HOT SPRINGS ARKANSAS

HOT SPRINGS ARKANSAS 

We spent two days in the Hot Spring area. Since the National Parks are still closed we are not able to stay at the National Park campground. We stayed at J&J RV Park just 8 minutes from downtown. We were here last year, but the bath houses were closed and we decided to return this year to complete what we missed last year.

Day one we walked around the town to see what bath house we were going to the next day and some shopping. We stopped by Charlene Simon a soap and bath luxuries that are handcrafted fresh from scratch and located on Bathhouse Row. http://www.bathhousesoap.com/welcome.html They make soap for both male and female. The shop layout and display was like a dessert factory. Some of the soap looked good enough to eat. We walked out with two bottles, one for the wife and one for a friend we are going to meet later this week.

Diner we had steaks on the grill and as always the wife cooked her marshmallow over the hot coals.

We decided to go to a therapeutic pools at Quapaw Baths. For only $18 a person we had access to the four pools for a day. The pools temperature ranged from 94 - 107 F. We went from one pool to the next for a few hours. This experience reminded me of the days when I lived in Japan and went to hot springs and  bathhouse. We ate lunch at the cafe in the pool area and soaked some more.

 After all this hot water I wanted to take a nap

For dinner we ate at McClard's BBQ. One of President Clinton's top dinners. I blogged about this last year, if you want to read here is the link http://life-in-rv.blogspot.com/2012/10/to-florida-part-2-day-4-to-sleep-with.html. Scroll to the bottom (Day 8) and you will see it.

If we are ever in the Hot Springs area, we will stop and make it a tradition to stop by a bathhouse and to eat BBQ ribs at McClard's.  

JACK DANIELS

We have arrived in Buckeye, AZ and will be here for the winter. There is a lot going on in a short time. In the next few days ... maybe weeks I will be posting our adventures from the road and Arizona.

JACK DANIELS

182 Lynchburg Highway

Lynchburg, TN 37352

(931) 759-6357

http://www.jackdaniels.com/

We arrived around noon, and all the RV parking was full of cars. I wanted to block them all in until our tour was completed. Instead, I found out that there is public parking a block away and plenty of parking space big enough for all size of RV's. There is also RV camping site located next to the public parking. Not sure the price for a night, but if you arrive late you can spend a night in the town and tour in the morning. The town of Lynchburg, TN is known for the making of Jack Daniels Whiskey. However, what most people don't know about Lynchburg is that is a dry town. Where the sell or consummation of alcohol is illegal. There was two tours, one free and the other one (if I remember correctly) was $10 with two sample tasting. Jack Daniels had some kind of trust to be the only place in town to allow consummation of alcohol. After a short video and just before you get on the bus Jack Daniels takes a photo and is available to download for free from their website the following day. Tour guide note, if you are skipping work or school hide in the back row as all pictures are uploaded to their website and are there forever. There was no photo allowed inside any of the buildings, however I did get some good ones from outside.

Can you spot us?

(double click to see enlarged)

Our tour number was #16. 

First stop was where the Jack Daniels charcoal is made. I did not realize how charcoal is one of the most important part of the making Jack Daniels. (more to follow).

Second, was the local spring water that has been flowing since day one. It was a hot day, so the tour guide told us to sit along the wall and instantly it felt like I was sitting in a air condition room. and the view was pretty awesome too.

The last place we could take picture on the tour was Jack Daniels first office. It's a small building that stand right at the foot of the spring water.

The tour guide gave a story I just have to  share with everyone. Jack Daniels came to work early one day and could not open the safe, so like any person he kicked it. No, it still did not open, but he broke his toe and got infected with gang green. Six years latter because of the infection and lost of toe he died. So bottom line coming to work early will kill you.

The safe Jack Daniels kicked

The rest of the tour was inside buildings (sorry no more pictures). The whiskey is distilled for six days and then drips over the charcoal for six more days. Then, place in the barrels clear and minimum six years later the whiskey comes out colored by aging in the barrels. The Barrels are used only once. They are then sold to other distilleries, hot sauce factory, designed into chairs, bar tables and more.

JIM BEAM

JIM BEAM

526 Happy Hollow RD
Clement, KY
(502) 543-9877
http://www.jimbeam.com/

There are two types of tours paid or free. First, the free. As you enter tell them you want the self guided tour. You get one pass for two sampled drinks. Second, the paid guided tour. The prices vary, you must be over 21 and fee is $10, retired military $5 and active duty military is free. Besides the guided tour you will receive a pass for two sample drinks and a free tasting glass. If you decided to get a guided tour arrive early as it was sold by noon. We took the self guided tour and saw the distiller exhibit from the 1800's and how the the oak barrels are made.

Then, came the tasting room. I tried Kid's Rock Red Stag and the wife tried the honey and maple. All brands were available for sampling ranging from 70 to 107 proof. I soon realized I'm not a straight up bourbon drinker, it need to be mixed, it's a required taste. I guess I'll a;ways be a beer man. 

Kentucky has a bourbon trail with a passport to get stamped of all the distillers. The passport is free and if you get seven stamps you can mail in the passport to get a free t-shirt and your passport returned. 

As were we leaving, we saw a group of guy take the self guided tour and with sample pass in hand they took a "B" line to the tasting house. We thought they must be local guys knowing they can get free drinks. 

LOUISVILLE SLUGGER MUSEUM & FACTORY

LOUISVILLE SLUGGER MUSEUM & FACTORY

800 West Main Street

Louisville, KY 40202

(877) 775-8443

http://www.sluggermuseum.com/

I can remove another dream from my baseball bucket list. We toured the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory the number one bat for Major League Baseball players. Admission to the theater, museum and factory is $11, but we got in for $9 with military discount. There is a 20 minute video "The Heart of the Game" in the theater superstar like Tony Gwynn, Jim Thome, Derek Jeter and other talk about their use of a Louisville Slugger bat during their career. After the video you exit into the museum. It looks and feels like you are leaving the club house and enter from a dugout.

As you walk into the museum you can enter a gated area where a staff member allows you to hold an actual game-used bat swung by some of baseball's all time greats. I chose to hold the Mickey Mantle bat. I had to wear batting gloves and then posed with the bat in my hands. There was six bat to choice from, but with a line of people waiting for their turn I held only one.

There was wax modules of Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr smack dab in the middle of the museum surround by bats in glass cover draws and history information exhibits on the walls.

Our number and time was called and we made our way to the factory tour. There was no photo or video use allowed on the factory floor,so sorry there is no pictures, but I can highlight how they make their bats. Louisville family owned (fifth or sixth generations) and have been making bat for 129 years. The white ash or maple wood to make a Louisville Slugger bat comes from Pennsylvanian and New York forest. Tubs are cut out into 37 inch x 3 inch, dried and shipped to Louisville Factory.

The original way to make a bat was by hand. This process was time consuming and could take up to 20 minutes to make one bat. Now, the process in completed by machine with computer setting of a bat module. The wood spins at about 1,500 times and in 30 seconds a bat is formed. These bat are mostly for minor league players, mini and souvenir bat with less quality wood. The highest quality wood is saved and used to make Major League Baseball bats. This process is about the same but a little finer detail and completed in about 40 seconds. As we toured the factory floor we saw the burning of the company trademark in the bats and final sets of burning or painting the bat to the players liking. This is were they handed out the knobs at the end of the bat that was placed on the spinning wheels.  When the tour was finished mini Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory bat was handed out.

A little fact about players who used these bat, if their name in signed on the bat, they have a contract with Louisville Slugger. If their name is in all capital letters, they do not have a contract with Louisville Slugger. In front of the building is the famous 120 foot tall Slugger bat leaning along side the building as you walk into the main entrance doors. Along the front wall of the building and on the street at least four blocks away are bronze bat and home plate highlight the career of baseball all time greats.

As you enter the building, there is a autograph name plate of every player who has or had a contract with Louisville Slugger including international player mostly from Japan. There is also a section on the wall dedicated to the player who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who used Louisville Slugger bat during the career.

If you are just an average fan or love baseball as much as I do, you MUST go to Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory at least once in your life time. There is so much to learn behind the scenes of "American past-time" that makes baseball the greatest game on earth.