I know it's been a long time since I've written, and I apologize for that, but my Momma always said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Since I've been feeling a little crabby lately and dealing with a number of mishaps and misfortune, I just couldn't seem to find much to write about.
But today, TODAY, changed all of that. Actually, it kind of started yesterday when we stopped for something to eat while driving along Hwy 287 just south of Childress, Texas. Since we usually have to choose where to stop by where we can park (our total length is over 52 feet), we frequently wind up at 'truck stops', so when we saw Dutch's Restaurant - with truck parking - as we entered the little town of Quanah the decision was made to take a break. Dutch's had a buffet lunch which we looked at and Tom thought it might be just fine, I opted for the menu but after reading it a few times I figured a grilled cheese sandwich would be safe. Hold on now, I'm not done yet...my sandwich came cut in half and riding a great plastic platter.......all alone. The best part, the cook managed to find some rancid oil to grill it with so it was full of flavor. Now I promised not to say anything negative, so I'll just jump to the part where we were talking to the cashier and totally avoid talking about Tom's meal. This sweet girl, with big, round, blue eyes and a thunderstruck look seemed like she had lived in the area all of her life so I asked her if she knew anything about Lake Arrowhead, not far down the highway. "No, we used to have a lake around here where we all used to hang out, but a few summers ago it was really hot and it dried up. It's been dry ever since. You wouldn't believe what was on the bottom of that lake." was just about verbatim of how she responded. Ah, lightness filled my heart and a smile finally spread itself across my face.
On down the highway, we went, enjoy the scenery and occasional billboard when my gaze was greeted by the smiling face of our past president, George Bush, arms outstretched and the sweetest expression on his familiar mug. The large letters supporting his image asked, "Do you miss me yet?" I laughed from the bottom of my belly, long and loud, lest I cry for comprehending the hidden message. Ya' just gotta love Texas.
So, that brings us to today and the stop in Hawkins, Texas along Highway 80. It was just about 12:30, maybe one o'clock and we were ready to take a break, having started the day's travel at 9am. There, on the left, was a parking lot bursting at the seams and a great, albeit rundown storefront with Jewel's Cafe emblazoned across the window, and across the street an old filling station, empty and obviously closed...a perfect parking spot. Destiny was taking us to our meal of the day. It was a "welcome home, to the south" kind of place. Bustling with people, diners and servers, folks dressed in their 'Sunday best' and some (like us) in blue jeans filled the roomy space. We were greeted with a "Sit anywhere you like, baby" and chose the only cleared table within eyesight. On the wall above Tom's head was a chalk board with the daily special advertising turkey and dressing which suited me. A white haired waitress that could have easily been me took our order and shortly after bringing tall glasses of ice water also delivered a basket of warm, fresh, home made yeast rolls and two bowls of home made apple cobbler. We tore into the rolls, after all, who can resist warm fresh bread, but resisted the desserts until after our plates arrived. Of course they were mounded high with home made dressing and sliced of turkey smothered in a delightful gravy, obviously made with love, veggies and a small green salad. Wow! I couldn't even eat it all, although Tom did us both proud. The recipes reminded me of a homey meal any of us would have been served at a church supper. So good to be home!
Even though we didn't quite make it out of Texas after three days of driving, we are very close to the border and Shreveport is just down the road. Tomorrow we'll keep it pretty tame and be happy to make it to Vicksburg, maybe a bit farther and home to Clarke County by Tuesday. By the time you all are reading this, we will be happily back at the farm, loving our little Izzy and bugging the rest of the kids. I'll have a chance to see all of the work Tom Jr. has done on the little rental house over on Ferrill Street. It sounds like he has done a complete overhaul, painting every room, putting new floors in both bathrooms and pulling out the old carpet so we can show off the hard wood floors. I have always loved that little house. Even though I wasn't successful in my venture to locate my first restaurant there, I still think the house is a great place and we've always had tenants that shared my sentiments. Here's hoping the next family that moves into it loves it as much.
