Driving in a single day? I guess it would have to be driving 200 miles to Lexington, Kentucky to eat "The Special" at the Columbia Steak House (downtown on Limestone) and then driving back home all in the same day. I used to do this regularly in the 1980s. As to the Columbia’s "Special," they take a portion of beef tenderloin, poke it full of holes, immerse it in garlic butter for a couple of days, then serve it. It’s still there and still worth the drive. I was there last June.

Ort.,
I’m very psyched to have received the full soul-bareing answer! Have you ever read Christopher Morley’s Parnassus on Wheels?? It was one of my favorite books ever (and in keeping with this forum topic, I can say it’s a road trip book – of sorts!). I haven’t read it in years, but should revisit it.

So, you can access the library and a computer, but can you not write on it?? (Presumably you must have/use your own desktop computer for that??) Which makes sense, I reckon. Next time you come into a $100 or 2, perhaps a laptop would be a worthy investment?? (fwiw, IBM finances them…) I say that because, as I am in a… ummmmm… in-flux(??) situation of my own at present (no "real" job), I have found the laptop my greatest asset (it’s old and a bit decrepit, but it works at least!). The bonus for me is wherever I am living (I have no place of my own right now) at least I have my "stuff". Thankfully!

Good luck getting the leak fixed! And I guess you don’t do the record biz any longer?! You are such a WEALTH of info there, it’s a bit sad to me if you aren’t, but you still have the passion! Which extends to many more arenas, as we can see… all good.

Next time I get to Athens, I’m buyin’ you a beer – or a hot chocolate if it’s cold. [:)]
Thanks for the answer – it, and you, are much appreciated!
Ceci

quote:

Originally posted by cecif

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

wow. Wow. WOW! Ort. that’s awesome. So: Whaddya do now? (aside from hang out in beautiful AThens, Ga at the UGA library?!)

Cecif,
It’s a little more of an existence than that. My house has no heat; due to a gas leak, I had to have both the hot water heater (the culprit) and the furnace (good as new) shut off. I have no desire to blow myself Sky High; the group Jigsaw released that 45 once, and I am not up for a redux of it.
My main source of income is buying and reselling used books. With it cold right now, I haven’t been very active… with old, used copies, the spines tend to crack open when they’re flexed in cold weather, so I’m waiting for a stretch of 65-70 degree days to kick back in again on that. The end of February ought to be about time to start processing earnestly.
Also, I have been a free-lance writer… but with no heat, I can’t work at home — and that’s the only place I have for the moment. Posting here has kept my mind alive; it has made me keep thinking through this time. I’ll return to local magazine pages as soon as I can set my computer back up someplace where there’s adequate light and a smidgen of heat.
Only recently have I been able to access money my late mother left me for capital improvements on the house. My friend Glenn just repaired my outbuilding; tomorrow we’ll grab up some stuff out of the carport and store it in there and remove the ailing water heater. With it replaced, I’ll have hot water, and honestly would rather have that in an unheated house than the other way around… I can always run from the bathtub to my trusty electric blanket, set for "preheat."
So — you asked, and I told you. I’m not independently rich; rather I’m virtually independently poor… but I AM independent, and can survive now until I manage to rectify what’s wrong with the house… several publications are waiting for my articles, just like at least two stores are wanting some books from me ASAP. I sure could be worse off, couldn’t I? — Plus, I still have these fora to visit and interject my Ort.isms into!
Soul-Bareingly, Ort. Carlton in I-Feel-Appreciated-Here Athens, Georgia.

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

Dearfolk,
Two secondhand ones first, then mine: my old friend Paul Heaney once left out of Atlanta one Friday evening bound for Montreal for a frappe (a particularly good one, you understand), then turned around and drove back — all these miles in a ratty old oil-burning Mercury station wagon that he had paid $ 50 for when you could get a running car for that — and was at his desk at 8:00 Monday morning, no sign of fatigue showing. — "Mighty good frappe, that one," he chuckled.
Fred Schneider (now of B-52’s fame, but then a U. Ga. student) was visiting his family in New Jersey over the Summer and, after hitting every thrift store within a 33-1/3-mile radius of Oceanport (his hometown), called me one Thursday, looking for an excuse to return to Athens. "Fred, my mother will make a pot of her wondrous vegetable soup for you if you’ll come back," I told him. — He was sitting at our table that Saturday night; he polished off two full bowls and about another half. (Even though he has long been a vegetarian, he still harbors fond memories of my mother’s deft hand with vegetable soup!)
Now my turn. I upt and decided that I wanted a decent cup of coffee, so I left Athens about dark and drove to Tampa, Florida, bought several sacks of Cafe Naviera and a couple sacks of Cafe Caracolillo at an all-night Cuban grocery on North Armenia Avenue, wandered by Lakeland, took a motel room about 4:00 A. M., slept until noon or so, got up and ate at a favorite diner, hit every thrift store in town (including the amazing Wheelhouse), then turned around and drove back to Athens up back roads. — That was indeed some fi-i-ine coffee… worth every inch of the drive.
I wish I could be that free right now: I’d do it all over again; I’d get up from this chair midsentence and trot out to Van Ella and leave out right now if I didn’t have other, more pressing, obligations. But when they’re done, or at least adequately caught up, boys and girls, I’m gonesville for a day or three! — "I’m waiting to depart," he says as he prepares to comb his hair straight forward.
Treading Toward Being The Travelling Trencherman Again, Ort. Carlton in All-Beautiful Athens, Georgia.

wow. Wow. WOW! Ort. that’s awesome.

So: 1) Whaddya do now? (aside from hang out in beautiful AThens, Ga at the UGA library?!) and
2) Never much liked the B-52s (though I *love* music of many kinds) however, I have a whole new respect for Fred!!!!

I changed my route drining across east Texas by 200 miles so I could eat at Bryce’s Cafeteria in Texarkana.

There have been several of these topics

My furthest for a single meal flew from Cincinnati to Bob’s Clam Hut, Kittery ME. (Man was that some GREAT CHOWDAH)

Driving 800 miles 1 way for Killer Seafood in FL

Ort, I admire you desire for good coffee.

I drove from Knoxville to Austin just to have BBQ with Bushie and RickF. My guess is about 1100 miles one way and overall about 2200.

It was good to fraternize with both these fine gentlemen. BBQ, doughtnuts and friendship was well worth it.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Sometimes the past can haunt you in weird ways. As early as 1963 I was an avid Civil War buff. Everything in those days was about the Civil War Centennial…it was a big deal, especially with me. My parents knew it and gave me a special vacation…a tour of the main battlefields of Virginia. We went everywhere and first class at that…something they never did in the past. We stayed at the best places and ate at the best places. I think they wanted to give me a special gift as all previous vacations were in a leaky tent in the Adirondacks eating campfire food.

One of our first stops was in Leesburg VA. and we stayed and ate at the Laurel Brigade Inn.
It was the first time I had spoon bread and peanut soup. Both were love at first bite and I never forgot the place or my love of these dishes. Forty years later I found myself driving over 600 miles to Leesburg to experience the Laurel Brigade Inn once again. They did not disappoint me. It was a sentimental journey well taken.

Dearfolk,
Two secondhand ones first, then mine: my old friend Paul Heaney once left out of Atlanta one Friday evening bound for Montreal for a frappe (a particularly good one, you understand), then turned around and drove back — all these miles in a ratty old oil-burning Mercury station wagon that he had paid $ 50 for when you could get a running car for that — and was at his desk at 8:00 Monday morning, no sign of fatigue showing. — "Mighty good frappe, that one," he chuckled.
Fred Schneider (now of B-52’s fame, but then a U. Ga. student) was visiting his family in New Jersey over the Summer and, after hitting every thrift store within a 33-1/3-mile radius of Oceanport (his hometown), called me one Thursday, looking for an excuse to return to Athens. "Fred, my mother will make a pot of her wondrous vegetable soup for you if you’ll come back," I told him. — He was sitting at our table that Saturday night; he polished off two full bowls and about another half. (Even though he has long been a vegetarian, he still harbors fond memories of my mother’s deft hand with vegetable soup!)
Now my turn. I upt and decided that I wanted a decent cup of coffee, so I left Athens about dark and drove to Tampa, Florida, bought several sacks of Cafe Naviera and a couple sacks of Cafe Caracolillo at an all-night Cuban grocery on North Armenia Avenue, wandered by Lakeland, took a motel room about 4:00 A. M., slept until noon or so, got up and ate at a favorite diner, hit every thrift store in town (including the amazing Wheelhouse), then turned around and drove back to Athens up back roads. — That was indeed some fi-i-ine coffee… worth every inch of the drive.
I wish I could be that free right now: I’d do it all over again; I’d get up from this chair midsentence and trot out to Van Ella and leave out right now if I didn’t have other, more pressing, obligations. But when they’re done, or at least adequately caught up, boys and girls, I’m gonesville for a day or three! — "I’m waiting to depart," he says as he prepares to comb his hair straight forward.
Treading Toward Being The Travelling Trencherman Again, Ort. Carlton in All-Beautiful Athens, Georgia.

I posted this on an old thread, which I couldn’t locate, so here it is again.
I was in KC, my best friend in Anaheim, CA. We were on the phone when she said her mother was making her famous pork roast with roasted vegetables and apples that weekend. Her pork roast was rightly famous, so my boyfriend and I drove straight through, about 1800 miles, and arrived shortly before dinner. It was quite worth it.

600 miles round trip from Daytona Beach area to Holly Hill, SC…Bub Sweatman’s..Left around 11:00 AM on a Friday and returned the same night! On the way we doubled our treat with an incredible roadfood sandwich at The Blue Boy Sandwich in Jacksonville.

When we arrived, there were hardly any cars or trucks in the parking lot. The place is out in the middle of a field! We told the manager where we lived and how far we’d drive to have his "Q". He offered us the opportunity to go out behind the restaurant and watch the cooking process. He also showed us the kitchen where the whole hog was broken down….The place was immaculate.

quote:

Originally posted by GB944

NYC to Chicago… about 1100 miles.

For a CSD?

Not for a meal, but I have driven from NYC to PA to buy a bag of Unique Pretzels…

NYC to Chicago… about 1100 miles.

Philadelphia to CT; southern half of the state, but not extreme south. I’m planning on doing that periodically actually since CT is such a fantastic roadfood state. It’s about 3-3.5 hours each way.