May 2015 Road Trip Part 2.....Biscuits, Bourbon and Buddies

Day 2 of our Road Trip adventure is sponsored by the Letter "B".
A trifecta of B things.....

We checked out of the death trap motel room.....

Yes that was our smoke detector dangling from the ceiling.  At least it was still connected as the little green light attests.
Me thinks the Quality Inn in Huntington WV needs a new handyman.....

And before bugging out I tried to double check our directions for the day since the GPS was having seizures and couldn't be relied upon.
And here is what MapQuest told me about our route...........

I now know that it's really true that you "can't get there from here" if the locations are Huntington, WV and Lawrenceburg, KY.

A quick stop for refueling the car and there was no doubt that we were in "Dew Country".....

I've heard tales that there is a real problem in WV went it comes to soda drinking.  The soda of choice is Mountain Dew and the kids start imbibing it here as infants/toddlers.  Mtn. Dew is very high in citric acids and sugar which leads to dental problems.

We then went a block down toward the interstate and made our first visit to Tudor's Biscuit World. 

If you love a biscuit then BW is your version of Biscuit Nirvana!

So many choices so what to pick!?

The front-end employee  was very friendly(yes, we are in the South I reminded myself)and helped guide us through the Biscuit Maze of Choices.

I got a pretty basic country ham biscuit while Hubs opted for one of the specialty multi-ingredient choices.

I also got a Fried Apples Biscuit which the employee recommended but I was too full to eat it so it was tucked into the cooler to save for my snack that evening.

Next time maybe I'll get that BIG TATOR Platter.....yikes!

We had such a good time chatting with the employee I asked to take his picture for the blog.

Robert is truly an asset to Huntington's Biscuit World location.  He has such a good attitude and treats his customers like royalty!
The employee's tip jar on the counter got stuffed before we left for sure.

Listen up BW owner--Robert needs/deserves a raise before another business snatches him away from you!
I'm just sayin'.....

Finally onto the interstate and heading toward the next state on our agenda......

Oh goody....another place playing up the whole Lincoln myth....just what I need.....lolz

We crossed over into KY outside Ashland, a grimy non-scenic oil refining town.  Not a very good first impression of our time in Kentucky but it is what it is and you've got to exploit your natural resources after all.

As we drove further west into the state the scenery greatly improved.
But we didn't stop until we got to Lexington.
And here is the extent of my sightseeing in Lexington.........

A big liquor store in town we just happened to drive by on our way through.  I am still kicking myself for not buying that coconut moonshine!  Didn't see that flavor any place else on this trip.  sigh

You gotta love the name of this ale....Cougar Bait!  It's made by the local Lexington brewery, Country Boy.
I guess after a few of these if you wander out into the woods you would be considered Cougar Bait! lolz

Once we hit outside of Lexington the stereotypical horse farm scenery of the Bluegrass State was evident.....

Just one of many horse farms we passed.

We even got to see the Versailles Castle.  It started out in 1969 as a private residence but divorce and death got in the way of the owners finishing it.   It was sold in 2003 and despite a fire and having to rebuild it's now operating as an inn.
The website is HERE.
The rates are a bit rich for my blood and there isn't even a pool! lolz

We finally made it to Lawrenceburg before noon to see the house the Jimmy built.

 

The Jimmy in question is Jimmy Russell the master distiller for the past 60 YEARS at Wild Turkey Distillery.

So we got to the new Visitor Center at Wild Turkey(which was pretty snazzy)bought our tour and tasting tickets and poked around the gift shop while we waited.

Hubs tries on a hat....
He should have bought it as it's a mite better than the one he sports now.

He ended up getting this "Give 'Em the Bird" t-shirt(at my insistence)....I am a bad, bad influence.....

I tired on this Bourbon Trail hat but at $24.95 it was definitely going to stay in that shop! lolz

Then it was time to get on the short bus.....

We toured various buildings at the Wild Turkey Distillery with our guide, Bubba.  Yes his name is Bubba.
He was quite the ambassador for the brand.

Hubs took this shot of me and a really big bird......

I have placed the videos I took of the tour on my YouTube page.  If you are interested in Bourbon Talk you can access them via these links...........

Part One HERE
Part Two HERE
Part Three HERE
Part Four HERE
Part Five HERE

Other than the videos I didn't take many more still shots at Wild Turkey.

Here's a vast open vat of mash fermenting.......

And here is Hubs inside one of the buildings with the fermenting mash tanks with a "photo op" specifically placed here for this purpose.
I will tell you that that building smelled amazing! 8-)

 

Here is the outside of one of the "barrel" buildings.  These are huge old warehouses where the barrels of bourbon age.  Though it was quite muggy and warm the day we toured the distillery facilities it was quite cool inside this dark dank building.  And kind of creepy too......

I don't have any photos of the bottling production building.  Compari bought out Wild Turkey a few years ago and build a million dollar bottling facility here in Lawrenceburg KY but they don't allow photos of the insides of the place.  We did see various production lines though no bottling was being done that day.

This is a large copper still that sits in the Wild Turkey tasting area.  Nothing notable to say about it, it was just interesting as room décor. lolz

And here is the tasting bar with the varieties of bourbon they make set out.  We each got 4(I think?  It's been so long I can't recall and drinking bourbon makes me forget shit anyway)samples.  The one I really wanted to try they were out of....boooo!
But I soldiered on and made the best of it. ;-)

After tasting we went back to the gift shop and Hubs got his t-shirt and a few bottles of bourbon.  He even paid extra to have his name put on the label of one bottle.......

Then we were off to our next stop of the day.
We were passing right past another craft distillery so we decided to stop in before going to visit my friends.

The problem is we passed right by this distillery!  When they said it was a MICRO distillery they weren't kidding. lolz

One little building.  We had to stop at a Walmart and call them to find it.

We go in and were greeted.
First was a big chunk of family history though.
The owners are Paul and Steve(the master distiller)Beam who founded this distillery.
There immediate family goes back 5 generations in the alcohol business and they are part of the larger extended Beam family which includes many of the past and present master distillers in Kentucky.

The only distillery who has not had a Beam employed at it's facilities(or the different named predecessor of it's facilities)is Wild Turkey.  The Beam family got it's start in the late 18th century when immigrants of the Bohm family came to America and settled in Kentucky. By 1795 Johannes "Reginald" Beam sold his first corn whiskey in the bourbon style under a brand known as Old Tub.

Steve and Paul are also the great great grandson's of Joseph Washington Dant who started the JW Dant distillery in 1836 and his Dant brand is still being made today over at Heaven Hill distillery.
Ah, the incestuous nature of bourbon whiskey making in Kentucky.....

After the history lesson, I pop into the ladies room to freshen up.

 

You know me and taking pictures of interesting bathrooms.....

Then it was off into the work area of the facility.
Here's a barrel of fermenting mash.  We got to stick our fingers in this and taste it.
Don't worry it gets boiled to death later and our finger germs are killed.

Here are more barrels of mash fermenting.

Their signature banner on the wall of the distillery.

Hubs posing with their pot still(it's copper of course).

A side note about Limestone Branch......if you watched that Discovery channel reality TV show called Moonshiners, then you know that one of the people profiled is Virginia moonshiner Tim Smith and his assistant Tickle.   then you might like to know that after Tim and Tickle went "legit" and started making legal moonshine, Steve Beam at Limestone Branch distills some of the Tim Smith "Climax".  They don't sell it here but the bottle you buy may have been produced here.

Then it was on to the tasting room.

Their brand of Sugar Shines is named after TJ Pottinger(TJ as in Thomss Jefferson)a historical figure in Nelson Co. KY.
They have a whiskey called Minor's Revenge, named after their great grandfather Minor Case Beam.
They also make a "sugar whiskey" called Precinct No. 6.  Technically not a whiskey but it is aged in oak barrels and has a whiskey like flavor.

They also are the only makers of Moon Pie brand moonshine.  These taste like a moon pie meets alcohol.
They have some recipe ideas for mixed cocktails using their flavors on the website HERE.

After all that we strolled around the gift shop.
This was a cute little whiskey related item in there....a miniature pot still candle warmer....

But my favorite part of the gift shop was this......

The row after row of adult beverages!
I called Sonya Ann from here since I know she is a fan of flavored moonshines to see what she wanted me to bring her, but the call went to voicemail.
Too bad, so sad........

I bought a *cough* few *cough* things......

An assortment of small bottles.

And 1 large bottle and a jar of banana moon pie moonshine.
I also bought a hat here as it was nicer and cheaper than the ones at Wild Turkey.

It was about 5pm by the time we were done here and we still had to get over to my friend Deanna's house for a visit.  I called her and told her we were on the way. 
At this point the plan was to meet them at 5ish but as luck would have it, a few miles down the road was a time zone change on the way to her house so we still had almost an hour to find it.
Good planning or just dumb luck?....You decide! lolz

So we overshot the turn off to her house(thanks to the schizophrenic GPS AND less than accurate MapQuest directions)but we eventually found it.


I have known Deanna and her Hubs Chester since 1998.
Deanna and I belong to a private email list of ex-Beanie collectors.  That's how/where we met, online.  This group had two actual meet-ups, one in Minnesota in 1999 and another in Missouri in 2000.

Deanna and Chester are from Southern California(well Deanna was born in the South and her military family moved around).

They moved in the last couple of years from Anaheim area to a multi acre mini farm in Podunk rural Kentucky.

And I do believe they are LOVING IT! ;-)
Here is a photo they posted last Christmas............

Why do I hear the theme from Green Acres in my head when I see this picture??

Picture of me and Deanna.....

Picture of me Hubs and Deanna

You'll notice in the background of the Xmas card photo of Chester and Deanna above there are some large hairy animals.....

They have two female alpacas, a mother and daughter.  This is the momma alpaca with their dog.

When we visited the daughter was pregnant and Deanna posted on FB recently that she had her baby(known as a cria in alpaca terms).

Deanna talking to her girls.....

And you see that nice big garden she has?

Yeah I am jealous.....

This places was a horse farm before they bought it.  There is a large horse barn and Deanna has her chickens in there.  What a great multitasking building. lolz

 Just some shots of their land both above the house and below is the "lower 40" with a pond.

So peaceful and tranquil here.....well if you can get down the shared road to the driveway past the vicious tiny dogs their neighbor has. lol

Quiet and beautiful....can I move in now Deanna?

Anyway after chatting, a glass a refreshing kombuca tea Deanna makes, and walking around the farm we went out for dinner in nearby Campbellsville KY at Yamato.
But first a stop at the nearby Holiday Inn Express to get a room for the night, then off for a very late dinner.  All we'd had was breakfast and shots of bourbon/whiskey all day.....some food sounded awesome to me about now! lolz

 

My Hibachi Chicken plate.
I was too busy shoving my dinner in my face to take any photos at the restaurant so I grabbed this shot off their website HERE.
Who would have thunk there'd be a Japanese Steakhouse in the middle of rural Kentucky? lolz

And thanks for treating us to dinner y'all!  We didn't expect that.

After we practically closed down the restaurant just gabbing forever, it was back to Deanna and Chester's house and after goodbye hugs we set off to the hotel for a good night's sleep.
But first I got a swim in at their pool even though it closed at 11pm the night front desk clerk let me in as we didn't roll into the lobby until 10:30pm(sssshhhh, don't tell).

Day 3 of the epic road trip of 2015 would be starting in a few short hours.....

Sluggy


 

Boring is Good Sometimes

I am so glad I don't need to be traveling this next month.  I really need a break and to sit my fat ass home sometimes.
I am going to be a boring homebody until the tail end of September and that suits me just fine.
Hubs will be taking College Boy back to school on Sunday and I'll just stay home.  Hubs does the driving and the heavy lifting so I don't add anything but dead weight to that trip. lol
I've done/am doing all the prep work to get the kid's stuff together and that is where I add value.

I more item to buy(and to nag him about trying on a pair of pants before he goes back)and I am finished with the pre-move stuff.

We have to rent a cargo van(or minivan with fold down seats)to get the kid back to college since we don't have a minivan anymore.  We did bring him home with all his stuff in May using our 2 cars but why spend all that gas x 2 and wear and tear on our vehicles when renting something makes more sense?
I am putting the College Back-to-School in my rearview mirror now.

I've already spent $173.57 on food this week.
Gulp!

Hubs and I made a trip to Maine Source for produce on Sunday...........

They had a weekend special on cod fillets($3.99)I wanted to take advantage of.  They also had a good price on zuke(.99¢ lb.), tomatoes(.99¢ lb.), grape tomatoes($1.49), cukes(3/$1.29)and local green beans(.99¢ lb.).  I also was down to 1 onion so I got a 10 lb. bag for $7.99....not a great price but better than paying $1.49 lb. at local grocery stores.  I also got a bag of red potatoes($3.49, again a meh price).
I found a box of canning jar lids which are going to be needed very shortly for $1.99.  Much better than the $2.99 or $3.29! price I've seen them being sold elsewhere for.

What I didn't count on was a couple of packages of salmon at $5.99 lb. and a pork shoulder for $1.69 lb. 
$59.81 OOP on $104.14 worth of groceries was spent.

So the meal plan has changed a bit for the week to include barbecue pork sandwiches and salmon.
You'll have to check back with me on Monday to see how the meal plan shook out.  ;-)

Then on Monday while at Sam's Club picking up stuff for College Boy, stocked up on a few things in anticipation of getting rid of my membership early next month.

I got 2 x huge cans of cashews, 2 x 400 ct. packages of generic Claritin(which gives me enough pills for 2.19 years) and 10 double pack bottles of hydrogen peroxide(which I use in my laundry washing and is much cheaper than buying "Oxi" anything).  Then they had a nice large piece of Salmon for $5.88 lb. and I bought that too. Add in the rotisserie chicken and burger buns(for the barbecue)and I dropped $104.86 at Sam's place. Value was $441.44(mostly so high due to the generic Claritin purchase....the drugstores rake you over the coals paying for that one, even their store brand one!).

Then my thwarted $20 gift card for an rx fill at Weis(they didn't have enough of my meds to fill it and me get the gift card)meant I spent another $8.90 on $12.38 worth of groceries there.....of which .67¢ I'll be getting back as a full price paid rebate in my Saving Star account.

I know I have bought ahead(YEARS AHEAD for the Loratadine!)so it's not so bad if you figure some things I won't need to buy for quite awhile now.
But it's still miserable to me that I am up to $283.22 in food spending and we aren't even halfway through August!
And if I try to stay on budget I only have $66.78 left to spend this month in that kitty.
bleh.

I am seriously considering a "eat from the stockpile/freezer/pantry" and/or only purchase food with gift cards I have for Target/Walmart/Price Chopper/Weis Month for September.

My pantry in the kitchen is a disaster and needs a good organize/clean-out anyway(5 opened bags of Goldfish crackers anyone??!)but I'll wait until the offending party(ahem.....College Boy.....ahem)leaves the building for school to tackle that chore.

As for this sickness I picked up late last week......
I am still feeling it.  It seems to have migrated down into my chest a bit but I am still having nasal issues so it's just a full-on carnival of bodily fluids and gunk......"gunk" being a technical medical word.  8-P

I have resorted to my emergency Advair supply to fight this thing off and cause it a quick death and keep it from progressing into bronchitis or worse.  It sounds like this gunky head/chest thing is something that is making the rounds with a few blogger buddies lately and I wish them all well and full steam ahead to healing from it.
If I am not greatly improved by next week I'll seek out my doctor. In the mean time it's not keeping me from functioning some what so I'll soldier on and try to keep face-to-face contact here with others to a minimum just in case I am contagious still.

As for today........
I have a pork to finish cooking today, a trip up to Weis(PMITA)Markets to get that rx and gift card and look for sunblock for CB, cole slaw to make, green beans to snap and blanch and then freeze, that large salmon fillet to break down portions for the freezer, plus 2 genealogy posts and another installment of my May Road Trip Saga to work on as well. 
And while I am out a trip back to the bank for coin rolls to fill AND to give them back $20.  My withdrawal Monday was full of brand new $20 bills and 2 stuck together when she counted them out so I got an extra $20.  Too bad I am honest like that, huh? lolz

Plus there is a nasty house that needs attention so I am off to get things done.

Sluggy
 

Working The Angles & Checking off The College List

This week is all about getting the College Boy ready to go back to school.
I bet you can see the big grin on my face after saying that, even through the computer screen, can't you?

This means having to shell out more cash, beyond the tuition and room and board I just paid the school.
Not so much grinning about this though.....
So if I can find an angle to work something for free or cheap, I am on it!


If you remember I transferred a few of my prescriptions to KMart's pharmacy from Rite-Aid when Kmart was offering $60 in gift cards to do so back in the Spring..  I also joined this Kmart Refill Club thingy.

Saturday I had an rx refilled at Kmart and since it was my 5th refill I got $10 in points back onto my Shop Your Way loyalty card.  I already had $2 in points on the card from a couple of months ago.

College Boy needed some PowerAde/Gatorade drinks to take back to school for Marching Band Camp and Kmart had Power Ades for .69¢ each so I loaded him up for some of those plus a pack of Ramen cups and 2 microwaveable Tomato Soup bowls.....

$0 spent on the College Boy stuff.

Then I hit Dollar Tree for a few more things for CB to take back to school......

Safety pins, 2 packs of dish sponge/scrubbies/, kitchen towel and 7 food items to help get him through Marching Band Camp.
$11.24 more OOP.

When CB got home in May we tucked all his college goods he wasn't going to be using over the Summer into a box in the garage so we knew where all that stuff was when the time came to dig it out.
Much saner plan that letting it all get swallowed up into the cesspool called his "room" in May and having to excavate for it in August.
Housewares, towels, linens and the toilet brush are now accounted for and in the living room.

On Sunday while out for a produce run to Maine Source Hubs stopped at Staples and we bought computer paper.....

While we are not quite out of printer paper we are down to our last box of 5 reams.

The last time I had to buy printer paper was in April of 2009.  Back then Staples had an awesome rebate deal on discontinued package design printer paper.  No limit on it either so I ended up buying 35 reams of paper and even with all my printing of coupons it has lasted 6 Years!  We may run out of this stash early next Spring so it would have lasted 7 years at that point. lolz

My Staples printer paper stash bought in March/April 2009.

Staples had a paper deal on Sunday and Monday only.  Pay $4.99 plus tax, get back $4.98 in the form of a gift card/prepaid debit card.  Limit of 4 reams. With the tax after rebate each ream came out to .31¢.  I've packed 2 reams with CB and I'll tuck away the other 2 for his use later.

I printed out the master College List last week.  The list we used last Summer to pack him off to college the first time.
On his day off last week we honed the list, deleting items he no longer needs to bring this year.

Then every time was pondered and if we had said item in the house/garage it got checked off.

When said item gets brought into the staging area(the living room), it gets crossed off as well.

This way we can see what is still needed and made(the hopefully short)"got to buy" list.


Monday we hit the store for the last time to get what was left from our list--batteries,  printer ink refills, a backpack/computer case, etc. $193.18 OOP plus the backpack Hubs picked up and the stapler I need to return as we found an extra one at home.

I also picked up a rotisserie chicken while at Sam's Club to serve for dinner last night. 8-)

We also hit the music store while out and about to pick up a conduction baton for College Boy.  He is taking conducting 101 this year.  Thankfully this item only cost $5.  By far the cheapest musical item we have EVER bought! lolz

I took a prescription up to Weis as well on Monday and planned to get a $20 Weis gift card for filling it, then use that gift card to pick up some groceries for this week.....but  they didn't have enough pills to fill it on Monday.  So I bought only the necessities on Monday and I'll go back Wednesday for the drugs and gift card and I'll buy the rest of the groceries.
I did buy sour cream and a box of Jif cornbread mix as I needed those to make dinner. BONUS-the Jif mix is the 100% rebate item on Saving Star so I'll get that .67¢ back. 8-)

Hopefully by the time I need my next rx refill, Rite-Aid will be offering Plenti points to transfer to their pharmacy and I can move my KMart and Weis rxs to them and get some point freebies.

After Monday's spending bacchanalia we are now down to needing 1 item.....sunblock for Band Camp which I'll pick up Wednesday when I am out at Weis or, if they want too much for it there, I'll give CB the money to go to Walmart and buy it himself.

Heck! What's another $10 on sunblock when I've already spent $11,716.66 on him this August(this isn't counting all the stuff I've picked up before now(notebooks, toiletries, tp, laundry detergent, food, snacks, drinks, etc.)
sigh......

Everything except College Boy's clothing, bed linens, tv, computer, his French press, toiletries he's currently using, cases of water and the "still need to buy" sunblock.

Stick a fork in me, I am done with this Back-to-School stuff!!
All that is required is to load this all into the vehicle and head west(and north)and drop it all off at school along with College Boy.

2 more seasons of having to slog through this ritual and I am done FOREVER!
There will be adult beverages and much rejoicing at that point.  ;-)

Are you working the deals and angles you can find getting your kid(s) ready to head back to campus?

Sluggy


 

This Week on the Dining Table

It's the "Struggling to Feel Better" Edition--

 

Lots of activity last week and Hubs was feeling under the weather by last Sunday night.  Of course by Thursday I was also feeling sick(head cold/sinus)....thanks Hubs!
While it didn't get so bad I resorted to eating Jello this time(old photo reused)this gives you an idea of how much I got done later in the week.

 

Onward to the meal planning!

 

Here's what was planned last week.......
 

1. Sunday--Marinated Steak and Grilled Veggies, Corn on Cob
2. Monday--Chicken Parm, Green Bean Saute
3. Tuesday--Crusted Tilapia, Yellow Squash and Onions
4. Wednesday--Pizza and/or Wings at local place(I have a freebie Q)
5. Thursday--Leftovers
6. Friday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread
7. Saturday--Leftovers or Hot Dogs and assorted leftover fresh veggies

 

And this is what actually happened--

1. Sunday--Marinated Steak and Grilled Veggies, Corn on Cob
2. Monday--Chicken Parm, Green Bean Saute
3. Tuesday--Crusted Tilapia, Yellow Squash and Onions
4. Wednesday--Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread
5. Thursday--I don't even remember...how pathetic is that?  I know I didn't cook tho!
6. Friday--Chinese take-out(I had soup and eggroll.)
7. Saturday--Hubs at leftover take-out, I had a hot dog.

 

As for my grocery spending last week.....I went to Weis only. $47.93 OOP.  August food spending now stands at $109.65, $240.35 left in the budget this month.

Leftovers going into this week--squash, green beans.
 

Here is this week's food plan--

1. Sunday--Subway sandwiches(still not feeling well enough to cook)
2. Monday--Rotisserie Chicken, Veggies, Corn Casserole
3. Tuesday--Lasagna, Salad, Bread
4. Wednesday--Pizza and/or Wings at local place(I have a freebie Q)
5. Thursday--Burgers or leftovers
6. Friday--Various Seafood items in freezer, Veggies TBD
7. Saturday--Leftovers

What I need to buy for this menu?.....sour cream for the corn casserole, a rotisserie chicken, hamburger rolls(maybe).

I'll be hitting Sam's Club later today with College Boy in tow.  Will stock up on items before ditching my membership so the food budget will take a hit this week. 
 

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?    

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten that week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week? 

Sluggy