The day started off by making dog treats for Henry and cookies for the son. Almost the same thing when you think about it. Both will do just about anything for their favorite treat.
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| Bones for Henry |
A late start made lunch a "no brainer", Dreamland in Tuscaloosa! Got there about 1:30 and you would have thought it was high noon. Parking lot was totally full. There was even security at the door.
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| Nothing like the original location |
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| Tent for game day pickup. |
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| Notice the security guard blocking the door |
Never seen it like this. Guess its an every weekend occurrence during home game weekends. We had to wait a few minutes minutes to be granted access to a table, at DREAMLAND! Ended up sharing a table with a couple, Kevin & Tiffany, from Covington, Louisiana.
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| New friends from Louisiana |
Waitress came to take out order, and she actually "asked" is if we wanted to start with one slab. I countered "when did y'all start asking?! It was love at first sight! First, the appetizer, barbecue sauce and white bread. Best ever! Turns out our table mate is a youth pastor at a Baptist Church down there in Catholic country. He said a short blessing and even blessed me before we "broke bread" and grabbed a bone!
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| Big Poppa's chair |
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| "Recent" addition to the menu |
We got to the last bone on our plate, and Kevin and Tiffany both looked at me and asked "what was I waiting on"? I had to tell them the story about the last slice of the Spousal unit's birthday cake. Ever since I heard the words "bull shit ass hole", I refuse to take the last of anything. Left that last rib sitting on that plate!
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| Last bone on the plate |
The ribs at Dreamland aren't the best by any means. But, the combination of the smoke, the atmosphere, and the sauce make these a treat worth the out of the way location. But, don't ever get them to go to eat later. Hot, or not, never cool.
Time to once again hit the road to Nashville. Get to Birmingham and hit I65. Very busy interstate. Before long, gravity and three glasses of tea kick in. We spot a sign for a Stuckey's up the road at exit 318. They had us hooked! Good thing, because we passed a couple of other stops along the way. Stuckey's were the only roadside stops along the interstate when the system was opened. Great concept, but got gobbled up by bigger players when they finally figured it out. These were the original convenience stores where you could find just about anything:
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| gotta have a pecan roll |
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| This little road side stop almost had every SEC school covered |
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| Yep. Vending machines in Tye bathroom |
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| You, the Florida Gators and the Kentucky Wildcats can be saved by Jesus |
This store was a stand alone operation on exit 318, complete with gas pumps, bathrooms, snacks and trinkets of all kinds, and even a grille and ice cream shop. I got the thickest vanilla milkshake I'd ever seen.
Since all the Nashville area hotels were overloaded, we had booked a freebee out by Smyrna. This Hampton Inn even had a complementary charging station for electric cars.
You would definitely need it for the power to get over the hills up here. Hills they got. Even saw what looked like a castle on top of one of the highway cutouts. Love to see it on another trip.
Son #1 and his girly friend had plans for an outdoor concert. Arriving layer than planned, we chose to "wing it" and see them the next day.
Time for dinner. Since I had my Landry Select dining card, and since it as birthday month, I picked the Acquarium restaurant, one of Landry's latest selections. The location was at he Opry Mills outlet mall. Parking nightmare. Once we entered inside, I immediately notice this lonesome cowboy up on the public stage, telling a story, tuning his guitar. He had an audience of three. DUDE! Just play and sing before you lose these three!
We loved the restaurant. Great wait staff, food was excellent, and a salt water aquarium to kill for!
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| Picture doesn't do this justice |
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| Flounder Melissa |
We had a great time. The waiter, like Son #1 was a starving musician, but with a side job with food benefits. He went out of his way to tell us all about the restaurant and the contents of the salt water aquarium. If you have kids, great experience. Dinner done, we decided to take in a movie. Turns out this one sells beer. Got to wondering when the "last call" would be since they don't have a "7th inning". Saw the "Family". Short on plot, big on violence and cussing, just what an R-rated movie calls for.
It way a great start to birthday tour #57. Best part was sharing it with my best friend, the number one spousal unit in the universe! Love ya babe, thanks for a great day!
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