This historic town still has some life, sort of

Not far from where we were staying in Johnson City, the historic town of Jonesborough continues to thrive as a quirky, shopping destination with parks, storytelling and live music... or, that is, it would if you visited when it was open.

Our experience with Jonesborough was pleasant.

Main street in historic Jonesborough, Tennessee.

It's a beautiful area surrounded by a couple parks before giving out to a quiet, residential area. But, we showed up on Monday morning (Sunday is right out, too), and everything from the gift shops to the fudge shop was closed.

Still, the town is a beautiful place for some exercise, and we walked along its streets and branched off down some of the residential roads.

The few people we saw greeted us without fail, including the man cooking an early lunch on a grill the size of his front porch. Passing drivers all waved from their cars, and we got the feeling that we had traveled back in time when we visited Jonesborough - either that, or maybe the south really is as slow-paced and friendly as it's sometimes rumored to be.