A visit with Jay and Duke...

I mentioned in yesterday's post about passing the Bush bean factory on the way to our campground.  Since we didn't see the Visitors Center until we were already past it, AND there was no place in the next 10 miles to turn our rig around, I promised Joan that we'd go back today.

Who knew it would be such an attraction?  The parking lot was packed...

Of course, a couple photos with my buds, Jay and Duke...

The white building in the top photo is their cafe, the wood building further back in the Visitors Center, which is absolutely first class...

They no longer do a tour of the actual factory (we have run into that with all the "food place visitors centers"), but they have an outstanding 18 minute film showing the history and how the beans are made and canned...

They take a photo of you with Duke - and give you a print - no charge!  Good PR...

They have made a lot of other products over the years besided baked beans...

The "secret family recipe, protected by lazer alarms...

;-)    And, a gift shop (of course)...

If the photos don't show it for you, imagine an upscale gift area at a Cracker Barrel.  ;-)  We did not leave empty-handed.

We drove back into Pigeon Forge for a late lunch, then cruised around town.  I made Joan laugh when I described this place as: a countrified Las Vegas.  She said, "That is exactly what I was thinking."

The photos from last night's post didn't do it justice.  Neither do these, but it is what I was able to get with all the traffic...

From there, we drove through a small piece of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and into Gatlinburg.  This is definitely the "old version" of Pigeon Forge.  In Pigeon Forge, there isn't a building that looks more than 10 years old... in Gatlinburg, we didn't see any new looking buildings.  May be the fact that Gatlinburg is in a gulch and Pigeon Forge is in a wide open valley - would sure make building easier and the businesses more visible.

Either way, it is all a bit more touristy than we care for, but you could certainly keep a family occupied for an entire vacation here.