On the trip to Nashville, both Karen and I had the chance to sample some good food. As usual, I try my best to avoid any place that I can visit here on Long Island, especially 'fast food' joints. So most of the 'usual suspects' are off the list. I do, however, visit 'fast food' places that we do not have here. Who knows, maybe I'll find one that's really good!
First night on the road found me just outside of Roanoke, VA after a good day's drive. A busy little intersection off of I-70, with lots of places to eat. Not knowing the area well, I asked the desk clerk which would be a good choice, and was told that "Angelles Diner" has good food. Also, it was 'BBQ Special' night, and they would be offering ribs, brisket, and pulled pork dinners. So off I went to find Angelles.
Not too far up the road, and the parking lot was jammed, usually a good indication that the place has good food. And yes, the place was packed, with a pretty good wait for a table. So I decided to sit at the counter, which had one seat open, instead of taking up a table that could seat up to four just for myself. Took a few minutes for the waitress to come over, but once she did, the service was friendly and quick. I chose the pulled pork sandwich dinner, which came with fries and cole slaw. Unfortunately, the counter was tight, and I didn't get the chance to get a photo of the food. The pork was fine, slightly smoky, a little sweet on the finish, served on a warm potato roll with just a dab of a rather bland bbq sauce. A few generous drops of Texas Pete sauce fixed that! The fries were good; crinkle cut, served piping hot, crispy, just the right amount of salt, no ketchup needed. The cole slaw may have been the highlight of the meal. It was creamy and had just the right balance of sweet/vinegar flavor to really balance out the pork. Most of you know I have a lot of 'texture' and 'mixing' issues with my food, and although I wouldn't care for the mouth feel of it, I bet the slaw ON the sandwich would have been good. That's the good of the visit to Angelles, now you get the bad. Sitting at the counter, I could see all the 'cooking' being done, as you can see in this photo.
The place has two half size flat top grills, four deep fryers, a couple of warming pots for sauces, but nowhere did I see an oven, or any sort of steam table. From what I can tell, the only items that got 'cooked' on the flat top were burgers, bacon, chicken breasts, grilled cheese sandwiches, and eggs. So how do they 'cook' the rest of the menu? Well, I observed an order of meat loaf being prepped. Individual slices of the loaf, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap, are taken out of the fridge, placed on a plate, covered with the plastic wrap, and shoved into the microwave. And all of the 'sides', such as corn, beans, mashed potatoes, they're placed in little dishes, and zapped as well. In fact, the busiest appliance I saw there was the microwave! Now, the bbq items are smoked out back in an outdoor smoker; but so much of the food is prepped in the microwave that it's difficult to say what's being 'cooked' in this place, and what's being supplied by a food service company and just heated up. Not what comes to mind when you're talking 'diners', which traditionally do all the cooking on site. Let the eater beware, choose carefully here, or you'll be rewarded with what is basically a store bought tv dinner!
Friday night was dinner in Nashville at the Harp and Fiddle; I reported on this meal over on Facebook, so if you're interested, you can check my posts there. On Saturday, Karen joined me, and the food tour began with a place my friend Diane recommended, The Pub.
Located on 11th street, right downtown, this is a fun, lively, enjoyable English Pub. We had just finished touring the Country Music Hall of Fame, and it was lunchtime. So in we went. Light eating was our plan, since we were hoping to get bbq for dinner. So we started with a shared appy, their Bellhaven Beer Cheese spread. Nice sharp cheddar with Scottish Ale, served with pretzels, celery, carrots, and cucumber for dipping. Karen opted for water, while I spied an old friend on draft; Carlsburg! Hadn't had one of them for a long time, and it did not disappoint. Crisp, nicely chilled, good finish, it went well with the excellent cheese dip. For our lunches, we did salads, Karen had the 'Wedge", while I had the "Cranberry Pecan Salad". Took a while to arrive, but when they did, we had nice crisp fresh greens, just enough extras, and good dressings. Solid meal, just what we wanted at lunch.
Off we went to the hotel, unfortunately, although we got there almost an hour after 'check in' time, our room was not ready. The hotel made up for that with a couple of free drinks and appetizers, so we each had a Bloody Mary, which was outstanding. We later found out that the secret was the mix they use, a brand called "Zing Zang", which is surprisingly, low in both calories and sodium. It's apparently available at Wal-Mart and Target, so we're now in search mode!
Dinnertime came, and we set out to try Martin's BBQ, a highly rated place in Nashville. The line, however, to quote A Christmas Story, stretched all the way back to Terre Haute! We knew there was another location, out in Nolensville, so we headed out that way. Of course, when we got there, the line was just as long, and since we had tickets to the Grand Ole Opry, we chose to move on and grab a burger at Highway 55.
This is a franchise place, fairly new, and it's kind of nice. Clean, bright inside, decorated with faux Route 66 and 'cruisin' articles, it had the look of a place that only recently opened.
Found a table, and over came one of the very young folks working there with menus and a welcoming smile. Of course, burgers are the reason you come here. Karen opted for the "Andy's Cheeseburger" special, which came with fries and a drink. The waitress was happy to substitute half an order of onion rings for half the fries, which was nice. The burger actually came out looking like this shot from their menu.
I went for the bacon cheeseburger with fries. Like most places the burgers are all cooked the same way, well done, but they're not dry. Both burgers were juicy, hot, and well topped. The fries were thin crinkle cut, and were pretty good, as were the onion rings. Unfortunately, someone behind the line must have missed the 'bacon' on my order, 'cause there was none on my burger. When the waitress came over to check on us, we mentioned this, and within a few minutes, the Manager of the place was over, apologizing and offering us coupons for our next visit. Good service. We decided to treat ourselves to a small custard before we left.
Custard is really popular in the midwest, and there are chains that feature it predominantly on their menus. It's sort of like soft serve ice cream, but has egg in it, which gives it a softer texture and a more rich taste. Toppings were included, Karen had hot fudge and peanut butter cups, while I got cherries. Good way to top off a meal which we both enjoyed. Since this is a franchise, and a fairly new one, I'd say if you spot one of these places, it's worth a visit.
Sunday morning rolled around, and we had definite plans for breakfast in mind. One of those places that we don't have here on Long Island, the legendary Waffle House!
It's been a long time since I stopped at one of these places, I think it was when Billy was in the Marines and I visited him in Jacksonville NC, we went there for breakfast. We were up and out of the hotel by 8, and the place was already packed. This location was on the small side, there were only 3 tables and the counter. Fortunately, there were two stools at the counter, so we grabbed them and sat down. Got our menus, and gave them the once over.
Of course, breakfast is sort of their specialty, and they serve the full breakfast menu 24 hours a day. Coffee came, good, but not spectacular; hot, but a little on the weak side. Freshly brewed however, as we watched new pots being brewed the entire time we were there. We decided that we had to get a waffle; after all, the name of the place is.....Karen got hers with bacon, crispy, and I chose sausages. One of the fun things to do at this place is to watch the team behind the counter get the orders done. I counted 7 people working at this little place, and they were like a well oiled machine.
One person doing waffles; one cooking the eggs; one doing hash browns and other sides; one doing meats. And everyone pitching in on coffee, drinks, working the register, and cleaning up. Let me tell you, these people work damn hard, and are always moving. The fact that these tiny shops serve as many people as they do, and remain pretty darn clean is a testament to the employees. The food arrived, hot, and well cooked. The waffles? Well.....to be honest, not the best waffles in the world.
Karen's was a bit soft, with no crispiness to it; mine was better, but both lacked something in the flavor department. A little Vanilla in the batter would have gone a long way. Served with 'buttery spread' (?) and 'maple syrup', overall, they were okay. Karen's bacon was indeed 'crispy' and had good flavor, while my two small sausage patties had just the right amount of pepper to give them a little bite. For the first meal of the day, it was fine, and now we can say we've been, and don't have to return for a while.
After a bit of shopping for Halloween things for the grandkids, we went back to the hotel for a bit, where we had a cup of coffee and sat outside in the courtyard, enjoying the sun and the summer like weather. Around 11:30, my buddy Wayne texted us that he was at the hotel, and asked if we'd like to get lunch. A bit later, we met him, and headed back out on the road, to make a third attempt to eat at Martin's BBQ out in Nolensville.
This time, the food Gods were on our side, as we had just a short wait to order. At Martin's, you order at the counter, and a waitstaff brings the food out to your table.
Typical bbq stuff, ribs, brisket, pulled pork, with sides such as slaw, mac and cheese, green beans, bbq beans, the usual. Wayne chose the loaded baked potato, a huge spud topped with brisket, cheese, bacon, whatever they seem to have had lying around got tossed onto this bad boy. And, served with a pancake! Karen and I got a rack of baby back ribs, green beans, hush puppies, and house made potato chips. Wayne chose "Stewart's Cream Soda" for his drink, while I got "RC Cola"; both served ice cold in glass bottles. Wayne enjoyed his briskety potato. The brisket was moist, tender, well smoked, and needed very little sauce. Our ribs were, pretty good, but they'd been overcooked a bit. The meat had no 'tug' to get off the bone. In fact, while we were trying to cut the ribs apart, most of the meat just fell off into the plate.
Flavor was good, but not great; after all we'd heard about this place, I have to say, we were a little disappointed in it. The green beans, canned, were overly salty; for me to say that, you know they were too salty! The hushpuppies were pretty good, but, like the ribs, they'd been left in the fryer about a minute too long, as the outside was well past the 'golden brown and delicious' stage.
Flavor and texture were good, however, they were fine. The best item we had was the potato chips. They were crisp, warm, and had a touch of bbq seasoning on them. Overall, I'd go back, but I'd sure pass on the place if the line was as long as we saw over the weekend.
Dinner on Sunday was just a salad for Karen, and a bowl of onion soup for me in the hotel restaurant. Both were acceptable, with Karen's salad being the better of the two choices, as the onion soup was served lukewarm (heated in the microwave, I'd bet), and was rather bland. Dessert, however was good, a nice warm peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream Nice light dinner after two filling meals earlier in the day.
Monday's breakfast and lunch were supplied by the hotel to all of us who were doing the CPO Instructor School. Nice buffet at breakfast, eggs, bacon, potatoes, oatmeal, fruit, cereal. Pretty much whatever you liked. Lunch was a "Mexican" buffet, with salad, corn and bean relish, tortilla soup, and both chicken and beef fajitas. Both meals were just fine.
Dinner on Monday found us back at The Pub, as most of us from the Education Committee took our friend Connie Sue out for her birthday. There were 18 of us, and the staff at The Pub did a great job, given that they had about two hours notice that we were coming in. Since I reviewed this place at lunchtime on Saturday, I'll just say that all the food that was ordered that night was very good. Karen and I shared an appetizer, a 'Scotch Egg'. For those who don't know, this is a hard cooked egg, which is surrounded with sausage meat and then deep fried. Served with a little spicy mustard, it was a great starter, we really enjoyed it. And the Carlsburg was again terrific!
Tuesday morning came, and with it, Karen had to leave to get back to NY and a desk full of work. We again had breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the hotel, as we were teaching all day, and had a meeting at dinner time. However, I did slip out at lunchtime, since I had the afternoon off, and got my own lunch. Imagine my delight as we had been driving around the area by the hotel and spotted this:
Yeah, it's Jack. You've all heard about this enough from me, so I'll sum up the lunch in two words: Monster Tacos!
Back on the road Wednesday to get home, so nothing much to say about the food on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I stopped for the night in a very small town in West Virginia, and food choices were poor; McDonald's, Taco Bell, two convenience stores, and KFC. I caved, and went to KFC, only because for a limited time, they've brought back their 'Nashville Hot Chicken'. I'd tried this last summer and it wasn't bad. Three white meat tenders, doused with a pretty good hot sauce, served with dill pickles and a biscuit. Served the purpose, filled me up, and off to bed I went.
On Thursday, I'd timed my trip so that I would get home mid-afternoon, providing the traffic wasn't totally lousy. That put me on I-78 in Pennsylvania late in the morning, and after a quick stop for gas, had me passing route 100 in Trexlertown right at 12 noon. Some of you know what that means, I was at the right spot, at the right time, for a PA classic;
Yocco's Hot Dog King! This is a small chain, four or five locations, that's been around for 50+ years. They serve a very unique dog, a local variation of a chili dog. There's a sign that explains it pretty well:
Well done for sure, the dogs here have a real 'char' to the outside of them. A 'Medford' dog doesn't seem to be anything special, they're rather small, decent texture, but, like most dogs outside of the NY area, on the bland side. The charring of the outside definitely helps with the flavor. I got two 'with everything', a small order of fries and a drink. Total cost, $6.30, very reasonable.
The chili sauce is applied by quickly dipping the dog into the chili pot. It's applied very thinly all over the dog, as opposed to most places, where they dollop the chili on top of the dog. I pulled back the bun on one of these to give you an idea:
Looks icky, doesn't it? Yeah, it does. So here's tip number one; don't pull the bun back on a Yocco dog! Squirt a little mustard on it, as I did, and leave it like this:
Then just put your brain on hold, and enjoy it! The steamed bun is warm and has good flavor, decent texture, and goes well with the dog. The dog, as noted, a bit bland, but works well with the chili sauce, which is mild and more on the style of Cincinnati chili, savory, but not like hot Texas red chili. The onions are mild and add a nice crispness to the whole deal. You can get cheese on your dog, but from past visits I know it's just a slice of white American (which is just wrong; American cheese should be yellow) placed under the dog, not worth the .50c upgrade. However, you do need the mustard; without it, it's just not as good. The fries were thin crinkle cut, hot, crispy, just fine. I should note that on this visit, the dogs were good. Last time I was here, they hadn't been cooked quite enough, they were not really hot, and didn't have enough 'char' on them. I was disappointed, but this time, all good. Yocco's has a cool side dish for those of you who've had enough fries. They serve Pierogies!
And there you have it, the long tale of the food to and from Nashville. Fun trip, it was great having Karen with me for part of it. She's a great traveling companion, she puts up with all of my nonsense, is willing to eat at places she probably wouldn't visit herself, and supports all of my trips, blogging, and interests. Now time to give my stomach a bit of a rest before I venture out on the road again!
With apologies to the Marx Brothers for stealing their movie title, I'd like to take a few minutes and review the night Karen and I had at the 'opera'. In this case, actually, the 'Opry', as in the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
When I realized that Karen and I were going to be in Nashville on Saturday night, one of the first things that came to mind was getting tickets to the Grand Ole Opry. It's pretty much a given that if you have the chance to see this show, you really should go. Regardless of your feelings about Country Music, the place, the show, and the performers are pretty iconic. With a little searching, I managed to get two tickets to the late show (9:30), as the early show had been sold out for weeks. Seems pretty typical, the 7 pm show regularly sells out; the 9:30 we were at was also pretty much full, with just a scattering of empty seats in the balcony all the way at the sides.
For those who don't know, the Opry show was at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville until about 1974. At that time, the show was outgrowing the Ryman, and so a new complex was planned. The 'new' Grand Ole Opry building is a magnificent structure, with a seating capacity of 4,400 in the auditorium, and it's located in the 'Opryland Hotel' complex, which also includes a fairly large shopping mall. Quite a big facility, and on Saturday nights, it gets very busy.
Outside the theater is a large plaza where you congregate before entering the building. There are refreshment stands, sponsor booths, bars, and other attractions that you can browse through while waiting for the doors to open. On Saturday, there was a young girl singer performing on a small stage adjacent to the doors to the Opry. It's like going to a fair outside before the show starts.
The doors open, and in you go. We had good seats, on the floor, in the rear portion of the theater. Here's a shot I took from our seats:
Pretty good view, and they have large screens throughout the theater for those who'd like a closer look at the show. The acoustics are great, the bench seats are upholstered and comfortable; a great place to see a show.
And what a show! For our performance, there were 9 performers, plus the Opry Band, and the Opry Square Dancers. It's important to remember that this show is actually a live radio broadcast (over WSM 950 AM), and so you are not so much at a concert, as you are in the audience for a radio show. Which means, commercials! Every few songs, they do a live read commercial for one of the sponsors. On Saturday, that was 'Dollar General', and 'Humana'. During these commercials, the acts can be changed. It's a pretty efficient format.
The show is divided into four segments; three 'hosted' performances of a couple of performers, and a final performance by the nights headliner. The first host we had was Jeannie Seely. At age 76, this longtime member of the Opry looked good, and sounded great.
Her first hit was back in 1966, "Don't Touch Me". She closed her portion of the show with a very strong rendition of "Ode To Billie Jo", during which she showed off a quite a voice - this gal has some set of pipes! The first act we saw was a duo, "Ben and Sarah", two songwriters who were making their first appearance at the Opry. They did two songs, and one of them, "Let's Switch to Wine" was really good. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a photo of them, I guess they're a little too new. Up next was Mike Snider, another longtime member of the Opry, who originally played with Grandpa Jones, and who was on "Hee Haw" for a couple of seasons.
His group did a medley of three songs, all very strong 'country' instrumentals, and they were quite good. Time for our next host, John Conlee.
Another well known singer, John had a string of hits from about 1978 to 2004. He did his first hit record, "Rose Colored Glasses", and showed a very strong voice. His patter between songs was quite entertaining, he even invited the entire audience to visit his church for services on Sunday! You could see why he's still a very popular member of the Opry, he was a lot of fun. John introduced the next act, a true Opry legend, Roy Clark.
Many of you will remember Roy from "Hee Haw", and from his many television appearances through the years (check him out as guest star on the old Odd Couple show; hilarious!). Now, at age 83, he's slowed down a bit, he needed some help getting on and off the stage, but he did two songs, and still managed to show off some of his guitar picking. Any time you get to see a legend.....
Up next, John introduced a band that has become a very popular country act, one that morphed over from the pop side of music, Exile.
They did two songs, and were terrific. For their second song, they did their big pop hit from 1978, 'Kiss You All Over', but before kicking it off, they brought out Trace Adkins to start the song. They sounded great, and were a surprise high point of the show. Their musicianship was excellent, their voices have held up, and they got the audience into the show. As they left the stage, and after a commercial or two, it was time for our third host, Ricky Skaggs.
Ricky has been a popular performer at the Opry since the 70's. He was formerly in Emmylou Harris' band, and is a highly regarded player. His work on the Mandolin was phenomenal. I can't imagine how anyone can play an instrument so fast and not hit wrong notes, but Ricky did, and he and his band sounded great. Ricky brought out Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, a four man vocal group that performed two gospel songs.
These guys were simply amazing. Four incredible voices, intricate and perfectly sung harmonies, and energy to the max! They had the crowd on their feet for their performance, and were a joy to see.
A quick performance by the Opry Square Dancers, another great tune by Ricky Skaggs, and it was time for the closing act, the headliner, Trace Adkins.
Trace is probably familiar to many of you from his appearances on "The Celebrity Apprentice" and other television shows. His first album came out in 1995, and Trace has been a popular artist ever since then. His band was excellent, and Trace was in great voice as he did several songs, including his hits "You're Gonna Miss This", and "Ladies Love Country Boys". Out of all the acts we saw, this is one that I would go see, should he come through my area.
And that was the show, two full hours of really well played and well sung music, by performers who were gracious, entertaining, and who seemed like they really wanted to be on that stage performing.
Country music really isn't my thing. However, I heard a lot of it growing up, as my Dad, a skinny Irish kid from the lower east side of Manhattan, loved it. He'd been a fan of big band music when he was young, and even played drums in a couple of bands. But as he got older, he really took to Country. He was a big fan of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, and the rest of the 'traditional' Country artists. He'd play cassette tapes of their music over and over in his car going to and from work, and loved putting the albums on the big stereo set in our living room. So while I can't claim to be a 'fan', as you all know, I love music, and there was something about the music we heard at the Opry that was really good. It was presented in a fun atmosphere, very high energy, and it was hard not to appreciate both the skill of the performers as well as their enthusiasm.
Gotta give the Opry a huge thumbs up; if any of you are ever in Nashville on a Saturday night, or for that matter, any night there is a show at the Opry, go. Don't think you won't enjoy it, for you surely will.
This will be the final post from the long trip to St. Louis and back; sure was a fun filled week, here's the last couple of days.
Up and out early on Saturday after doing Route 66 on Friday. Good weather, light traffic, and the Yellow Fish running well, a good way to start the day. On to I-55 North we go, heading up to catch I-80 East for the ride home. Of course, the Interstates don't give you the scenic fun that you get on Route 66, or The Lincoln Highway, but you can make much better time on them.
80 East is a pretty direct run to NY, but again, the old car struggles to do more than about 65, and honestly, too much faster than that begins to feel a little scary. Four wheel non power drum brakes, and the engine screaming like a banshee will do that to you. Still, I made pretty good time, and managed to get all the way to Clarion PA by dinner time. Found a local motel which used to be a Microtel, clean and reasonably priced, and plenty of food and stores nearby, including two auto parts shops. On an impulse, I checked to see if either of them had a pcv valve for the car, since I think the one on the engine is clogged, contributing to the oil smoke that I've been putting out. Unfortunately, both of them had to order the part, so I just picked up a couple of quarts of oil, gassed the car, and started the search for dinner.
I had asked at the hotel, and the desk clerk suggested either the local "Roadhouse", burgers, steaks, ribs, etc, or the Mexican place just up the road, Cozumel. The Roadhouse was a little further up, and in a busy shopping center, so my guess was that it would be busy on a Saturday night. The Mexican place, however, was in the lobby of the local "Econolodge", and I figured it shouldn't be too bad. I checked the menu out on my phone, it looked good, so that was it.
Not just Mexican, but "Authentic" as well! Nice enough little place, off the motel lobby, three or four big screen televisions, all running NCAA football, a full bar in the corner of the dining room, and the usual "Mexican" decorations throughout. Like many Mexican places, a large menu, most of the usual dishes, but also a bunch of "American" offerings, including burgers, chicken sandwich, grilled cheese, pizza, and even hot dogs! As tempted as I was to see how they'd do some of these, common sense, for once, got the best of me and I stuck with the Mexican fare.
Started off with the usual, tortilla chips and salsa; sign says only one 'free' serving, additional portions are $3.50 each. Must be to discourage the drinkers from doing basket after basket with their drinks.
And there you go! Dos Equis amber, on draft, perfect way to wash down a good meal. The chips were pretty good, although a touch overcooked, which gave them a kind of 'nutty' flavor; and, much like the last place I'd been, they needed salt, they were totally bare. The salsa was pretty good, not real chunky, not real smooth. Nice flavor, a hint of garlic, but not much heat; once again, a couple of shakes from the hot sauce on the table fixed that!
Some nice choices for dinner, plenty of seafood, and steak items, but I was in a chicken mood. and one item caught my eye, "Chicken A La Diablo". Described as white meat chicken in a spicy tomato/herb sauce. Served, of course, with the requisite refried beans and Mexican rice.
Good portion size, plenty of chicken, and lots of the deep, dark red sauce. The meal was served with warm flour tortillas, so you could put chicken and rice together in them and make sort of a burrito. But, first, let's check out the spice level; HOT! Nice spicy sauce, with just a hint of sweetness at the finish, very good. The beans were typical, probably canned, but hot, good cheese on them. The rice was also good, with a little zing and a hint of garlic. Using the tortillas, I did two portions as burritos, then cleaned the plate with the fork. A second Dos Equis to finish the meal and relax a bit, and done. And, a bargain to boot, just under $20 before tip, and that included two cold frosty beers. So...if you're ever in Clarion PA, this spot gets a thumbs up! Back to the room, catch some television, speak to Karen, and bed. Looks like I'll get home on Sunday afternoon instead of Monday. The benefits of pushing myself to do over 500 miles today.
Sunday dawns cloudy and misty, and a little on the chilly side. Grab a cup of coffee at the convenience store next door, up the road and back on to I-80. Boy, it IS chilly! Gotta crank up the heat in the car (because, like an idiot, I didn't take any sort of jacket or sweatshirt with me), which actually works very well, and I settle in for the ride. The morning passes quickly enough, and I'm making pretty good time. As I approach the 200 mile driven mark, I stop for gas, which will give me enough to make it home without having to stop again. Off we go, and into New Jersey, and with that, the rain starts, slowly at first, but building by the minute. Just what you don't want in this car, with the aforementioned borderline climate controls, and the silly little wiper blades, which have only one speed. But what choice is there? Gotta get home, so I fiddle with the defroster, and keep putting the wipers on and off, as I head east. About halfway through Jersey, I notice a little 'chirp chirp' sound coming from somewhere, but I can't pinpoint it. Rolling along, and the noise gets louder...and chaned from a chirping sound to more of a screeching, almost grinding sound. Yeah, now I recognize it; it's the speedometer. It used to make this sort of sound in the cold weather, but hasn't done so for a long time now. And the further I go, the louder it gets. It's intermittent, starting, stopping...and it goes on for a while. Then, about 5 miles from the Jersey Turnpike, it gets really loud, and the speedometer starts jumping up and down, sweeping wildly from side to side; then, a loud 'snap' sound, and the speedometer, and odometer, are dead. And, the noise has stopped. I think the speedometer cable finally gave up and broke. Fortunately, none of this affects the operation of the car, so I push on. Over the GW, down the Degan, across the Triboro, and onto the Grand Central. It is now really pouring, there are large puddles on the road, and it's getting a little dicey pushing the old car through. But, I persevere, and finally pull into the driveway right around 2:30. Made it!
A terrific trip, approximately 2,200 miles, just over a week's time from when I left, and loads of fun along the way. And, after doing this trip in the old car, boy, do I have even more respect for my Dad, from the trips he took us on.
When you're a kid, you sit in the back of the car, watching the scenery, whining about what's on the radio, annoying your sister, you know, the usual stuff. But you never really pay attention to what's going on in the front seat; well, except for the times Dad's temper got the best of him and it would get loud. But you never realized how difficult it was, especially in those old cars, to do all those miles each day. For most of our vacation trips, Dad drove a Valiant Station Wagon which had pretty much the same engine as the Yellow Fish, and, like the Fish, no power steering or brakes, and no air conditioning. Yes, Dad's car had the automatic transmission, but once you're out on the highway, there isn't much shifting to be done with the manual, so my experience with the Fish on this trip was similar to what Dad had on all those vacations long ago. And to be honest, he'd do a lot more miles each day than I did, and on much worse roads. The Interstates weren't fully finished back in '63, and every so often, he'd hit a detour. And then it became all eyes watch for the detour signs so we can find our way back to the 'highway'. Oh boy. What a job he had. But, he loved it. Getting all of us in the car and going somewhere - anywhere, really - was one of the true joys of his life. I guess I absorbed that attitude from him, because that's the way I've always felt. When the boys were young, I really looked forward to those trips to Pennsylvania Dutch country (The Red Caboose Motel!), Niagara Falls, Disney World - heck anywhere - because I wanted my kids to have the same great memories of being on the road with just our little family as I had from my own childhood.
And now, as you all know, being on the road to anywhere, in my car, has become one of the great joys and passions in my life. I look forward to every chance to road trip; going to see Karen's son Dennis, in NC; up to Saratoga for State Recreation Society meetings; anywhere I go for CPO Courses; off to see minor league hockey games with the boys; doesn't matter, really, when I'm out in the car, I'm having fun!
So that's it, the St. Louis trip is in the books. And in a nice little twist, I've written this from my hotel room in Nashville, where I have driven for the next CPO Instructor School. And yeah, I had fun getting here, and I'll be posting a few trip reports from this ride also.
