ADRs, Touring Plans, Free Dining, What?

[lazydoxy66]

The night before we picked up the rental.

It's a Nissan. They tried to give me a Pontiac Vibe. I said, 'How is a Pontiac Vibe anything like a Pontiac G6?' They shrugged their shoulders. I said, 'I'm not paying $200+ for a Vibe. What else you got?' Nissan it is.
Could have just taken the old stand-by:

We were afraid someone might put a scratch on it or worse yet, steal it.

September 6th, Saturday
According to my schedule, we were supposed to leave at 4:00 AM. I did manage to sleep - a little. At 2:08 AM I couldn't stand it anymore. Time to make the cinnamon rolls. You know, Pillsbury, with the orange icing. YUM!

I baked them while I got myself dressed. I decided to let Doug sleep just a little longer. My first mistake of the trip. I thought the smell of the doughboy special would wake him up.
I was busy packing the last minute toiletries and noticed he wasn't moving yet. It was 3:00 AM. He must have missed the memo. The big one that said, "Hey, your going to WALT DISNEY WORLD!!!!" It was his job to load the cooler and feed the animals. Plus, he always has to sit on the pot for at least 20 minutes every morning. I know TMI. You know where this is headed though.
So I walk into the bedroom and say, "Get your rump out of that bed. Or am I going alone on this trip!"

We finally hit the road at 4:20 AM. (Note to self. Doug has no time management skills. Wake him up 20 minutes earlier.) It was 57 deg. F and overcast.

This is an antenna topper. The antenna on the rental was too fat. So I hung it from the mirror with fishing line. Very sophisticated.
The trip through Indianapolis and the southern part of Indiana was uneventful and gas was in th $3.60 - $3.70 range. It was a gray day. No rain though.
When we got to Tennessee, I thought about the Jack Daniels Distillery. I told Doug that I should have gotten some directions. It would have been a good place to stop. He agreed. About 10 minutes later we see a sign for it with the exit #. Cool! Let's go.
Friends, the sign made it sound like the distillery was real close. It wasn't.

Did we make it to see Jack? You'll have to wait for the next installment:


Day 1, Part 2: Pillsbury and Jack Daniels

 

[lazydoxy66]

Thanks for jumping on board everyone!!!! Knowing you won't be doing this alone is a good feeling!!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I have never heard of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with orange icing, must be an American thing.

 

[PrincessV]

The trip through Indianapolis and the southern part of Indiana was uneventful and gas was in th $3.60 - $3.70 range. It was a gray day. No rain though.

Hmmm. I'm wondering how long those prices will last into your trip.

 

[jcc0621]

Hmmmmmmmm. Cinnamon Rolls!!!! Um, make sure to tell Doug that you are leaving at 3:30 next time...this way you will leave on time

 

[Stasieki]

Oh no... we live in Nashville and my DH is originally from a small town close to the JD place. Can't wait to hear if you made it there - I know how far it is from the interstate.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I'm impressed you took the time to bake the morning you left. It would have been a donut shop for me but then we don't have the orange icing ones here (yet).

 

[2BusyPlanning]

Mmmmm... Orange Pillsbury! We have those every Christmas morning. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[DisneyJo]

What a shame you didn't drive the redneck trailer to WDW

Those buns look lovely

 

[lazydoxy66]

In our last exerpt, we were exiting I-24 for the Jack Daniels Distillery.

Side Note: I have written in my notes that gas is now $3.54/gallon in this part of Tennessee.

Now I will introduce you to the 3rd voice in our car - Emma. She is my Mio Moov, GPS. As Doug is exiting, I enter the address for JD. Guess what Emma says - turn right in 10 miles. Excuse me Emma but that darn distillery has got to be closer than that. Just where the heck is Lynchburg anyhow??!!
I get ready to reach for the atlas when a big sign states that the JD distillery is approximately 22 miles away on SR55. You have got to be kidding me!

Of all the low-down, underhanded..... I'm a guessin' that's why they don't let you know up front. No one would ever go if they knew just how far off the beatin' track it is. It's a good thing we were doing good on time!

You know what? Emma got us there. No problems. Here is a picture of the front entrance.

It was 11:30 AM and time to munch. I had made some fried chicken strips and we bought KFC cole slaw. We sat in the car and ate before we went in. I know, but we were hungry and there were no picnic tables. It was good.
There was quite a crowd to the left as we walked to the entrance. I thought maybe it was the line for the bathroom. We find out later that I was wrong.
Here is what you are greeted with when you walk in the front door.

It was beautiful and relaxing. There were lots of displays and history in there. I walked up to the receptionists desk and found out she was psychic. 'Are you here for the tour?' she asked with a very sweet southern accent. I told her we were. She handed me a couple of cards and said our tour, #4, which was on the card, would be leaving in approximately 10 minutes. She invited us to take a look at the displays and enjoy our visit. So we started lurking.

Some of Jack's fine threads.

Doug taking a whiff of JD before and after the charcoal filtering. There is a difference.

The whole process in miniature.

This is a life size picture of the man himself. He was only 5'2" tall.

They called out our tour and took us into a little room where we all introduced ourselves, kinda neighborly-like. People were from all over - Japan, Bulgaria, Germany, England and the US of course. Our guide was Ginger. Very cute and very southern. We watched a short film and then took a short bus ride up to the top of the distillery. Did you know that 50% of the sales of JD are to Europe?!! England is first. Followed by Germany. I thought that was very interesting.

We started in the Rickyard. This is where they heat treat the wood for the barrells.

They snap a picture of the group at this point. It is posted on the Jack Daniels web site for 30 days. You can copy it to your PC for your own use. I thought this was a great idea. Doug and I are in the center.

This is the charcoal mill. They have to grind it down.

This is their fire brigade.

It was at one time. They have state-of-the-art equipment now. I sure hope so. I'd hate to see this fine concoction go up in flames.

This is the spring that Jack found. BTW - JD was adopted by a neighbor down the road that actually started the whiskey business. He gave it to JD when he was 13 yrs old. And when JD was 16 he registered it with the US. It is the oldest distillery on record. They own all the land around the distillery because they don't want any farm chemicals muckin' up the brew. The 2nd pic is of me, D, and JD in front of the spring.

The spring has never run dry.

I'm out of time and out of picture space. I shall continue this romp down whiskey alley at a later date.

Next: Day 1, Part 3 - Pillsbury and Jack Daniels

 

[rebecca06261]

It's a good thing you decided against taking the hoopdie-car... it would have never made it past your overnight stay in Cartersville. Afterall, that there hoopdie would make fine campin' gear for some folks!

....They own all the land around the distillery because they don't want any farm chemicals muckin' up the brew. The 2nd pic is of me, D, and JD in front of the spring.

I love the word "muck." It should be used more often! It's a great replacement word for the F-bomb too!

Atleast JD is taller than you (even if only by a smidge!<----another one of those fancy southernisms)

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Thanks, now I can toss around a few facts about "JD" at the next gathering.

I love the "Jonathan" voice on our GPS. He gives a whole new meaning to "bare left".

 

[lazydoxy66]

It's a good thing you decided against taking the hoopdie-car... it would have never made it past your overnight stay in Cartersville. Afterall, that there hoopdie would make fine campin' gear for some folks!



I love the word "muck." It should be used more often! It's a great replacement word for the F-bomb too!

Atleast JD is taller than you (even if only by a smidge!<----another one of those fancy southernisms)

I saw a few I woulda traded fur.

Actually that there statue is bigger than life size. I'm 5'6" and Doug is 6'1". I'm sure he's proud the stature of this statue.

Thanks, now I can toss around a few facts about "JD" at the next gathering.

I love the "Jonathan" voice on our GPS. He gives a whole new meaning to "bare left".

Emma has a hard time with Trl. It is short for Trail. She says triangle. 'Turn right on Bermuda Triangle. Your destination is on the right in the Black Hole.'

 

[DisneyJo]

I get ready to reach for the atlas when a big sign states that the JD distillery is approximately 22 miles away on SR55. You have got to be kidding me

Wow

Did you know that 50% of the sales of JD are to Europe?!! England is first.

I'm not surprised

They snap a picture of the group at this point. It is posted on the Jack Daniels web site for 30 days. You can copy it to your PC for your own use. I thought this was a great idea.

That really is a good idea!

Lovely photo

 

[PrincessV]

Oooo, it's so pretty!

It was beautiful and relaxing. There were lots of displays and history in there.

It does look relaxing in there! How did it smell? I'm imagining a combination of alcohol and wood, but not too strong.

 

[2BusyPlanning]

We watched a short film and then took a short bus ride up to the top of the distillery. Did you know that 50% of the sales of JD are to Europe?!! England is first. Followed by Germany. I thought that was very interesting.

I'm sorry, I found this quite humorous. Did you TAKE the short bus, or was it a short ride in a bus?!

 

[lazydoxy66]

I'm sorry, I found this quite humorous. Did you TAKE the short bus, or was it a short ride in a bus?!

You are just too funny. Actually it was a short bus and a short ride. Do 2 shorts make a long?

 

[lazydoxy66]

Wow

I'm not surprised

That really is a good idea!

Lovely photo

Guess who is the biggest buyer here in America?

The US Military.

 

[lazydoxy66]

Day 1, Part 3: Pillsbury and Jack Daniels

On with the tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery.
What we have here is the only original building on the property. It was Jack's office. It still has some of the original furniture inside too. Also, a picture of a barrel house. They store about 30,000 barrels in there while the whiskey ages.

Now for the actual processing. BTW, Did you know that Lynchburg is in the 'dry' county of Lynchburg. They can't sell any liquor in the county. There is an exception that we will get to in a moment.

First the fermentation of the ingredients. The ferrnenter holds the corn mash. It looks like barf. Like 'I just ate some oatmeal that didn't agree with me' kind of barf. It doesn't smell like barf. More like fresh bread. Yeasty.

Due to the alcohol fumes, we could not use a flash on the rest of the tour. I definitely didn't want to be the cause of halting the world's supply of JD so some of the pics aren't the best.

The distillation area is where you get to see the JD in it's pure white lightnin' form. You can drink it at this point. Notice the lock. I would guess somebody was sneakin' a taste every so often.

Now this next part made me thirsty for some JD. These vats contain 5-6 feet of charcoal. That's what they use to filter the whiskey. It drips from those pipes into the charcoal and it takes a week for it to get through to the holding tank. This process is supposed to make it smoother.

Ginger opened this up so we could get our nostrils full of this heavenly scent. It was very potent even in snorted form. We had to exit using about 2 flights of stairs. As I peered into the abyss with a half loopy brain, I was sure I would end up bouncing down those stairs on my behind. I am a cluts extraordinaire when I'm completely sober, let alone when schnockered.

You'll be happy to know I made it. I felt good enough to snap a pic of my sweetie in his second favorite position with a great big happy smile. (He was secretly hoping for my demise as I am worth more dead than alive)

I do have some shots of him smilin'. It does happen on rare occasions.

This is what happens to all the surfaces of this place including the plants. It's a black fungus that is a product of the fermentation. It doesn't hurt anything. It was actually pretty on the trees.

The tower of 'Single Barrel'.

What is Single Barrel Jack Daniels? I'm glad you asked. It's JD at it's smoothest. It has been dripped through the charcoal TWICE.
They have a whole room dedicated to this concoction. It's filled with plaques with names of 'celebrities'. You see, you can purchase it by the bottle. Pretty pricey! But that's not how you get your name on the wall. That is for the people that by the barrel. Yes, my friends, you too can buy a barrel of this fine liquid heaven for a mere 9 - 12,000 smackeroos. You get to pick your own barrel from 3 that the Master Distiller has personally picked as top notch. Each one will taste just a little different. You not only get 240 bottles from that barrel, which they will gladly bottle up for you, hand stamped with your barrel #, they also give you the barrel, a certificate of ownership and a plaque on that wall of fame along side some of countries finest crooners. 'Hey Garth, sweetie, can we get us some of that Single Barrel Jack Daniels?' - 'Yeah, the CD just went platinum, get 4.' No wonder they're so happy, they're tanked on JD!

The last part of the tour was through the bottling section and a mini barrell house. The barrell house was too dark. No pictures of it. I did get a shot of Doug with Ginger.

Note that the Southern Charm of Ginger brought a smile to Doug's lips. And I forgot to mention, the tour is free!

Now here's the first bit of pixie dust for the trip. Ginger told us that we were there on a very special day. The Master Distiller was in the house. He was signing bottles of JD. Even though it is a dry county, the legislation made an exception for the collectible and commemorative bottles of booze. If you wanted you could buy a bottle or 2 and Mr. Jeff Arnett, 7th Master Distiller for JD, age 41, would sign it for ya'.

The line that was at the left when we came in was for the signing which was a mile and a half inside the building. I ain't jokin'. It was nuts. This apparently is a huge deal in those parts. HUGE! I mean some persons had cases to be signed. This guy was more popular than, don't blast me for this, ELVIS. And he didn't even have to sing.
Doug was in line for, are you ready for this, 1 hour and 15 minutes. This was the longest wait of our entire trip. Not Exp. Everest, Not TSM, Not Space Mountain - An autograph from someone we didn't even know until that moment. Too darn funny if you ask me. This is a pic of the man himself and the $72.00 of booze Doug bought. No barrel this time.

There is a bottle in the box as well. You can kinda see the signature on the right side of the bottle.

Mr. Arnett was a very nice guy. I can't imagine having to sign 4 million bottles, boxes, crates, etc. He said he was doing fine when I asked about it.

Well I wanted to go to the town of Lynchburg which was just a block away, but it was around 3:30 PM when we got the bottles signed. I knew we were about 2 hours away from Cartersville. So we hit the road.
You might ask what I did the whole time Doug was in line. I sat on my fanny and drank some fresh lemonade they were handing out. I should have went on to town, but I didn't know how long it was going to take.
A woman from Florida, originally Brooklyn, sat down and chatted with me. I found out all sorts of things about her - building a new home close by, back surgeries, her DH was from Fla., he was on the tour - Just all kinds of stuff. I must have a face that says tell me everything. (This can be a problem at times.) In the end her DH bought a couple of bottles when he got back from his tour. She asked if Doug could take them for him and get them signed since he was still in line. Doug gave me one of those looks, but he did it. They were so happy.

So we waddled on back by the longest mile line, got in the car, and bid old JD a final farewell. It was fun and interesting. The price was right, free. Can't beat that. There is a lot to see and a restaurant. Oh well, maybe next time. We will definitely do it again.

I was getting a kick out of some of the bill boards on our way to Cartersville. I noted a sign that said - Lyon's Den: Adult Food & Fuel Superstore. There sure were a lot of these in Tennesee. Must have some ornery folk in them there hills.

We got to Cartersville. The Comfort Inn was on a very steep hill. If you had a big rig, no way. Not even a camper. You'd get stuck in the dip in the road between it and the drive. It was a typical refurb run by Indians or some other mid east. people. They were very nice.
The room was the usual - 'slap some wallpaper and paint on and it's new' type. The bed was clean and comfortable. All I can say is, those of you that complain about WDW Mousekeeping might want to pass this one up. It was OK for an overnighter though.

Doug in his favorite position. (Looks like he's pickin' his nose. Cool.)

We ate at a Cracker Barrell since it was kinda late and we didn't know the area. Doug did add some excitment to the dinner. The waitress gave us our drinks and Doug decided to play the part of that 5 year old of told you about. I don't know what he was doin' but he knocked the whole Coke he ordered over. I haven't moved that fast in 25 years. It would have been all over me if I hadn't. Great D, now the whole establishment is staring. Thanks for making us both look like retards from up north. I think I heard someone say,"Getonouttahere." (Get on out of here - for those of you that don't speak southern.) Good thing there was food around for a distraction.

End of Day 1. I bet you thought 'd never get it done.

Next: Day 2 - Car Alarms, Gators, and POR

 

[jcc0621]

That tour looks so cool Kristel. Something Jim would wanna do, if we ever had cause to be in Tennessee!