Last Weekend, January 20-22, 2017: 1050 Miles, Chili, and Packers

JANUARY 20, FRIDAY

A day spent on the road.  Left Goldsboro and encountered rain all the way through North Carolina.  Stopped in Mt. Airy (Mayberry) for my porkchop sandwich fix at Snappy Lunch and was smart enough not to try to eat the whole thing.  Then Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio.  Unbelievably warm for January, with temps in the 60s the whole way.  Spent the night at the Motel 6 in Richmond, Indiana.

JANUARY 21,  SATURDAY

Drove 415 miles through Indiana and Illinois to home.  Temps in the 50s the whole way.  Then went to the Fox Lake, Illinois, American Legion for the chili cookoff and there was an entertainer.  Later went to Sunnyside Tap.

JANUARY 22,  SUNDAY

Spent the afternoon at Sunnyside Tap in Johnsburg and saw the Green Bay Packers closely resemble Da Bears in their ineptness.  Was that Aaron Rodgers or Jay Cutler out there?  But, we had a great time with the crowd, which included quite a few Packer fans.

Drivin' and Cryin'.  --RoadDog

YOU'RE DRINKING TOO MUCH COFFEE WHEN:  You spend every vacation visiting "Maxwell House."

Summer North Carolina 2016-- Part 1: Gettin' My Cincy Chili, Chocolate Uglys, Snappy Lunch and Wilber's 'Cue Fixes

JULY 19, TUESDAY

I left for North Carolina to help settle affairs with my mom's estate and took the usual route there, now becoming very familiar with the third trip in as many months.  I got through Indianapolis during rush hour without a problem and stopped for my usual Cincy chili fix at Skyline Chili.  I drove to the east side of Columbus, Ohio, and then went on to Athens, Ohio, where I stayed at Super 8.

JULY 20, WEDNESDAY

On US-33 to I-77 in West Virginia.  No Virginia peanuts at the Virginia Welcome Center, but they said they had it on order.  I need my Va. peanut fix as well.  Stopped at Wytheville, Virginia, for the cheapest gas of the trip, $1.90, and got my Chocolate Ugly fix.

Then stopped at Mt. Airy, N.C., for my Snappy Lunch porkchop sandwich fix.  I-40 was busy, but made it through the Raleigh-Durham "Strangler' always a horrible traffic jam.  Arrived in Goldsboro, N.C., and went to Wilber's BBQ for my 'cue fix with Bob and Andy.

Gettin' My Fixes.  --RoadDog

N.C. Summer Trip 2015-- Part 9: On the Road Home

July 29th, Thursday.

Left Goldsboro and got gas in Smithville on US-70.  No problem through the Raleigh-Durham Horror on I-40 as I was running behind rush hour at 9:15 a.m..  Stopped at J-R's in Burlington as I usually do and bought some beach souvenirs.

I-40 to US-421 to Us-52 to Mt. Airy, N.C. for a great porkchop sandwich at Snappy Lunch and bought a book and two Sgt. Rock comic books at Yesterday's, across the street.  Sgt. Rock and Easy Company was by far my favorite comic book when I was growing up.

Then to I-77, gas at Wytheville and then into West Virginia and the turnpike, through Charleston and up to Ripley where I got on US-33 to Columbus, then I-270 and IA-70 to Richmond, Indiana, right on the Ohio line.  Spent the night at Motel 6.

--RoadDog


REDNECK COMPUTER TERMS:  CRASH--  When you go to Junior's party uninvited.

N.C. Summer 2015 Trip-- Part 2: Another Day Driving, Grazing and Shopping

July 21, Tuesday

Took the road from the LaQuinta 6.7 miles south to US-33 and then that to West Virginia.  Only 4 stoplights and speed limits at least 55 mph and as high as 70 on the limited access stretches.  There are even two rest areas on this stretch, something you don't often see on US highways.

Stopped at Dogpatch Crossing for gas.

Then I took I-77 to Charleston after which it turned into the West Virginia Turnpike and into Virginia.  Made my usual stop at the Virginia Welcome Center for my peanut fix.  Then a fill up at the cheapest gas place on the trip, Wytheville, Virginia, where gas was $2.36, cheapest of the trip.

On into N.C. and a stop at Mt. Airy where I was too late for that porkchop sandwich, but did manage to graze at Golden Corral.  Back to I-74/US-52 to Winston-Salem then US-421 to I-40.  Unfortunately I hit the Raleigh-Durham area right in the midst of rush hour, never a good thing, but not as bad as it could have been.  Then got on US-70 east to Goldsboro.

I stopped at J-Rs and thought I would get out of there without buying anything until I happened upon the Christmas store section.  Also stopped at a Wal-Mart to stock up on my CheerWine, a N.C. favorite.

Arrived at Mom's and found out that my brother Bob had caught an opossum in his basement.  Later, he called to say he had caught another one.

One Possum, Two Possum.  --RoadDog


REDNECK COMPUTER TERMS:  BAR CODE--  Them's the fight'n rules down da local tavern.

Mom and My Lincoln Highway Cruise

Several years ago, I think 2004, Mom and I drove back to Illinois from Goldsboro, NC, so we could attend the gathering to honor Don Schrickel in Green Bay, Wi. He was a BIG-Time Packer fan and it was held at Brett Favre's Steakhouse. Don worked with Dad at Quaker Oats and the family lived about seven streets over in one of the biggest 1960s subdivisions, Winston Park in Palatine, as built by the Winston-Muss Builders.

We stopped in Mt. Airy, NC, Andy Griffith's hometown and what he based Mayberry on in his popular TV series. She's been there on a bus tour and we stopped at Snappy Lunch, which was mentioned on the show. I had the best porkchop sandwich ever. This place has not changed since the 30s, and the owner grills right at the window so you can see what he's doing. It's only open until 2, and you'd better get there early, as there were probably thirty people waiting for the 30 seats when we left at noon.

Anyway, to get back to the Lincoln Highway, we drove the superslab (roadie term for the interstate) to Canton, Ohio, where we spent the night. I had my first visit to a Faoli's, the poor man's Olive Garden. Great food.

We then got on the Lincoln Highway the next morning and drove through Ohio to Indiana. This is what brings me to why I'm writing about this trip.

The Ada, Ohio, Herald says that ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) is going to put Lincoln Highway markers up along the various alignments. I sure wish they had them up when we went through as we lost the alignment quite often. Fortunately, it usually followed current US Highway 30, but even so. Mom got very good at spotting the unique Lincoln Highway markers that were set out by the Boy Scouts in 1928, after US-30 had replaced LH.

Also, this past weekend, Van Wert, Ohio, had their annual Peony Festival. Evidently, there are a lot of commercial peony operations in the area. They had a parade, vendors, elected a queen, and had a tour of homes featuring the plant. One even had a peony tree dating back to 1917.

Mom and I had an excellent dinner at the 1920s Balyeat's Restaurant in Van Wert, and had a very interesting talk with the waitress who was in her 80s and had been a German war bride, having met and eventually married an American GI, and moving to the US. She had been working at Balyeat's since 1947.

Been Cruisin' the Old Lincoln. --RoadDog