Gallivanting in Gatlinburg

Did you wonder what happened to us after my previous blog featuring our Baked Bean Adventure?   It may seem difficult to imagine something more exciting than beans, but if you love fish, as we all know someone in this household does, then you can easily understand why a trip to Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg would cause some excitement. 

You're probably not too surprised to see that there were fish.

Lots of them. 

All shapes and sizes. 

Colorful creatures. 

Schools of them, as a matter of fact!

Short, puffy ones  (Scorpion Fish) 

Long, skinny ones

Inquisitive ones as well. 

Some with long appendages

and others in remarkable shades of yellow. 

glowing

and striped. 

There was even one named a Squirrel Fish!  Who knew?

But there's a lot more than just tanks of fish here.  The aquarium features a large "tunnel" which runs below a long continuous tank filled with sharks of every shape and size. 

Don't tell Marty, but it appears that one just snuck by him in this photo below. 

And this sword fish was certainly making his rounds.

Someone was totally enraptured by the seemingly endless numbers. 

And I was thankful that glass separated us from these magnificent creatures. 

The tunnel ran for quite a distance and there was ample opportunity to just sit and soak in our surroundings, all while listening to the relaxing sounds of Canon in D playing in the background. (A bit calmer than the background music from the movie, Jaws.) 

Outside the tunnel, the atmosphere changed quite a bit. 

I found these tiny "Nemo" fish to be quite cute and entertaining. 

But we had to be on guard for sudden distractions among them.  Scary!!

These painted fish were entertaining,

and the Balloon Fish looks like he's smiling, don't you think?

Moving along, we watched the graceful sting rays, in a variety of colors, swimming within a very large tank of their own. 

But there were some other interesting creatures as well.  Here you see an Iguana

and a rhinoceros Iguana. 

Acolotl, (a type of salamander)

And a garden eel, which was actually quite creepy as they would suddenly rise up from the surface floor, quite unexpectedly.

Then there were the penguins.  Derby and Noel seemed quite smitten with each other.

And Noel even got to walk in the afternoon Penguin Parade!  How exciting is that? 

And, it seems that Marty even found a friend who agreed to take a photo with him. 

Pretty entertaining, for sure.  

We popped into the "Easter Island" display for some fun.

and then, decided to call it a day. 

We made the drive back to our lakehouse for the evening. 

But Marty was eager to venture down the road to check out the Tennessee Moonshine Distillery that we passed in our travel.  And, so the two of us headed towards the tasting room. 

He was given 4 small plastic tasting cups, and told to put each on one of his choices.  He put a lot of thought into choosing, then enjoyed the samples, along with a small cup of pickle juice in between tastes (to cleanse the palate, I was told.)  He loved it!

And then, he got to do it all a second time! 

Obviously, he found it to be a tasteful experience! 

We headed back to the lake house to meet up with my cousin, Lenka and her family, who live a relatively short drive away from where we were staying.  

It was the perfect venue to enjoy our company while admiring the beautiful view.  

We had such a great time catching up with each others' lives, and, as it usually happens, the time flew by way too fast, and we were soon saying our goodbyes.

It was our last night at this magnificent home, and the next morning, we packed up and headed back to northern Tennesee for our last night's visit. 

What a great adventure for all!  Hope you enjoyed traveling along with me. 

Until next time....

Bush's Beans Visitor Center: A Unique Find near the Smoky Mountains

Marty and I are once again on a family adventure....this time in Tennessee near the Smoky Mountains.  Here's our view for a few days.

You can't beat that for relaxation!  I will admit, however, that we awoke to stormy skies, rain and fog this morning, so the view was a bit different, but still pretty spectacular nonetheless. 

Since it was raining, and an outdoor adventure was obviously out of the question, we decided to drive west to the Bush's Beans Visitor Center, which we had passed on our way here.

Actually, we passed the same visitor center a little over a year ago, when we traveled from Asheville North Carolina to Sevierville to visit my cousin's family, but it had been closed, and Marty had decided then and there that if we were ever close, he wanted to stop in when it was open. 

Well, I'd say that this was the perfect opportunity! So, we headed out early, and were actually quite surprised to find the parking lot relatively full at 10:30 AM on a Monday morning in early May.  

Before we entered the building, I spotted the owner of this dog commanding him to sit and stay, in the rain, while he snapped some photos.  It dawned on me that the canine was the same breed as the mascot for Bush's beans, so I suppose that was the purpose behind the photography.  

I was pretty impressed that the dog was willing to sit and stay, in the rain, while his owner had his fun.  I certainly hope a treat was waiting for him when he got to the car!  

Upon entering the center, we were greeted by an extremely friendly attendant who spent quite a bit of time giving us the background of this company that is well known for making baked beans.  

The story begins in 1908, with A.J. Bush starting a cannery in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee, near the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.  He had been employed as a schoolteacher  in the area, while also operating  a small country store in order to make ends meet.  He realized that he needed to establish some sort of financial security for his children, if they were going to stay in this area, and that was the driving force behind his establishment of a cannery. 

You might not know that the original product for this company was tomatoes. 

They were blanched, cored and peeled, cut and placed in tin cans which were then soldered with silver, leaving a tiny hole at the top for steam to escape. 

The tomatoes were then brought to a high temperature, and then sealed with a final drop of silver to guarantee preservation of the product.  His efforts resulted in a product similar to those canned by women in their kitchens, but on a much larger scale, using tin cans rather glass mason jars. 

During World War I, 90% of Bush's canned tomatoes were purchased by the federal government as part of the war effort. 

Afterwards the company continued to prosper, becoming incorporated in 1922,  expanding five years later. 

They went on to purchase the Blytheville Canning Company in 1944, and the cannery became more diversified. 

Over time, the company became famous for their varieties of baked beans, which lays claim to the "secret" recipe, which is bound in a book held behind glass. 

The visitor center is set up more like a history center, using visual images to explain the progression of this company from its origins to present day. 

I particularly enjoyed the vintage kitchen

 set up complete with a copy of Guide to Better Cooking by Bush Bros and Company.

There was a theater room, complete with comfy seating, that showed a movie featuring the manufacturing methods from start to finish.  One felt as if one was walking through the plant, step by step, from the time the beans were poured into the cans, until the label was placed on the finished product. 

Here's what we learned:

The cans are made locally, of steel, and ribbed along the sides to add strength.  They are then coated with enamel to help preserve the contents.  

The most famous flavor involves first dropping a piece of bacon into the can, adding the beans, then the special sauce before sealing the can.

It is then cooked at high pressure after which each can is coded and labeled.  No extra preservatives are added.  And, I was surprised to learn that the company makes their own brown sugar using molasses as a base!  No high fructose corn syrup in these beans!

Unlike most manufacturing plants, the Bush's beans plant has large floor to ceiling windows in most of the production area.  This helps to promote a pleasant environment for the employees, who can look out at the beauty of their surrounds while they work.  

The company produces 1000 cans of beans every minute, working five 24 hour days per week.  That's a LOT of beans! 

Moving out from the theater, we could measure our weight in beans. Mine was around 130,000, give or take a few thousand. 

The center had some very entertaining visuals

and a map that showed where they imported the various beans used in their products. 

Who knew learning about beans could be so much fun? 

By mid afternoon, the weather had cleared, and Marty was able to build a fire in the special fire pit, where we cooked "hobo" dinners in foil with s'mores for dessert. 

And  in case you might be concerned that he's drinking a can of beans, you can be assured that he is enjoying an "adult" beverage masked in a Bush's Baker Beans sleeve to keep it cold.  

Now, how clever is that? 

Until next time.....