Since the following postcards are from my 2009 travels, I will be setting up a new blog for the 2010 postcards. You can still find it on this blog link as I'll put in a connection to the new blog once I have it set up which will be soon as I hope to go on a new 2010 trip soon.
New blog for 2010 is www.travelswithmike2010.blogspot.com
Mike A.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Postcards from Owensboro, KY
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The weather today was 22 degrees and sunny in Louisville when we started this trip and it never got above 27 degrees all day.
Today was our trip to Owensboro to eat someplace other than Moonlight!! I had promised Earl and Carlos that someday we would go to Owensboro and not eat at the Moonlight where we had previously dined on two other occasions. Now the Moonlight is a great place to dine, but at our advancing ages you can only go to the buffet table so often. Today, we are going to try out the plate lunches at Old Hickory which is just down the street from my mom’s house.
We left Louisville around 9:30 using my new Garmin which was my Christmas present. I decided I needed my “own” Garmin sometime shortly after The Barb acquired hers a few years ago (a thoughtful anniversary present from me). I thought that original Garmin was going to be a joint gift but NOOOOOOOO, she decided it was hers and then proceeded to select a male voice as the navigation prompt and got very testy whenever I would change the voice to a female. Now, MY Garmin has a sultry female voice giving orders and directions. Through the years I’ve grown accustomed to having a female voice as my navigator, barking out terse “Turn here!, Turn there!” orders. Now, all is right with the world as I am once again being led down the wrong road by a female voice. I just love it when a female leads me down the wrong road.
On the drive over, Earl and I were a little concerned that Carlos was perhaps not fully recovered from the cold he has been fighting for the past 9 days. The first clue was when he showed up in the car with what looked like a liter bottle of Nyquil. Half-way through the drive I looked into the back seat and saw Earl had put a napkin over his face in order to ward off the germs. I can tell my mind is not as sharp as it once was back when I was working because normally I would’ve brought some of my surgical masks to wear but unfortunately forgot them.
I believe everyone enjoyed Old Hickory. On other trips, Carlos would always remark as to how much alike we both are and could perhaps be related somewhere along the line. He found out on this trip that our taste in barbecue is not the same as all the items I recommended he order on the lunch plate he didn’t like. He did find a few things he did like but in the future he will not be ordering any meat serving that starts with the word “Chopped”. Especially the Chopped Mutton. Earl pretty much liked everything he ordered, but that might be because we had a blonde waitress who paid him a lot of attention.
Even though Carlos did not like the chopped mutton, I took it home in a doggie bag as I know my dogs would just love it. Especially the older dog Ukie, who is a chow hound.
After Old Hickory, we went to visit “The Rolling Pin” bakery which has been in Owensboro for over 60 years. Earl had seen it recently on a KET show and wanted to go. We each ordered a pastry and everyone enjoyed the conversation with the counter ladies, one of which was actually in the KET video which was produced over 15 years ago. On the way over, we drove by my high school and I pointed out “MY” parking space which is still there on Frederica after all these years. They had seen it before and now just refer to it as the “Famous Mike A. Parking Space”.
Next, it was back to my mom’s house where we again sampled the homemade bourbon balls. I believe they got the recipe wrong and must’ve tripled up on the bourbon because after about 2 of these my head started to feel funny.
Our next stop was over to my high school buddy Del’s automotive garage where we marveled at the very large tool boxes and chatted with the customers. Earl (ever the backache person) found a local chiropractor there and they became fast friends. Carlos and I chatted with an Indian family who were dropping off their car for repair. Since I’m going to India in 2010, they were able to teach me how to say “Where’s the Bathroom” and “I need Pepto Bismol” in Hindi. I figure if I’m armed with those two simple phrases I should pretty much be all set for India.
On the way back to Louisville we stopped at our favorite café in Troy, Indiana and treated ourselves to another dessert. The owners are always happy to see us and since it was not busy they stopped and chatted with us. A trip to Owensboro is never complete without a stop in Troy. We made it back to town by 5:00, vowing to go back to Owensboro again in the spring so Carlos can sample the ribs at Old Hickory.
A Post Script; Some time during the New Year’s weekend, Earl came down with an awful cold which 7 days later he is still not fully recovered. So far so good for me. And also, after getting back I fed the mutton to my two dogs. As predicted, chow hound Ukie scarfed all of it down by herself. This turned out to be a BIG mistake on my part as about 1 hour later I discovered the mutton didn’t set all that well with Ukie and the carpet in my house looked oddly similar to what I envisioned Sherman’s march through Georgia must’ve looked like. I’m not sure which is worse, the other dog getting sprayed by a skunk this past summer or Ukie’s debris field all through my house. I thought retirement life was going to be simpler than this. I'm getting too old to be crawling around the house with a bucket and brush cleaning up the carpet. I need a Man Cave.
Until next time,
Mike A.
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