April Louisiana Road Trip.....Day 9....A Boring Day of Driving

Tuesday morning, after I took a quick dip in the pool and we had our free breakfast, we hit the road heading north.

First a word about breakfast.  We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express here in Fairhope Alabama.  It was the most expensive room we took on this trip but the breakfast was superb.

Ok, not Eggs Benedict superb but for a continental "included with the room cost" Breakfast it was great!  Lots of options, everything was either hot or cold(depending on what it was suppose to be)and the cinnamon rolls......let me just wax poetic for a bit about their cinnamon rolls.
O.M.G.

I tried desperately to figure out how to fit a tray of these into my purse but to no avail....sigh
These were the best cinnamon rolls I've ever tasted in my 55 years on this planet.
Not too sweet, not too dry and a butt load of cinnamon.  I am drooling just thinking about them.

So we hit the road, but not before stopping in at the Rite-Aid in Fairhope because I had +Ups and coupons expiring that day so I forced Hubs to go there. ;-)

The applesauce was free after +Ups and the dish soap was .50¢ a bottle after rain check and coupons.

Then we hit the highway until we came to Spanish Fort about 11 miles away. lol
Saw a World Market and had to check it out.

More "Slap Ya Mama" products......

And it was difficult but I resisted buying this Chocolate Bacon Caramel Corn.....

And this location had the Downton Abbey teas but at $11.99 a small tin, I left them on the shelf....

The bulk of the day was spent driving through Alabama.  I never realized how long that state was.

Up past Bay Minette and then onto I-65 and up to Montgomery and then onward to Birmingham, then east on I-59 to Chattanooga TN.

Yet another Casino we passed in Alabama that I didn't stop at.
Ssssh, don't tell Sonya Ann.....

We did stop at this touristy trap along the interstate however.

Priester's has been selling pecans since 1935, like the sign says.
We hit the free tasting samples and I bought some bags of pecan pieces for cheap....they'll be great in pies or pecan sandies.
The whole nuts were outrageously priced so I passed on those.

I did see these awesome decorative measuring scoops with chickens on them and thought of you Linda. 
But at $40(plus tax)they stayed in the store. lolz

Not much scenery along this looooong stretch of interstate driving, except for a Hyundai plant.

The most exciting thing along this route was this sign for Selma.  Yes, this is boring when a highway sign is the most exciting thing to look at and post about.
We didn't go to Selma this trip.


I may have dozed off in the car for awhile....I blame it on cinnamon rolls. ;-)
We ate so much breakfast(and with all those free pecan samples at Priester's)we didn't even stop for lunch anywhere.

We got into Chattanooga around 8 and it was after dark.  It took all day to drive from the bottom to the top of Alabama and then into Tennessee.

We found a motel room right off the interstate and by the time we unloaded our bags and settled into the room it was 9pm.
Seeing as most of the food options near the motel for dinner were fast food, we ended up at Waffle House which was one of the few places nearby that was still open and not burgers.  At that hour a little light "breakfast for dinner" hit the spot.
Then back to the room for some shut eye.

I do hate long driving days but now it was behind us and we could do some fun stuff on Day 10 and 11 before getting home on Day 12....or so I thought.

Sluggy

 

How's It Working?

My new meal planning, that is.
The answer is--just fine, thanks!

Here's what I've cooked/we've eaten so far this week.

Sunday--Barbecue Chicken thighs, Potato Salad
Monday--Sloppy Joes on Rolls, Sugar Snap Peas(used part of beef to make taco filling for #2 Son)
Tuesday--Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Brussel Sprouts
Wednesday--leftover Garlic Ginger Shrimp stir fry, Rice(used this all up)

3 days cooking, 1 day not.

Here are the leftovers so far.....
4 Chicken thighs
3 helpings Potato Salad
2 Sloppy Joes filling
1-2 Taco filling for tacos
1 helping Sugar Snap Peas
4  Chicken Parms 2 Chicken Parms(#2 Son had a snack)lol
2 side servings of Spaghetti

I think we'll do leftovers again tonight and then I'll cook on Friday.
#2 Son will probably finish the taco meat today after school and then he goes out with his buddies for "Wing Night" on Thursday.

Saturday we'll probably do leftovers as well, and Sunday will be a new meal cooked, Broiled Salmon, Coleslaw and another Veggie(TBD) since I bought a bag of coleslaw mix at the grocery store yesterday.
(Went shopping and got everything I needed for the list of meals from Monday's post except the Parmigiana Cheese and the Pastry Shells.  Got extra stuff-sale meat, cheap red wine vinegar, cheese with a dairy instant $ back deal and soda for the graduation bash mostly-and spent $42.60 total.  I'll pick up the parm cheese and pastry shells on next week's trip.)

Sunday I'll evaluate where we are and decide on what to cook for the following 3 days from items that are already in the house and/or leftovers. 

At that point is when the relatives descend on us Wed. and Thurs. and we go into "survival/get through the week and don't blow the whole food budget" mode.  8-)))

I am offline now for the day.
Need to go buy a power washer and then go have a little fun and go to the movies by myself.
Afterwards, it's an Italian Ice and home to fix leftovers and start cleaning this filthy house.
bleh.

How is your week going?

Sluggy
 

Blog Housekeeping

I've put up a page on the blog for my blog roll and am adding new blogs there that I have been neglectful in adding for many months.

The amount of blogs I have linked is getting ridiculously long to have it posted to the side bar I feel.

What do y'all think?
Keep the blogroll on the Home page, keep it to it's own page(linked at the top tab of the home page)or have them in both locations?
Cast your vote now. 8-)

I have also been deleting a few blogs.....ones that seem to have been abandoned and no one has posted new material for more than 6 months as well as some that have ended, like Judy's(where the heck did she go?  she isn't answering my email!?).  Morrison's has been taken down as well.  Precious left her second Frugal Makes Cents the beginning of the year but then last month she posted about another blog called Grandma's Frugal Days that she is enjoying.  Call me crazy but I swear this new blog is Precious too. 8-)

If you have a blog and I don't have you on the roll, please feel free to email me and ask to be added.
I am always happy to promote other bloggers' work.

Sluggy
 

April Louisiana Road Trip...Day 8

Monday, Day 8 of our Road Trip, we left Shreveport and headed back east on the interstate.

The original plan had been to go South through Alexandria, then through Baton Rouge to the Southern half of Louisiana, where we were going to make 2 stops--first at the Abita Brew Pub in Abita Springs, LA and second over the river into Mississippi at the Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company in Kiln, MS.

But as luck would have it, both are closed on Mondays and we happened to be going that way on Monday.
Sigh.

So with part of our plan for the day thwarted, we left a little later in the morning and headed back east on I-20.

Before we left the area though, we stopped so I could get a "Roadside America" style photo-op....

                          
Me and the World's Largest Cowboy

This place was right behind our hotel so why not?


Before you knew it....ok, about an hour and a half after getting on the road, we were back in Mississippi.
I love how this sign is located right underneath a grand old Magnolia tree.  If there is one thing I miss about living in Virginia, it's Magnolia trees....

 

We crossed the Mississippi River again at Vicksburg.....

The Mississippi Welcome Center at Vicksburg is a bitch to park at, but out back of the building they have a right nice veranda overlooking the river....

While I was there a local high school senior was having his class photo done with the river as a backdrop.

Once we got to Jackson we veered off the interstate and went Southeast down to Hattiesburg.  About halfway from Jackson to Hattiesburg we stopped for lunch in the little town of Magee.

Now tell me......how was I about to resist a sign with a catfish on it?!

You just never know what you're going to stumble into once you leave the interstate and chain-type restaurants.

These "trees" with faux flowers greeted us in the lobby.

And here is a shot of the dinning hall after the lunch rush was over.....

This was a Fried Catfish and American buffet type place with a "Down Home Country" feel.
Notice our iced tea came in tin measuring cups.....

Fried Catfish, fried Okra, Hush Puppies(those are fried too), Mustard Greens(not fried)and some Mac and Cheese to round out my cholesterol Feast....and I am not even going to show you the dessert I ate. lolz

And I got brave and took a pickled okra off the salad bar.
I grew up in the South eating southern foods but I have never until that day tasted a pickled okra.
Of all the ways you can prepare/eat okra, pickling one had never occurred to me.

I took one bite and discovered that pickled okra is nasty!  Pickled slimy furry vegetables are not my thang evidently....

Incidentally, this was the second time I saw pickled okra on a salad bar on this trip.  The country kitchen place across from our motel in Louisiana where we ate a few times also had them.

And lunch was not the end of the interesting things we saw in Magee at the Catfish House.....

They were offering for sale these books at the front desk/check-out counter.

Now if you actually go read up on this book it sounds interesting and might be a good read.
But the title?.....it sure made my head snap around when I passed it and had to go back for a photo. lolz

And that wasn't the end of interesting sights at Berry's.
Check out the 10 Commandments in front of the restaurant......

I guess I've been living up North too long now because I was surprised by this...but I shouldn't have been. lolz

After a quick stop in Hattiesburg to pick up a surprise for someone, we soon crossed another state line into Alabama and hit traffic in downtown Mobile.

 

After we got through the tunnel....what a mess!......we have some scenic driving right next to Mobile Bay....

Another half hour or so and we were arrived at our destination for the evening-- Fairhope, Alabama.
We found a nice Holiday Inn Express for the night, unloaded the car and before I knew it I was talking to Lorraine from We are: clamco and arranging to meet her family for dinner at this place in town.....

Chicken buffet rules posted by the front door.

 We went inside to wait and before you know it, in walked the Clamco clan: Megan, Lorraine and Chris.
Hugs happened and we just started talking like we'd been old friends forever.

While waiting for our chicken, Lorraine and I got our picture took and of course I hammed it up because yah, that's what I do......

And I told Lorraine that I absolutely loved her......because she is an awesome person.....but also because she is shorter than me!!
And I never meet anybody who is shorter than me.  ;-)

After gorging on chicken, biscuits, slaw and fries, the Clamcos invited us back to their Clamco Cottage for coffee, tea and dessert.
Hubs, Lorraine and I took a walk down on the Fairhope pier first.  I didn't think to take any pictures of the waterfront but then again, it was dark by then.

Chris also showed us his convention display and wares which he had set up in the garage.  He's got a great set-up and I knew he'd do well at his Mobicon show in May.

And even better, Chris made me a present.......one of the Steampunk items he makes to sell.....

It's a cool tube light on a base.  Press the button and the tube lights up in a changing array of colors.
Thanks Chris!

Check out more of Chris's creations at Black Flame Creations.

Here is the clamco couple again.
They are both such nice folks and made us feel very welcomed.

The only negative thing I can say is that we didn't get to meet sooner back when they lived here in PA not 20 minutes away from us!
All those years we lived so close and wasted that opportunity.....*sad face*

The evening passed all too quickly and we headed back to the motel for some shut eye.
It was a lovely end to our day.

Sluggy

June Net Worth

This is the last financial numbers post for awhile, I promise. 8-)

The retirement accounts are up $5,544.25 from last month.
Unfortunately the liquid assets are down $12,250.68 from last month, mostly because of the car purchase.

Overall, we are down $6,706.43 in our financial net worth for June.

Stupid car..... 8-)

Sluggy