Day 2: April 22, 2019 Old Sights, New Restaurants Comment via blog

Prev Next

I spotted this place yesterday as I drove between US-31E and US-31W. An online check indicated that it would probably be open this morning so I headed there for breakfast. Five Broke Girls may or may not still be broke but I don't think they're getting rich. All this was $7.19 and quite tasty.

Today I drove for real the road I drove to kill time yesterday. I snapped pictures of the same three motels but today there would be no stopping. Photos on the run. Snap, snap, snap.

I know that it's absolutely ridiculous but some part of me always hopes to see some sign of resurrection every time I stop here. My disappointment is completely unfounded but real. (Horseshoe Camp Modern Cottages, Bowling Green, KY. Burned April 2014.)

I now believe I saw the cooker that is hard at work between the pink elephant and giant cow in Clarksville, getting finishing touches applied in nearby Guthrie back in 2004. The faded paint is evidence of a job well done.

It isn't as big as the one at Kings Island but it is actually in Paris -- Tennessee.

As plans for this trip were forming and it looked like I would be spending a night in this area, I got kind of excited thinking about staying at the Sunrise Inn right next to Billy Tripp's Mindfield and the excellent Mindfield Grill restaurant. Alas, when it came time to book, there was no room at the inn. A work crew had booked the entire motel for the entire month of April. It's a situation I've encountered more than once and one I always feel conflicted about. Even at discounted rates, full occupancy for any length of time is something of a windfall for possibly struggling owners. That's a good thing that helps keep an independent business operating. At the same time, I'm disappointed about not being able to experience the place myself. Today I had to satisfy myself with a few pictures of the Mindfield before moving on down the road to a chain motel.

I'd recently learned of Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken from a friend who stopped at one in Knoxville. I don't often go out of my way for fried chicken but given the opportunity to visit the original location of something world famous, how could I not? This place has been going since 1953 and the chicken really is superb. I ordered okra for my side, and, when it was delivered, asked if I'd been given all that they had. The waitress/cook/cashier laughed and said something about an "accident". I'm guessing the accident was putting too much in the fryer with closing time so near. I had not actually checked the restaurant's schedule and only realized how fortuitous my timing was when the OPEN sign was flipped and the door locked about halfway through my meal. At least half of the okra went back to the motel with me and surprised me by coming out of a microwave session in pretty good shape. Even so, I never did manage to eat it all.

[Prev] [Site Home] [Trip Home] [Contact] [Next]

democrat