A Southern Road Trip with Nancy

Mom and I headed off to Asheville, North Carolina with our friend, "Nancy" Nuvi (my new GPS) late yesterday afternoon. By the time we had gotten through the Friday evening traffic it was supper time, so we stopped at a Cracker Barrel to eat. This took up enough time that the traffic had thinned somewhat by the time we were back on the road. FYI we had made the same trip this time last year to Asheville when we went up to see "Christmas at the Biltmore." We ended up traveling at approximately the same time of the day and arriving in Asheville around 9:30 pm both trips. However, Nancy made this year's trip so much nicer. We did not have to wander about in the dark looking for what road we were on or where our night's resting spot was located. Nancy took us to the front door of our hotel. What a miracle!! When we got up this morning it was 17 degrees farenheit (that was two degrees warmer than Minot, North Dakota this morning)!! My brother, Ray, lives in Asheville, and while he and my Mom had a nice visit, I took some time to "chill." Later in the afternoon, when it was time to head home, we decided to take a different route via Dahlonega, Georgia. The drive through the Smoky Mountains was beautiful, and as I told Mom, a lot different than I remembered from my childhood. For those who knew me as a child (or have heard any of my stories of same), I was the only one in the family who suffered motion sickness from the time I was nine months old (at least that's what Mom says). Most years we would drive to my Mom's family home in Jacksonville, Florida for Christmas. It would usually be a long two day trip from either Chicago, upper New York State or Canada. Of course that meant we had to drive through mountains. And in those days, there were no interstates or multi-lane highways. We would spend hours going up and down, around and over, windy, narrow roads and "hairpin" turns. It was a nightmare for me, as I lay on the floor board of the car (sick as a dog) from the time we left home until we got to "Maamam's." It was probably a nightmare for my three siblings who had to share the back seat with me and my "sickness." I remember in particular a trip we made from Chicago (mind you I was 12 or 13 by this time) and I was sick about five miles from the house as I "lost" the spaghetti we had eaten earlier that evening for dinner. The red of the sauce was bright against about ten inches of new fallen snow (in my mind's eye I recall it to this day). And that was on flat, straight land! Dad couldn't believe we were barely out of the city limits and had two days of driving to go. Fortunately, as I have gotten older, I have very little problems along these lines. Today, except for forty miles, we drove on interstates, and four or five lane highways with wide, wide, turns. There's much to be said for modern living. The Smith House is a well known hotel/restaurant located in the middle of Dahlonega, and we got there just in time to stop for dinner. I have been wanting to have a meal there for a long time, and today was the first time we had been there. The restaurant serves boarding house style with delicious country cooking. We were seated with a nice couple with whom we visited throughout the meal. We started with sweet southern iced tea and the following dishes were placed on our table to share: fried chicken, pot roast, ham, mashed potatoes, milk gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, fried okra, collard greens, creamed corn (are you getting hungry yet?), black eyed peas, slaw and relish, rolls, corn muffins and biscuits (can you tell we were in the south??). And for dessert - only one choice! strawberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream. We didn't drive home, we rolled!! So, any time you are in the vicinity of Dahlonega, Cleveland (Home of the Cabbage Patch Doll), or Helen, Georgia, you MUST take a meal at the Smith House. We arrived home this evening in time to watch FSU whip up on Maryland. GO NOLES!!