Outrun the Rain

It's been a few months since we traveled to the beach, and since we want to do road trips whenever we can, we found some great reviews for Highway A1A in Florida. The 70-mile stretch that parallels the ocean and beaches from St. Augustine down the coast towards Daytona sounded like a great Spring drive. Then I checked the Weather Channel, which has a tendency to almost always cause me change my original plans. This time was no different. Not only was there a lot of rain headed towards the coast, there was a ten to twenty degree temperature drop for most of the week. 

Plan B was going to include a Cajun cuisine road trip through Louisiana, but this left me wondering how upset I would be if I gave up on the beach trip, which I desperately need. What if I'm wandering around in the swamp with gators, and Vicki posts on Facebook how pretty it turned out to be in Florida? Thus began the desperate search for sunshine. You know those people who chase tornadoes just for the heck of it, and for the rush it gives them? Yeah, that's not us. We run from the rain and chase the sun. 

You wouldn't believe the hours I've gone over the possibilities of where we could go, what will the weather be like when we drive, and where will we stop along the way? I've learned not to plan ahead because we always regret it when we see something we like better. So, on Monday morning when I got home from working a week of twelve hour night shifts, I must have asked ten times, like a child from the back seat, "Where are we going?" Six hours later, on our way out of town, we decided to hit the gulf coast and just drive until it was warm enough, even if there's a little rain. 

We started our day in Morristown at The Cutting Board, with the best quiche (for me) and chuck wagon sandwich (for him) we've ever had. We made a couple of rest area stops and then a stop at the Georgia Winery for a few tastes of wine. I'm always amazed at wine tastings. I really can't tell from a few drops if I like it or not, I really need to have at least a half gallon, I mean glass. We ended up with a sweet red (I'll get the name for you later) , which is their best seller, and a bottle of piña colada wine. That one really surprised me when I tasted it, but it's like a sweet red with just a hint of coconut. Maybe it's not even "real wine," but it sure is "real good" as we say in the South.  From there, we just drove (well, Jay did after I told him my reflexes weren't exactly up to par in the Atlanta rush hour traffic) until we were tuckered out (one hour nap in 24 hours is catching up with me). We ended our day with one of my favorite foods on the planet, Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits. Don't judge me, but I ate the whole basket (minus a half). I think I'll make it a point to find the best biscuits in the South while on this trip. What better way to start and end a day?

Which brings me to the first and only real complaint of the day. I made sure to check TrIpAdvisor for a good hotel in Macon. I based my criteria on how close it was to the interstate, and if they had a pool. After missing the access road twice, we finally found it, checked in, and thought about going to the pool/hot tub (remember it was the reason we chose this one). I went down to get us some coffee (to warm up for morning, still better than using the in-room coffee maker that some drunk guy could have pee'd in), and thought I'd check out the pool area while I was there. Guess what! You got it. The sign said "Pool Closed For Maintenance." I went back to the desk to ask the girl if there was some sort of compensation since that's the reason I chose this property. With a puzzled look on her face (like why in the world would I care about a pool), she said "Well, nooooo (insert sweet southern sounds here) but our other property across the street will let you use theirs; of course you'd have to wear a robe across the parking lot I guess."

This is where I say to myself "it's a good thing she's cute, and I'm tired...bless her heart."

Goodnight.

Vineyard at Georgia Winery (and I assume a wedding gazebo).

Georgia Winery - Try the Concord Sweet Red 

Beautiful Entrance at the Georgia Winery

Gullah Gourmet Shrimp 'n Grits

Once upon a trip to Charleston,

this bag caught my eye. Besides, one just can't go to South Carolina and not have some Shrimp 'n Grits. Did you notice it's capitalized? It's THAT important.

I thought this little bag of southern bliss with the directions printed right on the bag would be something easy enough

for the boys to make at home. By boys, I mean adults who are children at heart, but definitely old enough to cook for themselves.

Riiiiiight!!!

 Well, we've had this bag for about 12 days now, and everyone wants to know 

"What's for dinner?"

I think this is the first time I've made yellow stone ground grits.

Apparently, it's what they are famous for in Charleston, because they are everywhere you turn. Baked grits, fried grits, cheesy grits, kissmygrits.

The instructions say to cook them until they are creamy. Once they were boiling, I turned them down to simmer with a lid for about 30 minutes. They tend to stick, so stir them often.

You can't have Shrimp 'n Grits without gravy. There was a mix of powdery goodness included in the bag with the grits. Just add water. I can handle this so far!

Time to add the shrimp. Make sure it's not the frozen pre-cooked kind because you'll want the shrimp to absorb the taste of the butter while they cook. The easiest way is the Jay Setser way...go to Food City and tell the cute girl at the seafood counter that you'd like a pound of veins-pulled-out-tail-chopped-off shrimp(s). We have this conversation about pleurals without s's. Like bricks and brick houses. Blocks and block walls. Maybe it should be called Grit 'n Shrimps.

 Call it whatever you like, I call it buttery goodness.

Add the shrimp to the gravy...

Assemble the best dish you've ever made in 30 minutes:

Grits topped with gravy and shrimp, with a side of toaster oven frozen garlic bread. I guarantee you, if you're a fan of S&G's, this is the best meal you'll ever eat that starts as a bag mix. 

Even the visitor, who wasn't going to eat any, because he was headed for Cracker Barrel with his lady, tried "just a bite" then went back for "just another bite or two." 

This was day one with my new camera, and I realize I have a lot of work to do on presentation. Mostly, though, I have to get the right lens for the close up work (or figure out how to use the one I have). 

You can order Gullah Gourmet here while you compare my amateur photos with the beautiful one that the company paid someone big bucks to put on the website. I will say, the website used different prep directions than the back of the bag, but it's all good. I wouldn't want to make them look bad by having better food photos than they do.

p.s. pass the gravy!

East Tennessee Road Trip

They say if you don't like the weather

in Tennessee,

hang around because it will

change.

The same goes for the scenery along some of our roads...

This might inspire

some Spring Cleaning:

and just around the bend...

Linking up with Patty at Finding Serendipity

Please visit her and join in...

Top Down Road Trip

We have been discussing motorcycles for a few years now. One year he wants one, the next year I want one, and this year we both did. We even went to the motorcycle store and "tried some on."  Fear of the other drivers won out, probably somewhat due to my experience working in the ER, and we decided against it. 

Then one day, I was just minding my own business, driving down the highway on one of those nice warm Spring days we had in March, and there she was, shiny, clean and calling me to "come back, just take a look, what could it hurt?"

TWO DAYS LATER:

Our first trip of Spring

started in Morristown (me, Jay and Pearl)

Drove up 25E then 11W north to 

Rogersville

Then took 70 N

to Eidson, TN

To

Pressman's Home

For you HOME SCHOOL MOMS, this would be a great educational trip, just Google "Pressman's Home, TN" to get some history behind this place. 

On to 

Sneedville, TN

then for some reason

I failed to take any pictures

in Thorn Hill and 

Washburn
(as you can see many of my pics are blurry, taken on iPhone because bringing a better camera never crossed my mind).

 By this time, my forehead was getting sunburned, so where on earth in the middle of nowhere do you stop to buy a sun visor? Why, the Clinch Mountain Winery of course.

And yes, I bought a bottle of 

Plum Sweet Prissy
Plum Wine.

Still unopened.
Just waiting for someone to share it with.
(I bet it's "plum" good)

Visited my friend

Cindy on the way, who lives on a hill

in Washburn and has a magnificent view. I am inserting a photo here that she took, because I knew she had one

 (or twenty-seven million)...and I'll just post her picture here too while I'm at it.

We made our last stop

at the top of Clinch Mountain on

25E

2 hot dogs $3

Days like this are what I work for. Knowing my family is healthy and happy - I'm so blessed and thankful for what I have been given. I hope you enjoyed the trip, and take one of your own soon. Call me, I'll lead the way.