We've taken a mini vacation from our jobs at Yogi in the
Smokies campground this week and are spending a few days in Pigeon
Forge, Tennessee. Today we took a little trip to see the Bushes Baked
Beans Museum and Visitor Center. Located in the tiny community of
Chestnut Hill Tennessee on Hwy. 411. As you go around a bend in the
road, there it is. The largest packing plant you can imagine with a
small white wood frame house sitting right on the edge of the road.
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| It was raining pretty hard |
The house is the former home of A.J. Bush and his wife
Sarah. This is where Bush's baked beans were born. Across the road
is the museum and visitor center where you can walk through the
history of the Bush Brothers family business.
They have on display and for sale every type of bean
they offer. The gift shop is well stocked with a variety of items to
take home with you. They have an interactive game for the young ones
to play and a scale you can step on that will tell you how much you
weigh in baked beans. At the end of the walk through bean history
you can pose for a souvenir picture with the ever popular Duke.
There's a movie that last about 25 minutes that walks
you through the canning process from start to finish and some clips
of Jay and Duke discussing the secret family recipe. Outside in the
parking lot there are two restored Ford delivery trucks on display
that would have been used by A.J. Bush. A.J. By the way stands for
Andrew Jackson.
If you are close by or visiting the Pigeon Forge area
you should try to make this a part of your itinerary, you might just
be impressed. But keep in mind they keep the Secret Family Recipe guarded quite well.
Oh by the way I weigh 205,824 baked beans.
Be
Safe And I Hope To See You Down The Road
