October 12, 2015

October 7, 2015

Happily, I was able to get in touch with my cousin Steve Baker and his beautiful wife May Ann who live in McKenzie, TN.  Near as we can figure, we had not seen each other in over 35 years so it was good to reconnect with them.

Before going up to McKenzie, Joyce and I toured the Parker's Crossroads Battlefield.  This battle was fought December 31, 1862.

Steve and I made a road trip to Bradford and on the way over, we stopped in Skullbone so that I could take some pictures of the old Hampton’s Store.  When we went inside for a soda, I struck up a conversation with the owner, Mr. Lonnie Hampton.  I told him I was a Crocker and he said, “Did you know B”?  (My father’s name was is Lewis B, and a lot of the folks back there called him B.)  I replied. “Yes sir, he is my daddy.”  He got this big grin on his face, laughed out loud then said, “I knew B very well”.  Small world!

Havin' supper with Steve and Mary Ann in Huntingdon, TN

 At one time there was a chest-type bottle machine outside the front door.  My granddaddy used to carry me up here and get me a chocolate soda.

 They used to hold bare-knuckle boxing matches here, hence the name Skullbone.

After visiting with the gentlemen sitting around in the store, we drove on to Bradford.  Our first stop was at Hunt Funeral Home where my grandfather worked for many years.  We visited with the present owner, Mr. Larry Taylor for a few minutes then walked up to my grandparents old home place.  The present owner’s don’t take very good care of it.

 We lived in this little house, just behind granddaddy and grandmother's place.

 This is where my great grandparents lived.  We called them Big Mama and Big Daddy.

We then drove up the highway to Martin, the city where I was born.  We stopped in at the Murphy Funeral Home which was once owned by my great uncle, Doug Murphy and now by his son David.  We had a nice visit but way too short.

I wish we would have had more time to spend in that area but is was time to head on down the road.  So yesterday we made the short run down to Savannah, TN., “The Catfish Capital Of The World.”  We are now parked at the Green Acres RV Park, a nice place owned by former full-time RV’ers.

Yesterday afternoon we drove down to Pickwick Dam area on the Tennessee River and then spent some time walking around the town’s historic district.

After doing that we drove around some of the old streets and admired some of the old homes.

After all of the sigh-seeing, we were getting hungry so we drove over to Shiloh to Hagy’s Catfish Hotel to have some fish.  Back in this part of the country, when you say your going to eat fish it will be catfish.

October 8, 2015

Yesterday, our first order of business was to tour the Shiloh National Battlefield.  This battlefield is not nearly as large as Gettysburg or Vicksburg but the battle here played a pivotal role in the Civil War.

After watching a great movie explaining the Battle of Shiloh, we did the 12 mile driving tour.  There are twenty stops on the tour that gives you a real perspective of this very important battle.

After leaving the battlefield we then drove over to Adamsville, a small town on the boarder of Hardin and McNairy Counties and the home of Buford Pusser, the onetime Sheriff of McNairy County.  You probably remember the Walking Tall movies about Buford.  His home is now a museum that houses a lot of the artifacts from his life including the “big stick(s)” and the 1974 Corvette he died in.

Next stop, the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah.  This is great little museum that tells the story of this part of Tennessee.

We left Savannah at 10 AM this morning and made the 125 mile run to Lynchburg, TN, home of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey Distillery.  We fully expected to do some dry camping here in the City Park but to our surprise, they have several sites with 50/30-amp electrical and water for $20 a night.

We are taking a tour of the distillery in the morning and then having dinner (lunch) at Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House.  You can read more about this place after logging into the Jack Daniel’s web site.

October 11, 2015

On Friday morning we toured the Distillery led by our guide Jesse James.  They offer two different tours, one being free and the other where you taste Jack Daniel’s whiskey.  We decided on the freebie one since I have tried almost all of the whiskey’s at one time or another.

Mr Jack was only 5'2".

 This is why Jack Daniel's is a whiskey and not a bourbon.  They filter their product through Tennessee Sugar Maple charcoal.

 It's all about the water.

 You can buy a whole 55 gallon barrel of Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey.  First you will taste three samples from different barrels of whiskey and select one you like.  Then, they will inscribe all the bottles with whatever you want and then ship them to you.  For this service, you will pay between $10,000 and $15,000.  The distillery will put a name plate on the wall for you as well.  One our guide pointed out was the Zach Brown Band who has done this seven times.

After the distillery visit we had lunch at Miss Bobo’s house.  We were seated with 12 other folks and our hostess at the table which was filled with plates and bowls filled with goodies.  On the menu that day (it changes from day to day) was fried chicken, roasted pork loin, fried okra, beans, mac and cheese and the most delicious baked apples you have ever eaten in your life.  Of course, sweet tea was offered.  For desert we were served a slice chocolate pie.  If you leave Miss Mary’s hungry, it’s your fault.

After lunch we took a drive over to Arnold AFB to check out the famcamp.  I don’t think we would ever stay there since it is not recommended for rigs larger than 34 feet.

Yesterday we left Lynchburg and made our way 85 miles to Chattanooga, TN.  More on our stay here in the next installment.

Have fun wherever you are.

Barry & Joyce