RVing To River Plantation - Day 11 – Bush’s Beans

One of the two scheduled rally events for this day was a visit to nearby Chestnut Hill, TN and the original home of Bush Brothers & Co (Bush’s beans) and after living here for many years and driving past it many times, we decided it was time to pay them a visit.  Bush’s is a family owned company that began in 1905 when AJ Bush began canning tomatoes for Stokley Van Camp located in nearby Newport, TN.

RVing To River Plantation - Day 10

While the Tennessee Travelers Rally in Stone Mountain had one more day to go, we bid farewell to the group and headed for Sevierville, TN so we could be there for the first day of our first ever Thor Rally.  Our Tuscany (coach) is made by Thor and we have been wanting to attend one of their rallies to meet and talk with other coach owners, but it has never worked out for us until now.  The five hour drive from Stone Mountain to Sevierville, Tn was thankfully uneventful and we arrived at River Plantation RV Resort around 2:30, got set up, and checked in for the rally.

As with the place in Pine Mountain, I would not call this an RV Resort but it is a nice campground.  Here are some shots of the campground and our site #166.

RVing In Stone Mountain – Day 9 – Laser Show

Our last day in Stone Mountain began with a fine plan that was soon altered when we discovered there was to be a throng at the park protesting the carving on the mountain.  We had originally planned supper, but to insure we had plenty of time before the evening’s festivities, we decided to do lunch at the Metro Café Diner (seems like saying the Metro Restaurant Restaurant to me) – I got a shot of our group and just had to take one of Bev’s Gyro Platter as it was a huge plate of food and the gyro was delicious.

RVing In Stone Mountain – Days 7&8

Our first day in Stone Mountain was devoted to driving around the park and the adjacent village of Stone Mountain, GA.  After seeing what many towns near tourist attractions have become, I was expecting a very nice, touristy downtown but that was not the case.  While there were a few shops, none of the village center looked prosperous and there were several empty buildings.  Knowing nothing about the economics of the area, I can’t say why it has not been highly improved, but it looks like a missed opportunity to me.

The Stone Mountain Theme Park, on the other hand, has done the opposite and gone from being just a unique mountain that folks visited and walked to the top of to a destination resort.  The mountain itself was formed about 365 million years ago along with the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It is over five miles around the base and 825 feet above the surrounding area (1686 feet above sea level) and composed mainly of quartz and granite.

RVing To Stone Mountain – Days 5&6

Our final day in Pine Mountain area included a visit to Warm Springs where some visited FDR’s Little White House, hit the few shops in town, drove through the FDR State Park and ate lunch at the Bulloch House.  This is the outside of the restaurant which severed one of the better buffets I’ve had – the food was just your southern basics but it was prepared well and even the fried chicken was moist and tender.

RVing To Pine Mountain, Ga – Callaway Gardens– Days 3&4

There was nothing planned on Day 3 until supper so the girls went shopping in Pine Mountain and I dog sat.  With the nearby Callaway Gardens & FDR State Park, to attract visitors, downtown Pine Mountain has turned itself into a nearly pure tourist town with most of the buildings in town occupied by either a shop or a restaurant and at least one bakery.  Bev and Pat probably spent six or seven hours doing the town and we liked all of the restaurants we ate at including the Country Kitchen at Callaway Gardens.  This is our group about to enjoy some good ole southern cookin – most fried of course (catfish for me).

RVing To Pine Mountain, GA – Wild Animal Safari - Day 2

Our first full day in Pine Mountain, we went up the road a couple of miles to the Wild Animal Safari which is a 500+ acre drive-thru animal park with around 600 animals.  Having done one of these places near home in our car, I was relieved when the group decided to go on the bus for a narrated tour and spare the car the giant slobbering that it would have received from the animals. 

The vast majority of the animals were grazers that roamed freely through the park, with the exceptions being three lions in a large cage and a rhino and a camel that were in fenced areas as they are not really car friendly.  Lot's of photos follow.