Saturday 20 June From Townsend to Nashville, the roundabout way
With an ambitious agenda for Saturday I needed to get away reasonably early, so packing was mostly completed yesterday and this morning started, at 84 degrees at 8 am, with me tidying and sweeping. Then time for one last dip in the hot tub and away. I will really miss the hot tub. It's always on, and heated to around 100 degrees so no forward planning is required - just hop in, whack up the jets and relax.
The first stop today was Chattanooga. The fabled Choo Choo itself now appears to be a static dining room in a Holiday Inn, but I took a ride on the Tennessee Valley Railway, which is a 3 mile single track so at the top they have to uncouple the train and use a turntable to turn the engine and tender, which was quite interesting to see. The carriage I was in was what is known as a Jim Crow car, which was built in 1925 and was a car divided by a door, with one half for whites and the other for coloureds (no, not laundry Jan…). The whites had more seat space, and each half had separate restrooms. Railroad facilities were de-segregated in 1955.
The second stop was unscheduled. I drove by a mass of American classic cars being shown informally in some town. It was just like a village fete, but some of the machinery on show would have been worth tens of thousands and more, with bottom-up restorations of 60's cars which looked brand new. Mostly they do not drive these cars - they are concourse, and are trailered to each event. I have a pal who is somewhat of a fanatic so have a separate Webshots site with 74 pictures if anyone is interested.
A trip to Tennessee would be incomplete without a visit to the Jack Daniels Distillery at Lynchburg. The tour is free, so you inevitably buy the souvenir (well, I did!). The process starts with creation of a 140 degree clear spirit from the mash, which is then charcoal filtered. The charcoal, together with the barrels - which are fired in some way so that the inside is blackened - are what gives it it's colour and flavour. They make their own barrels, and a cooper can turn out 255 non-leaking barrels a day, using traditional methods. I was surprised how traditional it was - even each label is attached by hand. Each barrel is only used once, after which they are disposed in a number of ways - Scottish distilleries, as JD BBQ chips, you could even buy one in the gift shop. Our guide was Dusty, who is one of Jack's great nephews (or was is great great - whatever…). A photo of my tour should appear here in the next day or two http://www.jackdaniels.com/thedistillery/photopickup.aspx?date=6-20-2009, either tour 7 or 11.
Then onto Nashville. Having passed back into Central time along the way, I didn't arrive until gone 7 pm. Saturday night in Nashville involved a 20 minute walk to the bars on Broadway, most of which had live music. Nashville is the Country Music capital. I bar hopped for a while, then settled to watch a 4 piece country band with the bassman playing a double bass, which was good. It is so hot here, even into the early hours, once you find a cool spot it's best to stay put.
The temperature was in excess of 100 degrees in Chattanooga, and over 95 everywhere else. The car AC chills down well, especially over a trip, so as soon as you even open a window, let alone get out, the heat wall hits you. I've had a problem with the camera lens misting over when I take it out for those quick shots. Most of the JD buildings were not air conditioned, and that felt more uncomfortable than being in direct sunlight. Even the locals are saying it is hot.
I want to spend some time reviewing my week ahead to make sure I am doing the right things. The time at Townsend made me realize that lots of one night stops, which is largely how the plan looks, could be hard work. There is a loop at the bottom of my itinerary which I planned just because I'm in the vicinity - there is nothing specific for me to see. On the other hand, at least the car is cool!! I have to say, I am not getting much of a tan!!
Lastly some admin. I can usually receive emails, but sending them is a faff. So if you mail me and I don't respond too quickly, please be patient. And I *think* I have cracked the satnav problem - I covered the PDA with my hand while starting it today, and it's been happily charging all day. I couldn't be without it if I am going to achieve what I set out to do.