Franklinsanity

A crank's musings on family, drink, travel, food & life

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  • Harry Potter vs the speed limit

    7:30 am, Franklin Pike, Floyd, Virgina:  the big question for today – which will come first, the end of the line in CT, or the conclusion of Goblet of Fire??

    It’s a literal race. I think we have 10 hours left of GoF (fuck GOT; Potter is where it’s at in this car; take THAT, Jon Snow). And about 10 hours of driving (see Wherebnb post). 

    It’ll be, as the Brits say, a near thing. 

    And complicated by Quinn’s occasional and entirely rational desire to, you know, talk, sing, practice her spelling (yes, for real), watch or listen to something else, or sleep. And Teddy’s desire to throw her out of the car when she expresses her desire. 

    Literally when HP isn’t on?  Constant stream of almost creepy whispering from Ted’s corner of the back seat:  “harrypotterharrypotterharrypotter…”

    I imagine that if we drive too fast and listen too slow, at least two of us will be staying in the car even if it’s finally at Ga’s in CT. 

    We’ll keep you updating on this critical issue throughout the day. 

  • Wherebnb?  Still outside Floyd

    Wherebnb?  Still outside Floyd

    7:01 am Saturday, Franklin Pike, Floyd, Va:  woke up in another loft-style cabin. Always a bit surprising, despite a life full of some odd wake ups. 

    Like Memphis, it’s an outbuilding on someone’s compound. It’s tiny, but quirky and nicely set up. But for a hot water issue – fixed with alacrity by the owner at nearly midnight – it’s another victory for sharing economy disruption. 

    As in, God knows what hotels are around here. 

    It’s beautiful, but it’s not someplace you’d set up anything other than a low-end chain motel. 

    No one fell out of the loft. The dogs are quiescent given the massive amount of white noise various devices are producing. HHW is asleep. And I only have 4-5 hours of work, vs 12. It must be Saturday. 

    It’s also the last day of the road trip, part one. 

    This makes me sad on one hand – I often find journeys are far better than destinations. On the other, I know we are all looking forward to not being in a different place every day. Not to mention not being in the car. 

    HHW and I were wondering what the hell is going through the dogs’ minds at this stage. Maybe they think the house shrunk and acquired wheels?

    Today is something like a 10 hour drive. On the plus side, we avoid major metropolitan areas and likely summer traffic, entirely. On the minus side?  It’s a 10 hour drive!

    Another plus:  not seeing much of the MFDC’s means we cut a day off the trip. That means an extra day before I get on a plane. And go right back to SF for a pitch. Wheeee!

    Of course, we Airbnb’d our house there. Maybe I will just Airbnb another??  The possibilities are endless. 

    It’s too much to contemplate, now. Instead, I will listen to the birdsong over the white noise and think about black coffee in bed. And how grateful I am for wifi. Sort of. 


  • Dogtown, and Zzzz’s

    Dogtown, and Zzzz’s

    730 pm – Floyd, VA. Sitting in a frankly rocking bar with HHW and two sleepy kids, as well as two freaked out animals. (Dogs don’t get out to bars much). 

    Drinking another fine IPA. HHW is talking with a “retired” weed farmer. And am eating the best gyro I have ever had. 

    Live music outside. All this is very surreal. However, we are on EST and have just one day to go to CT. 

    Woooot!

  • India Pale Ale

    India Pale Ale

    10:13 PM, Cookeville, TN – Well, so we ran out of the unidentified sauvignon blanc.  Fortunately, HHW also bought a sixer of … well, you can see the can.  It basically just says IPA on it.  Which works, at this stage.

    Now, the beer got a little warm in the traffic on the way here.  Have I mentioned that rush hour outside of Nashville on I-40 appears to be a total bitch?

    Solution:  stick the sixer in the freezer on arrival.  3+ hours later, fascinated to discover it not only didn’t explode all over the freezer and burst the cans…it’s an ice-cold, tasty brew.

    Assuming it’s the higher alcohol content.  Because every other time I’ve left beer in the freezer for over 2 hours, it’s ended fairly badly.  Sometimes for the freezer, sometimes for me (Stephen Shilling, if you’re reading this, let’s just recall that time on the Ridge in POW when Marguerite found our leftover stash exploded all over her frozen goods).

    Hmmm, a thunder storm.  Apparently those happen outside NorCal….

  • Nashville, or into the woods

    Nashville, or into the woods

    8:43 pm – Cookeville, TN. The only upside to mostly missing the MFDC’s (Mrs. MFDC, aka Danielle, joined us for lunch at a very cool Nashville lunch spot today):  a re-route to a superbly-designed and built cabin in the woods. 

    Craftsmanship here is incredible. Recycled, e.g., weathered and attractive wood, real metal fixtures and solid, well hung doors – combined with a poured concrete floor, beautifully set windows…and a great layout?  Amazing. It’s small, but perfect. 

    Quinn burst into tears on arriving, of course. Because there was “nothing to do in the woods.”  Translation:  desirous of more Bolt, the movie, on the computer. Remedy:  send her weeping off into the countryside. Result:  have her coming running back 10 mins later super pumped about throwing rocks into a lack and having discovered a secret path. 

    Teddy was busy wondering if he could swim and spotting dogs and cows across the way. 

    A lovely dinner and unidentifiable but serviceable bottle of SB later, it’s back to work. And hoping the kids don’t fall out of the loft. And wondering why the beautiful antique fixture over the kitchen sink is set at an antique height; it’s 2016, people and folks aren’t 5’5″ on average anymore. 

    Ah, yes finally found something about which to complain. The night is complete. 

  • Memphis Carriage House – and pig

    Memphis Carriage House – and pig

    7:23 am Memphis, TN – we’re waking up in some kind of large carriage house, set in the huge backyard of an even larger, historic home in Memphis’ Garden District. 

    I’ve been to Memphis before – but only for a bachelor party. Needless to say, we weren’t in the Garden District. And we were exhausted when we arrived, so much so that HHW and I were bickering over where the key to the Airbnb was, when in fact the owner had left the door open for us, knowing we’d arrive late. So I have no idea where the heck we are. 

    Reportedly, a pig lives in the backyard. Walking the dogs this am should be very interesting.

    Need to figure out breakfast and then get back to work. Work, work, work. 

  • Little Rock On

    Little Rock On

    8 pm – En route to the Rock, as I have decided to call it. After the real Rock, of course. 

    Enjoyed a good local IPA and grilled walleye. Q had butter noodles. HHW?  Some sort of pseudo creole stew. Ted of course had a burger. Dinner was enlivened by American Ninja on the big screen TV. 

    It’s actually hard not to watch. 

    After dinner, I took the dogs for a walk. There was a super nice, dog friendly park right near the restaurant. Too bad it was owned by a local corporation – and therefore closed hours before sunset, in what was probably the coolest part of the near-100-degree day. Was happy to let Kingsley evacuate his bladder extensively on the perfectly coiffed lawn. Or at least the part we could reach outside the fence. 

    Lots of cops outside Little Rock….good thing we have Nelly on the radio. Harry Potter, next. 

  • 100 degrees, and 98 miles to Little Rock

    100 degrees, and 98 miles to Little Rock

    5:11 pm – somewhere West of Little Rock:  good day in the car today. Very American. Starbucks for breakfast. Chick-fil-et and subs for lunch. Gas station snacks. Lots of Bible Belt roadside attractions:  crosses, Ten Commandments, Native American casinos. 

    And full entry back into humidity:  opening the car door feels like stepping out into a slightly moist blast furnace. 

    Adventure and observation today at a bit of a low ebb:  parents, when not driving, are both working somewhat frantically. 

    Mobile connectivity:  double-edged sword. 

    More trucks Han further west. Not enough custom-built, three-wheeled motorcycles adorned with skulls. Pity. 

    High point of day = Harry Potter gets past the Hungarian Horntail dragon and gets the golden egg, during the Tri-wizard tournament.  All in the car cheered. 

    Looking forward to a drink in Little Rock. Something super, super cold. That will wash away the Dr. Pepper. 

    Yes, yes. I occasionally drink Dr.Pepper. Deal with it, please. Also it’s widely available in the South. 

    Onward. 

  • On the road again soon..

    On the road again soon..

    7:41 am, Amarillo, TX:  Today was the day we were heading through Texas and Oklahoma and ultimately into Tennessee.  Now we’re re-routing – and we also apparently face some bad weather to the East.

    The kids, after a great night, managed to start the morning on the wrong foot – of course.  Some complex drama about who pushed who out of bed.

    The furry kids, at the least, are excited and don’t seem to be grumpy.

    Perhaps breakfast will help?  Onward….

  • Amarillo BBQ

    Amarillo BBQ

    8:26 PM, Amarillo, TX:  left NM, the land of enchantment, for Texas – which urged us to “drive friendly.”

    That was a lesson we’ve all taken to heart today, as some tensions – whether due to battery life, logistics/directions, lack of Hogwarts time, earphone use or dog misbehavior – surfaced.  By the time we rolled up to our Amarillo Airbnb, we’d more or less sorted it all out, with some Dad heart-to-hearts with the kids about sassing mom and each other.

    Kingsley was very helpful, as a sort of furry therapy cushion.  Oonagh?  Oonagh chased a neighborhood cat.

    If ever there was evidence of a family-time re-boot, it was our meal at Tyler’s BBQ.  Just off I-40, it’s modest.  Some would even say unpretentious.  It’s a stripped-down but friendly-red shack in a sun-blasted lot across from an unnamed hotel. In other words, it had Yelp reviews and (hopefully) the food going for it, and not much else.  (In fairness, that could be said of a lot of great BBQ joints.)

    Most importantly, though, the family hasn’t fared well at BBQ in the recent past – lots of griping about the look and feel of the food, the sauces, etc.  Tonight?  Tonight we dined like kings and the kids packed it away and asked for to-go boxes.

    Hunger and a good attitude go a long way.  The dogs were perfect and actually sat still. And bedtime was a breeze.

    Hopefully a good omen, as it appears we’ve got to skip the highlight of our trip out, i.e., a visit to our friends and great Americans, Mr. & Mrs. MFDC in Nashville, TN…due to a pan-family virus sidelining their household.

    MFDCs, we will DEFINITELY catch you on the way back!!

    HHW is busy re-routing us.  Here be dragons?

    dragons