What started as a nice leisurely day ended with yet another drama.
We decided not to squeeze any last minute Atlanta attractions in before heading for Nashville, even though there is a heap of things to see everywhere we go.
The drive was going to take about 3.5hrs. As we left Atlanta, we saw mountains in the distance for the first time. Once we crossed the border into Tennessee, we also started to see autumn trees beginning to change color. It was a very picturesque drive through to Nashville. We went around part of the Nashville River & up & over some mountains.
We came across a sign for the Jack Daniels Distillery. As we had spare time, we decided to turnoff. We went through some small towns & past quite a lot of run down houses mixed in with very lovely Southern homes.
The distillery is located in a hollow in Lynchburg, Tennessee & was established in 1866. It is the oldest registered distillery in the US.
We went on a tour of the distillery which was very interesting. All of the Jack Daniels whiskey sold throughout the world is made there at Lynchburg. They use water which comes from the natural limestone spring in the hollow making it the perfect location.
However, it is a dry county meaning that while whiskey can be distilled there, it cannot be sold in any shop or restaurant in town. The distillery are allowed to sell one commemorative bottle on site. They rotate their main products, No.7, Gentleman Jack & Single Barrel through this.
The smell of the whiskey was quite obvious in parts of the area surrounding the distillery.
Jack Daniels is a Tennessee whiskey rather than a bourbon whiskey. The difference is that JD is filtered through 10ft of sugar maple charcoal before it is barreled. This gives it the distinct flavor. We saw the vats where it was being filtered & it was going through drip by drip. Our guide said it takes around 6 days for it to drip through the charcoal.
What surprised me was the color. It is a clear liquid when it goes into the barrels. It stays there for approx 2yrs before being tasted for bottling. When it comes out, it is the familiar brown colour.
As quality is so important to the company, they even make their own barrels. They go through a particular process which ensures the whiskey is flavoured from the barrels.
The distillery has been operating since 1866 and in that time there had only been 7 master distillers. This is the man who tastes the whiskey from each barrel & decides if it is ready or not. They do everything on taste rather than by time.
Jack Daniels died in 1911 when he was in his early 60s. He died from blood poisoning which began in his toe 6yrs earlier. He had been unable to open the safe in his office early one morning so he kicked it. He hurt his toe which then developed an infection & led to blood poisoning.
Our guide was quite a character. He told us they get given No.7 for free & have free whiskey at work on the 1st Friday of every month. It is very hard for anyone to get a job at the distillery because no one ever leaves.
After the tour we drove into the main town square of Lynchburg. It is a beautiful quaint little town that only consisted of the main square. But, it was bustling with people, particularly bikers so the distillery must be keeping the town alive.
We drove along a country highway to get to Nashville. There were little moveable homes & farm houses. Some were quite grand & others had sheds that were beyond repair. The next major town was Shelbyville which was a big horse town. There were big properties, some with signs saying they bred & trained horses.
It started to rain as we drove through here but it didn't come to much.
We arrived in Nashville just after 5pm. We checked in & really only had time to change & request foam pillows again before going to The Grand Ole Opry.
The Opry House is about a 15min drive away attached to a large shopping centre. The Grand Ole Opry is a radio show broadcast from the Opry House every Tuesday, Friday & Saturday nights. The show features a range of country music artists. One will perform & then host the next 15-30min segment, introducing the next performers. Last night we saw Little Jimmy Dickens who was 91yrs old. He should probably give it away fairly soon but he was wearing a fabulous sparkly suit and a ten gallon hat. He was a tiny little man. Other acts we saw were Heidi Newfield, Jimmy Newman, Jeannie Seely, Bobby Osbourne, The Issacs, The Whites, Jan Howard, Will Hoge, Bill Anderson & Sara Evans who was obviously the big name of the night. We didn't know any of them but that didn't matter. They were all good & it was a fun night. There was also the Opry Square Dancers who came out twice. Bit odd to have dancers on a radio show but they were accompanied by a fiddler.
We got to hear a range of music- bluegrass, country & crossover.
The Opry was held for 31years in the Ryman Auditorium before it moved to the Opry House. The Ryman is obviously revered amongst country artists as a circle was cut out of the Ryman stage & inserted into the Opry House stage. It is quite easy to see as it is a different colour & is at the front where the performers stand. It was interesting to hear so many of them talk about that circle & how important it was to them. It was a good Nashville experience to have had.
On the way home, we decided to stop by the Dollar Car Rental counter at the airport to add me on as a driver. Without really thinking about it, we followed the signs to the rental car return section. When we got there, there was no one around. We went down to the main counter in the terminal & they were closed too. We spoke to the ground transportation man who tried to call different Dollar people with no success. The problem was we couldn't get the car out. You have to be let out after they check the paperwork. The airport police couldn't even open it for us. We spoke to the girl at the Avis counter who said she had encountered Dollar customers before who couldn't get their rental cars because their flights had been delayed but Dollar close early on Saturday nights. It is Avis policy to remain on site until all flights have landed. We will remember that for next time!
All we could do was get a cab back to the hotel and go back this morning. So, just before 6am this morning, we were in a cab going to the airport. We had no problems adding me & then having the paperwork checked & being let out of the carpark.
For the rest of this holiday there is to be no more drama, no more feather pillows, no more broken hair dryers & no more broken blinds.
Time to go & see Nashville!