Thursday, July 9, 2026

Happy Birthday America! July 4, 2026

 

We celebrate the 250th  birthday of America by first recognizing the Bridges family is a direct descendant of James Thomas, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War.  Proud to be his descendant and proud to be an American Citizen.  God Bless America!!


 

 We celebrated this great anniversary in several ways,  First we watched that great movie of the Broadway play 1776 which covers the events leading up to that first July 4th.  It must have been the umpteenth time I have seen this spectacular movie.


 

Then we gather for a special July 4th meal—pulled pork barbecue, pork and beans, cole slaw, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, watermelon and other delights.


 
 
 

Visiting with the twenty-somethings as they celebrate the day!!  All were wearing cowboy hats for reasons unknown.


And one guest 4 times 20-something--plus




And of course, singing happy birthday to our wonderful county!!

 


 And ending the day watching fireworks!!

 

 



Monday, July 6, 2026

A New Family Member

 Introducing the newest family member.  Little "Goose" has joined big brother "Scooter" and they are so happy together!! 

 


 

 


 

And here is a video of the new "brothers"

 


 



Sunday, July 5, 2026

Sloppy Hog Burger Joint -- A Restuarant Review

 

The Sloppy Hog Burger Joint  is located in the Great Smoky Mountain tourist region of Wears Valley, Tennessee.  Our party of six arrived around 7:30 p.m. on a busy Saturday evening in June.  We were told the wait would be about an hour.  Because of the limited restaurants in the area and the late hour, we decided to wait for a table.  We were lucky when they called our party after only about a twenty-minute wait.  We were seated at a table in their outside patio area and even though it was mid-June, the weather was nice for dining outside.

Sloppy Hog’s menu consisted mostly of burgers, pulled pork, wings and pizza.  The most unusual item on the menu appeared to be a Bologna Burger which featured a grilled thick sliced all beef bologna.  Although this item seemed intriguing, I opted to go with the Sloppy Original Pulled Pork Sandwich with an order of onion rings as the side.  Others in our party chose the chicken tenders and the Sloppy Burgers.  The waitress was very attentive, promptly bringing our drinks and timely delivering our meals without mistakes being made.  The outdoor patio was a perfect setting for eating with a nice view of the nearby mountains.

My Pulled Pork sandwich, served on a bun was properly cooked and was very good.  The onion rings were sliced much smaller than you usually find in restaurants.  They were tasty and were a good addition to the pork sandwich.  My other eating partners were equally satisfied with their burgers and chicken tender meals.  All agreed we had made a good choice for a busy Saturday evening in the Great Smoky Mountains.  I would highly recommend the Sloppy Hog Burger Joint as a place to eat if you are in Wears Valley area just west of Sevierville in East Tennessee.

 


Pulled Pork

 



Chicken tenders and fries

 


Burger