Road trip wrap up - back home and posting after a bit of a rest.

I left Harriman early Saturday, after checking out of the hotel and dropping by Mushy's one last time to get my contraband. I was programming Killeen into the GPS system when he leaned in and said "Now get up and give me a hug", so I got up and gave him one to remember. He'd joked before that he's not used to being the short one when he hugs folks (he's huggy). So the night before I'd squatted down so he could put his arms around my head for once. Well, this time, when I squatted down and he put his arms around my head, I grabbed him around the waist and hoisted him up and shook him. He's just a little bitty thing anyway. Light as a feather. It was funny as hell to see the look on his face. I used to do that to my cousin Bob, until his back went out on him and I had to start worrying about hurting him. It's one of the joys of being this huge; I can reach things on high shelves, see over isles in stores, and pick people up and toss folks around for fun.

The drive home depressed the shit out of me all the way through Tennessee and into Arkansas. I didn't really want to go back to my regular life. Same old post-vacation crap I always feel. I took a few pictures of some of the sights of Harriman as I was jetting out of there. Regular readers of Mushy's blog should remember this place.



The Princess Theater. Sure was cool to see it, after Mushy posted about the restoration project. You can tell, listening to him talk about it, that Mushy really laments the decline of his beloved home town. It's suffering the same decline that all these old town centers have suffered, as all the big businesses have moved to strip malls along the interstates, and Wal Mart has outdone all the small mom and pop outfits. It's a bummer, but I think it's part of the same old process of change that took us from living along rivers hundreds of years ago, to living along train lines in the late 1800s, to the suburbs and strip malls along the interstates of today. Still, it's too bad that more of these sorts of communities can't find a way to revitalize their main streets, in the interest of trying to maintain that sense of home and community that guys like Mushy grew up with, and that we're so quickly loosing.



Got to Nashville by about noon, and finally got nabbed by a local twerp. Was going 70 in a 55. About a $50 ticket. No problem. Hell, If I'd gotten a ticket every time I COULD have gotten a ticket, I'd be a hurtin' puppy. I was flyin' low, and thinkin' that I was bullet proof. Shruggin' it off.



Flew low through Memphis about three hours later, and got a shot of the pyramid through the passenger window as I zipped past. Gettin' good at this sort of photography. Filled up the tank in west Memphis, at $2.45 a gallon! Wooohooo! That felt good, and peein' at the washateria down the strip was a close second.

Hit I-30 on the outskirts of Little Rock about three hours later, and stopped at Browns Country Store for my first (only) meal of the day. Was thinkin' about passin' it up though, worried that the big feed might put me to sleep behind the wheel, but then realized in the end that I had to do it. I needed to document this amazing place for you guys. Hell, I had as responsibility to my readers, for Christs sake!

I was introduced to this place back in the late 80s, early 90s, on the return trips from many canoing adventures in the Ozarks. It's like a Cracker Barrel buffet, on steroids. It purports to have a 100 foot long buffet (50 on each side).



It starts out with all sorts of salad stuff...



And then takes you through all the side items...



And then you begin to get to the main items...



And then you get down to the deep fried goodies that I love. Fried shrimp, stuffed crab, fried chicken, and hushpuppies to die for.



I made the supreme sacrifice in the interest of staying awake and not loosing too much time. I usually go for three plates at this joint; salad plate, dinner plate, and then a dessert plate. But this time I stuck with one heaping dinner plate, took a few pictures, and then jetted out in the direction of Texarkanna.



I told you it was like a Cracker Barrel on steroids...



Imagine, two floors full of the kind of crap they sell at Cracker Barrel! A tourist haven, fer sure.



Oh, and here's the dessert table, that I totally avoided this trip. I usually get a heaping plate of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and nuts sprinkled over it. Damn, what was I thinking? I'm getting hungry just writing about it.



I made it to Dallas by sunset, and zoomed down south off of I-30 onto I-35 in the direction of hearth and home. I was getting more excited about getting home the closer I got. Actually, as soon as I got into familiar territory, outside Little Rock, I started to feel a lot better and look forward to getting back to the house. The worst part of the drive was the stretch from Nashville to Little rock. Bored the shit out of me. But the stretch from Little rock to home has been burned into my brain by repeated canoe trips to The Buffalo National River, up in the Ozarks.

I was ready to get home by the time the Dallas skyline was silhouetted in my rear view mirror. My sweetie was waiting here to welcome me home. Making the turn outside Belton onto 190 west and hitting the button for the garage door about 20 minutes later, felt REALLY good, after 14 and a half hours in the saddle.



This is the final reading on the GPS. Not sure about that max speed reading. Don't remember ever hitting 116. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it, by God! I didn't have the thing turned on all the time, when I was driving around Harriman and Williamsport, so it's not totally accurate, but it was a hell of a trip.

My sweetie met me at the door, and within' 30 minutes I had unloaded the car, showered, and we had hit the sack. The rest is not really appropriate blogger fodder, since I don't want to get flagged by some prick with no sense of humor.

Anyway, here's tangible proof that things here have begun to return to normal.



I took dad to eat Chinese food at our regular place Sunday night. The old dude had been missing me, and had missed out on two Friday feeds while I was away. It was a good time.



And yes, I took a picture. The generals chicken and shrimp fried rice were to die for, but seriously, not as good as the generals sauce on those wings I had with Mushy at Wild Wings last week. Damn, that was a good time. I'll never get over it. You showed me a great time buddy, and I'll never forget how much fun it was. I'll never forget the feeling I almost instantly had of being right at home there with you and Judy. You're both very special folks to me, and the rest of the gang is included in that too.

Can't wait to bust into that wine that Gary and Charlotte gave me. We'll enjoy it, and I'll start to enjoy the cigars when I head out this week to watch my friends play pool after work. They won't recognize me, kicked back, suckin' on a stogie and sippin' a dark beer in a chilled glass. You've trained me well, Obi Wan. One of these days we'll do it again, but you guys have got to take care of yourselves so we can enjoy these times for a long time in the future. I'll come back there and beat your scrawny ass if you let anything happen to you before I can come again.

That goes for my cousin Bob and his family too. I tell ya, I'm blessed with a wealth of friends and family that mean the world to me, who are all interchangeable and solidly embraced in the bottom of my heart. These two big brothers are two of the the best friends a guy like me could hope to have. I love the both of ya to death. You'll never know how much.

Anyway, I want to say thanks to all the folks who clicked in and watched this road trip drama unfold. I love all of you too, and will get back to reading your stuff as soon as the normal week begins and I've got more time. I start a new semester in the morning, so things will be getting back to normal very quickly. Take care everyone. Cheers.

Oh, and I weighed myself today... 291 lbs. I've lost another ten! Don't even ask me how the fuck, with all the food I consumed on this trip. It must be a tumor.