sassy Pecan made its journey to Watertown in May of 2019 from Minnesota. If you’ve seen their building in Downtown Watertown, you might think it looks familiar. It was Walker Creek Confections before Sassy Pecan took over, but before that, it was home to American Hardware! The building was built more than a century ago and has so much Watertown history in its walls!