We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?
Today is Cousteau Day - celebrated on the late Jacques Cousteau's birthday. Today he would have turned a ripe old 110, so salut, Jacques!
Interestingly, (well, it's interesting to me) we've been to the site of one of his explorations - the Lost Sea in Sweetwater, Tennessee!
Back many years ago, Heidi and I were on our annual Nth honeymoon and heading South on I-75. We kept seeing signs with a viking-esque ship saying not to miss the Lost Sea. We were pretty sure it had to be some horrible tourist trap. Still, the signs kept us wondering.
We stopped for dinner at a Pizza Hut in the greater Sweetwater metroplex (Yes, we actually went into a restaurant, sat down among strangers, and ate food we hadn't prepared ourselves. Times were very different then.) where we asked the waiter, a young local lad, whether we were correct that the Lost Sea was something to pass by.
"Oh no - you really should go," he told us. "It's really cool and you don't want to miss it."
Well, if a local says a local tourist trap isn't one, why not risk it, eh? and so we did.
Well I'm blowed if he wasn't right.
It was a spectacular tour of caves and caverns (including the remains of a Prohibition-era speakeasy) and a boat ride on an underground lake - the Lost Sea itself.
Oh - the Jacques Cousteau connection? He and his crew had done some diving in the lake, trying to find how big and how deep it was. They never did find the end nor the bottom. Ditto some Navy divers. For all we know, the Lost Sea goes all the way down, just like turtles. Who knows? Maybe it connects to Loch Ness? Stranger things have been made up than that.
So ... if you find yourself in the vicinity of Sweetwater, Tennessee, don't make the mistake of missing the Lost Sea. You won't regret the time you spend there.
Bonus celebratory information: Today is also Corn On The Cob Day! Why not enjoy a cob with someone you love?!
Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?
Today is Cousteau Day - celebrated on the late Jacques Cousteau's birthday. Today he would have turned a ripe old 110, so salut, Jacques!
Interestingly, (well, it's interesting to me) we've been to the site of one of his explorations - the Lost Sea in Sweetwater, Tennessee!
Back many years ago, Heidi and I were on our annual Nth honeymoon and heading South on I-75. We kept seeing signs with a viking-esque ship saying not to miss the Lost Sea. We were pretty sure it had to be some horrible tourist trap. Still, the signs kept us wondering.
We stopped for dinner at a Pizza Hut in the greater Sweetwater metroplex (Yes, we actually went into a restaurant, sat down among strangers, and ate food we hadn't prepared ourselves. Times were very different then.) where we asked the waiter, a young local lad, whether we were correct that the Lost Sea was something to pass by.
"Oh no - you really should go," he told us. "It's really cool and you don't want to miss it."
Well, if a local says a local tourist trap isn't one, why not risk it, eh? and so we did.
Well I'm blowed if he wasn't right.
It was a spectacular tour of caves and caverns (including the remains of a Prohibition-era speakeasy) and a boat ride on an underground lake - the Lost Sea itself.
Oh - the Jacques Cousteau connection? He and his crew had done some diving in the lake, trying to find how big and how deep it was. They never did find the end nor the bottom. Ditto some Navy divers. For all we know, the Lost Sea goes all the way down, just like turtles. Who knows? Maybe it connects to Loch Ness? Stranger things have been made up than that.
So ... if you find yourself in the vicinity of Sweetwater, Tennessee, don't make the mistake of missing the Lost Sea. You won't regret the time you spend there.
Bonus celebratory information: Today is also Corn On The Cob Day! Why not enjoy a cob with someone you love?!
Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
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