Jay worked the day before Thanksgiving, so we packed up the car before he left for work on Wednesday morning. Six assorted bags, one computer, a couple of sun hats, a couple of warm jackets, one snuggly white sweater, and a cooler full of cheese from Yellowstone Cheese. To paraphrase; It was a dark and rainy day, then a little more rain, and a little more, then a lot more... you get the idea...it kind of set the weather mood for much of the trip. Jay had booked us at the Danville, IL, Comfort Inn the first night out. Being Thanksgiving Eve, we weren't sure if there would be anything available if we stumbled in. Evidently everyone else felt the same way, the motel was full. A good night's rest and a wonderful (yeah, sure) continental breakfast (what continent are they referring to, anyway?) we were off. First stop was a Pilot station to get gas and "real" breakfast. You know, the kind the truck drivers eat (you guys have our sympathy). We can't remember exactly, but, we think they had something called "The 9 Pound Spleen-Buster Omelet Burrito," or something. It was supposed to feed a family of 12. We had to wait in line a bit to get checked out, then, when we finally got up to the check out, the lady tried to get us to buy bottled water in the convenient stock tank size because it was two for something. The brand name was something like "Old Swampy", so we declined. She was quite insistent about giving us a good deal, so I pulled out the big guns and told her, "Hey, be nice to me, I'm from Wisconsin and I have cheese curds in the car. Play your cards right and maybe I'll bring you some next time." She was stunned. Silence fell over the convenience store. After a moment, she collected herself and said, "What's cheese curds?" After a brief explanation and some Happy Thanksgiving wishes we were on our way, with a Breakfast Bagel and a Breakfast Biscuit in hand, two Cappuccinos, a bottle of Diet Pepsi and a 20 oz bottle of water. As we hit the freeway I noticed a sign that pointed toward "Turkey Run Park." How fitting for Thanksgiving Day. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day for about a minute. On down the road we went toward Kentucky and West Virginia. We made a stop at the Cracker Barrel in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, for our on-the-road Thanksgiving dinner. Lots of people, good food, but nothing to compare with the food we get at our local eateries..."Bohemian Ovens", any of the "Family Restaurants", or "Culvers", but, it wasn't bad. And we reflected for a time on the things for which we are thankful. Jay drove on, reaching West Virginia in the dark. All of a sudden, a familiar sign loomed in the darkness, and we left the freeway to seek lodging in Barboursville, WV, somewhere near the Walmart Store. It would be "Black Friday" in a matter of hours. We stopped at the Comfort Inn, and the only room they had left was a handicapped room, but, they would give it to us. I hung up my nice big warm white sweater. We went to bed and set the alarm for 3 am. We got to Walmart at about 3:30 am and were told the special stuff couldn't be purchased until 5 am. Well, the $198 computer we wanted was already spoken for. They had a ticket system in place so people wouldn't kill each other at 5 am. Jay got a ticket for the $298 computer, which was still a good buy. So we waited in line and got the 5 am specials we wanted. Then it was time for the check-out lines. We got in a "10 items or less" line with 3 or 4 people carrying just a few items, so we thought we would be able to go through pretty quickly. Then the young woman in front of us motioned for her mother to get in line with her...Holy Hannah, the lady had a cart loaded with one of each item in the store and not just the sale items, either. Jay was cool as a cucumber, but, I mumbled and grumbled and was just lucky that no fist fight ensued. We got back to the motel with time enough to try out the huge, handicapped shower, have another continental breakfast (I'm beginning to think that the continent has a lot of under-developed countries), and be on our way. No time to even look at our newly acquired treasures. A quick sweep of the room and we were off toward Bumpass, VA. |
| Here we go!...Rain on the County Roads, Rain on the Interstate, and no lack of travellers. |
| If you were impressed by the Taj Mahals in Menomonie, you will be totally overwhelmed by the Rest Areas near Portage. Complete with jet engine hand dryers. Rough roads to get there, though. |
| A last stop in Wisconsin for some delicious Cappuccino...and lunch on the go. |
| STOP...PAY TOLL...GO! |
| THE TURKEYS MAKE A QUICK CHECK WITH FRAU BLUECHER, OUR GPS, TO BE SURE WE'RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. |
| A CAUSE FOR A LESS THAN JOYFUL VACATION ON THE LEFT. THE CURE ON THE RIGHT. AHHHHHHHHH. |
| THANKSGIVING DINNER A MEMORABLE STOP AT THE CRACKER BARREL IN MT. STERLING, KENTUCKY WITH A COUPLE HUNDRED "CRACKER BARREL FAMILY" MEMBERS. |
| BLACK FRIDAY EVE COMING INTO TOWN ON THE INTERSTATE, WE NOTICED A WALMART STORE KIND OF LOOMING OVER THE TOWN OF BARBOURSVILLE, WV. SO WE CHECKED INTO THE LAST ROOM THE COMFORT INN HAD AVAILABLE, GOT UP AT 3:00 AM AND STOOD IN LINE TO GET A CHEAP COMPUTER. THE CHEAPEST ONES WERE ALREADY SPOKEN FOR, BUT, WE GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE THE LAPTOP PICTURED BELOW FOR $298! |
| THIS IS OUR "BLACK FRIDAY PRIZE" THE PICTURE ABOVE LOOKS LIKE 1 COMPUTER, 2 TURKEYS, AND A MOUSE. IT IS ACTUALLY 3 TURKEYS AND A MOUSE. THE COMPUTER WORKED FOR ONLY TWO DAYS BEFORE IT CRATERED. |
| WE PACKED UP OUR "TREASURES" AND WAVED GOODBYE TO BARBOURSVILLE...AND MY SNUGGLY WHITE SWEATER. |
HEADING OUT FOR VIRGINIA
| TURKEY TROT 1 |
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