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Stock and Barrel

Knoxville, TN – Booze, Bites and Bands

We had such a lovely trip planned to Knoxville, Tennessee.  There was going to be kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, bicycling through the miles of trails…we were going to take in the greener side of the scruffy city.  That was until we were thwarted by thunderstorms and threats of tornadoes just 24 hours before we arrived!

We begrudgingly canceled all of it.  Then, wouldn’t you know, the storms hit as promised everywhere but Knoxville (we did get some rain, and an overnight tornado warning which provided some excitement).

Knoxville Tennessee

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, we awoke to the full glory of the sun and absolutely no plans.  So, we set out on a new mission.  We wanted to find out what makes Knoxville tick…and here is what we found:


Yep, leave us alone in any city and were bound to search out the three B’s.  Booze, Bites and Bands, luckily we were in a really great city for all of them.  We never went thirsty, there was never a lack of entertainment and we definitely didn’t leave hungry!

WDVX show

peter kern library

jason wynn

Should you find yourself in Knoxville with weather on the brink and advisories not to play outside… don’t panic, it’s a great place to ride out the storms.

Have you been to Knoxville, been thwarted by storms or had to ride them out somewhere worth talking about?  Share your stories, suggestions and thoughts in the comments below.

Disclaimer – A big thanks to the City of Knoxville for hosting us!

Hello there! I honestly don’t know what to say, so I am going to tell you a bunch of random facts instead. I'm a fish eating vegetarian who hates spiders and loves snakes. I almost never took vacations growing up. I wanted to be Pippi Longstocking (still do). I misspell about every other word I write and still struggle with grammar. I love splurging on a good high tea (which is really hard to find these days). And whatever you do, don’t tell me I can’t do something, because then I'll HAVE to do it!

Comments (17)

  • Nikki and Jason,
    I am glad you got to enjoy my adopted second city, LOL. I loved living in Knoxville for 6 years. I plan to retire there in 7 1/2 years and can’t wait. This town has everything a person could need and many, many more places to visit and explore. My plan is to start a motorcycle touring company and let others enjoy the beautiful scenery and the many attractions surrounding Knoxville.
    Were you guys able to make it up to Pigeon Forge, Seveirville or Gatlinburg? I hope so. A side visit to the Great Smoky Nat. park is always an adventure, too. Even though you just came through my part of the country (Northern CA), I hope to see you on the road somewhere soon, Ron

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    • Thanks Ron,
      We didn’t get to stop at the other towns, we had a pretty tight schedule to keep 🙂

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  • Only time I have ever been to Tennessee was for a Jacksonville Jaguars vs Tennessee Titans game so I didn’t get to see much of Knoxville. Next time I’m in there though I will defiantly be making sure to visit Knoxville, it loos awesome 🙂

    PS Love the video!

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  • Great post! I’ve been meaning to make my way down south so these suggestions are a big help.

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    • These spots are awesome…however I’m sure there’s 100 more equally as great! Gotta love travel.

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  • K-Town is my home town! We have been living in the Pacific NW for about two years now and have recently decided to travel full time. We are heading out of Roslyn WA in two weeks! We will be headed back to Knoxville over the next couple of months to make it our home base. I loved your video because many of those places were not there when we left town, something to look forward to for sure!! I do love the Speak easy though, one of my faves. Feeling a little homesick after that video…sigh

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    • Jennifer,
      Glad we could make you homesick 🙂 Safe Travels.

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  • I wish we would have known you were in Knoxville. We could have met somewhere. Of course, there’s a strong chance we were in Florida at Disney World when you were there (tornado warning gave it away).

    My wife and I had planned to RV full time, but we just cannot do it financially. So, our DVC membership will just have to do for our get aways. No RVing, just long drives in our Prius and a lovely Disney room upon arrival…

    Do come back sometime. You will always be welcome in our Scruffy Little City.

    Of did anyone tell you how we got the nickname of Scruffy City? Just wondering if anyone mentioned it, or if you asked…

    Oh and one last thing… Go VOLS!

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  • tim

    you forgot to visit ELVIS

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  • I’m so glad you did the Knoxville video again. I saw you on the local news, and that’s how I got to your blog site. I live in Maryville, TN, which is about 14 miles from Knoxville, so I loved the part you did on WDBX, the bluegrass station. We’ve been there for their “Blue Plate Special” music a couple of times, but now they don’t feed you anymore. They still have the music on Tuesdays though. This was a good bit and fun to watch.

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  • Mary

    Looks like a fun city!

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  • paul van

    Crazy Beertender. Shower story reminds me of someone I know. HAHA!

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  • We were in Knoxville for the Oregon v Tennessee football game. The town was packed with fans.There was such a strong thunderstorm, the entire (100,000+ fans) stadium was evacuated. Ducks won! Photos: rvgoddess.com/postcards/2010/TENNESSEE/091110.aspx

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  • Another great vid. Love the writing and happy positive tone. Let us know if you ever make it out Montana and Yellowstone Country.

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    • Thanks Henry,
      We have been to Yellowstone but we keep missing SD, ND and MT.

      reply

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