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[Bar-B-Lew]

I am making a road trip to Eastern Tennessee in mid March to visit some friends in Loudon.  Going to drive down on Thursday March 19.  Its about a 10 hour drive.  Plan to go to Chattanooga for half day on Friday.  Saturday and Sunday I plan to watch NCAA basketball tournament with my buddy.  Monday I plan to spend the day in Knoxville.  Tuesday I plan to spend the day in Bristol.  Start the drive home on Wednesday not sure if I will drive the 8 hours or stop somewhere.

So, I ask, anything anyone recommends in that area or on the drive from Bristol to Eastern PA?  I have plans to visit some music related sites - museums, historic markers, murals painted on buildings, etc.  Most will be country music history with a little blues splashed in.  I am also planning on going to several breweries.  Looking for thoughts on places to eat, things to see, places to visit if anyone has any ideas.

[Canadian John]

 
 If you are going down I24 to Chattanooga and are interested in cast iron cookware, Lodge, factory and store are @ South Pittsburg ~ 5 minutes off the interstate. It's a very small town.. The store has huge

amounts of what they deem seconds at very good discounts. These seconds better than most brand X products. There are also cast iron and related items that are hard to find..Just an interesting place..Too bad

you will miss the cornbread festival coming up.  And for what it's worth,Traeger has a large warehouse there. Pleasant travels.

[Kristin Meredith]

You can go to the state line in Bristol and put one foot in Virginia and one in Tenn!!!

[ylr]

You can go to the state line in Bristol and put one foot in Virginia and one in Tenn!!!

If you want to get fancy, at Cumberland Gap, Tn, Va, and Ky meet up! 

[Bar-B-Lew]

You can go to the state line in Bristol and put one foot in Virginia and one in Tenn!!!

That was in my plans already.

[Bar-B-Lew]

You can go to the state line in Bristol and put one foot in Virginia and one in Tenn!!!

If you want to get fancy, at Cumberland Gap, Tn, Va, and Ky meet up! 

That is good to know, but about 4 hours round trip out of my way.  I did add it to my Google places to go list for future reference.

[Bentley]

If it was August of 1983 I would tell you to stop in the McDonalds in Bristol for the best Sausage and egg biscuit you will ever eat!

[JeffCO]

It's been 20+ years, but the Jack Daniels distillery tour was great.

[Bar-B-Lew]

It's been 20+ years, but the Jack Daniels distillery tour was great.

I got sick on Southern Comfort in college (like many other kids over the years), and am not a fan of the smell of whiskey/bourbon so I will be skipping those places on my trip.  But, I do appreciate the suggestion.  Probably would be neat to see the process and equipment, but I don't think I could take the odors.

[Bar-B-Lew]

A few months ago, I found a website that lists historical markers throughout the world although mostly in the USA.  I have been using that as a source for places to visit along my drive and future trips.  On there, I discovered something called the Virginia Heritage Music Trail - The Crooked Road.  Some pretty interesting things on there if you are into music history.  I may try to plan to see some of these if they are on my way home and the weather is decent.

Virginia's Heritage Music Trail - The Crooked Road - http://thecrookedroad.org/
   1. The Crooked Road - Interstate 77 Southbound Rest Area Ramp, Bastian, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=108225
   2. Bristol - 258 Island Road, Bristol, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=67275
   3. Carroll County - 613 East Stuart Drive, Hillsville, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=104638
   4. The Crooked Road - Breaks Park Rd, Haysi, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=90701
   5. Dickensen County - Dickensen Highway, Clintwood, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=90774
   6. Franklin County - 52 Franklin St, Rocky Mount, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=71564
   7. Galax - 300 East Stuart Drive, Galax, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=68284
   8. Independence - 103 Morton Dr, Independence, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=72616
   9. Grayson County - 8299-8295 Grayson Highland Lane, Mouth of Wilson, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=70778
   10. Whitetop - 16164 Highlands Parkway, Whitetop, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=71555
   11. Norton / Coeburn - 660 US-58 ALT, Norton, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=90885
   12. Meadows of Dan - 2577 Jeb Stuart Highway, Meadows of Dan, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=104623
   13. Speers Ferry - 5264 Orby Cantrell Highway, Duffield, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=36087
   14. Big Stone Gap - 619 Gilley Ave E, Big Stone Gap, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=90913
   15. The Crooked Road - 12552 Orby Cantrell Highway, Pound, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=90782
   16. Wise - 324 E Main St, Wise, VA - https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=90857

[Bentley]

If you are going home I-81, you are about 90 minutes from us.  You are more then welcome to come stay the night if you decide it is to much to do in one day.  We are about 5 hours from Bristol.  At Stanton, you would take I-64 west to VA 3 out of Charlottesville and then you are about 50 miles away.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Thank you for the offer.  I will be in touch to let you know if I will be taking you up on it. I don't have to be home until Sunday night so I am still trying to determine if there is anything else I want to do from Wednesday thru Sunday.

[Hank D Thoreau]

Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

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[Bar-B-Lew]

Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

I'm not a nature kinda guy

[Hank D Thoreau]

Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

Sent from my moto z4 using Tapatalk

I'm not a nature kinda guy

Then it is a good thing I decided not to suggest rafting the Upper Ocoee River near the Olympic Training Center.

Here is an excellent article on the history of music in Tennessee, including the roots of blues with Bessie Smith and W.C. Handy.

https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/music/