On the Road Again with Merle

[mqqn]

Hi Folks -

This afternoon My friends, Merle and I drove over to Jasper Highlands to have a late lunch at the Top of the Rock restaurant.

It was a beautiful day in the low 80s with a nice breeze, so we ate out on the upper deck patio.

My visiting friends with the Tennessee landscape in the background.

We enjoyed a huge chicken nacho appetizer -

Things started getting crazy after that because all of our food came out at once with the huge nacho and it was a very small table.
I had the BBQ chicken salad which is awesome. Another favorite is the peppercorn steakhouse burger. This place is on mile marker 152 on I24 for those that travel this way; it is well worth a stop.

There is an overlook called Pat's Summit after the female basketball coach.

Let's see how a panoramic shot works here -

We cut out tour short as one of the ladies was not feeling well, so we skipped going into the University of the South - Perhaps Maggie and I will head back up the mountain next week.

best regards -

mqqn

 

[mqqn]

Hi Folks -

Today Merle and the crew visited Lynchurg and went on a tour of the Distillery, along with checking out the Visitor Center and also eating (seeing a pattern here?) at one of the excellent local BBQ places.

Inside the Visitor Center is a display of Art and Char Hancock. Art was born in Peoria Illinois, but somehow made it to Lynchburg and became a key employee with the Jack Daniel Distillery.

I showed Merle the carving and whittling display -

How about a full, sealed bottle from the late 1800s. The product is still clear.

Merle looking into the White Rabbit Bottle Shop where you can legally buy JD products in Moore County, which is a dry county. Well, I guess it is a little damp at this point....

A tour guide is assigned to each tour and you are loaded into a bus and taken up "the hill" to start the tour. Our guide was Jon, who is a town local and does a great job with his tours.

You are driven past one of the old "rick houses", what JD calls the barrelhouses.

A view of the grain mill area from up on the hill - I am trying to give you a feel of what you will see during a walking tour.

This is the ricking operation where carefully stacked white maple is burned to create the charcoal for the JD Charcoal Mellowing process.
The maple is taken from managed forest within a 90 mile radius of Lynchburg.

The EPA mandated the smoke collection units above the burn area. JD used to cut and stack the ricks, but now the stacks are delivered ready to go and all of the old sawmill works has been removed.

Jon talking to the tour next to the statue of Mr. Jack by the cave spring, visible on the right side of the picture.

Another tour ahead of us - just a good view of what you will see on tour -

The "Fatal Safe" in Mr. Jack's original office. Jack is reported to have kicked this old safe in anger one morning when the safe was not opening for him. Jack suffered from gangrene over the following years and six years after kicking the safe he finally succumbed.

Another view from the road while walking the tour. These pictures are taken in order, however pictures are forbidden in some areas, such as the mashing, the still, barrel houses and the charcoal mellowing area. This is reported to be for safety -

END OF PART ONE -

 

[mqqn]

PART TWO -

Out of the mash area and into the charcoal mellowing area. Note the black stuff all over the building and trees is a natural fungus that comes from the distilling process and poses no threat to humans or trees etc. It does, however, point out where the stills are in the woods if you are making illegal shine - so power washing trees in the woods can be a thing down here in the right crowd. Seriously.

Two pictures of the barrel making process (cooperage) and the tools associated with making barrels. JD still makes their own barrels, and when done with them they sell them to many other industries, including scotch makers and interestingly Mcllhenny family (Tabasco).

In the second picture above you can see the charring inside the barrel. This is called toasting the barrel and it brings out the sugars in the wood to impart a flavor to the product during maturation.

They were running the Single Barrel bottling line today.

We stopped at the BBQ Caboose for a late lunch -

Then we walked up to the Lynchburg Hardware Store (the gift shop) where Merle and I challenged Mr. Herb Fanning to a game of Checkers.

Then it was time for some JD Raisin ice cream!

After that one of the ladies was feeling bad (she has a doctor appointment on Thursday but she is really feeling bad...) so we did not drive down to where the newer warehouses and the large-scale bottling operation is located just south of town.

best regards -

mqqn

 

[JJ_Colt45]

Next best thing to being there! A trip for Merle I'm envious of.

 

[beezwax]

mqqn Thank you for taking the time to document Merle's travels so thoroughly! So many pictures accompanied by careful explanation, I know it takes quite a bit of time to put these posts together but your efforts are appreciated. I feel like I was on the tour myself... just wish I could actually taste these pictures

 

[mqqn]

mqqn Thank you for taking the time to document Merle's travels so thoroughly! So many pictures accompanied by careful explanation, I know it takes quite a bit of time to put these posts together but your efforts are appreciated. I feel like I was on the tour myself... just wish I could actually taste these pictures

Thank you!

You set the bar very high with the thoroughly enjoyable adventures you posted.

best

mqqn

 

[mqqn]

Hi Folks -

Today was a day of yard work. Our friends left to head up north early this morning and I had let some pressing lawn maintenance go untended while my friends were here.

Merle did help me with the bird feeders opening suit cakes for the woodpeckers (and recently a rose breasted grosbeak, but I haven't seen him for a couple days now).

I rode my Harley over to the local independent (Tim's Ford Cycle) to evaluate an issue I have been having, and then I did a couple hours on the tractor to get the grounds mowed.

Tomorrow we will head to Nashville for some medical tests for the wife (routine stuff) and hopefully we will find something to do up there as to not waste a 90 minute drive.

For some pictures today, I thought to take a picture of Merle with the very nice Waynorth Cutlery hat from Charlie - it is one of my favorite ballcaps and if you don't have one perhaps Waynorth has some remaining.

I also thought some of you might be interested in seeing one of the knives I got out today to check for deterioration and put a film of oil on the blade etc. This is Merle with my Mozolic Bowie -

best regards -

mqqn

 

[mqqn]

Hi Folks -

We made it up to Nashville and back in one piece! I call I24 between Atlanta and Nashville "The Raceway" - if you do 75, you'll get passed by people doing 90+ the entire trip. No kidding.

Anyway the doctor's visit was uneventful and Merle and I just reclined in the car in the parking deck and took an hour nap.

We then went the short hop over to the Nashville Parthenon. The Parthenon is an exact replica of the original that stands in Athens Greece.
It was built originally in the late 1800s for an exhibition to celebtrate the Tennessee Sesquicentennial. Once the exhibition was over the people decided to keep the Parthenon, however it was not made to be permanent, and as such it deteriorated quickly.
It was decided to rebuild the structure permanently, and although it is made from more modern building materials (completed in the early 1930s), it is what is billed as an exact replica down to the way the columns have a slight bulge 1/3 of the way up to help support more weight.
The original is carved from marble, and the Nashville replica is concrete but finished to appear similar to marble.

There is a large greenspace around the Parthenon with a small lake and walking trails etc. It looked like they were preparing for some sort of event with food vendors and such setting up around the grounds.

It took me a while to get this shot as people and cars kept popping into the shot - but finally....

More shots since it was our first time to stop and visit -

We ended our visit in Nashville at the 312 Pizza bar/restaurant. 312 is the original area code for Chicago, and I can't get good deep pan pizza down in our area, so this was a pleasant reminder of the many excellent pizzas in Chitown. I also had a Chicago dog through the garden. Yum. Of course Merle seemed to enjoy the pizza!

I think Sunday will be the last trip for Merle and then I will get him on his way so as to not "hog the ball", but on Sunday I am taking Maggie to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Huntsville, and Maggie wants to go to the Art Museum, so we can show Merle some art and have a fine meal before I say a fond goodbye!

Maggie and I are really enjoying taking Merle around, thank you for allowing us to be a part of the fun!

best

mqqn

 

[btb01]

mqqn great posts from the Jack Daniel’s tour! Interesting to see a display of pocket knives on the tour.

We enjoyed a huge chicken nacho appetizer -

We stopped at the BBQ Caboose for a late lunch -

Then it was time for some JD Raisin ice cream!

We ended our visit in Nashville at the 312 Pizza bar/restaurant. 312 is the original area code for Chicago, and I can't get good deep pan pizza down in our area, so this was a pleasant reminder of the many excellent pizzas in Chitown. I also had a Chicago dog through the garden. Yum. Of course Merle seemed to enjoy the pizza!

Glad to see you and Merle are still eating well, too!

 

[mqqn]

Hi fellow Porch Dwellers -

Today was fairly uneventful as we had scattered thunderstorms most of the day.
I did get out to the post office and on the way back I stopped at the Winchester City Marina/Park for a quick picture.

That place is packed most weekends and we have the upcoming High on tyhe Hog BBQ Festival which is fairly well known in the state.

We then drove up to Murfreesboro (about 60 miles) to a good friends house for a pork steak dinner on his awesome bar/patio/deck.
I introduced Merle to Dave -

More of the bar area -

There is also an outdoor firepit area and a large hot tub area. Dave is a contractor / builder and can do just about anything with regards to building and construction. He was also a Firefighter previously. Good people.

He also wields a mean BBQ Grill - as evidenced by this BBQ pork shoulder steak - yum!

I am not sure the agenda for tomorrow but I'll find something for Merle and I to do -

best

mqqn

 

[mqqn]

Hi Folks -

I apologize to the Porch as yesterday was a pretty boring and uneventful day (and thankfully so, actually).

I got out in the morning and did the weed-wacking around the property but then it started to drizzle so I called it and just took a hot shower and relaxed with Maggie and Merle in front of the stupid-tube.

This morning Maggie had to play bells at the Church, and it is a beauty of a day here so I got out my Kobalt 80V edger, and Merle assisted with opening up a new package of Sten's carbon steel blades.





By the way, I have had that Nash hubcap since I was around 9 years old - a neighbor for whom I used to mow his lawn gave it to me one day and I have kept it ever since.

Merle watching me change the blade on the edger while relaxing on the battery pack.



We have southern bent grass, at least that is what I think it is, up north I would have called it some sort of Zoysia, but the stuff grows out in long shoots that creep out on the walks and driveway. I have always liked the nice "golf course" look to a neatly trimmed edge hence the 80V monster edger. This is the result of about 15 minutes of edging. I let it get too overgrown this time....





That is about 75' of sidewalk and the driveway is around 130 feet from street to the front of the house.

The battery overheats and then I put it on the charger to cool and recharge. I would recommend an extra battery if you have as much trimming as I do, or more. I will say power is never a problem with that edger.

Another project I have queued up for the next week is replacing the oil pressure sending unit on Maggie's Corvette. It is up under the cowl so I have to remove the intake plenum to get to it, so I'll do all new o-rings and plugs, wires etc. Not a bad job, but a lot of bending over and squinting.



Related to BladeForums - way back when I was a newer member here there was a young fellow who was working his way through college, partially using his considerable talents as a painter. I had him paint the fuel rail covers for the Corvette with the "real flame" look that was popular back then (Maybe some of you remember Jim from Paducah that had the Corvette with almost every nook and cranny flamed out - it was very cool and I hope he is doing well). I don't remember the young man's name who painted the covers, but he did a great job and it is surely holding up very well.



I showed Merle my whittling station on my own Porch - and my shroomin' stick that I carved a Morel into the top several years ago.





Finally I showed Merle a couple of offshore Kershaw traditionals that I own. The trapper, called the Gadsden, was given to me by metsfan a few years ago and it is my computer desk knife. The other "cleaver" is the Parley and is a new offering that I wanted to check out. For the price they are very nice quality. They do not have half stops I would note, but that has not been a problem.



We are getting ready to head to Huntsville to tour the art museum and then have dinner. Of course Merle is going with us and I will package him up later this evening to get him off to his next adventure with JTB_5 -

best regards -

mqqn

 

[JTB_5]

I've enjoyed the wonderful journey Merle has travelled so far--you guys have done such a good job of documenting your locales! I doubt I'll be able to keep up the standard, but I'll try my best to give Merle a good go around here.

 

[mqqn]

I am sure you will do great, Joshua -

As my final post with Merle, Maggie and I drove the 45 miles down to Huntsville AL and visited the Huntsville Art Museum. There was one exhibit of French art where we were not allowed to take pictures for whatever reason, but I did get plenty of pictures in the other areas.

This sculpture is on the walking path from the parking lot to the front of the museum -

Heading into the museum -

There was an Audubon exhibit with many interesting prints -

One could assume this fellow was one of my fellow Busse fans -

Much of the museum was oil and watercolor paintings from the 1800s -

There were also some interesting mixed media artworks by a Cuban female artist.

Also interesting was this exhibit of silver works - that is correct, these are all made from silver!

End of part one -

 

[mqqn]

Part two -


Outstanding detail -

There was a hall of modern art - replicas -

And re-creations -

And this old goat - I think his name was Gus....


This interesting rabbit sculpture, made from wire, was in front of the museum.


Then we drove the few blocks over to Ruth's Chris.

Maggie was happy to be there for Mother's Day - it was very busy there. Good thing we got our reservation three weeks ago!

I love the chop salad - yum!

And finally the filet mignon. Merle was easily able to slide it open.

Thank you again for the privilege of being able to show Merle around and be part of the fun of the Merle Passaround!

He will be securely packaged after a cleaning and a couple drops of oil on the joints and dropped at the Winchester Post Office when they open in the morning.

Very Best Regards -

mqqn

 

[hornetguy]

Jon talking to the tour next to the statue of Mr. Jack by the cave spring, visible on the right side of the picture.

We did a motorcycle ride over to Tennessee/North Carolina, and stopped at the distillery and did one of the tours. I have a pic of me standing by that life sized statue of JD.... he was a short guy. The tour is definitely worth doing... our tour guide was a hoot... quite a character.
Good to see that Merle's education is being properly enhanced....

 

[Rookie82]

Then we drove the few blocks over to Ruth's Chris.

I love the chop salad - yum!

And finally the filet mignon. Merle was easily able to slide it open.

I've wanted to go to a Ruth's Chris for many years. I've yet to find one close by when we are on vacation. Now I want to go even more! Great tour and photos of your part of the US. Thanks for sharing.

 

[beezwax]

Fantastic conclusion to this leg of the journey, excited to see what Merle gets up to next!

 

[Jack Black]

Just been catching up on the top-deck of an English double-decker bus. What a fantastic time Merle is having! Well done mqqn , you did a great job, and you're a hospitable host

 

[bigfish64]

Fantastic tour! Loved every post, especially the whiskey parts. Well done.

 

[btb01]

mqqn thank you again for showing Merle such a fine time there in Tennessee! You did an excellent job showing him (and us) around!

The tour is definitely worth doing... our tour guide was a hoot... quite a character.

Based on the photos from Merle’s visit, I get the impression that there’s no shortage of characters there at JD.