Tennessee Detour - Jack Daniel's Distillery and Nashville

Recently we were in Huntsville, Alabama for the Rocket City Marathon. While Holly and our friend Stan were running, the snow storm up north started. All the weather people were predicting a large amount of snow for the entire weekend so getting home Sunday night did not seem like a reality. By Saturday afternoon the airline sent us a note that our flight for Sunday evening was cancelled and we should call them to make arrangements. Being quick thinkers we decided that we would extend our car rental for a day, drive to Nashville, stay over by the airport, and fly out on a 5am flight Monday morning so we could be at work on time.

On Sunday we had a lovely Waffle House breakfast, toured the Huntsville Space Center (details in another report), then headed for Tennessee. Our first stop really excited Dave (as opposed to the Space Center - not his thing): the Jack Daniel's Distillery. We booked one of several tours while driving through Tennessee and we were excited to see that we could actually taste product in the dry county. Jack Daniels gets "a pass" as long as it's only a small amount served.


The visitor center was very nice. Outside the building was a stream created from the mountain spring, area, picnic tables, pathway to town (Lynchburg), and a Christmas tree made of whiskey barrels.

Inside the building were a few displays of bottles, marketing artifacts, and explanations of the distilling process. The "gift" shop only sold liquor, which could be packaged for shipping. All other tourist items were available at a shop in town. There were a few items on display related to the company's 150th anniversary.

Our tour group of twenty-eight was summoned to go to the bus boarding area. We certainly did not expect to have to bus anywhere. Most of the production buildings were not visible from the visitor center because of the large property layout and hills/forest areas. Our first drive-by was through the town of Lynchburg where we saw the courthouse, the Jack Daniel's gift shop, and a few other shops. Next we made our way up in the hills passing many of the warehouses where the whiskey is aged. These tin barns can get very hot in the summer and the temperature differs greatly depending on the floor of the building. The different brands are aged on different floors based on temperature ranges. We disembarked the bus near one of the barns and made our way to the charcoal production area. All their whiskey is filtered through charcoaled wood made on premise by three men (one of them is named Stick).

Other areas we toured while outside included the old fire truck display, the cave where the mountain spring water comes from, and a small building that used to be Jack's office.
 

When we went in the production facilities we could see the distillation vessels in action and watched the raw product drip into the charcoal filters a drop at a time. Total time for a drop in the filter tank is five days. We toured through one (non-operating) bottling line and watched a video on how the oak storage barrels are crafted then charred. Jack Daniel's uses each barrel once then sells them to other distillers and brewers. The final stop was the original barrel house where batches were still being stored and where the tastings would be conducted. Because of the tour we chose we were able to sample 5 different premium products.

Holly is still not a fan of whiskey

The tour and tasting was almost two hours long. It was enjoyable (for Dave) and educational. The tour guides kept it informal and handled the group well. The only downside is there's not much else to do in this small section of Tennessee. The dry county could benefit by adding a brewery or two in the area and capitalize on the captive audience they have coming into see Jack Daniel's.


We walked to town quickly to check out the branded merchandise. Lots of fun stuff from glasses, Christmas villages, statues, and almost anything else you can slap a logo on. Dave would have bought a t-shirt, but since Jack Daniel's signature colors are black and white he found nothing that suited his color palette.

Later that evening we enjoyed a few hours out with our friend Bill in Nashville. We had a quick BBQ dinner before heading to Nashville Crossroads to watch one of his favorite bands - Eskimo Brothers. Great live performers!

 

Knoxville Marathon Race Report and Videos

2 weeks notice.....

If you remember my blog post from a few weeks ago regarding the new runDisney events for 2014, you will recall my excitement. I blame that excitement and status update from Eddie McCoy for signing up for the Knoxville Marathon 2 weeks before race day. Eddie put up as his status “Knoxville Marathon April 7th , Hmmm…… “. I took a look at that and thought the same thing. I figured airfare would be crazy, it wasn’t. I figured we wouldn’t be able to get a reasonably priced hotel room. The host hotel was still available and it was very reasonable. I figured Dave would never go for it. He did. So I signed up for the marathon. It was crazy, but I would get another state out of the way and we would get to spend the weekend with great friends.

You already heard about the fun of the weekend so far (post 1 and post 2), but now it’s time for the race. The host hotel was great, right at the start line. We walked out of the hotel and right into our corrals. The weather was perfect. Nice and cool and it never did get too warm. Eddie and I were doing the full and Anna was doing the half. We were all going to run together. I did take a look at the course map and elevation and noticed it looked quite hilly. That was an understatement. The course started off with a big hill right from the start and that was a sign of things to come. We were all having fun and the course took you through some beautiful areas of Knoxville. There were lots of nice neighborhoods with great spectators and live music. I was feeling ok but knew the hills were taking a beating on my legs.

The funniest moment of the race was when we got to a Starbucks and Anna had to stop and get something. It was at mile 11 so she was almost done and really enjoyed that Starbucks! In fact she was so happy that we almost convinced her to join us for the full. But she was smarter than that and turned off at mile 12.5 and left us behind.

After the split for the half it got pretty lonely out there, but there were still bands and spectators on the course. I told Eddie I wouldn’t start whining about the hills until mile 20. Unfortunately by the time we got to mile 20 I was too tired to whine. This is one tough course. I was glad that Eddie was keeping me company. We found a beer stop at mile 23. It was of course awesome! We ran into a first time marathoner towards the end and it was great to see her finish her first marathon. The course finished inside the University of Tennessee’s Football stadium. It was very cool to run into the stadium and finish on the field. We were given a nice medal and a finishers hat. They also had excellent finishers food. Rita’s Italian Ice! It was a great race and I’m pretty happy with the 5:50 time considering how hilly the course was. I would definitely recommend this race to anyone, but beware of the hills. I was extremely sore for a few days after.

We have 3 videos posted from the race. The first video is our race video which Dave mostly filmed while following the course. Next is the video Eddie filmed while on the course. The third video is the entire 2 miles Eddie wore Dave's GoPro on his head. It's sped up so you don't have to sit through it real time. After the videos we have some comments from Dave.

Dave's Comments

This was a super easy course for the spectator.  The roads were open to car traffic with the exception of a couple of miles.   I saw the crew at the start, mile 2.5, 3.5, a drive-by at 4, 8 (snack time), 12, 13.5, 14.5, 14.9, drive-by at 15.5, 19, drive-by at 19.5, 20, 23, and the finish.  I wish I was more familiar with the city so I could have maybe watched in a cooler location vs. the run-down neighborhoods I always end up watching from.  it was nice to get to see some of the live acts along the course - there were some really good singers out there.  After the race we hit the nearest microbrewery - Downtown Grill and Brewery.  Great food, generic beer.

Tennessee Weekend - Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Smoky Mountains

Our friends Eddie and Anna came up with the idea to leave Knoxville on Saturday and take us on a little tour of Tennessee. After the race expo we hit the road with three destinations planned: Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The drive to Gatlinburg took us through the greater Pigeon Forge area. The town is famous nationally for being the home of Dollywood - Dolly Parton's theme park. On a regional level it's also famous for pancakes, go-karts, min golf, and knives. The National Knife Museum is in the greater Pigeon Forge area. Who knew?

Dave was intrigued by a couple of billboards along the road advertising The Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show. The ads made it look like total hillbilly cheese. Now since we were traveling with people whom held the name McCoy, we had to stop. The showplace was sandwiched between WonderWorks (a playplace/museum housed in a upside down mansion) and the Titanic (a museum shaped like the ship complete with iceberg).

When we started looking around we assumed this was a former Disney Imagineer's brainchild. The themeing was quite good and the props didn't look too cheap. Plus, you've got to love restaurants with penned up livestock out front. In well-themed pens they had chickens, pigs, and goats. When we checked-in on Facebook a friend of ours replied back stating the show and food were actually pretty good. With all the pro-and-con McCoy props we spent a good amount of time taking photos.

Traffic was heavy getting into Gatlinburg. There's not too many places to expand the roads because of the river that runs through town. Parking is also at a premium in G'burg. Overall Gatlinburg is an expanded tourist area of Pigeon Forge. There were some chain restaurants, mini golf courses, arcades, and a variety of shops.

We started out with lunch at Smoky Mountain Brewery. Eddie and Dave found samplers were a good deal - 6 5oz samplers for $6. Each beer was sorta a mellowed version of the style it represented - still pretty good. The food was good too.

Our next target attraction was Ole Smokey Moonshine. As a tourist you first learn about Ole Smokey the minute you get on the highway leaving Knoxville. Billboards seemed to be at every 1/2 mile mark along the drive. They had a nice complex with a center court stage where a blue grass band was playing. They had displays on the making of moonshine process and the history. Inside the main store you could sample any or all of their items - we'd estimate 10-12 items from 100 proof vodka to lemon, cherry, grape flavored moonshine. Dave likes his straight liquors, but not this stuff. It's just clear and unrefined. Costs for mason jar-sized bottles ranged $25 - $35. They were doing ok.

We left town and started driving into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Alot of our drive followed a swiftly moving river and every so often we passed a waterfall off the side of the road. Our main destination within the park was an area called Cades Cove. This is a very pretty valley where some early settlement building were still intact. Deer and turkey were hanging out in the open, not paying any attention to hikers or cars.
Back to Knoxville for dinner at a Puleo's Grille location and then bed. The next day was race day.

Tennessee Weekend - Knoxville

One of the nice things about Holly's 50 States Challenge is getting to go to places we'd never imagine visiting. When we first talked about a race in Tennessee destinations included Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, maybe Lynchburg. Never did we imagine it would end up being in Knoxville. During the weekend we'd also visit Pigeon Forge, Gatinburg, and Smoky Mountain National Park. Today's post will cover a fun night out in Knoxville.We met up with Eddie and Ann McCoy Friday night at our hotel - The Holiday Inn World's Fair Park. They are friends we met through Team AllEars. Dave had mapped out a mini beer tour so our first stop was Barley's Taproom. It was located in Old Town which is an area full of college bars that cater to the U. of Tennessee student population. We walked in and faced a $10 each cover charge because the bar was participating in the city's music festival Rhythm and Blooms. The cover locked us in for two bands worth of music. We found a corner table a suitable distance from the stage and enjoyed really good food and a large selection of draft beer - lots on tap from Ashville, NC breweries. We made it through 2 of the 3 bands. Here's the line-up:


Humming House - Very good alternative folk (like Mumford and Sons)

this mountain - Also very good - mix of alternative and folk rock

LiL iFFy - Not even gonna give out the link. Just horrible rap. Chased us out.



When we left we found that the neighboring bars were getting into party mode. Lots of current dance hits and rap coming out of the bars up and down the street. We went to our next planned stop, The Crown & Goose. It's your typical English Pub theme. This caught Dave's radar because they had two of their own beers on tap. One was an oatmeal stout and the other an IPA. The oatmeal stout was too bitter for Holly and Dave and the IPA Eddie ordered was a wheat IPA (unfiltered). Eddie doesn't do wheat. Anna made a good choice sticking with wine - and getting into a debate with the barkeep over The Fresh Prince of BelAir.

It was after 1am - time for bed since some of us were actually here for races. As we approached the hotel we saw flashing lights in the Sunsphere - the tower from the 1982 World's Fair. Intrigued we asked the front desk about it. Turns out there's a bar up there open until 3am. No discussion was necessary - we all headed for the door. We crossed the street and took the rickety elevator (complete with "no jumping" warning) to the fifth floor. We were in a totally white room with Jetson-style chairs and some really good club music playing. Yes, this was more club than bar and we were under dressed. Fortunately it wasn't crowded and the staff made us feel right at home. The biggest shock was the drink prices - reasonable. 3 cocktails and a beer under $25. The view of the outside was obstructed by the lighting scheme inside that changed colors every so often.


We stayed for one for one round then decided it really was time to go to bed. Eddie and Anna had a fun-filled day planned for us in Pigeon's Forge and Gatlinburg.