New Friends, Moonshine, and Beans!

Dollywood was closed this week to prepare for the Smoky Mountain Christmas Celebration.  It has been nice to have the extra days off, especially after being so busy in the Sweet Shoppe the last few weeks.  When I go back to work, Jamie will no longer be our team leader.  She is moving up in the Herschend company and will soon be the new manager of Guest Relations at Stone Mountain in Georgia.  We will sure miss her!

Peggy and Gary were surprised when friends they had made at a rally checked into our RV park on Sunday.   After they got unhitched and set up, we all went to eat at Blue Moose.  We lingered there, talking and laughing, until we realized they were cleaning the floors and getting ready to close. 

Peg worked on Monday, but we all got together again at Peggy and Gary’s that night for dessert.  After awhile, we all began talking about changes we had made to utilize space in our RVs.  We ended up going in and out of each other’s rigs so we could pick up some hints that we could use in our own fifth wheel or motor home.  How to maximize space is always a hot topic among RVers.

Don, Gary, Lois, and Peggy

Tuesday morning, after saying goodbye to Lois and Don, we took the trolley into Gatlinburg to spend the afternoon walking on the parkway.  One of the many shops is the Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine Distillery , where genuine moonshine is made and bottled, preserving an art that is part of Tennessee's culture and history.   The distillery produces two kinds of moonshine, white lightnin’ and unaged corn whiskey, both of which are sold in Mason jars and are 100 proof.  The corn whiskey is recommended for ‘sippin’ and the white lightnin’ is recommended for ‘mixin’.  In addition, they have a variety of  flavored white lightnin’.  Sample were free so, of course, Ron and Gary HAD to try it.

Gary and Ron

Gary, you do know that jug is empty, don't you?

The guys were content sitting on a bench while Peggy and I looked in some of the other shops.  Soon it was approaching 5:30 and it was time to catch the last trolley back to the visitor center.  Peggy realized that she didn’t have bag containing the gift she had purchased earlier in the day!  She remembered where she had left it so we rushed back to the shop, hoping that it would still be there.  Luckily, the girl working there saw it before anyone else did and put it behind the counter.  We made it back to the trolley stop just as the trolley was pulling in!

We slept late Wednesday morning and didn’t have anything planned for the day.  We ended up going to Arby’s for lunch and then Gary wanted to stop at the western store on the way home.  He and Peggy want to have boots before we all go to Texas this winter!   We went back to their place for brats and sauerkraut and ‘funny night’.  That’s what Peggy calls Wednesday night, because it’s when all of the good comedy shows are on TV. 

On Thursday we all went to Chestnut Hill, TN  to tour Bush Brothers & Company, best known for its baked beans.  I'm sure you have all seen Jay Bush in the commercials with his dog named Duke, who frequently offers to sell the secret family recipe.  Jay and his brothers are great grandsons of the company’s founder, A.J. Bush.  Jay’s brothers are Kristian Bush of the country music group Sugarland and Brandon Bush, the touring keyboardist for Sugarland.

The Visitor Center is housed in the original A.J. Bush and Company General Store that was founded in 1897.  The Center’s theater shows a fun film, featuring Jay and Duke,  called “The History of Grilling”.  Our ‘tour’ was also a film, but was very interesting.  The museum,  has a giant replica can of Bush's Baked Beans, where you can walk through and follow the bean's journey from beginning to end.  A timeline shows how the company changed with the times, beginning first as a tomato cannery and ending up with more than 40 varieties of beans!  We especially liked the scale where you could find out your weight in beans!

Peggy, Gary, and Ron

Ron, Duke, and Jay

Ron weighs 182,076 in beans!

Gary's arm was bothering him all day.  We were watching a movie Thursday night when the pain became worse and he needed to go home.  Friday morning Peggy came over to tell us that she took him to the emergency room at midnight because he was running a 103 degree fever!  He was admitted to the hospital and was given antibiotics and meds for the pain.  I went to the hospital with Peggy, and Gary was feeling much better, though his arm was still hurting.  Peggy later confirmed that he had cellulitis again and his doctor wanted to keep him in the hospital this time to ensure that the infection is gone.  He is also suspending his chemo treatments until he is certain that there is no infection remaining.

Ron worked in the office again today (Peggy’s work day) so she could stay at the hospital with Gary.  I had to work until 10:30 tonight, but when I talked to Peggy on my break she said that today’s ultrasound revealed a blood clot, so the doctor prescribed warfarin to dissolve it and prevent further clotting.  We’re praying that all can be resolved soon and he has no more setbacks. The poor guy has had more than his share!