I thought about this yesterday after reading a post but @Jumper Dad that referenced a guy jumping off the Space Needle in Gatlinburg. I have never been to Gatlinburg, didn't know they had something called the "space needle". Got me to thinking about neat stuff I discovered while traveling that I had no clue about.

 

Both my examples here are towers. First one actually resides right here in KY, and even thousands of KY people don't know about it. The Jefferson Davis monument. I remember the first time I saw it a couple of years after I first moved to KY. Thought it was freaking cool and actually a bit creepy, this huge structure in the middle of nowhere.

 

Jefferson Davis

 

The second example is The Tower of the Americas in San Antonio. I had no clue this thing existed and was really cool to discover on a trip to SA for a conference several years ago. Built around the same time frame as the Space Needle in Seattle for the 1968 worlds fair (which I also didn't know about either) it's actually taller than it's more well known sister tower in Seattle and is just pretty awesome to see. Complete with a revolving restaurant at the top, it offers a stunning view of San Antonio and surrounding area.

 

 

 

Tower of the Americas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The wife and I had dinner in the restaraunt in San Antonio. Pretty cool place, food was dang good to.

How fast aligators are. I watched a 13 ft long gator take off after a fish someone caught and the gator got it.

The wife and I had dinner in the restaraunt in San Antonio. Pretty cool place, food was dang good to.

 

San Antonio is a great town....Riverwalk is awesome

Most from Central Ky know this but others may not.

 

Driving through Lexington and you start to smell this incredible smell and then bam right there in the middle of Lexington, the worlds largest Peanut Butter manufacturing facility with great big JIF and Smuckers signs out front.

 

That place is locked up tight as Ft Knox.

 

Speaking of Ft Knox, the first time I drove by I was amazed that it sat that close to the interstate and was right out in the open...pretty cool being able to see it, even if it is from a distance.

 

Someone told me that peanut butter plant is joint owned by JIF and Kroger since it makes Kroger brand peanut butter also. Is that true?

Someone told me that peanut butter plant is joint owned by JIF and Kroger since it makes Kroger brand peanut butter also. Is that true?

 

I don't think so. Smuckers owns Jif and all the signs on the property are either Smuckers or Jif.

 

Most name brands contrary to what most people say do not make the store brands. There are a few exceptions but as a rule they normally don't. In my career I could see who the manufacturer or vendor was for every item and except for Milk and bread I can't think of a case of the national brand also making the off brand.

I was in Greenville, TN seeing a potential customer. Really nice people. Asked if we had any time to see their town yet which we had not. They said "you have to go see the cannonball."

 

There is a cannonball from the Civil War that was lodged in a church wall.

 

The building was supposedly once owned by Andrew Jackson.

 

Flickr - Photo Sharing!

That is awesome.

On my trip to NYC last week I visited the 9-11 Memorial and Museum. Everyone should see it, an awesome and emotional tribute to those that died that day. I knew that the NYC medical examiners office maintained a facility at ground zero housing and trying to identify human remains but I didn't know that even after almost 15 years only 40% of the victims remains have been positively IDed.

 

Also the size of the area involved is much bigger then TV does justice to.