Day 1 of our combo 40th
Anniversary/Retirement Road Trip.
After two full (Very Full) weeks of
"goodbyes", "tears", Thank You notes, packing memories
away, organizing, scheduling, Dr. appointments (I'll fill you in on that
catastrophe later), and dealing with the snow we finally hit the road.
As tough as it was firing up the Prius and
pointing it South the thought of leaving behind the 7 degree, windy, blowing
snow got us through.
Nine hours later we arrived at the Village
Inn in Harrisburg (recommended, btw, inexpensive, nice, clean, good location).
We had stopped on the way to satisfy
Ladd's "Arby cravings" so neither of us wanted anything heavy for dinner.
Ladd had a couple of "college town bar and
grille" options for me to pick from and we selected Jack Brown's Bar and
Burger Joint (80 S. Main, Harrisburg, VA), HIGHLY recommended - what a hoot!
Upon entering “the joint” and seeing it packed with young
college-aged kids, we wondered if we might not be served being way OVER the age
limit. We luckily found two stools at the counter and were made to feel
welcomed right away. Male companion, (aka Ladd), went with a traditional
choice: cheeseburger with grilled onions. I, being the more culinary adventurous
one <g>, chose “The Cowboy”: cheeseburger with barbeque sauce and bacon. We
shared an order of sweet-potato fries. Dipping both the cheeseburgers and the
fries in “Jack Brown’s Secret Sauce” may seem a like a little too much, but it
was worth the calories. We were seated right in front of the grill, and
watching the two young cooks in action was fun in and of itself. If you’re looking
for a “fancy” spot for dinner, this is not it. If you’re looking for the best
cheeseburger and best sweet-potato fries, this IS the spot! Yum! Then I tried
something I have never tried before. (No, it was not sky diving!) I had a fried
Oreo for dessert! I had heard about these before, but thought they would be TOO
sweet, even for this dessert aficionado. Well, the light batter with melted
Oreo inside and powdered sugar on top was HEAVEN. When the waitress asked how
we liked our food, I told I was “moving in.” Her funny, quick reply was, “Well,
we do have apartments available upstairs.” Hmmm…worth considering! I love talking with people just as much as I
enjoy eating, and we engaged in fun conversations on all sides of us: the
waitress, the young man who wants to move to N.Y.C., and a couple from Charleston,
and a girl from Lauray. My mother used to say to me, “Marilyn, you don’t have
to tell everyone everything about yourself.” But it’s too late to change now, I
guess. As Ladd and I talked about our former professions, our retirement, our
planned trip, we had them laughing. It seems we became their entertainment for
the night. As I was savoring my fried Oreo, Ladd started to tell the guy from
Charleston about my urgent cardiologist visit before we left. Ladd had not yet
gotten to the part that the visit was a “false alarm”, when this young man gets
a look of panic on his face and said to me, “I don’t think you should be eating
that.” I quickly told him that my heart
was thankfully in good shape, however, at my age I would not be able to indulge
in the fried-Oreo experience too often. What a great meal and fun time!
This morning we were the first ones to breakfast at The Village
Inn. We had a super breakfast buffet complete with fresh fruit, California
omelet, bacon, home fries, sausage-gravy biscuits, etc. (Can you hear the
arteries clogging yet?!) Now we are “on
the road again”. Nashville, here we come!
No comments:
Post a Comment