S.S. United States

[Allen]

The ship has made it's first stage of it's farewell journey. It has arrived at a Mobile ship yard where it will spend a few months being prepped to be sunk off the coast of the FL panhandle.

Many groups have tried to save the ship over the years but the amount of repairs and the cost didn't justify the efforts. It has been docked for decades and later reports spoke of $80K a day docking fees.

100' longer than the Titanic. It is named S.S. United States instead of U.S.S. ???

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ss-united-states-heads-florida-174111349.html

[JB White]

Unfortunately we can’t save them all.
USS is a military designation. United States Ship.
SS is a civilian motorized vessel it harkens back to “Steam Ship”

[Oyaji]

USS UNITED STATES (CVA-58); the aircraft carrier that never was.......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_United_States_(CVA-58)

[PWC]

Oyaji....thanks for the background.

[Mark in Ottawa]

The funnels seem disproportionately large.

[Allen]

The funnels seem disproportionately large.

Had the ship been built and named at a later date perhaps it would have named "S.S. Dolly Parton".

[JB White]

They could store a lot of deck chairs in that brassiere!

[Allen]

Geography lesson for today:

Just North of Mobile on I-65.

"The General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge, more commonly known locally as the "Dolly Parton Bridge", consists of dual parallel tied through arches of weathering steel and beam viaducts of concrete that form one continuous span carrying four lanes of Interstate 65 across the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta northeast of the U.S. city of Mobile, Alabama. Built from 1978 to 1980, it spans a distance of 6.08 miles (10 km) over the delta, making it, along with the Jubilee Parkway across Mobile Bay to its south, among the longest bridges in the nation. It was named in honor of Walter K. Wilson, a Chief of Engineers with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and long-term resident of Mobile."

Not a ship but at least it's about Dolly.

[Mark in Ottawa]

These are two small cone shaped mountains on the Trans Canada Highway in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland. The first time that I saw them, I got the driver to stop for a photo. If the photographer had driven a few hundred yards further, the effect would have been perfect

https://www.facebook.com/bobsnewfoundland/posts/the-twin-hills-on-the-trans-canada-just-outside-of-port-aux-basques/1221070448256390/

[Allen]

Years ago there was a TV series on a fictional town called "Twin Peaks".

The "peaks" in this picture are not as well illustrated as those above nor Dolly's.

[JB White]

Years ago I was on the cable car up to Ober Gatlinburg for Oktoberfest. Below ius we could get a great view of the Smokey’s and the chalets in the mountains.
It was pointed out at the time the one, and only one with twin peaks, belonged to Dolly.

I feel a little guilty about saying those things. Just out of respect.
She’s been putting a smile on my face for decades for just being herself.

[Allen]

Years ago I was on the cable car up to Ober Gatlinburg for Oktoberfest.

Just a very short distance to Dollywood.

[JB White]

It was closed. It really was. Seasonal thing.
Pigeon Forge is fun. and Seviersville….at least one visit to Smoky Mountain Knifeworks per year.
Or at least that was my tradition for a while. Head for the Gatlinburg area after the NASCAR races in Darlington SC.
I considered it on the way home.

[Allen]

It was closed. It really was. Seasonal thing.
Pigeon Forge is fun. and Seviersville?.at least one visit to Smoky Mountain Knifeworks per year.
Or at least that was my tradition for a while. Head for the Gatlinburg area after the NASCAR races in Darlington SC.
I considered it on the way home.

Went to Dollywood when it was open and most of the events/shops/displays inside were closed. Got to see some bald eagles up close that were "in for repair" and ride a train around the perimeter of the place. That was it. The wooden roller coaster was just being built at the time. For me and my family it was a total rip-off.

Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountains: I've been there several times. I can't get over how laid back everything is. I guess there's no room to expand (Gatlinburg is tiny). Down here there would be 50 story condo's everywhere, people crawling over each other and thus ruining everything.

I went to the Smokey's once when it had snowed. Not a good idea as they close the roads because of it.

[JB White]

They found room to expand. I could see the difference on every trip/stop there.
That’s a 50 year span time-wise. The days of Hillbilly Golf at one end and Burning Bush at the other are long gone. Urban sprawl.
Development is probably only three inches from the Park entrance! And it’s unstoppable. I once said Pigeon Forge might be a 10 minute walk someday instead of a 10 minute drive. I was being sarcastic back then. Not so funny anymore.