Anna Across America - Cincinnati (Opening Day)

No matter what ESPN dictates, the 2014 Major League Baseball season does not officially begin until "Play Ball" is shouted by the umpire in Cincinnatt, Ohio, shortly before 4 p.m. EDT today.  While it may not host the very first game of the season as in years past, Cincinnati has been allowed the tradition of always opening at home.  So following the Opening Day parade, the Cincinnati Reds will host Anna's St. Louis Cardinals to officially kick off another season of our national past time.  Since 2003, the Great American Ball Park (at left) has been home to the Reds, which is generally regarded as the first professional baseball team.  The Red Stockings were one of the charter members of the National League.

The following video captures the excitement of the beginning of another baseball season in America.

http://youtu.be/Awsxe2BQ-Bs

And yet another video on this day that marks the start of new beginnings shows the connection between our national pasttime and the great taste of Dr Pepper.

http://youtu.be/5xtBpKsKweo

                                                       Photo Credit:  D. Trundle

Anna Across America - Frankfort, Kentucky

Today we salute Frankfort, Kentucky, the capital of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  The State Capitol is pictured at left.  Frankfort, located midway between Lexington and Louisville, is home to about 30,000 residents. Daniel Boone and his wife Rebecca are buried in Frankfort --Mingo's burial site is unknown and Cincinnatus never made it out of Boonesborough. There is a bit of controversy on the origin of the name Frankfort. A historical marker in Frankfort states that the city was thusly named as a tribute to Benjamin Franklin -- he of the Declaration of Independence and a chain of Five and Dime Stores; others attribute the name to Stephen Franks, an early settler of Kentucky.

Another Frankfort landmark is the Buffalo Trace Distillery, one of the oldest continually operating distilleries in the country.  The distillery, which has gone by a variety of names including the George Stagg Distillery, produces a variety of bourbons like the namesake Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon and the venerable Old Charter.  The distillery was allowed to maintain operations during prohibition in order to make whiskey for "medicinal purposes."

                                                Photo Credits:  D. Trundle

Anna Across America - Little Rock, Arkansas

Our tour of Tennessee complete, we head across the Mississippi River to Arkansas and its capital, Little Rock.  The city of Little Rock was named for a small rock outcropping on the Arkansas River which frontiersman used for navigation.  Today, Little Rock is a thriving center of government and commerce for the state and region.

At left stands the Arkansas State Capitol.  Using prison labor it was built over a course of 15 years and was finished in 1915.  It features a limestone exterior, the rock coming from an Arkansas quarry.  The building's most famous tenant was  Bill Clinton.   In 1978, Clinton became the youngest governor in the country at 32.  Known as the "boy governor", Clinton served a 12-year stint as governor which was a springboard to the White House for he and his wife Hillary.

The Old State House, built in 1842, is the oldest surviving capitol building west of the Mississippi.  It was the scene of Bill Clinton's election night celebration in 1992 when he defeated incumbent President George Bush.

http://youtu.be/z0BOJmDYPOU

Speaking of celebrations, a Triple A salute to Dr Pepper, which this week signed on to be a presenting sponsor for the NCAA College Football Playoff.   Now that's patriotism!

And speaking of Dr Pepper, the 23 flavors of the most original soft drink ever has found their way into a number of commercial products.  There are Dr Pepper-flavored Jelly Beans, Dr Pepper Licorice Twists, Dr Pepper Lip Balm / Gloss, and Dr Pepper-flavored Hubba Bubba bubblegum.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park is the presidential  library of the 42nd president of the United States.   The $165 million library was funded by donations and at its dedication in 2004, Clinton was joined by President George W. Bush and former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush.

It is the second presidential library on the Anna Across America Tour (the Jimmy Carter Library had been visited previously).  In political fairness, submissions of Republican presidental library visits with the Anna /  Dr Pepper can are being shamelessly solicited to comply with the FCC's equal time rules.

Anna Across America - Chattanooga (A Tour of Tennessee)

Chattanooga, the fourth largest city in the state of Tennessee, is truly "The Scenic City" as its official nickname dictates.  Chattanooga is surrounded by mountainous beauty as the Tennessee River ambles through the downtown area. Attractions abound in this city of 175,000 such as the highly acclaimed Tennessee Aquarium (pictured in the background), the world's largest freshwater aquarium, Rock City (a must "see" atop Lookout Mountain), Ruby Falls,  and numerous festivals for visitors and residents alike.

Anna has a distinct connection to Chattanooga - her father spent his formative years here in the 1960s and 1970s and her cousin Will played football at UT- Chattanooga and continues to reside here.

More Chattanooga Trivia

• Chattanooga claims to have the fastest internet service (one gigabit per second) in the Western Hemisphere after investing heavily in fiber optics
• The international Towing Hall of Fame is located in Chattanooga
• Chattanooga has the world's longest pedestrian bridge, the Walnut Street Bridge.
• The Moonpie was invented at the Chattanooga Bakery.
• Chattanooga has its own typeface (font) called Chatype; it is the only U.S. city that can claim this distinction
• The Dr Pepper Basketball Classic is hosted annually by UT-Chattanooga, which claimed the title this year in beating Maine.

Since 1895 -- a decade after the first Dr Pepper was poured -- the Incline Railway has ferried passengers to the top of Chattanooga's Lookout Mountain.  Billed as "America's Most Amazing Mile," the Incline traverses a grade of up to 73 percent in its climb to the top of Lookout Mountain where a panorama of Chattanooga and views of seven states await.

The historic train station-turned hotel Chattanooga Choo Choo is a major tourist attraction for the city.  The terminal station, which is now the hotel's lobby, opened in 1909.  Visitors can relive the old days of train travel throughout the 24 acre complex and guests can spend the night in beautifully restored train cars.

The wood burning steam locomotive at right is the same type of train that began service from Chattanooga to points north and south in the late 1800s and inspired one of music's most recognizable songs -- "The Chattanooga Choo".  The song popularized by Glenn Miller was the first Gold Record ever.  It was featured in the 1941 movie "Sun Valley "Serenade".   Take a listen...

http://youtu.be/QzHIn5S-RbY

For our loyal German follower, the tune of Chattanooga Choo Choo made its way to Deutschland.  Udo Lindenberg, a German version of Bob Dylan, adapted the tune of Chattanooga Choo Choo in one of his most famous songs -- Sonderzug nach Pankow (Special train service to Pankow).  Recorded in 1983, seven years before German reunification, the song originated from the refusal of eastern German authorities to allow Lindenberg a concert in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).


http://youtu.be/J2BVlSP_g18

Chattanooga not only celebrates rail travel, but also the the golden age of steamboat travel.  The Delta Queen, a sternwheel paddleboat that plied the waters of the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers for decades in the 1900s is temporarily moored on the banks of the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, serving as a floating boutique hotel (currently closed for repairs after winter cold caused severe plumbing problems).  It is hoped that this iconic riverboat will one day sail again.

Many famous people have lived in Chattanooga including actor Samuel L. Jackson. actor Jim. Nabors (who developed his charming accent here), jazz great Bessie Smith, pop artist Usher, media mogul Ted Turner, NFL Hall of Famer and former UT Vol great Reggie White, tennis pro Roscoe Tanner among others.   Hugh Beaumont, the kindly father Ward Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver, attended the Baylor School and worked at a nearby Mayfield Dairy.  Local legend has it that the TV show's fictitious town of Mayfield was named after the dairy.  Beaumont was also a licensed Methodist minister like Anna's grandfather "Daddy John" whose 80th birthday is coming up on March 27th.

Anna Across America - Knoxville (A Tour of Tennessee)

We're Going BIG ORANGE !

Anna returns to her hometown of Knoxville to celebrate the Tennessee Vols'

thrilling overtime win against Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Basketball

Tournament.   March Madness, indeed!  At Thompson-Boling Arena (above)

Anna and her sister Martha learned about the joys of being a Tennessee fan

at a very early age.  Although she will soon be graduating from Mississippi

State University, Anna is a self-proclaimed "Vol For Life" (VFL).

Anna Across America - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (A Tour of Tennessee)

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The Smoky Mountains, the best known section of the Appalachian chain of mountains that stretches from Alabama to Maine and into Canada, is the most visited national park in the country.

With more 187,000 acres of mountain forest hugging the Tennessee-North Carolina border and peaks up to 6,450 feet, the park is a playground for the outdoor enthusiast.  Hiking, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, and fishing are just a few of the many activities that beckon 10 million visitors to the park each year.  Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge on the Tennessee side and Cherokee in North Carolina are major tourist towns that lead to the park.

The Smoky Mountains is a great place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day as the mountains' earliest European settlers were from the northern regions of Ireland.   Known as the Scots-Irish (and sometimes Scotch-Irish), their migation to the Americas began in the early 1700s, many finding their way to these mountains by 1750.   Their staunch independence and steely resolve helped the Scots-Irish tame the wilderness and carve out a new life in this rugged terrain.    The Scots-Irish had the largest contingent of volunteer fighters in the American Revolution.  It is estimated that about one in seven Tennesseans can trace their heritage to the Scots-Irish, including Anna.  It was that same Scots-Irish determination that Anna displayed in the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway, gamely competing despite a broken finger in her throwing hand.

At right, the majestic Mount Le Conte - the third tallest peak in the Smokies - and an equally majestic  Anna / Dr Pepper can look out over Gatlinburg below.

The Scots-Irish brought music to their new homeland in the form of folk ballads which evolved in America to the musical genres of bluegrass and country music.  One of this area's most famous natives is country music superstar Dolly Parton, who played in these mountains during her childhood.    Dolly plays on a much bigger stage now but she always remembers her Smoky Mountain heritage and has poured millions of dollars into the area through her Dollywood theme park nearby and charitable giving.

In this clip from Dolly's Heartsong you will experience the beauty of these mountains and hear the influence of the Scots-Irish in her music.

http://youtu.be/kvYbWsBe048

The full Heartsong video featured at Dollywood's Heartsong Theater shows a brief clip of the cantilever barn from a farm that has been in Anna's family since the 1800s.

Anna Across America - Bristol Motor Speedway (A Tour of Tennessee)

This weekend, five hundred miles across the state from Memphis where our Tennessee tour began, a modern day Colosseum will host some helmet-wearing gladiators driving horse-powered chariots emblazoned with names like Home Depot, M&Ms, GoDaddy.com..and oh yes, Dr Pepper.

Welcome to Bristol Motor Speedway.  The NASCAR spring races in the Nationwide and Sprint Car Series will be held this weekend in the 165,000 seat track, the fourth largest sports venue in America.  And you can bet that the drivers, racing cars just inches apart, will be "trading paint" in this Southern spectacle.  Once again, we will be rooting for Alex Bowman behind the wheel of the #23 Dr Pepper Camry.  After a coincidental 23rd place finish at Daytona in the season opener, Bowman will be looking to rebound from disappointing finishes of 41 and 37 in Phoenix and Las Vegas, respectively.

The speedway opened in 1961 and has expanded several times to reach its current capacity.   An incessant roar rumbles through the Northeast Tennessee hills on race days as the stock cars travel on a 30 degree banked half-mile track at speeds of more than 100 mph...for 500 miles.  It has been named one of NASCAR's loudest race tracks.  Little wonder the track has earned the nickname of Thunder Valley.

Let's look into the start of the 2012 Food City 500 to see why this stadium hosts the fastest half mile in racing.

http://youtu.be/Ckuj7tTPqg0

The cavernous speedway hosts major NASCAR races twice a year in addition to other races deep into the summer.  During the holiday season, you can even drive throughout the speedway complex for a one-of-a-kind light show with a spectacular finish on the famed oval (while hoping your car doesn't tip over on the banked track).

On September 10, 2010 the speedway stadium will make history.  Up to 165,000 college football fans will watch the University of Tennessee take on Virginia Tech in the Battle of Bristol.  Despite the proximity of the two schools to one another, they rarely meet on the gridiron which heightens the interest of this game.

Virginia Tech is located only 42 miles from Roanoke, Virginia, which has the highest consumption of Dr Pepper on the East coast.

Anna Across America - Dayton (A Tour of Tennessee)

The East Tennessee town of Dayton and the Rhea County Courthouse (at left) drew national attention back in 1925 because of the famous Scopes Monkey Trial.  While the arrest of a local teacher for promoting the idea of the "theory  of evolution" is generally regarded as a farce to help bring the argument  to a trial here (and the publicity of its town), it did shine the spotlight on the creation vs evolution debate...and did in fact attract attention to this sleepy little town.  The focus was as much on the lawyers, famed prosecutor William Jennings Bryan and defense attorney Clarence Darrow, as on the debate of evolution.  Bryan clearly had the home court advantage over Darrow before, during, and after the trial that ended in a win for the prosecution and a fine for the teacher John Scopes which was later overturned on a technicality.    A statue of Bryan graces the courthouse lawn and a college in the town bears his name.

This 2012 ad posted on Dr Pepper's Facebook page had a little fun with the Theory of Evolution, made famous in Dayton, and the "March of Progress" scientific illustration from the 1960s.  The ad created a bit of a firestorm among some creationists who went ape over the tongue-in-cheek reference of a soda-chugging neanderthal evolving into a man.  The ruckus that these groups, ahem created, led to the ad going viral across social media, providing a well-intentioned chuckle (not a science lesson) to the more sane Dr Pepper drinkers among us - including the stars of this Diet Dr Pepper commercial from 2001.  Click the link below and enjoy.

http://youtu.be/e0c69_wuSSI

Anna Across America - Nashville (A Tour of Tennessee)

Greetings from Nashville...our next stop on a tour of Tennessee cities.  Widely known as Music City USA Nashville is the epicenter of Country music and numerous recording studios which lay down tracks of all musical genres.  Indeed Nashville  is much more than banjos and fiddles.  It is a renowned healthcare center, has outstanding educational institutions, and is a major publishing center.  Long held stereotypes of Nashville's Hee Haw Days have fallen fast as the city has been a model of progressiveness.  Professional sports came calling in the late 1990's when the Houston Oilers of the National Football League relocated here and became the Tennessee Titans as well as the Nashville Predators bringing National Hockey League play to the city.   Some things remains the same though in this truly Southern city:  gravy is a beverage, big hair is always in style, and the citizens are syrupy sweet.  So come to Nashville...the city will "bless your heart".

The Ryman Auditorium, often referred as the "Mother Church of Country Music", was the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974.  While the Grand Ole Opry has long left this place for a larger venue which is part of the Opryland complex, the Ryman hosts occasional Opry shows as well as concerts.  The Grand Ole Opry is among the longest running radio shows in the country, having first begun in 1925.

All the greats of country music have performed here including Reba McEntire and LeeAnn Rimes, who both know a great soft drink when they taste one. Pop the top on a Dr Pepper and a ragtop while taking a ride with these two country music legends.

http://youtu.be/FFsyrni5f-k

Anna visits the State Capitol of her home state.  On downtown Nashville's highest hill, the State Capitol is home to the legislature and the offices of the governor -- currently Bill Haslam, a Knoxville native like Anna.  The centerpiece of Tennessee state government -- with its Greek Revival architecture --opened in 1859 and is one of 10 state capitols without a dome.

The centerpiece of Nashville's Centennial Park is the Parthenon, which was built for the state's Centennial Exposition in 1897 then rebuilt in the 1920s.  It is afull scale replica of the the famous Greek edifice.  The replica is appropriately placed in Nashville, which has been called the "Athens of the South".  With 24 post graduate institutions, Nashville has been compared to the ancient city of learning and its scholarly impacts headed by the first dean, Plato.

The AT&T Building, affectionately dubbed the Batman Building, is the tallest skyscraper in the state at a height of 617 feet.   One French business journal, calling the skyscraper La Bat Tower with its dark and ominous exterior and twin spires, named it as one of the 12 most original office buildings in the world.

LP Field has offered home field advantage for the Tennesse Titans of the National Football League since 1999.  The main stage for the CMA Music Festival (nee Fan Fair), held in June each year, is located in the stadium

AAA Extra - Dr Pepper's $100,000 Man From Memphis

Hometown Hero

Garrett Booker from Memphis was the $100,000 scholarship winner in the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway at the 2012 SEC Championship Game where Anna also competed and was awarded a $7,500 scholarship.  A former high school basketball player,  Booker used a two-hand chest pass technique to toss 20 footballs into an oversized Dr Pepper can in 30 seconds.

After the win, the personable Booker, a sports management major at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida, told a CBS Sports reporter:  “I want to thank God, my family for support, my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, and all the support from Barry University.  With this check, I just hope I can change lives.   Actually I will change lives.”

Anna and Garrett were among thousands of students nationwide who submitted entries in the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway which happily ended with both winning scholarships and their photos on cans of Dr Pepper.

Last year, ESPN joined Garrett in Memphis for the day to learn more about how the scholarship is changing his life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppyjJiHqNHg

Anna Across America - Memphis (A Tour Of Tennessee)

We return to Memphis to begin a whirlwind tour of Tennessee.  The widely viewed Graceland series on our blog, contributed by Anna herself earlier in the year, had readers clamoring for more photos of this fascinating city on the banks of the muddy Mississippi.  Memphis is world renowned for its  contribution to the world of music and its contribution to the world of barbecue.  The city is serious about both and are celebrated in the monthlong Memphis in May with an acclaimed music festival and World Champion Barbecue Contest.  The iconic Hernando Desoto Bridge (at left) welcomes visitors into the great state of Tennessee -- a place ingrained in Anna's DNA.

The most famous street in Memphis is without question Beale Street, the Home of the Blues as declared by an Act of Congress in 1977.   In the early 1900s the well-known trumpet player W.C. Handy was persuaded to move to the River City which marked the beginning of the Memphis music scene.

Throughout the century, blues greats like Louis Armstrong, Albert King, Rufus Thomas, Furry Lewis, Memphis Minnie, and the inimitable B.B. King helped create the Blues genre.  As a young man, B.B. King was known as the "Beale Street Blues Boy"; now in his late 80s, B.B. King is a Beale Street legend - both with his music and the original club (at right) that bears his name.   Beale Street and the blues influenced many a Memphis musician including Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes . . . and of course Elvis.

Today the street that begins at the banks of the Mississippi River is filled with clubs, restaurants and shops.  Beale Street is a major tourist attraction for the city and the site of frequent concerts and music festivals.

Memphis and its famous street of Beale was also an inspiration for a young singer/songwriter named Marc Cohn, who in 1991 released an autobiographical song of his trip to Memphis.    The song "Walking In Memphis" was in Cohn's words "a spiritual awakening" created by a city, its music, and a lady named Muriel Wilkins who stirred a powerful impact on the singer that is recounted in the last verse.   Let's join Marc Cohn for a walk in Memphis, just 10 feet off of Beale....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK5YGWS5H84

In 1993, streetcar service returned to Memphis after a hiatus of a half century.  Restored trolleys from Rio de Janiero, Brazil, Melbourne, Australia, and Tampa, Florida take visitors throughout downtown and along the riverfront.  At the intersection of Main and Beale stands a Memphis treasure, the Orpheum Theatre, one of the last remaining movie palaces from the 1920s.    An extensive restoration completed in 1984 brought the 2,400 seat theater back to its former opulence for concerts, Broadway productions, and films.

AutoZone Park, a jewel of a ballpark in the heart of downtown, is the home of the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple A farm club of the St. Louis Cardinals.  The park, which opened in 2000, was ranked the number one Minor League ballpark in 2008 by Basebal America.  The park combines the feel of the great baseball parks such as Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, and Camden Yards and features the largest video screen in the minor leagues to create a fun experience for the fans while reminding them of the history and beauty of the national pastime.  Since 1998, more than 400 Memphis Redbirds have made their way to the Major Leagues, including Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, and last year's rookie sensation Michael Wacha.