Road Trip Home

We left Savannah bone weary and sore footed.  Driving toward Myrtle Beach, I spotted this gas station/grocery store/home.

It is on a main highway, but still, out in the middle of nowhere.  I wonder how they make enough to keep it going.    Not a customer in site.

Being a northern transplant, this was not a sight I had ever seen. 

So on to Myrtle Beach we went.  Murrell's Inlet, Surfside Beach, and on we drove, passing Seafood Buffet after Seafood Buffet... $19.99 - 2 for $29.99 , etc. 

Planet Hollywood - Myrtle Beach... Are they closed?  Where are the cars.  Ok, it is Wednesday.  Maybe that's it.

Hard Rock... hmmmm... not many cars is there?

By now it was about 5pm and I was hungry.  We had not had much of a lunch and I wanted seafood darn it.  We put a buffet address into the Garmin and off we went...only to find it closed. And so was the next one, and the next one.  Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday....This was Wednesday.My stomach was grumbling and so was I. Okay, let's just go check in to the hotel.  The attendant graciously told us, go down the road, Captain George's Seafood Buffet is open.  Yay!!

We found it easily enough and there were cars in the parking lot. 

In we went.

This was the first of, I believe, 6 islands of food.  It looked like a Vegas Buffet.  OUr very nice hostess seated us and said these fateful words, " Our buffet is $31.00"  each.   Why Terry looked at me for direction I don't know. To me, there wads no question.  I headed straight for the King Crab.   He  went for everything else.

I have never had blue crab.  I don't know how to crack it or haow to eat it, so a very nice waiter came over with one to show me.  I learned it is a lot of work for very little meat.  He did say it is alot more fun with beer and friends.  Okay.

I don't know what to do with these guys either.  I'm not good with food that stiff has their heads attached.  Cut the head off of my fish too.  I don't want the whole lobster... just the tail please.

                                         I love steamed oysters, but these were raw.  I can't do raw.

                                   Love at first sight.... Crab and shrimp, only because there was no lobster.

There was also all kinds of fish, chicken, pork and desserts.  Oh, yes.  My husband has a sweet tooth.  I saw on his plate alone, German chocolate cake, cheesecake, baklava, banana pudding and chocolate pudding.   I have that "off" button that tells my brain, you are full... stop.   Terry doesn't and he admits he doesn't.

So, as we sat  there, with tea and coffee, the waitress came over with our bill.  Terry looked at me, took big breath and said, very quietly "I'm gonna throw up."   The mother in me took over.  I said, very lovingly, " Get out of here.  Go outside. Go! now!"   My first thought was not that he was sick.  It was you are not going to do that in a dining room.  Get out of here!  

He slowly stood up... actually, he was afraid to move, but he said once he was moving he felt much better.  So he's not allowed to go to buffets anymore.

These buildings are in Swansboro,  close to Jacksonville, N.C. and we're almost home.

Whenever I see these old gas station ? store? buildings, I think of the movie " Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe."  I wonder what kind of life it had.

Childhood Foods

I was watching HGTV the other night and saw "The Best Thing I Ever Ate/Childhood Foods"  so Terry and I started talking about what we remembered from our childhood that really spoke of home, comfort and memories.

For him it was his Mom's cinnamon rolls with icing. (He says icing and I say frosting)  The other thing was her chili followed by cheesecake with strawberries.  It reminded him of fall weather when the four brothers and Dad would be outdoors cutting wood, putting it on the splitter and stacking it to get ready for winter in northern Michigan.

For me, I thought of that little box of crinkle cut french fires that I would cook after school to eat while I watched "Dark Shadows" (which Johnny Depp (Barnabus Collins) is remaking, by the way).  Mom was not known for her cooking but she did make awesome fried chicken.  My sister (YFS/ Your favorite sister) shared the crispy chicken liver with Mom.  I never knew YFS liked that.  I sure didn't.   She also remembered Brown sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts when she was in High School.

So, I asked my daughters.  They always got to request what they wanted for their Birthday dinners so I was expecting lasagna, nachos, homemade pizza, or clam chowder...the things they asked for then.  No... that's not what happened.  What I got was "Otter Pops" and Coco Wheats from daughters 2 and 3.  Daughter number one said "I'm pretty sure I was raised in the same house they were and I do not know what Otter Pops are."   She remembered good ole Kraft  mac and cheese while she watched Electric Company on TV.

So I had to look up Otter Pops.   Oh, yeah, now I know.  They were right.  We had those all summer, every summer. You could get a box of 100 for $2.99 I swear. 

So be careful what you ask your children.  The answers are never what you expect.