Another hot, sticky, restless night made even worse by the fact that the mask for my CPAP machine is unusable so I don’t really ever get to sleep.  By 3 am I was up walking the living room floor – all six feet of it!  First thing tomorrow I’m going to order a new mask and pull the old one out of the closet.  Need to get some real sleep before we go out and about on Friday.  Ah well so I woke up tired and with a few aches and pains, as I’ve said before at least I wake up!

Today Marti had his interview.  We’re leaving for Georgia on Sunday for a funeral and will not be back until late Monday night.  Really didn’t want to take the little man with us, too much stress for him and for us.  So Barbara made a few phone calls and found  a great place for him to stay for two nights.  It’s only about 15 minutes from the house and

it is Ravenwood Boarding Kennels.  The owner, Cheri, asked us to bring him by today so she could get to know him and give him a chance to scope out the kennel before we drop him off on Sunday morning.  So, this morning we took him over and left him there for a couple of hours.  When we returned Cheri said he was absolutely no problem and she would have no issues with him staying.  A win-win for Marti and us.

Time now to finish up yesterday’s travels.  But before I do that let me share with you a an interesting item from our visit to the Bush Beans Museum.  To begin with if you have cans then of course you need a way to open them.  Enter  the can opener . . .

In 1870 William Lyman patented the first rotating wheel can opener.  Then the Star Can Opener Company in 1925 improved on his earlier design by adding a second, serrated feed wheel  to help advance the can through the cutting wheel.

Then came the electric can opener, this one from Sunbeam in the 1950’s

Time now to move on to another spot we made on Wednesday’s sight seeing tour.

We stopped to explore the Tennessee Museum of Aviation located at the Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge Airport.  The unique location of this Museum helps to bring aviation history to life as vintage aircraft are sometimes seen performing unscheduled flight demonstrations. The museums’ collection of military vehicles, aircraft engines, aviation exhibits, trainers, fighters, helicopters, jets and amphibious aircraft makes this a must stop if you are in the area.

When you first enter the facility and before entering the hanger where the vintage aircraft reside you make your way down a hall entitled Did You Know?  Here is a sample of some of the interesting facts you learn during your walk down this hall.

We moved from the hall into the main exhibition section of the Museum.  There are a number of displays in this section, everything from the way flight suits have changed over the years, to an exhibit about the Wright Brothers, Aviation in WWII and Vietnam and so much more.

 

This is where I met another of God’s beautiful people, Donald Campbell, a retired Air Force pilot who served in Vietnam.  He is now a volunteer at the Museum. We must have spent an hour jawing about our experiences in country.  He’s quite a remarkable gentleman.

At the Vietnam display case he pointed out a number of his personal items that he used in Vietnam and afterward had donated to the Museum.   This is his actual flight jacket.

A picture of him beside the plane he flew in Vietnam.

This was his actual flight helmet bag.

His squadron was known as the Buzzards of Bien Ho and here are several items with their inscription and insignia on them.

Now for the main attraction, the hanger itself wherein reside the vintage war birds and so much more.

As you enter the Aircraft Hangar, the bright well-lit interior creates an impressive atmosphere.  The 35,000 sq ft hangar features aircraft engines and cockpits, military

 

vehicles, and magnificently restored vintage Warbirds.  Speaking of engines, anyone need more power in their RV?  If so check this out, here is an engine second to none.  In particular check out the hp, 3,500 at 2.700 rpm!

Among the number of aircraft within the hangar there are two Republic P-47 Thunderbolts.  Today there are less than a dozen of these World War II fighters remaining in the world, and the Tennessee Museum of Aviation has two airworthy P-47 Thunderbolts in their collection.  Regarding the P-47

This is one of the P-47 Thunderbolt’s on display which is airworthy and flown on a regular basis.

This is the second P-47 Thunderbolt on display which is also air worthy and flown on a regular basis.  It is called Wicked Wabbit.

Another outstanding aircraft is the airworthy Douglas A-1H Skyraider known as Lieutenant America, complete with battle scars received from its service during Vietnam.

This is another air worthy war bird a North American P-51D Mustang “Ain’t Misbehavin”

There is also a full scale replica of a North American P-51 Mustang called Frenest.  During WWII the actual aircraft was flown by Lt. Col. Hayes, commander of the 364th Fighter Squardon.  He named his aircraft after a popular song of the day of the same name.

I just had to include this one, why?  Because I spent a lot of hours in a plane like this in Vietnam doing aerial reconnaissance.   A lot of good, and not so good memories stirred up by seeing this type of plane again.  But even more a reminder of just how blessed my life has been and continues to be.

Last one, I promise.  This one is huge, it’s wings stretching from one side of the hanger to the other.

Now we are up to date on our Wednesday.  What a fascinating day.  A day of discovery.  A day full of new experiences.  A day in which we learned so much.  Who could ask for anything more.  These are the kind of days we just love.

Once again thanks for joining us on The Road of Retirement.  We hope you enjoyed your journey with us on what was a truly fascinating day.  Time now to call it a wrap and get ready to go sight seeing again tomorrow.  Tomorrow we’re going to the secret city of Tennessee – can you guess what it is?  And why it was at one time such a secret.  Tune in tomorrow and we’ll fill you in.

Before I say good night let me leave each of us with this thought to ponder upon as we go through our day tomorrow:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

It didn’t drop last night.  The temperature that is, it didn’t drop at all last night nor did the humidity.  Without a good afternoon thunder storm it doesn’t really cool off around here.  The last few days, all of the storms have been staying south of us.  The thunder rolls and rumbles but that is about it.  Soon they say, soon this heat wave will break.

So we were up and at it this morning.  No, not that early, but a nice I’m retired and this is the proper time to get up morning.  We had some sightseeing we wanted to do this morning and we really didn’t want to get back home all that late.  Thus off we went heading southeast into the Great Smokey Mountains.

Along the way, somehow, we ended up on a road that never went straight for a good ten miles.  Hairpin curves, twists and turns, up and down hills.  All I kept thinking was, what a blast this would have been on my motorcycle!  Ah, but that was back then this is now and I can’t and don’t really want to go back.  Travel in Graybeard is so much more comfortable.

In due time we arrived at our destination.  A little different from the normal places we go exploring  Yet, this was someplace that got our curiosity up and we had to go.

I don’t believe either of us really knew what to expect, maybe a little hole in the wall, a glorified gift shop, or?  What we discovered instead was a fascinating museum and gift shop that took the better part of two hours to get through.  Let me just say there is much more here than I could ever put in a blog.  So many exhibits, so many displays, and so much detailed information about the Bush company.  I’m going, therefore, to just hit the highlights and share with you some of what I found absolutely interesting and insightful.

This is who it all began with A.J Bush and his wife Sallie – and a dream.  It now spans over one hundred years and is still going strong.  It all began in the little town of Chestnut Hill, Tennessee.   A.J. was a man with ambition, vision and a determination to improve the living conditions of his family and others in the community.  He believed quality was the best policy, and that honesty and integrity were essential to a successful business.

Sallie, it was said, was never in a hurry, never flustered.  She was called on by all in the community during births and deaths, sickness, tragedies and troubles.  She drew on an inner strength and religious commitment equal to her husband’s.

A.J. and Sallie raised four boys and two girls.  It was a large family that at various times included other family relatives, assorted guests and household help.  The boys worked in the fields, the general store, and the cannery once it opened.  The girls helped with household chores, and as they grew older in the general store as well.

Meals, especially on Sunday, were packed with guests.  Fresh garden vegetables, a bit of pork and a slice of cornbread satisfied many a youngsters appetite.  Sallie was well-known for her cooking.

Long before there were Bush’s Baked Beans there was the General Store that A.J. opened in 1911.  It provided him the space in which to carry a broad selection of merchandise.  His brother, Oscar, along with Sallie’s brother, Bert, managed the store.  A center of Chestnut Hill community life, A.J.’s store operated for over 100 years.  It is now the present day Visitor’s Center.

In 1904 A.J. opened a tomato cannery in partnership with the Stokely Brothers of Newport.  By the end of 1908 he had bought out this agreement and Bush Brothers and Company was born.  As to how the Bush Brothers processed tomatoes in 1908

 

What I learned about the early canning process is that the Bush Brothers first used a canning process called Hole and Gap.  Early cans were originally made completely by hand of tinplate’s.  To make the body, a piece of tinplate was bent into shape on a roller and the overlapping edges were soldered together.  Two round disks were cut for the ends, their edges bent down, and they were soldered to the body.  One disk always had a small hole in its middle.  The tomatoes, or pieces of them, were forced through this hole and then a cap  was soldered over the opening.  Using this process about 10 cans a day could be made.  Automatic soldering and wiping machines ultimately replaced hand-soldering in larger canneries and soldered many cans at a time.

This is a picture of some the early tools used when cans were soldered by hand.  In the left foreground are Tomato Spoons, used to core and peel tomatoes before they were stuffed into the little opening on the top.  In the center back is a blow torch which was used to heat the soldering irons.  In the right foreground is a typical soldering iron.

This is a picture of an early Hole and Cap can that was used by the Bush Brothers.

Not long after the cannery was opened a revolutionary new kind of can made its debut.  Unlike hole and cap cans, these cans required no soldering.  They were closed instead by a machine called a double seamer, named for its unique closing process.  With these cans fruits and vegetables could be placed inside with less breakage and they were also free of the small bits of solder that sometimes dropped into the old cans.  The Bush Brothers soon changed over to this new technology.

As with much of America, the 1920’s were good for the Bush Brothers.  Business prospered and the company incorporated and added two new plants to its Chestnut Hill operations as it expanded its cannery business.

In the 1930’s as America entered the Great Depression the company like so much of the country struggled to survive.  They added Pork and Beans to their product line which proved popular during hard economic times.  They depended in the end on the production of simple foods such as hominy and sauerkraut to make financial ends meet.

In the 1940’s business as for most of America was defined by the events of World War II.  The war brought significant challenges to the company.  These challenges were compounded when A.J. and Sallie passed away soon after the war’s end.  It was the end of an era as both Bush Brothers and American entered a new postwar culture.

In the 1950’s stability and prosperity returned to the company.  They were on the road to becoming the company that they are today.  But one event above all others made the company what it is today.  In 1962 Bush Brothers bought an unused cannery in Augusta, Wisconsin for $35,000.  The facility canned fresh peas as well as dry beans throughout the 1960’s.  But there were many unexpected challenges and

Condon Bush who managed the plant realized that if something was not done soon he was going to be looking for a new job.  That something would turn out to be Bush’s Baked Beans.   They were based on fond memories of family dinners and warm summer days – and a secret family recipe.

The Baked Beans were a hit and sales rose steadily.  This not only helped turn the company’s August facility around, but more importantly, it set a direction that would become increasingly significant in the future.  It would encourage the company to try other items of the same nature throughout the 1970’s and 80’s.  It began the journey towards producing more of what would come to be called table ready items.

 

That then in a nutshell is the story of the Bush Brothers and their now famous Baked Beans.  As I stated in the beginning there is so much more that could be told, so many more pictures that could be included.  But time now for some of the whimsical stuff we did while there.  Like me in front of the giant can of baked beans.

Or how about finding out my weight in beans?  Yup, in beans not pounds.

The day was not over yet, however.  Attached to the Museum is their own cafe.  We wondered, what would we find here?   As we were standing there mulling over whether to go in or not for lunch, a woman leaving said You just have to have the open face roast beef lunch.  Oh, it is so good.  That did it, in we went for lunch.

This is part of their regular menu.

Here are the specials for the day.

Here is the Open Face Roast Beef Sandwich.  Oh it was so good!

Then after lunch walking to the car I discovered this.

Talking to the owner I discovered that it was a 1955 Chevy Fleetside with a big block 5.3 cubic inch Chevy engine, automatic transmission, and a complete air ride suspension.

He and his elderly mother had just driven up from North Carolina for a bit of lunch!

That then was our day.  Fantastic from beginning to end.  Oh, we did make one more stop but that will have to wait until tomorrow.  Thanks for joining us on the The Road of Retirement.  We hoped you enjoyed your journey with us.  I know we had a great time, made even better by the fact that we traveled together, singing our song, side by side.  As I bring this to and end once again something for each of us to ponder and think about:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

So more of the same today.  Hot, humid, no wind and no afternoon storm to cool things off.  Oh, the storms were there all around us but they never hit us.  The funny thing is, though,  we kept hearing what sounded like rain on the roof but the sun was shining brightly.  Stepping outside I discovered that it was raining ever so lightly.  Now, how about that.

Time to put the battery back in it’s box.  A simple task but not without a bit of silly drama.  First, I couldn’t find the hold down bracket for the battery.  Now where did I put it?  I looked and looked and finally decided to pull the battery back out.  Ah, there it was on the bottom of the box under the battery!  Then I noticed that the battery box was beginning to rust on the bottom so since the battery was back out I cleaned the box and painted it with Rustoleum flat black spray paint.  Same for the hold down bracket.

Finished with that I put the battery back in, now where in the world was that hold down bracket this time?  Long story short, remember I painted it flat black?  I put it down on a black surface which in essence hid it from sight.  Only me.  In the end, all’s well that ends well.  Battery is in and everything is in order.

Awnings have been ordered and are expected to arrive the end of  next week.  Looking forward to installing them.  I’ve read the installation instructions and it looks like it should be rather straightforward.  Yes, I will read and reread them again before I plunge forward with the installation.

Since there was nothing else on the agenda we pulled down the box of dominoes and played through the afternoon.  Going to start another game as soon as I finish here.  Oh,

who won the first game?  Let’s just say I’m starting to get my touch back.  Bottom line, it is a lot of fun for both of us and the hours just seem to fly by.

So that was our day on The Road of Retirement.  All in all it was another great day from beginning to end.  Tomorrow we are going to do some sightseeing.  Let you know where we went when we get back at the end of the day.  Thanks again for joining us on our journey.  Have questions?  Comments?  Leave us a note below.  In closing, a thought for each of us to ponder:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

It’s funny, you suffer with the heat all day.  At night it begins to drop so that by the time you go to bed it is comfortable.  But when you awake it feels chilly.  Maybe that’s because it is so damp all the time.  The humidity never seems to go much below 60 or 70% and the dew point is always about 60.  That’s the cycle we are currently caught in.

Breakfast this morning was simple but good.  A bowel of cereal, a toasted English muffin

with peanut butter and jelly, juice and a couple cups of coffee.  Let’s face it you can’t have a feast every morning and why should you.  Sometimes simple is just better.

Breakfast finished and tummies full we headed out to run a few errands.  First on the

list was having the battery tested.  Results?  Nothing wrong with it.  It passed the load test with flying colors.  Moreover, I discovered that it is only two years old.  Good news all around.  Tomorrow morning it goes back in the battery box.   I’ll also take a look at the Battery Tender, maybe call them and see if they have an explanation for it’s strange behavior.

Finished with that we went to get haircuts.  We do that on occasion!  Fortunately, there

was no one but us it seemed who wanted a haircut when we arrived.  Thus, in no time we were in and out.

Yesterday we shared with you that we had become members of the Methodist NOMADS organization.  We already have signed up for our first project.  It will be in Clermont, Florida, October 29th to November 15th.  We’ll be assisting in the building of a home for a missionary.   We’re both excited and looking forward to this our first project.

If you are wondering, yes the heat is still on as well as the humidity.  They tell us it will break by this Friday.  But you know what, I’ll take this over against what some poor folks are having to cope with in terms of rain and flooding and tropical storms.

That’s about it for today.  Spent some more time putting together a preliminary route for 2019 and the states we want to visit.  It’s still a long way from finished but ever so slowly it is beginning to come together.

Some of you have asked, you keep referring to traveling along and singing your song, Well,  what exactly is your song?  OK, the song is entitled Side by Side and was written in 1927 by Harry M. Woods and over the years it has been recorded by many artists.

Oh! We ain`t got a barrel of money
Maybe we`re ragged and funny
But we`ll travel along
Singing a song
Side by side
I don`t know what`s a-comin` tomorrow
Maybe it`s trouble and sorrow
But we`ll travel the road
Sharing our load
Side by side
through all kinds of weather
What if the sky should fall
Just as long as we`re together
It really doesn`t matter at all
When they`ve all had their quarrels and parted
We`ll be the same as we started
Just traveling along
Singing a song
Side by side

Thanks again for joining us on The Road of Retirement.  All those who in the days ahead   will be rolling down the interstate have a safe journey and may God be your ever present copilot.  Time for me to call it a wrap but as always let me leave you with a little something to ponder and think about:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before