The Trip Home – Days 8,9,10

Since we had a longer drive (500 miles) on Sunday, we got on the road early and had an uneventful drive from Sioux City to Aurora IL.  There had been lots of good-to-see road work with I-70 being widened all across MO, and nearly all of the work we saw was a total road replacement with concrete rather than asphalt.  Properly maintained to prevent water freezing damage, concrete can last many, many years.

Going thru Aurora is not exactly the most direct route home but it did take us for our likely last visit to the Wurst Kitchen that I’ve mentioned many times on here.  We took coolers with us and ended up getting about 30 four-link packages of frozen sausages.  Son Eric lived near there for several years and we would utilize family trips to keep our sausage supply coming but he has since moved and I was hating the prospect of no longer getting this delicious sausage but I was happy when they told us they now ship.

For supper in Aurora, we went next door to the Two Brothers Roundhouse Restaurant where we had eaten at and I blogged about back in 2018.  Bev had the Roundhouse Burger and I had the Pan-Seared Walleye (not unusual in restaurants near the Great Lakes) and we each enjoyed our meals.

We have been eating and making the famous Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwiches for several years now and when our day two trip home took us thru Louisville, KY, a plan was born.  We decided to stay at the Brown Hotel in downtown so we could try the original and compare it to others.  Per the internet: “A Hot Brown sandwich is an American hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt in 1926. It is a variation of traditional Welsh rarebit and was one of two signature sandwiches created by chefs at the Brown Hotel shortly after its founding in 1923.”

So, after getting into our very nice period decorated room, we headed to the Lobby Bar and Grill for this famous meal experience. 

We began with an adult beverage.

Since we were still eating light, we decided to share a small Caesar salad and the Hot Brown – First pic is from the web followed by the one we ate.

The ones we make are somewhat different as the hotel version has a one inch thick piece of turkey and ours is about half that, which seems like plenty.  Their tomatoes lay beside the toast but we put ours on top and they have two crossed slices of bacon on top but we chop ours as it's easier to eat.  Finally, after eating one at a different restaurant, we now add a little country ham to ours.

For breakfast the next morning, we went downstairs to J Graham's Cafe.

I had the “THE CLASSIC $22 - Two Eggs Cooked to Order Choice of: Toast, English Muffin or Biscuit, Breakfast Potatoes, Bacon or Sausage, and it was delicious and huge but I forgot the pic.  Bev just had a fried egg and breakfast potatoes and everything was very good.  Not sure if I’ll ever stay again in Louisville but if I do it will be at the Brown Hotel as it was a lot like staying at the Greenbrier in WV in terms of elegance and service.  

We have now stayed at The Brown Hotel and the Greenbrier in White Sulfur Springs, WV and eaten at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO and the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.  Now that we have sold the motorhome, I'm hoping to hit a few more of these nicer places while we are still able, beginning with the Inn On Biltmore Estate.

Everything about this trip worked well except for locking the keys in the car and we each gained a pound – probably not too bad for a ten day vacation trip.  Most of the roads were good and there was a lot of road work being done, which I'm glad to see.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

6/22- 7/1/25 event dates

Nebraska Trip Days 2,3,4,5

When we got up the on the morning of day 2, we drove down the street to fill up with gas for the next leg of the trip and Bev went in the convenience store for a pick-up.  When I opened my wallet to retrieve my credit card, I discovered it missing and decided I must have left it at the restaurant so I asked Bev to get their phone number from the car only to discover it was locked with the keys in the ignition but we had no idea how.  So, we called AAA and they had us on the road in about 20 minutes – not bad, so disaster avoided.

We drove to Oak Grove, MO for our next night as we wanted to eat at PJ’s Family Restaurant for the third time and have onion rings and chicken fried steak.  As is often the case with nostalgia creep, the meal was good but less so than we remembered.  We each ate two of the seven large onion rings (judge by Bev’s IPhone), then I ate about a third of my steak, some cottage cheese, and a few bites of potato and I was full.  Here are a couple of shots and the big plate of disks is Bev's side order of fried zucchini – you won’t leave this place hungry.

The last outbound trip leg took us the Kathy and Keith’s home to spend some quality time with them and look over their extensive house remodeling (mostly on the outside).  No Pics taken but one I wish I had gotten during the drive.  We were driving up I-29 in Iowa, a little north of Omaha and approaching an exit when there appears a sign announcing "Ski Area" and it cracked me up - there is snow skiing in Iowa?  When I got home, I did a web search to discover Crescent Hill At Hitchcock Ski Resort with a hilltop elevation of 1500' and a vertical drop of 300'.  For comparison, Colorado's Aspen Mountain has a vertical drop of 3267'.

On Thursday, we all made the hour drive to the Marriott in South Sioux City, NE to begin the wedding festivities beginning with a family and close friends supper at 4 Brothers Bar & Grill just across the Missouri River in Sioux City, IA.  

No food porn taken.

Friday was the day before the wedding and it was spent on errands, relaxing, a trip to the spa for the ladies and final wedding plans, including a rehearsal.  Then we went to the Soho Kitchen & Bar for the rehearsal dinner which included families, friends and the wedding party.  This is Kathy and Keith, flanked by Keith’s daughter and son in law, enjoying themselves.

Since we are eating less, Bev and I opted to share a Caesar Salad and the "MIDWEST PORK TENDERLOIN $18 - A HUUGE hand-breaded, crispy golden center cut pork tenderloin served on a toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles. A Midwest classic-crispy, juicy, and way bigger than the bun!"  We thought it would be similar to the one served at the Maryville Hot Rod’s Diner.

But to our surprise, they really meant HUUGE.

I ate one of the pieces protruding from the bun and Bev ate about half of the sandwich after cutting off the other piece.  I’ve never seen anything like this.

The dinner went very well and everyone seemed to have a good time visiting and eating from Soho's eclectic menu.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

6/23- 6/26/25 event dates

Dockside Grill And A Trip To Nebraska For A Special Event – Day 1 to Cape Girardeau, MO And Supper At Top Of The Marq

Our daughter Kathy and her boyfriend (fiancée) have been together for several years and have now decided it’s time to get married in Sioux City, IA and since she wanted me to walk her down the aisle, I thought we should go.  We opted to drive rather than fly and go to their house in Hartington, NE first to have a look at their home renovations before going to Sioux City - about an hour east.  It’s over 1000 miles to their place and in our younger days we would have made it a two trip but not anymore so we decided on three days at about 350 miles each day.

But before leaving for the trip on Monday, we decided to eat out on Sunday to prevent a kitchen clean up and to have leftovers for supper.  Since it was Fathers Day, to beat the crowd, we headed up early to Dockside Grill At Tellico Marina which is a place we really like and I’ve blogged about before and it’s only about 10 minutes away.  We got there about 10 minutes after they opened and at least five tables were already full.  Since it is owned by the same person as Countryside Restaurant, I can go there and get my favorite, awesome, fried catfish which I did for this meal and the only protein side dish they had was baked beans so I got two of them.

That is two giant pieces of fish and I ate about ¾ of one and about ¾ of one of the beans so plenty left for supper and maybe for breakfast as well.  Can you believe they serve all of that food for $15 especially at a place like a marina.  Bev had a smoked, fried boloney sandwich with tater tots at $11 and Pat had the catfish PoBoy with mac & cheese for $12.

And now for the trip.  We took our normal route to the Northwest with the first six-hour leg taking us to Cape Girardeau, MO and since there was no reason to get there early and we were gaining an hour, we left home around 11am Monday and left Cindy, Pat, and the pups in charge on the home front.  The drive went smoothly except in rained for about 2/3 of the trip which lowered the temperature to 62F and we were both dressed for 80F – I didn’t bring any clothes with long sleeves but Bev said she may have a light jacket in the big suitcase if we can dig it out.

That first night of the trip, we stayed at The Courtyard By Marriott in downtown so we could just walk across the street and eat at the 4.7 star Top Of The Marq restaurant .  We got there shortly after five and it was pretty empty but by six, the place was humming. 

From this 7^th floor restaurant, the muddy Mississippi River could be seen out the window.

Bev enjoying a cocktail.

They specialize in Social (small) Plates and I went with one of them while Bev ordered an entrée.  She decided to get risky and order Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps: sautéed Thai chicken, carrot sticks, chopped cucumber, chopped cashews, green onion, served in romaine boats, sweet chili sauce, peanut sauce, $19.Turns out to be a worthwhile risk as she really enjoyed it.

I had the Hangar Steak: medium rare, sliced, marinated hangar steak with chimichurri and two bean citrus salad, $17.  I thought mine was very good and satisfied my desire for plenty of protein.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

6/22/25 event date

Day Trip To Crossville For Bird Houses And Lunch With Friends

Several years ago, at an RV rally in Crossville, TN, we bought a few bluebird houses from a representative of the Cumberland County Bluebird Club and we stationed them around our property.  Since bluebirds are very territorial, it is suggested they be placed at least 100’ apart, which we did.  Starting last year, tree swallows took over some of the houses and since they are bug eaters, we decided to welcome them.  The swallows are also territorial so they also need to be spaced out but after some research, I learned they can co-exist in close proximity with bluebirds and the houses for the two of them can be 25’ apart.

With this new knowledge, we decided to make a trip to Crossville to get six more houses from the bluebird club along with two of the predatorproof poles for our on hand bird houses – the ones the snake invaded.

Since we were going to Crossville, we didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to see friends Diane and Milo so we arranged the visit around their schedule then we met for lunch at the Beef & Barrel Restaurant & Lounge.

We got there early and were the only diners at that time (Pat still using a walker from her knee replacement).

I forgot to have the server get a pic of us at the table but we spent the first 20-30 minutes visiting before we got around to ordering.  I couldn’t find a decent menu pic on line so I took my own pics of it – still not great but better than online.

Bev and Pat each had a Reuban Sandwich with one side.

Diane ordered the Chicken Pesto Sandwich and a side.

Milo chose the Patty melt with a side.

And to maximize my protein and minimize calories, I ordered the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich and a side of Steamed Broccoli.

I ate all of the broccoli and less than half of the meat from the sandwich – no bread.

The Verdict:

I believe everyone enjoyed their meals and we enjoyed the visiting even more.

Bird Houses

Following the meal, we drove to the upper end of the Fairfield Glade community to pick up the bird houses and poles which filled up the back of our car.  In addition to the predator guard, they have an easy installation system where a piece of re-bar is driven into the ground then the aluminum pole just slips down over it.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

6/17/25 event date

Lakeside Tavern and Weight Loss

You may recall that for Christmas, I gave Cindy and good friend, Kathy, five free lunches and today was number four.  Cindy had never been to Lakeside Tavern located on Fort Loudon Lake between home and Knoxville – about a 40 minute drive – and the rest of us have always enjoyed it with our last visit being Nov 2025 which I blogged about.

This is us at our table and a shot out the window showing the outside dining area (87F was too warm for us) and a cove of the lake.  

As usual, we began with an order of their delicious Colossal Onion Rings for the table but we didn’t think they were quite as good as we remember from our last visit.

Pat ordered the Chicken Tenders – “Fresh, hand-breaded chicken tenders fried crisp and golden, accompanied by our honey mustard dipping sauce. Served with French fries. $14.99.

Pic missing - Not sure how, but when I got home and looked at my pics, Pat's meal and mine were missing, which I hate as mine was beautifully plated.  Learned lesson:  Always look at my phone to be sure the pics are there before sticking it back in my pocket.

Cindy had the Salmon Avocado Salad - Fresh, cold-water salmon grilled to order. Served over farmers’ market greens tossed in our classic vinaigrette dressing, with avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeños, sautéed mushrooms and feta cheese. $17.99

Kathy opted for Southwest Egg Rolls - Grilled chicken breast, sweet corn, black beans, red pepper, onions, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses inside a crispy wonton wrapper. Served with avocado-ranch dipping sauce. $13.99

Bev just had a small Caesar Salad  - Romaine, parmesan cheese, garlic croutons and home-made Caesar dressing. $6.99  Then she ordered a Chicken Pasta Combo to go to have for supper.  No pic of it.

I went with the Ahi Tuna Salad Sashimi-grade Ahi tuna, encrusted with black pepper, lightly seared and served over mixed field greens tossed with classic vinaigrette, red onions, cucumbers, Mandarin oranges and pickled ginger. Accompanied with a side of soy-ginger sauce. $17.99

pic missing.

Everyone enjoyed their food as well as the ambience, and the view.  My food was good but the salad needed a little more dressing – something I rarely ever say.  While I enjoyed this visit, next time, we'll pick a different time so it will be less crowded and quieter, I believe I would rather go there around 1pm (got there at 11:45am this time).

Weight Loss

One of the downsides of taking weight loss drugs is that it can result in loss of muscle mass if you don’t get enough protein.  To help with that I have been drinking a protein shake each day.  I’ve settled on Fairlife’s Core Power shakes which contain 42 grams of protein or about half of the 100 grams I want to take in each day.

As long as I can remember, I have loved store bought chocolate milk and I still do so after trying the three Core Power flavors, I’ve settled on chocolate.  As it turns out, I really like it and may continue with it after I quit taking the Zepbound.  I’m well pleased to be down 40 lbs. in 3½ months – the weight is coming off faster now that I am alcohol free.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

6/11/25 event date

Baked Steak in Brown Gravy, German Christmas Sausage, and Mexican Out

Whether you call it baked steak, country steak, or steak and gravy, it’s beef comfort food at it’s best especially when served with mashed potatoes and it was a good meal for Pat on her first day home.  She had a knee replaced on Apr 27^th and after a few days in the hospital, she went to a step-down unit until May 8.  She has been doing very well and in much less pain than I was. 

Weight Loss And Lunch At Countryside Restaurant

I have good family genes for a long life but I as I approach my 80th birthday I finally realize I could overcome the good genes with my bad behavior, especially by being way too heavy.  So, I decided to give one of the weight loss drugs a try and my doctor prescribed Zepbound by injection and so far I’m losing four pounds/ week and my clothes are fitting looser.  I’m well pleased with how it’s going and I’m never hungry.  I eat breakfast around 11am and supper around 6pm and I eat whatever I want but I don’t want near as much of it and if I stopped my fermented grape juice intake, my loss would be even greater.

First Watch With Cindy and The Predator Hawk

Just as with friend, Kathy, I gave Cindy free lunches for her Christmas present and for her first one she chose First Watch in Maryville .  First watch is a 600+ restaurant chain headquartered in Bradenton, FL and Cindy has been there many times and since I had been wanting to try it, I was pleased with her choice.

The Greenback Diner For Lunch With Kathy

For the second meal as part of Kathy’s Christmas present, we decided to go to the local Greenback Diner where we had not been in many years.  After we retired, we ate two to three times per week at the locally famous Greenback Drug Store which at one time was a drugstore with a pharmacist and they served meals as well.  It was where the local farmers gathered early every morning for coffee and solving the world's problems and they occasionally brought their instruments and played a little music and politicians would come by stumping for votes.  After the original owners sold, it changed hands several times, the food quality and service went down hill and we gradually quit going.  Even though it’s only a 10 minute drive, we haven’t been in more than 10 years so when Kathy suggested it, we decided to give it a try.

Lunch At Las Margarita’s 411 Mexican Grill With Kathy And Bev

Once again this year, my Christmas gift to friend Kathy was five lunches at the restaurants of her choice and most of the time, she just has me pick one.  The adjoining towns of Maryille and Alcoa, TN (county population of 140,000) surprisingly have nine Mexican restaurants and one combination store and restaurant.  And for this meal, we picked one of them we had never been to as it was conveniently located for all of us.  Las Margarita’s 411 Mexican Grill is located in a building that had been the go-to mom and pop 411 Restaurant since before I came to the area in 1969.

Birthday Lunch For Cindy At Chesapeake's

Cindy had a birthday while Bev was in Florida so we finally were able to take her out to lunch this day and as a seafood lover, we took her to Chesapeake’s Seafood House in West Knoxville.  They are one of the Copper Cellar Family of Restaurants, which is a local chain that, in addition to Chesapeake’s, includes Calhoun’s, Copper Cellar, Cappuccino’s, Cherokee Grill, Corner 16, and Smoky Mountain Brewery with locations around the Knoxville area and in Gatlinburg.

Knoxville Christmas Train Ride And I'm Now A Geek

For the past two years, Eliza has taken her family on the Christmas Lantern Express and this year we went along.  The ride is put on by the Three Rivers Rambler- “The Three Rivers Rambler is an excursion train in Knoxville, Tennessee along the Tennessee River. The train is operated by the Knoxville and Holston River Railroad, a subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways.”