Heaven Pie.
Daddy and his girls.
On the Gulf.
Bicentennial Park.
Nerd Alert in Nashville.
Exploring the Mammoth Cave Gift Shop.
Grouchy-Puss Erin is camera shy today...
The idea of a road trip hatched long before it ever occurred. Its final form was the result of minimal funding and my mother's strong will. When it came time to buy plane tickets, they were far beyond our budget, and the rental car became the next best option. However, as is the way of mothers everywhere, Phyllis was "the decider" and declared herself unwilling to allow us to set foot in a rental. She ponied up her own car, and planning continued.
As usual, we packed enough food for 8 growing boys rather than two delicate flowers such as ourselves. We crammed all our treats and treasures into the car, leaving a Gunner-sized nest on the backseat, where he road out the adventure.
Day 1: Erin had to work, or go to class, or something of a lame nature until mid-afternoon. I arrived with the Gman in tow, made room for her gear, and we were off. A sudden blizzard slowed us slightly as we neared the Ohio border, but in reality it was more a spectacle than a nuisance, producing only big, puffy flakes that bobbed around before landing and melting on the asphalt. Then the rain came, and followed us for the remainder of our time in Michigan, as well as Ohio, and Kentucky. We arrived in Harrodsburg, KY around 10pm and spent our first night with dear family friends whom I hadn't seen in years. We stayed up late into the early morning hours talking with Christine and generally basking in her truly inspiring being. After a beer and a walk around the farm, it was bed time -- though Carmen the beagle had other plans. She dashed off snuffling after some animal, only to return hours later and implore us to follow her to what she'd found.
Day 2: Christine treated us the next morning to a feast of blueberry pancakes, and Dawson regaled us with name and instrument of each attendee at his shell party. We stayed and enjoyed the company and conversation of our hosts until time dictated our departure. We took off in the direction of Louisville, but soon decided we should skip Churchill Downs in favor of a relaxed pace in the afternoon. Instead, we headed to Elizabethtown, yes that one. We arrived in a deluge and attempted to navigate the surprisingly vacant town. Once we had our bearings, we made a stop at the Vault Cafe, where we were plied with exquisitely greasy fare and sweet tea until we thought we might not walk again. After learning all we needed to know about the town (that it looked nothing like the film and boasted few open businesses) we drove on toward Mammoth Cave. We arrived in the park just as the rain stopped and purchased tickets to the final tour of the day. Having been there before I was aware of what this tour was lacking -- chiefly a giant cave. The tour was short and informative, but skipped the more impressive bits in favor of a history lesson. Our tour guide was fabulous, however, and coached me as to how I might best begin my career as a park ranger - watch out Ranger Degue! After our tour, we drove south toward Nashville, arriving just after sunset. We collected ourselves and headed out for a night on the town. Seeing as it was a Friday night, we were appalled at the utter lack of night life: outside of karaoke bars and a Kid Rock concert, entertainment was thin on the ground. We had a delicious dinner and cocktails before turning in.
Day 3: We woke around 8 to check out of our hotel. After discovering that the "free breakfast" consisted of mini Sara Lee donuts, we packed up the car and headed back into the city for a picnic in Bicentennial Park. It's fair to say that this picnic saved Nashville in our minds. After a wonderful breakfast en plein air, we took an unguided walking tour of the city. What a fabulous town. It seemed to us that only the college kids and tourists had been out the night before, and Saturday morning brought the re-emergence of actual residents. The town was not only very attractive, but entertaining, even on a budget of $0.
We were sad to leave Nashville after our wonderful morning, but Montgomery, AL was calling our names. We arrived just in time for lunch, but were more in need of a restroom than a picnic. We scoured the downtown area only to realize nothing -- NOT A THING -- was open. The one cafe in town was closed on weekends, clearly on there to serve the work a day crowd. After settling on a rather unsavory gas station (where the ladies room key was chained to a hubcap), we headed back to Freedom Park and cracked to cooler for another abundant picnic. We had planned to see the park as well as the 16th Street Baptist Church, which was conveniently located across the street from the park. After killing both birds we made note of how completely depressing the town was (more bombed out that Detroit), and moved on.
We drove straight East from Montgomery until we reached Atlanta. Our sole purpose in stopping here was to nab a slice of lemon icebox pie at the Silver Skillet. We drove south of the city and stopped at a Waffle House to determine where to stay the night and have some vittles. However, as we pulled off the road, we noticed traffic heading north back into the city was at a standstill. We debated whether to stay or move on until the worst service in the world drove us south.
We had intended to drive the next day until reaching Ocala, FL and then spend the next morning with Erin's grandparents in Punta Gorda before crossing the causeway to Sanibel. However, as we neared Ocala, it became clear that spring break was in full swing, and there was no room at the inn. After literally 4 hours of searching, we finally found a room in Punta Gorda. We checked in at 6.30am, received a generous locals' discount, sneaked Gunner into the room and crashed.
Day 4: We awoke early and headed for the GP's condo. After a tour of the joint, a wonderful surprise lunch and some good conversation, we had to hit the road again. We arrived on the Island shortly thereafter and I gave Erin a quick tour. We got to the house and after acquiring bicycles, we took a leisurely stroll down to the Lazy Flamingo, my requisite first-day-home dinner spot.
Day 5 - Day 9: The days we spent on the island are a total blur. I remember compulsively over-eating, laying on the beach, meeting old friends at the Bean for chats over lemonade, and relaxing bike rides (well, maybe not ALL relaxing).
Day 10: We hit the road around 10am, headed for Savannah, GA. We, as you may have noticed, planned a great deal of our trip around food. Thus, it should come as no surprise that we hoped only to dine in Savannah before heading further north. However, our dreams were dashed by an evil automated reservation system, and we re-routed back to Atlanta. We arrived late that night and, after an unpleasant run-in with the clerk at a rather janky Days Inn, we went to sleep. I had also become separated from my wallet earlier in the day, which made paying for the room that much more of a treat. A day had never been shittier, and bed had never looked so good.
Day 11: After about 3 hours sleep, we jumped out of bed and made haste to leave the hell-tel. We arrived at the Silver Skillet 10 minutes after opening and, much to our surprise, there were only 2 slices of lemon ice box pie left! After the most wonderful slice of heaven, we were treated to sammiches on homemade biscuits and never-ending coffee. We rolled ourselves to the car and continued north. Somewhere around Ohio we kicked ourselves for not having taken that second slice for the road. We arrived in East Lansing around 9 that night, pleased with our early return, we said good night, and I drove back East toward home.
As does all travel, this trip provided us with some wonderful insights, here are a few of my favorites:
If you lose your wallet in the vicinity of a Starbucks, call there first, because their employees are actually angels in baristas' aprons just waiting to help you out.
Regardless of what you say, your grandparents will stuff you with food you didn't think you needed. This does often result in the ingestion of thousands of calories, but also in the discovery of new favorites, like key lime pie.
Just because they seem nice on the Food Network, doesn't mean they want you in their restaurant. Trust the Splendid Table, not the Lady and Sons.
A kennel that charges $5 a day, is probably not worth it.
Children do best without TV. Yes, I can hear the flutes.
Coconuts on the ground need not be opened.
Captiva is NOT 6 miles away.
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