Safely back at Rambling Road

 

Saturday September 30, 2023

 

Up and out to find breakfast since our Quality Inn had none.  There was a spot nearby with good reviews, so we ate an OK breakfast and were soon on our way. We had an uneventful trip on north quickly passing from Alabama into Georgia for about 20 miles and we were back in Tennessee. 

Quickly on through Chattanooga and Knoxville eating lunch somewhere along the way.  When we reached the Sevierville exit on I 81 we thought we would try visiting “our” Buc-ee’s.  It was now midafternoon on a Saturday. Big Mistake.  The traffic just to get off the main road into the road to drive up to the Buc-ee’s we waited through 2 red light cycles.  Long drive and a circle to get into the parking lot - it appeared every gas pump area was full – traffic in the parking lots terrible – people driving around waiting for someone to leave a parking spot.  Needless to say, we were not going to wait on a spot to battle through crowds of people when we really did not want anything! 

Back on the road for us and we got home late afternoon with no incidents. 

Jane feeling less than optimal and less good weather than we expected made for a less than perfect trip.  However, it was nice to get away from home for a few days and after the medication had time to work Jane was back to feeling good in a few days.  Not our best vacation but no major incidents.  

 

Heading Home

 

Friday September 29, 2023

We were up and headed north by 9:30. We retraced our drive back to Montgomery but there continued on I 65 north towards Birmingham and then Chattanooga on I 59. Going through Montgomery and Birmingham was a great choice over Atlanta on a weekday. 

One thing about the drive north through Alabama - boring.  Trees grown along both sides of road make you feel you are driving in a tunnel. 

We made a stop at the Priester’s Pecan location, but Jane still was not feeling like shopping after we got inside.  She sat in a rocking chair on the porch while Ben looked for just the right pralines to match with what we had bought at Buc-ee's. 

We continued on from Birmingham to our stop near Gadsden AL where we would spend the night in a less than wonderful hotel.  We settled for a Quality Inn because it was a big race weekend and all the other hotels were booked.  Clean and bed fine but nothing to write about.  We had dinner at a nearby Cracker Barrell. 

 

Visit to Urgent Care

 

Thursday, September 28, 2023

 

Jane continued to feel bad so chose to visit an urgent care office to seek additional medication since she was now having sinus pain.  The wait was not long and the doc chose to prescribe an antibiotic instead of an oral steroid to ensure she was not getting an infection that could spread to her lungs.  The visit and the trip to the pharmacy took most of the morning.  We visited a nearby Jersey Mike’s for a sandwich and chips which we enjoyed on a table near the pool back at our hotel.  Jane really did not care where we ate dinner so Ben chose what he remembered was a favorite from a previous visit – the Crab Trap.  This drive took us to the east into the very tip of Florida -Perdido Bay.  Regretfully this ended our vacation on a bad note – Jane ordered Redfish which she had enjoyed on previous visits to this area.  Ben had a Captain’s Platter.  Neither was good.  The grilled Redfish was too thin and small a piece to grill – if I got 3-4 bites that were not crispy tough, I would be surprised.  Ben did not enjoy his dinner either.  When we spoke to the manager as we left – she offered us a certificate to come again which was useless as we were leaving the next day…  won’t go back there!

Driving back to our hotel we stopped to gas-up for the trip home.  Beautiful sunset. 

 A word about our hotel in case we ever look back to return here again.  It was a fine Holiday Inn.  The access to the beach was good, the pool area very nice and it was clean.  Our room was right beside the elevator and while I thought this was great at first – the constant dinging of the elevator bell was not a plus.  We made the reservation late and did not have a beach view room.  We might ask for that in the future.  After 4 mornings the Holiday Inn breakfast was a bit old.  While the cinnamon rolls were great the first day – I did not want one the last!  They changed the hot offerings a bit but mainly it was the same every day.  The prices of all hotels have gone up over the last year – I did not feel it was worth nearly $180 a day.

The best Filipino food in 50 years

 

Wednesday September 27, 2023

 Jane was not feeling 100% with her head and asthma beginning to bother her - blaming it on the air conditioning in the hotel in Newman.  We chose to drive west on the main road to visit Fort Morgan.  Ben wanted to see what some of the non-commercial beach looked like.  Nothing much to see down that way – there was quite a bit of housing but little in the way of commercial establishments.  The weather was a bit iffy too – calling for rain which never came. We visited Fort Morgan which was a bit of a restored fort.  This Fort was in active use from the 1800’s until the mid-1900’s.  So very important for actual defense in both the War of 1812 and the Civil War; it served as costal defense during the Spanish American War. Even during WW 1 and 2 it was used both for training facility and defense.  The fort was finally decommissioned and is now a state park.   As we drove back towards Orange Beach we stopped at the Sunliner again and had the onion rings we had admired the day before.  This time we had salads and onion rings.  Both hit the spot.

We selected our 1^st choice for dinner tonight – Stephi – a new restaurant for us.  What piqued our interest were the Filipino dishes on the menu.  Located in a strip mall the restaurant was unexpected very upscale.  They were indeed the go-to Sushi restaurant in the area.  We had crispy lumpia and it certainly hit the spot – 5 stars for sure.  Could have eaten two orders!  Jane had the Seafood Pancit stir fry with snapper, shrimp, and veggies with rice noodles and Ben had the Caribbean Bowl with shrimp, coconut rice, pineapple salsa, sliced avocado, smoked corn and black beans.  Both of the main dishes were excellent and certainly met our expectations.  The sushi we saw being prepared and served looked good if you like sushi – we don’t.

Example for Sushi lovers to view.

Lumpia

Seafood Pancit

Carribean Bowl

View in Strip Mall

Do Nothing Day

 

Tuesday September 26, 2023

 

We sat outside by the pool and enjoyed the sunshine – only staying about an hour afraid we might get too much sun.  Got cleaned up and headed towards Gulf Shores looking for somewhere to eat lunch.  We ended up at the Sunliner Diner a place we had enjoyed in a previous trip this way.  We split a club sandwich and fries. 

Would be fun to eat at this table! 

Plenty for us and it was quite good.  For the life of me I do not recall what we did that afternoon but we at dinner at Wolf Bay which had very good reviews on Trip Advisor.  We again split a seafood platter which was mostly good – fish, scallops, and shrimp all good, but don’t order oysters grilled.  The gouda grits and grilled veggies were very good.

 

Newman GA to Orange Beach AL

 

Monday September 25, 2023

 

Up and on the road continuing south on I 85 crossing into Alabama just above Auburn.  We had been watching the signs for Buc-ee’s and decided it would be our first stop of the day. We have a new Buc-ee’s in Sevierville just opened in the last few months but we had not visited.  This store in Auburn had just opened Spring of this year – so very new.

Trees beginning to turn color.

Ben was surprised less than $4.

  We were there mid-morning before a crowd arrived, so we enjoyed looking around without a lot of people.  Very clean bathrooms, lots of gift items and lots of food items.  We bought brisket sandwiches, drinks, some Bucee nuts and some pralines.  Continuing down I 85 to the next rest area just past Gadsden and enjoyed the brisket sandwiches.  They were pretty good considering.

 

Half-eaten lunch! Very tasty.

Continuing we passed through Montgomery which was a breeze after Atlanta.  We picked up I 65 in Birmingham and continued south until we reached the Bay Minette exit which goes directly south to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.  We arrived at our Orange Beach Holiday Inn Express late afternoon and chose to drive just across the road to Bubba’s Seafood where we split a broiled combo dinner.  Perfect amount of food.  

Plenty of food for two. 

Our Holiday Inn is right on the beach and has a pool area and direct access to the ocean.  After dinner we walked to the beach area, but the wind was blowing so we did not stay long.

 

On the Road South

 September 24, 2023

It should be noted here that Jane was not 100% for a good bit of this trip.  She took few photos and since she is writing this blog 3 weeks after the trip it is short on detail!  

We left home headed towards Asheville on our way to the Alabama coast.  We had not driven this way in some time but decided to give it a try since we would be driving through Atlanta on a Sunday.  We stopped at the NC visitor center for a bathroom break before heading around Asheville.  There were lots of the flowers blooming there that we had been seeing this morning.  

 

Beautiful Grass along I 26

Ragweed

Butterfly Weed seed pods

New York Asters

Black Eye Susan

 

We then headed on 25 towards Travelers Rest and around Greeneville SC to hit I85 towards Atlanta. Although we had not been on this road for some years it was quite familiar. We stopped for lunch and managed to hit the outskirts of Atlanta about 1 PM. I can’t imagine what the traffic would be like on a weekday. 

 

One of MANY interchanges in Atlanta area

 

There was an inner lane you could pay extra to drive in that had very little traffic today.  While there was not bumper to bumper traffic there were so many lane changes that it took both of us and Waze to keep us in the right lanes – on to I 285 and back on to I 85 headed towards Newman GA and our stop for the night. 

One of numerous factories along this route

We made it and were very glad to be out of the car and settled into our room.  Ben wanted to order Chinese food and have it delivered.  Jane did her first online order to be delivered.  It arrived as promised and she picked it up in the hotel lobby. Probably not the best Chinese food we have ever had but it was hot and tasty.

Durham NC to Kingsport TN

 

Saturday May 6, 2023

Before we left Jane enjoyed viewing Sara’s flowers.  Sara is quite the gardener and has a huge garden mostly in pots in both the front and back of her townhouse.  Had a good breakfast, stopped at Jeff’s to say a quick goodbye and were on our way home before 10.  We made a stop at Trader Joe’s and got gas somewhere.  Lunch in Mount Airy and home by 3.  Great short trip – a bit of touring, great family and friend visits, and some good food.   Did not do very good job on taking photos or posting blog.  I am posting it after being home for more than a week!

Nags Head NC to Durham NC

 

Friday May 5, 2023

We got up to another bright sunshine day.  Had breakfast, gathered up our gear and headed out about 10.  O’Neal’s Sea Harvest opened at 10 in Wanchese.  We purchased steamed shrimp, plain shrimp, red drum, and grey fish.  Got them all packaged up for cooking at home and put them in the freezer and right under the freezer for the trip home.  This has worked well in the past.

Headed towards Durham on Route 64.  A drawbridge across the Alligator River stopped us for a few minutes as a boat passed through.  

Drawbridge 

We had an uneventful drive west with moderate traffic.  The road is 4 lane most of the way with a couple sections of 2 lane.  About noon we began looking for a BBQ location for lunch.  We stopped at Shaw’s in Williamston.  It was quite different – not really shredded or chopped – it appeared to be ground on a very large size grinder.  The sauce was traditional vinegar based.  It was super great.  We both had a pork sandwich – Ben had fries and Jane had okra.  The okra was fantastic!

Pork Sandwich and Fries 

Back in the day 

Today - not much changed

Pork Sandwich and Okra

We headed on towards Durham arriving about 3PM.  We enjoyed visiting with Jeff, Robin, and Daniel.  Daniel is doing great at his school. As a sophomore in high school, he has part of classes at the high school and part in a nearby community college.  He is working hard and has all A's. He had a deadline to finish the exam for his Music Appreciation Class (on-line) from the community college at midnight, so he had his head stuck in his computer finishing it up for most of our visit!   We visited a neighborhood Italian restaurant – Pulcinella’s – and enjoyed good conversation and food.  It was all good but not outstanding. The most outstanding was the lemon cake that Daniel and Jane shared. There was plenty to take home so they no doubt had lunch and dinner for another day!  About 8:30 we headed across the way to Sara’s B&B (Robin’s sister who lives nearby) for a good night’s sleep in her ground floor guestroom. 

Nags Head Day 2

 

Thursday May 4, 2023

Got up early to photograph the sunrise.  Not as exquisite as I had imagined but nice - then back to sleep for a bit.  

Bright sunshine greeted us on the second waking – so we enjoyed sunning on our porch, then ventured down to the beach for a little bit more sunshine.  The tide was going out and Jane was hoping the sand would be hard but it was not hard enough for walking at all.  We enjoyed watching the flocks of sandpipers running from the waves and catching something from the sand and surf.  

Holiday Inn Express from Ocean

Ben - I tried walking but too soft for my back

For lunch we drove to Wanchese searching for a place to buy seafood tomorrow to take home.  Wanchese is back across the bridge to Manteo and then south 4 miles.  Signs everywhere “Save our Village – Stop Cluster Homes”.  Evidently, they wish to remain a small fishing village.  The village has homes, fishing harbor, and boat building or repair facilities, two restaurants, a few churches, a school, a day care center, and one place that looked like it might sell souvenirs but it was not open.  We found O’Neals Sea Harvest where we had a super excellent lunch.  Ben had Soft shell crab basket with macaroni salad and slaw.  Jane had Red Drum Fish basket with slaw and pickled beets.  The best seafood so far on this trip.  We checked out the fresh seafood to purchase and planned our visit back tomorrow as we head west to Durham and home.

Signs in every yard

Red Drum, slaw, and pickled beets

Soft Shell Crab, Slaw, and Macaroni Salad

So we won't forget 

A bit of looking around and then we headed back to the hotel for rest, showers, and to get ready for more food.  We planned to leave early for dinner at Blue Moon which is very popular in their new location only ½ mile from our hotel.  We found a parking spot and walked right in at 5 PM.  There were a few empty tables but not many – this place is popular.  Jane had already selected what she wanted trying something new again - bouillabaisse – and Ben settled for one of the specials of the day – a fried seafood platter with fish, oysters, and shrimp.  The bouillabaisse was good – the broth excellent and the scallops, shrimp, fish, calamari, clams and mussels were all good.  There was a small purple octopus that was not very tasty.  Ben was OK with his selection but it was not his favorite.  The presentation was exceptional, and everyone seemed to be enjoying their food.  We would go back but might try different dishes. 

Seafood Platter

Bouillabaisse

Back in our room we tried to begin gathering our clothes and electronics for leaving in the morning.  The breakfasts here at the Holiday Inn Express were very good – several hot items each day, waffle machine, plus lots of cold things – yogurt, boiled eggs, cereals, lots of muffins, toast etc., and of course their signature cinnamon rolls.  Afraid Jane’s diet of recent weeks failed for these breakfasts!  All in all, we liked this hotel better than the Comfort Inn we have stayed in on past visits to Nags Head. 

Nags Head Day 1

 

Wednesday May 3, 2023

View from our room - sprinter parked below

Slept great.  Woke up to sunshine.  Nice breakfast and sitting outside in the sunshine occupied our morning.  Jane caught up on the blog and we planned the rest of the day.  We headed out for lunch and could not find Blue Moon which was our pick…turns out it had moved.  We ate at Mulligans which was fairly near our hotel, had good reviews from Trip Advisor and our hotel.  It was a comfortable relaxed place.  Jane ordered Fish Tacos and Ben had a soft-shell crab sandwich.  Both were OK but not outstanding at all.  After lunch we drove south to Bodie Lighthouse. 

Fish Tacos

Soft Shell Crab 

Bodie Lighthouse

  Jane had a mission to find a long sleeve chambray shirt – her 20+ year old Red Cross one and her 10+ year old Texas one both are in poor repair.  Had to put iron-on patches on the sleeves of both this past year.  Ben had gotten a nice one at Hatteras 3 years ago, so Jane is hopeful. Nice to see the lighthouse but no shirt.  There was, however, a car show in the parking lot.  Some interesting vehicles from MD, DE, NJ etc.  Strange place for a car gathering.  We drove on a bit further to the Pea Island Visitor Center and they had a shirt – it has eastern wildlife logo on it instead of Cape Hatteras but hey – it works!  There is a brand-new bridge across Oregon Inlet and the sand berms along the road on the north end of Hatteras Island are as large as remembered.  

New Bridge at Oregon Inlet

Sand piled up to protect the road

Ben was kind enough to drive Jane to 2-3 places she wanted to visit for her short shopping list.  Got a few things but not all.  Back to the hotel for some rest and to get jackets for the evening.  We reviewed our choices for dinner.  Selected Blue Moon since we found it was very near us and had such good reviews.  The parking lot was full to overflowing so we drove on to Owens where we were going tomorrow night.  Had wonderful dinners as we expected.  Ben had oysters and Jane had scallops.  Both were outstanding.  The veggies and hush puppies were excellent too.  Back to the hotel and a little TV and blog writing. 

Excellent Scallops at Owens

Excellent Oysters at Owens

Lexington VA to Nags Head NC

 

Tuesday May 2, 2023

Breakfast by chef Steve was great and we enjoyed more history stories about family connections.  Finally, about 10:30 we made ourselves get in the van and head east across Virginia.  We planned a visit to the Outer Banks before a short visit with Jeff, Robin, Daniel, and Sara before heading home.  

Traffic was light on I 64 as we headed across the mountains at Waynesboro; then around Charlottesville and Richmond.  We got off in Williamsburg for gas and back on I 64 headed towards Norfolk.  Talk about a confusing collection of highways in this Newport News, Hampton Roads, Norfolk area! About Williamsburg the traffic picked up and was heavy the rest of the day.  Before getting too deep into the maze we stopped at an exit with a Wendy’s and Chick-fil-A determined to eat at whichever came first.  We ate at a Chick-fil-A and enjoyed a nice lunch.  In fact this was a very quiet Chick-Fil-A.     I can’t really remember all the various roads we were on but a highlight was the tunnel/bridge that took us from Hampton Roads to Chesapeake.  When we finally came out of the maze of roads, tunnels, and bridges we were on a short toll road that took us into North Carolina right south of Virginia Beach.  We were about an hour away from the Outer Banks. 

We considered stopping here - glad we did not.

Busy port of Norfolk/Hampton

Entering the Tunnel

Long bridge headed to NC

Finally about 4:30 we reached Nags Head and our hotel.  We are staying at a Holiday Inn Express this trip.  We have stayed a couple times at the Comfort Inn in Nags Head near Whalebone Junction, but it has poor beach access and the rooms really do not face the ocean.  So, we are trying a different one.  We are on the 5^th floor with a direct view of the ocean and what looks like much better access to the beach.  A bit of rest and we headed out for our first of 3 seafood dinners.  We chose Miller’s seafood for night one – crazy parking lot which we remembered after we got into it and had to back out!   Jane had one of the specials – blacked red drum, grilled shrimp, and fried clams.  All three were excellent.  Ben had a flounder with crab and citrus hollandaise sauce – he felt it was only OK.  This location was the winner of the hush puppy contest our last trip over this way.  (We sampled hush puppies from Morehead City to Nags Head for a week a few years ago. Sadly, you do not get hush puppies here any longer unless you order a $4 basket of them – to sample one- we were not about to get an entire basket – so we don’t know if they still measure up!)  We enjoyed watching two guys with parasails while we ate dinner.

Delish clams, shrimp, and red fish 

OK Flounder with crab hollandaise topping