With Abby Cadabby happily(?) installed at the Pussy Hilton, we're all set with a rented 7-seater Chrysler "Town and Country" complete with in-car DVD player - yes, that means yet more viewings of "Frozen " and "Planes", and peace, if not quiet, for us four adults.
Time to hit the road for our two-week summer holiday!!
This might have been nice but I bet you can't watch DVDs in it while heading up the I-75 ... Unlike this one!!
After much surveying of our friends' and family's collective wisdom, and a little research of some local guide books, we'd nutted out a rough itinerary for our north-bound trip to Windsor, Canada ...
Day 1: Marietta, Georgia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Nashville Tennessee;
Day 2: Nashville, Tennessee (2 nights)
Day 3: Frankfort, Kentucky; Dayton, Ohio (1 night)
Day 4: Detroit, Michigan; Windsor, Ontario
... beyond that was still a work in progress.
So to fill you in so far, let's start with Day 1.
For six people, including two small but very opinionated ones, we managed to get on the road at a reasonable time.
Using the most accurate tool available to parents, the "whinge-o-meter", we decided to stop a couple of hours up the road, just north of Atlanta, Georgia, for lunch in the historic town of Marietta, where the famous (amongst expats!!) Australian Bakery, is nestled on the edge of a Savannah-style square - I say that, simply because there were trees, a park with benches and people walking around ... Yes, it really was time we got out of Middle Georgia for a bit!!
Mark the Baker, formerly from Boort, in rural Victoria
The pies were ok, but I think the comfort provided by this slightly anachronistic, but seemingly genuinely intentioned establishment, was from the company of the local Aussie owner, Mark from Boort, and some of his staff, along with the rather kitschy Aussie paraphernalia - yep, stuffed koalas and kangaroos, flags from the ceiling, and jars of exorbitantly priced Vegemite.
Sorry to say, the bakery was much like any local old-style, Aussie bakery, with fairly standard and stodgy bakery offerings: pies, pasties, and biccies - in the Australian sense of the word - not American, which looks like a scone for us!
I'm definitely a "live to eat" kind of girl - perhaps it's the French heritage - so meals, especially when bought, are roughly and not always consciously divided into categories:
WFO: Wasted Food Opportunity - food for which we'd held loftier gastronomic hopes, and after eating have left us feeling somewhat crestfallen that we hadn't picked a better place or menu item;
Fodder: food to fill a hole and/or keep a child quiet, with no hopes of it being any more that that; and
"Ah, this is the life!": to add a little poetic licence to a well-loved and quote from our lovely, wise neighbour in Yarraville, Nicky. This is food to make you appreciate being alive!! Delicious food, cooked by loved ones, or even a simple meal in a restaurant can fit this bill.
Obviously, there is quite a bit of light and shade between the three broad categories, but notwithstanding some amazing meals at friends' places - Kym and Steve come to mind - most of our foodie experiences in the States, so far, have been either "WFO"s or "Fodder" - and perhaps that's because of the age of our children and the associated contraints on our dining choices.
But, back to our Road Trip, for not everything is about food ... or is it?!
After our stop in Marietta, we continued through to Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is just over the north-eastern border with Georgia. Like many, I'd expected some hokey little town living off the fame of its famous choo-choo, but Chattanooga is in fact a rather large city with a railroad history but not much in evidence to those driving at 70 mph on the freeway.
Chattanooga River ... and the fog that helped mask the advancing Union (Yankee) troops nearly 150 years ago (see blue plaque below)
On the outskirts of Chattanooga, we stopped at a cheesy looking local attraction, Ruby Caves which we didn't venture into for time and accessibility reasons, and Lookout Mountain, which was of historical significance in the Civil War, as a location of one of the most significant battles between the Union and Confederate soldiers. It was at this spot, where fortune and fate turned towards the "Yankees".
From Chattanooga, we continued on to Nashville, Tennessee, a.k.a. Music City.
After dumping our bags at a our cheap and nasty motel, we headed downtown for dinner. I'd read in the latest "Bon Appetit" magazine that Nashville is famous for hot chicken, which I was keen to try. Ok, so this wasn't going to be a hit with the kids but I was sure there'd be something bland for them. The book has recipes of famous dishes from restaurants in the South, along with a description of the restaurant from which they hail, so I was on a mission to find "Hattie B's" and try their hot chicken.
It wasn't to be, at Hattie B's - there was a queue a mile long, no available seating and no prospect of us getting a seat even once we did get some hot chicken in our hot little hands, so we made the decision to bail and look for something with more immediate prospects.
Just across the road, along Broadway, we found the Downtown Tavern, with its very dim lighting, modern menu, and importantly - for the boys - TV screens showing sport!
Dave and I had mussels in a creamy, wine sauce, served with baguette rather than fries as we're used to - but they were tasty!!! Definitely a "this is the life" kind of meal. Jean had adventurously ordered a Japanese-inspired tuna dish, which when it came, didn't quite meet expectations but was tasty nonetheless. Bernie had a chicken dish with a forgettable name and probably equally forgettable credentials - he was underwhelmed, I think. Isabella had nachos ("fodder") and Daniel had yakitori chicken and rice, which he ate like a pro - picking up each skewer and gnawing the meat off in neat lines! That's my boy!!
Good food, alcoholic beverages, and fed children = happiness
Day 2:
I managed to put a sizeable chip into our first full day in Nashville, with a visit to a walk-in clinic for a nasty chest infection. I'd been sickening for a few days, and Jean had already come down with a cold herself, so it figured that I'd probably be next. The nurse practitioner, Brooke, was a lovely young girl, who was very thorough, and after taking a swab of my throat declared that I had a viral infection/bronchitis - no antibiotics, just pharmacy-strength cold and flu tablets, and lots of rest - yeah, right!!
By the time I got back to the motel, one hour later, everyone was champing at the bit to get out and about, so we headed downtown again, but this time to Nashville's beautiful FRIST Museum - a visual arts gallery, housed in an impressive 1930s post office building, complete with all the Art Deco details to make a fan of the era swoon - we did!!
We focused our energies on two areas only - a photography exhibition in the foyer, of old Nashville music and Indian legends, and an impressive exhibition of 100 years of animation, dating from
Lumiere's time with the jumpy but classic black and white movies, to current day, including Japanese anime and Disney and Pixar. The kids were entranced, if not overwhelmed, and we all just enjoyed the space as much as the exhibition itself.
We also spent time in the interactive art space where Bernie and Jean made their own prints from etchings, Isabella and Daniel did some watercolour paintings, and Dave, Daniel and I attempted some line drawings of a rather still-life model.
Kimonos aren't as easy to draw as you might think!
Tempting, very tempting!
Expending some energy between gallery and lunch with some running and train spotting
The whinge-o-meter had gone off the dial by this stage, so we found another tavern just next door, behind Nashville's gorgeous Union Station Hotel.
The Flying Saucer had enough fodder and TVs showing the World Cup to keep us happy for a little longer. Bernie tried out an oldie but a goodie with the sweet, young, thang of a waitress:
Bernie: You been in Nashville long, then?
SYT: I've been here my whole life.
Me (to Bernie): Not long then.
Keen to experience a little of the "real" Nashville, we had a little drive around Music Circle, where BMI and a number of other famous recording studios are situated, and down to the river where we parked and wandered along the main streets, soaking up the boots, hats, hair and music.
Isabella had been asking for a hat to replace the felt one from the two dollar shop that Daniel had thoughtfully decorated with a permanent marker, the morning we left home. I'd used the "we'll buy you another one" line to stop the wailing, and Isabella is a woman of her (and everyone else's!!) word ... So, as soon as she spotted an apparel shop, we were off.
The hat looked pretty cute on her, and the salesman wasn't too bad either!!
We'd heard from friends about the "buy one, get two free" deals on cowboy boots, but due to price - $400 a pair, and taste, we resisted. It was fun to look, though.
Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, etc, etc, etc - I'm an eighties girl, so it's all a bit wasted on me - have all , played at Nashville's "Grand Ol Opry" which we weren't going to be able to visit, so we wandered through the shop in town, bought a cd (the soundtrack to "Oh brother, where art thou?"), and took a trip out of town to a hotel which is next door to the Grand Ol Opry - the Gaylord Opryland Convention Centre and Resort with its 2881 rooms and 15 restaurants!
According to Wikipedia - a reliable, academic source, it is the largest non-casino hotel in Continental USA - outside of Las Vegas!
The hotel was like a theme park, all under an enormous glass atrium, with fully landscaped wings, complete with rivers, boats and ducks!! The $21 parking fee for a stay of over 20 minutes ensures the riff-raff are kept out, so it wasn't all that busy.
Isabella couldn't believe her eyes and Daniel just ran, over every raised walkway, and beyond. We ended up staying a few hours there, having a so-so Italian dinner (WFO) overlooking an illuminated musical fountain, much to the kids' delight.
The next morning, Day 3, we checked out of our dive and drove north and over the border to Kentucky.
What does anyone think of when they think of Kentucky, apart from horses, and bluegrass?
Yep! Kentucky Fried Chicken, a.k.a. KFC!!
I hadn't eaten KFC in about 20 years, but it was fun to experience it here!! Dave hasn't had it in ages either and ordered "fries". Apparently they don't do fries, so wedges sufficed, along with "biscuits" (scones to us), coleslaw and various goopy sauces in squeezy sachets.
Father's Day and all, and really, all Dave wanted to do was hit at least one distillery on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
We'd both been reading up on the various distilleries and of the eight or so places along the trail, including the well-known Makers Mark, one stood out - Buffalo Trace, an historic distillery built across a buffalo trail, just outside of Kentucky's capital, Frankfort.
There was a wedding in progress and we were too late for the 2pm tour, but a young Commerce-Economics intern, Dylan, from nearby Lexington, kindly gave us a quick tour of the bottling room and the main warehouse, finishing off with a tasting.
Too young to show an interest in the distillery process?
Talking the talk
Even for a non-drinker of bourbon, it was a beautiful place and an interesting detour. We all enjoyed it, and Dave, in particular, was a very happy man!!
Rebecca and Daniel Boone's graves at the nearby Frankfort Cemetery were our last stop before continuing on to Dayton, Ohio.
Our Daniel with the other, less peace-loving Daniel
Just before crossing the border of Kentucky into Ohio, we wended our way along the Ohio River, the other side of which is Indiana. We stopped a moment, to read the historic marker and to look across to a state that we wouldn't be setting foot in - not this trip, anyway.
By the time we reached Dayton, Ohio, it was after 8pm and all we needed to do was check in check out the local dining scene. The best laid plans, and all that ...
We chose the easy option: Chinese delivery out of paper and plastic, while watching the Atlanta Braves play the LA Angels (baseball), and slugging on Budweiser which is, incidentally, brewed in Ohio - we saw this truck as I was typing this!! Uncanny?!
It seems there was some kind of cross-dressing convention at the Dayton Grand Hotel, which was, by the way, slightly better than our Nashville digs - we at least had tea/coffee facilities in the room. There were a lot of "ladies" with loud makeup, impossible eyelashes, and heels and unforgiving dresses. To quote my Texan-Sydney friend, Leighana, "just because you can doesn't mean you should!!"
Dayton, Ohio is home to a large Air Force Base, and the Museum is HUGE. Dave was keen to have a detailed look after dipping into one small wing of it previously.
The Museum of Aviation was potentially several day's worth, but we were wanting to get to Wendy and John (Dave's aunt and uncle's) place in Windsor, Ontario, so we didn't linger as long as we could have. We all enjoyed it and Dave, especially, was enthralled and could have happily spent another two days taking it in in more detail than we could afford, with two small kids and a cracking itinerary!
(Pics to come!!)
It really seemed as if the state lines were being crossed at an uncanny rate, and from the time we'd left home four days previous and crossed the Ambassador Bridge, linking Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario, we'd zipped through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan - glancing at Indiana from across a river bank!
Bizarre, is how it felt for a car full of Aussies (and one Brit!) to have to show passports after crossing a bridge. It was equally weird to have to declare a "few" bottles of alcohol (i.e. a box full of Kentucky bourbon) at the same checkpoint. Our Canadian customs officer quizzed us about how everyone in the car was related and who we were visiting, and with all of us trying to answer at once, it got a little confused. Thankfully, Bernie saved the day with his irreverent wit, and with a smile and a wave we were off.
Windsor is a substantial yet quaint town with much of its industry linked to car manufacturing across the river, in Motor City. It has a relaxed feel and everyone we encountered was super friendly - even the lady at the local credit union who couldn't change our money to Canadian dollars, offered us drinks of water, as we looked a little hot and flustered after walking about in the heat - yes, summer in Windsor is hot and humid!!
Wendy and John kindly accommodated the six of us in their lovely "ranch" style home - Bernie and Jean on the main floor, and the noisy ones in the basement. We had a welcome sign out the front but still managed to drive past the house on arrival. With hugs and smiles all round, we soon were offered cups of tea, shortly followed by glasses of wine and a beautifully cooked dinner of salmon and salad with sponge cake and fresh local strawberries for dessert!! Soooo lovely to relax with family after a few days in soulless motels.
Dave, Wendy, John, Jean, and Bernie - note our very own welcome sign on the garage door!
Wendy and John's gorgeous front door and feature wall in the entrance
The beautiful garden - Wendy's labour of love - provided not only a beautiful outlook from the house, but light entertainment as well, with the cheeky brown squirrels climbing up the bird feeders and sneaking the seeds. Everything was so lush and healthy, and Wendy's stunning clematis(es?!) with their bright full booms, contrasted greatly with my sad and spindly little scrap of a bush on the back fence of my first house in Kensington (Melbourne, not England).
Winters are apparently brutal here, however, and Wendy talked about the long snow season and how depressing it is. I could kind of imagine the novelty and beauty of it would wear off after a while, but I can't help thinking how lovely and cosy it would be to be snuggled up in your "ranch", with the fire going, while all around is white and still. Lovely and cosy until you have to go out for a litre of milk, I suppose!!
Surveying the garden for squirrels ... There's one!!
Sampling "poutine" a French Canadian dish, consisting of chips, gravy and melted cheese ... Tasty and evil, all in the one basket, and I think we can say we've done poutine now!!
We headed off for a little historical tour of the region, and it turns out that the area was strategic in a couple of skirmishes between the Americans and the British more than 250 years ago. We had a brief wander a-boot (sorry, about!) Fort Malden, in Amherstburg and heard a little of the local history. I was kid-wrangling at the time, so can't recall much - British Loyalists, American attack, French Revolution?! These were all relevant, somehow - but aside from that, it was a pretty spot and the kids got to run along the river front.
Love those bilingual signs, juxtaposed with the English flag (for the World Cup) on John and Wendy's car
Wendy explaining some of the local Indian history to the kids
Lunch was down the road a bit, in the town of Kingsville - lots of very English names around here, as well as quite a few French ones. "Annabelle's" was a very quaint and heavily decorated British-style tearoom, and we all enjoyed a lovely lunch of salads, sandwiches, soups and scones ... except Daniel, who preferred to play with Lego trucks on the floor. We did convince him to try the tea, which he quite enjoyed!!
Catching up
Not at all pleased with her Wee High Tea!!
Practising drinking tea like an English gentleman
After lunch, we split off with the senior members of the family heading home, while the rest of us hit the winery trail. Overlooking Lake Erie, on the southern coast of the Essex peninsula, are a number of wineries, but after a very late lunch, we only had time to see one: Sprucewood. While Bernie and Dave sampled everything from a Pinot Noir to a Mulled Wine, the kids and I decided to harass a few of the locals!!
Canada geese ... of course!
After a few enjoyable days with Wendy and John, it was time for the four of us to "hit the road Jack!" and leave Jean and Bernie some quality catch-up time.
So, off to London, to visit ... Tim Horton, a Canadian institution, serving coffee, sandwiches, and pastries.
Next up, Lake Huron ...
Glad to see the Texan wisdom is coming in handy!
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Leighana, you have no idea how many times I've uttered your wise words ... Usually internally!
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