When friends heard we were taking a road trip, everyone was interested to hear where we were going. Once I told them, I was met with a mixture of quizzical stares, and the inevitable “Why?” or “Well, have some good BBQ!” (we didn’t) and even more “Why???” We are building a new house, and that house is modular, and being built in a factory in, you guessed it, Moultrie, Georgia. So we went to see our house.
Our friends insisted that we leave Babka with them, and we dropped her off at 7 AM on Sunday morning. From there we started the long, boring drive,
made only slightly more interesting by the frequent turnpike/Dunkin’ Donuts coffee stops. By 10:15 AM we were at the Orlando Premium Outlets to get FKGuy some jeans and shorts that fit. Since his 30 pound weight loss, there have been a number of near-wardrobe-malfunctions, and it was time to put an end to it.
Three hours (six jeans, eight shorts, three dress pants, a bathing suit and one handbag for me) later we were back in the awesome Chevy Cruze on the quest for lunch. Speaking of the Cruze, the folks at Chevy loaned me the car for this trip. It was phenomenal. Not only is the car comfortable (I know, I was in it for a long, long time), but the gas mileage is excellent. We traveled about 1,000 miles on a tank and a half of fuel. This particular model is a diesel, so I think that makes the mileage even better. The ride is superb, the creature comforts are excellent, and the trunk had plenty of space for our suitcase plus all of our shopping bags.
The next stop was Yellow Dog Eats, in Gotha, FL (just west of Orlando). Yellow Dog Eats is extremely popular. Housed in a former convenience store, it seems the entire town of Gotha was there on Sunday afternoon. It is an order-at-the-counter and seat yourself kind of place, and although I had no idea what to expect I had a hunch the food would be good. I love it when I am right. I opted for the smoked salmon salad (hot, and house smoked, and delicious), while FKGuy had the curry chicken salad with coconut (also outstanding). We managed to skip the yummy looking desserts (all conveniently on display for your drooling pleasure) and get back into the Cruze and head north.
Just four hours later (and still with plenty of fuel in the car) we pulled into the Holiday Inn Express in Moultrie. It was Sunday around 6 PM, and it is a small, Southern town. The hotel was as expected – clean and friendly, and all we needed for our one night stop. Then we needed to figure out something to do about dinner. Did I mention the small, Southern town part? Well, it is pretty much closed on Sunday. The whole town (I did feel a bit like I was in My Cousin Vinny). Having done a bit of research ahead of time, I knew there would not be too many choices, but I wholeheartedly hoped that I had missed something and we would not have to go to Applebee’s for dinner.
I did not miss anything. All the good sounding restaurants were closed, and the remaining open ones were the aforementioned Applebee’s, a country
buffet, and Pizza Hut. Driving to another town was not an option, as we had been in the car and on the go for eleven hours already. Then I had the brilliant idea to pick up a bottle of wine and get a pizza delivered. There were a few flaws in this plan, too… Had I come up with this genius plan before we left South Florida, I could have brought decent wine with me, as well as a corkscrew. Instead, I had to choose the best screw cap options available at Winn Dixie. (I did consider it a win that they were open and sold wine on Sunday.) Then we called the local, non-chain pizza place that the woman at our hotel suggested. On the delivery menu, their stated hours were Sun – Sat, 11 AM – 10 PM, so naturally we assumed they would be open. Naturally, we would be wrong.
I called and was met with no answer. I tried again. Not believing that we still might have to go to Applebee’s (despite the mediocre wine I had just purchased), we drove by the pizza joint to find it – you guessed it – closed. Deciding that Pizza Hut was clearly going to be a better choice than Applebee’s the Veggie Lovers pizza ended up being our take out choice for the evening. That, and a little Amazing Race, made for a good end to the long day.
Next up, Part II: The next 18 hours. Come back on Friday for the rest of the tory.
