Post Trip Wrap Up

We've been home safe and sound in San Antonio for a couple of days now. Just wanted to say that this roadie ended on a great note with a family get together on Sunday and it was so nice that the Redskins game was very high on the priorty list for all of those in attendance. My people!

John Recommends:

Aunt Kim's cooking - I'm guessing this is mostly reserved for family and that's good enough for me since I'm in the club.

Reconnecting with old friends - Here's me with my buddy Richard from about 22 years ago and from present day.

Cold.

I haven't seen this weather in a long time. Thankfully it's dry.

The National Christmas Tree

Here is some video of the action at the huge National Christmas Tree by the White House. There were several trains underneath it and lining a walkway around the area were mini-trees representing each U.S. state and territory.

Mall Gallery

Today we hit the Washington D.C. Mall and did some strolling. Enjoy some of my pictures from our day out in 35 degree weather!

John Recommends: Gordon Biersch Brewery on F Street in Downtown D.C. for delicious garlic fries, Winter Bock and Schwarzbier.

Guess Where We Are

John Recommends...

The Tower Oaks Lodge in Rockville, MD. Good food, spirits and a great holiday decor including this live mountain lion wearing a santa hat.

Jamaican Me Crazy

Not sure how I missed this since I clearly watched him get on another plane, but the Jamaican Rodeo King was on our flight and now waiting for luggage. I think his belt is for winning the Red Stripe Roundup.

Arrival Complete

We have arrived at BWI 1hr 45min late just to wait for an open terminal. Pretty exciting. Maybe at 2hrs we get a prize. At least we are on the ground where everyone can make phone calls for us to listen to. Two rows back is an awesome profanity laced tirade. All he had to say was earmuffs first.

The Roadie Resumes

Not a true roadie since we're flying this time, but me and Mrs. Preggo are enroute to the greater Washington D.C. area to go visit some of my extended family. What we've learned so far is that a lot of people like to travel around this time of the year (shocker!) and most of them are wearing Army green, some sort of child or a giant belt buckle like the Jamaican jackass pictured above.

Dude paced back and forth at Gate 44 of Houston Hobby for a good 45 minutes in a heated convo with someone ("You have no understanding, Mon!") making a scene that I'm sure was his intention. It's been the most entertaining thing I've seen so far while waiting to board a flight to BWI which of course is already running an hour behind schedule.

Worth Another Trip To Little Rock?

After two previous attempts were thwarted (closed on Sundays, closes at 8pm on Saturday night), we finally made it inside the Whole Hog Cafe in Little Rock, Arkansas. There was a lot of buildup on this one from Brother Michael's previous visit and huge expectations after having twice been turned away.

It totally delivered.

We got Whole Hawg platters for $12 apeice that included ribs, brisket, pulled pork and two sides. There was well over a pound of meat on the plate and I had to force myself to stop eating so I could save some for dinner. It was all exeptional and it may be the best BBQ I've ever had. I can also say that I celebrate their entire catalog of sauces. Here is a run down of those...

Sauce No. 1: Sweet, mild, molasses.
Sauce No. 2: Traditional tomato, vinegar, slightly tangy.
Sauce No. 3: Same as No. 2, but much spicier!
Sauce No. 4: Traditional Southern vinegar & spice.
Sauce No. 5: Sweet, heavy, molasses.
Sauce No. 6: Rich mustard & vinegar, Old South favorite.

BBQ this good almost makes up for having to see jackass Razorback fans everywhere...almost.

Moving On From Memphis

Not much happening during our first leg of the return to Texas. There is certainly a lot less interesting stuff out on the highway during the week. I prefer the weekends.

Our attempt to hit some great Memphis BBQ last night fell somewhat short of the goal. The first place we wanted to go on a recommendation (Charles Vergos' Rendezvous) is closed on Mondays and when we saw traffic beginning to stack we decided to avoid going downtown. We ended up at a place that was highly rated on the internet and took us out of the flow, Leonard's Pit. The onion rings (pictured above) were just about the best I've ever had and the rolls were great too, but the ribs were just average. The building was neat though and we did get to see a guy back his pickup into a street lamp in the parking lot, so not all was lost.

Like A Band Of Gypsies We Go Down The Highway

We departed the Tri-Cities area this morning and began our trip back to Texas. Just passed through Nashville and looking to hit Memphis right around rib-time. We've left a lot of the color change behind us along with morning temps in the 30s. Currently it's 71 with a heavy cover of the '50s on 5 and the '60s on 6 here in the truck.

And We're Back

Took a few days off to watch some football, but I have returned. It actually worked out perfect because the weather was rainy and cold for most of the weekend. We spent most of the time indoors at the camper or at my grandparents house. Sister Christina and Titan (pictured above hogging the couch) came up from Atlanta to make an appearance as well.

There are 11 new pictures in the gallery.

17 Miles In Just Over 7 Minutes

Creeper Trail Pictures

About 60 new pictures up in the photo gallery from our hike yesterday. There is a short video coming also that I hope to put together this afternoon.

DONE

The 17 mile trip is complete. We finished at just before 6:30p local time which made our trip a few minutes under 8 hours.

We are now having dinner at The Tavern in Abingdon which is the oldest building in town. They serve German food here and along with it comes German beer. Pictured with this post is the perfect Warsteiner Octoberfest to keep me happy before dinner arrives.

Watauga

13.5 down and a measly 3.5 left to go before we reach the finishing point in Abingdon. The weather is holding up, but it's still overcast and we've had a couple of more sprinkles in the last four miles. We are in Watauga which will most likely be our last break.

Old Alvarado Station

We have arrived at the halfway point in our 17-mile day. Still flat, still overcast and still damp. We did feel a few drops of rain, but it didn't last long at all.

Our resting point is a house/sandwhich & soda shop in Old Alvarado Statio. I'm enjoying a grilled ham and cheese while across the table bologna and mayo are satisfying the old-timer.

It's a welcome break.

Still haven't seen any other hikers on the Creeper Trail yet.

12 Miles To Go

We're five miles in and breaking for lunch. So far the walk has been flat with many bikers passing us as well as a horse ride with about 10 people. Have yet to see any other hikers. The sky has been overcast the whole way and the air damp. I'm thinking the last quarter of the way will be in the rain.

Trailing

We perused some of the wares in Damascus and have now hit the trail. About a mile in we are still paralleling the road that brought us here.

17 Miles Begins With One Step

We are now on our way to Abingdon to meet up with a shuttle van that will take us to Damascus. Then it's a 17 mile walk back to the car. The weather is morning cloudy right now, but we face a chance of storms later in the afternoon. We'll probably finish around 6pm ET in the dark, but hopefully dry.

Our start point, Damascus, is a cool town and holds a special place among Appalachain Trail hikers. We visited last year before climbing Mt. Rogers. It will be fun to make a return.

Visiting The Commonwealth

We spent most of the day in Virginia at Abram Falls and in Abingdon.

The walk out to Abram Falls was a sporty hike with some good up and down along the way. It provided several opportunities to bust ass on slippery rocks and narrow trails on the side of a mountain, but thankfully nobody took any big tumbles. Check out this link for someone who fell 90 feet there in August. The trail started at the end of a road that wound back into a holler and was in a relatively remote location. We arrived above the falls and then took a trail around the side that leads down to the base. They were about 100 feet high and super cool. As you can see in the pictures, you can actually go up under them without getting wet. All along the way the reds and yellows were screaming at us and it made for a spirited trip.

After we walked back out from the falls we headed to Abingdon, which will be our finishing point for Thursday's hike of a 17-mile section of the Virginia Creeper Trail. My uncle Johnny has has a ton of his hand-made baskets on display there and we stopped by the showing. The downtown area is quite quaint and it includes the Barter Theater which is the State Theater of Virginia. Tons of color on display there as well.

Added 85 pictures to the photo gallery today.

You Learn Somerthing New Everyday

And today that thing for me is the difference between a chilidog and a hotdog with chili. It may be just an East Tennessee thing, but a chilidog does not include a hotdog. And when you try to correct the miscommunication so you can get some pink faux meat mixed in, it's funny all around.

Always In Need Of Both

Got new pictures up from the trip to Tusculum College in Greenville, TN in the photo gallery. Former U.S. President Andrew Johnson used to make his home there and they are currently celebrating the bicentennial of his birth. We also stopped at the birthplace of Davy Crockett in Limestone, TN.

The picture above was taken inbetween Jonesboro and Johnson City.

Honesty Is The Best Policy

We are heading out of Bristol for the morning and heading down to Greenville which is home of my dad's alma mater, Tusculum College. It is Tennessee’s oldest college, and the 23rd oldest operating college in the United States.

For All Of You Nascar Fans

We are staying about 5 minutes from the World's Fastest Half-Mile, Bristol Motor Speedway. Here's a drive-by view of the track that holds 160,000.

Steele Creek Park

We spent most of the afternoon enjoying Steele Creek Park. The colors on the trees were awesome and the temp barely broke 70. Lots of pics in the gallery including some shots of geese, ducks and turtles.

The Comfy Confines

We arrived at our stopping place for the next several days last night at 10pm. Here is the set up.

Road Tested

Knoxville, TN.

Home of the Sunsphere from the 1983 World's Fair.

Home of the University of Tennessee.

And currently home to the largest highway rebuilding project in Tennessee history.

43 miles west of Knoxville we were greeted with a warning sign about the project, SmartFix40, which is "...the extended closure of one of the biggest I-40 bottlenecks from North Carolina to California will allow an aggressive around-the-clock work schedule designed to shave years off the $275 million highway project." (More)

Going to break for dinner first before we hit it, but I don't imagine it being much of a cluster on a Sunday night. In the meantime, enjoy some of the color change shots I was able to get on the stretch from Nashville to Knoxville.

UPDATE:

The contruction challenge was a huge let down. We were able to avoid the area altogether with no problem. Totally missed out on the largest Tennessee road work project ever. On the plus side we did hit Famous Daves just before passing through Knoxville for some St. Louis style ribs. It's a chain, but their ribs are scrumtulescent.

Crossing The Mississippi River Into Memphis

It's a little bumpy due to the super suck of the highway in Arkansas, but here is some video as we crossed the river into Memphis, TN. Don't miss the middle of the bridge.

Pulling Away From Little Rock

We stayed over night in North Little Rock and made a run downtown for dinner to the much ballyhooed Whole Hog Cafe for some BBQ. Sadly it closes at 8pm on Saturday night and we arrived about 5 minutes too late due to some challenges during the RV setup. This is the second time I've been turned away from the Whole Hog. The first time was last year when we dropped by on a Sunday afternoon only to find out that it's not open on Sunday. Going to try and hit it on the way back next week.

We ended up at a place not to far away that was ok, but sans BBQ. The Buffalo Grill was lacking Buffalo and pretty much anything from the grill. We did get to enjoy the downtown riverfront a little bit though. From the car it looked like a nice place to hang out.

Hitting Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville today before our arrival in Bristol.

Lunch Nom Noms

We were in need of a grease for lunch so we stopped at a place in Waco named Health Camp. Makes sense, right? It's a nice little hamburger stand on the circle with a good shake. The burgers were ok. A step above DQ, but a tad on the small side and overdone. I pretty much agree with Texas Burger Guy's review of this joint.

Yes, I Pack Like A Girl

And the wife lets me know it. Love you Christine.

My thinking is that I don't want to have to do laundry for the next 10 days so I'll just take everything I own. This will all work to plan. It has before.

Also, I have an abundance of camping/hiking gear for some mountain walking, hence the busting at the seams. I could have added yet another bag, but I didn't have anything that would match the green in the ones you see above, and remember, nobody respects clashing luggage.

Underway!

Only a half hour late on the departure. That's pretty good for me considering it included a bakery stop for a sausage and cheese kolache.

Skies are gray and a bit drizzly and traffic is already picking up. I guess everyone wants to be in place for kickoff of OU-TEX. Should be passing through Dallas and right by the Cotton Bowl during the game. Need to figure out a way for both of them to lose before then.

Bristol Bound

Getting an early Saturday morning start and heading to Bristol VA/TN to go visit the extended Robbins family clan. I haven't been to see them in a year and I'm sure they'll be surprised when we (me and my old man) just show up, but that's how we roll. And speaking of rolling...we will be vetting a new RV during this excursion which that should provide for some nice blog fodder. We push off from San Antonio, TX at 7:30a on 10/11 and should end up in Arkansas sometime tonight. Check back soon for more.