It seems like I spent much of the early parts of March preparing for some of my upcoming trips this year. For starters, I finally applied for my passport with that hideous photo from January. I also wrote to Laurel and Hardy and Our Gang co-star Buz Buckley in hopes that Bob and I might be able to meet up with him when we visit Texas. He politely responded on March 17 that he had no interest in the motion pictures and that his Mother had basically forced him into acting. And finally, I was trying to drop a few pounds in anticipation of many hearty Georgia and Texas meals, but Jackie made it difficult with her own verson of the Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana soup and homemade whipped cream to top her unbelievable brownies.
Other than that, I began renewing my interest in the music scene, picking up tons of new stuff that I had long neglected: The Flaming Lips, The Plimsouls, Sugarbomb, The Spongetones, Velvet Crush, The Greenberry Woods, The Raspberries, Jellyfish, The Jayhawks, Feist, We the Kings, and Muse just to name a slew. This interest was most certainly spurred on when I sold my old iPod and got the brand new 160GB version – perfect for revisiting that old classic program of mine The Learn Cycle. (You’ll learn about that later).
So finally the afternoon of Wednesday, March 12 arrived. I had said my goodbyes to Ashleigh that morning (and captured one last photo of her as my legal responsibility) before I headed out for work. She would be leaving for Myrtle Beach on Sunday the 16th, so I would miss her 18th birthday.
My last photo with Ashleigh the child
Chris met me at my Mom’s place about 4:00pm after I worked a short day and we loaded my stuff into his car and headed South toward our ultimate destination: Savannah, Georgia and the mega-sized St. Patrick’s Day Parade. I was mostly interested in seeing some more of the historic sights of the town, but was always up for a rousing beerfest as well.
We careened down the highway listening to my new iPod and beginning the early stages of some of the many catchphrases of the week like “That’s what she said” and “It all comes back to Annie” and simply “Angry.” There would be several more developed and honed as events of the weekend unfolded.
I knew it would be a good trip when while looking for a place to stop and eat that evening we stumbled upon the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken in Corbin, Kentucky a little after 7pm. Actually it was the building where Colonol Harlan Sanders first began cooking and serving food (mostly chicken naturally) behind his service station, which at the time was called Sanders Court and Cafe. They had re-created the famous kitchen where he perfected the eleven herbs and spices recipe. Also inside they had fashioned a modern-day KFC which served up the standard fare. In truth, it was the worst service of any KFC in history. I ordered a three piece leg and thigh meal with a biscuit. I received one thigh, one wing, and one breast – no biscuit. Oh well – I survived…and enjoyed posing for the first ‘historic’ photos of the trip.
The original Sanders Court and Cafe. I’m ready for a chicken!
It was here that the eleven herbs and spices were unearthed
That night we stayed in Maryville, Tennesse, which is just south of Knoxville. There Chris’ wife Sarah’s aunt and uncle Lisa and Rick and they kindly opened up their domecile for us to park ourselves for the night. Chris was hoping to get on the road no later than 6am on Thursday morning, so we only spent a minimal amount of time visiting with Lisa, Rick, and their sons Paul and Tim (not to mention their dogs Cagney and Lacey) before retiring to our guest area. Chris had to change rooms during the middle of the night, so my exhausted snoring didn’t keep him up before the wake-up time of 4:30.
That morning Lisa got up with us at the crack of dawn and made us a great breakfast of ham and swiss bagels and yogurt to send us off. I know we both appreciated their hospitality in giving us lodging in their complimentary ‘bed and breakfast.’ The nearly-seven-hour drive to Savannah wasn’t too bad – especially for me since Chris did all of the driving for this and the entire duration of the trip. Our music selections ranged from fifties music to Sublime and I hope Chris didn’t tire of all of my goofy greats.
Chris and I enjoy Lisa’s 5:00am breakfast
It was around half-past-noon when we finally arrived in Savannah and parked the car near Chris’ old place of emply the Roundhouse Railroad Museum and its fellow Coastal Heritage Society entity, the Savannah History Museum. Here we met up with Lydia one of Chris’ fellow CHS associates. I quickly browsed the gift shop (and the restroom) and we then headed out for lunch. Our first choice was closed so we walked over to Molly MacPherson’s Scottish Pub and Grill. We all ordered the fish and chips and had a nice lunch, mostly discussing the museums while Chris kept one eye on the soccer game on the TV above us.
Lydia, me, and Chris after consuming our good ol’ fish and chips (I can smell ’em…)
As we walked around the numerous city streets, I began to realize that my new Skechers shoes were getting a bit uncomfortable. That was okay, I thought, I still had my new Vans in the suitcase.
Thursday in Savannah will continue with lots more things…
Bypass the trip and continue with 2008…
I noticed you picked up the new CD by Feist. It’s a great album. I especially like the song ‘Brandy Alexander’.
Dave Chasteen
March 20th, 2008
That’s what she said.
Chris Tangeman
March 21st, 2008