- When I think of Nashville, I think of the home of Country Music...
- When I think of Memphis, I think of the home of Elvis Presley...
- When I think of Bristol, I think of the home of NASCAR....
- When I think of Knoxville, I think of the home of Oak Ridge National Laboratories...
- When I think of Chattanooga, I think of Glenn Miller's Chattanooga Choo Choo and the revitalized riverfront, similar to the riverfront in San Antonio, Texas...
Tennessee is also the home of Jack Daniels whiskey and has the nickname of "Volunteers" that dates back to the Alamo and Davy Crockett...
And, what is not mentioned often is the Great Smoky Mountains which is the NUMBER ONE TOURIST ATTRACTION in the entire US of A... imagine that?
Tennessee has a HUGE system of LAKES thanks to the TVA and the public works projects of the 1920s that put people to work because of the Great Depression. And, where I am currently living, I have access to two lakes on either side of me, Cherokee and Douglas... I can get to either lake in about 10-15 minutes.
About 40-60 minutes (depending upon traffic) away from my location, there is:
- Pidgeon Forge
- Dollywood
- Gatlinburg
Each of these tourist attractions went from just being opened in the summer months (circa 1990s) to being open 12 months a year (circa 2000s)...
Oak Ridge National Laboratories just outside of Knoxville, receives 80% of the Department of Energy's budget each year to work on a variety of projects for the Federal Government... Currently, ORNL works on protecting nuclear materials to secure the peaceful use of energy production, medical applications, and scientific discovery around the world...
I moved over to TN in 1990 and 32 years later not only am I still here but I have no desire to live anywhere else... I wear a t-shirt from April through December... that's 8 months out of the year... not bad.
Do yourself a favor... come to TN for a visit... stay a week or two, maybe three... spend your money, but don't stay!!!
