Internet at last!
2008 Annual Highway Miles: 6620
Well, Friday we headed south for the last weekend of TennRen.
Before leaving town, though, I ended up dragged to supper with the Boss' family. We went to Abuelo's, which has been open a good three years, and this was the first time I'd ever made it out there. I was pleasantly surprised. The place was well-lit, cheerful, and spotlessly clean. The waiter was very friendly and attentive, even handling the teasing of my table-mates with good grace. The food was actually flavorful, not just generic. I especially liked the shrimp chowder. I definitely would go back. I liked it much better than the nearby Hacienda, that I had eaten at the night before.
The weekend at TennRen went well, all in all. Saturday and Sunday were warm, bordering on hot, and very busy. By the end of Sunday night we were exhausted, and still had one day to go!
We tried out a couple new restaurants in Smyrna. On Sunday night we went to Tokyo Steak House in Smyrna. I enjoyed it. It is a hibachi restaurant, and I rate the hibachi chef's performance superior to Fujiyama's in Evansville. I even got Tomas and Susan to try a bite of eel roll from the sushi bar. And the chef handled Tomas' shellfish allergy without missing a beat. A bit pricey, but all food-theater places tend to be. A great place to go for a treat. After entertaining other folks all day, I thought we deserved it.
Monday turned out to be a bust, though. The day started out hotter than the previous two, and I was worried about overheating in my fancy pirate garb. That was, until after lunchtime. The sky opened, and we had an absolute downpour. The temperature dropped, and most of the patrons left. It rained so hard that a river of runoff water went straight through our tent. The drainage areas overflowed and formed small lakes. Some drunken morons even decided to go swimming in said water; I fear they ended up sick and wondering why the next day. Uphill from us was the pasture they keep the jousting horses in between shows. The runoff water may as well have been raw sewage!
Being that we were pretty dead the rest of the day, we just visited fellow merchant-friends and talked shop. Ed Beard was at the show this weekend; and we discovered he will no longer be doing GenCon, though we should still see him at Origins. I bought some striped socks from Cliff for my pirate garb. Other than that it was just a wet and cold afternoon. My hat got soaked, and the feathers looked pretty rotten from the rain. The burgundy one bled dye down my back, leaving an interesting pink mark. Luckily once dried, the feathers perked back up fine.
After we could finally close the booth, we went to Hickory Falls Grille. It was clean and friendly, though the menu wasn't all that different from a lot of other places. The food tasted good, and prices were very reasonable. I'll have to see if my brother-in-law Steve has ever gone there (and recommend it to him if he hasn't). I'd probably enjoy it more when I wasn't soaking wet and cold.
Breakdown on Tuesday was muddy and humid. Earthworms and pill-bugs covered everything. It went back to being hot, so by the time we were done, I was happy to get back to Faith's house and shower and change. It was so hot in the back of the truck that afternoon, I got a bit heat-sick. I ended up skipping supper and going to bed early.
Wednesday and today were mainly driving. After sleeping in late Wednesday morning, we finally got on the road after lunch. Tomas wanted to double-check the brakes on the trailer, which I heartily approved of! The drive was long and uneventful. It did feel good to sleep in a real bed last night, even if it was in a motel. The cot at Faith's was doing a real number on my back.
We had lunch yesterday at a restaurant called Demo's in Lebanon, Tennessee. We found the place by chance, and I'm glad we did. It was cozy, the food was good, and the prices were cheap. I had the Greek Chicken Sauce Spaghetti, and I've never tasted anything else quite like it. I usually don't like stuff with a lot of onions, but this is a definite exception. It was wonderful. The Chocolate Raspberry Bash Cheesecake was good too...
We finally arrived in Newport News a few hours ago. We had dinner at Sam & Steve's House of Beef, and had the same waitress we had last year; strangely enough, she remembered us. And the seafood there is still good.
Now, I just want to crash. We're finally here on the East Coast. Tomorrow we have to set up the tent again, that didn't quite fully dry by the time we packed it. Wet canvas is such a joy...
I already miss home. I want to crawl into my own bed and sleep with my cats. It's fun traveling, but when you literally spend 24 hours a day with your Boss (and his mom) it gets tiresome and frustrating. At least I managed to buy a new cell phone charger at the local mega-mart tonight. My old one got left in Mississippi by mistake this spring.
I also stripped out the extra Gig of RAM I put in the laptop last fall. I don't really need it for daily work, and I've been getting frustrated with the machine constantly overheating. It chip is packed safely away for later re-use; I just want to be able to work uninterrupted right now.
But enough rambling for tonight. More another night, if I can get the boss to spring for the internet again. We have to pay for it in 24-hour installments, and it only works on one computer. Tonight, it's mine!
Well, Friday we headed south for the last weekend of TennRen.
Before leaving town, though, I ended up dragged to supper with the Boss' family. We went to Abuelo's, which has been open a good three years, and this was the first time I'd ever made it out there. I was pleasantly surprised. The place was well-lit, cheerful, and spotlessly clean. The waiter was very friendly and attentive, even handling the teasing of my table-mates with good grace. The food was actually flavorful, not just generic. I especially liked the shrimp chowder. I definitely would go back. I liked it much better than the nearby Hacienda, that I had eaten at the night before.
The weekend at TennRen went well, all in all. Saturday and Sunday were warm, bordering on hot, and very busy. By the end of Sunday night we were exhausted, and still had one day to go!
We tried out a couple new restaurants in Smyrna. On Sunday night we went to Tokyo Steak House in Smyrna. I enjoyed it. It is a hibachi restaurant, and I rate the hibachi chef's performance superior to Fujiyama's in Evansville. I even got Tomas and Susan to try a bite of eel roll from the sushi bar. And the chef handled Tomas' shellfish allergy without missing a beat. A bit pricey, but all food-theater places tend to be. A great place to go for a treat. After entertaining other folks all day, I thought we deserved it.
Monday turned out to be a bust, though. The day started out hotter than the previous two, and I was worried about overheating in my fancy pirate garb. That was, until after lunchtime. The sky opened, and we had an absolute downpour. The temperature dropped, and most of the patrons left. It rained so hard that a river of runoff water went straight through our tent. The drainage areas overflowed and formed small lakes. Some drunken morons even decided to go swimming in said water; I fear they ended up sick and wondering why the next day. Uphill from us was the pasture they keep the jousting horses in between shows. The runoff water may as well have been raw sewage!
Being that we were pretty dead the rest of the day, we just visited fellow merchant-friends and talked shop. Ed Beard was at the show this weekend; and we discovered he will no longer be doing GenCon, though we should still see him at Origins. I bought some striped socks from Cliff for my pirate garb. Other than that it was just a wet and cold afternoon. My hat got soaked, and the feathers looked pretty rotten from the rain. The burgundy one bled dye down my back, leaving an interesting pink mark. Luckily once dried, the feathers perked back up fine.
After we could finally close the booth, we went to Hickory Falls Grille. It was clean and friendly, though the menu wasn't all that different from a lot of other places. The food tasted good, and prices were very reasonable. I'll have to see if my brother-in-law Steve has ever gone there (and recommend it to him if he hasn't). I'd probably enjoy it more when I wasn't soaking wet and cold.
Breakdown on Tuesday was muddy and humid. Earthworms and pill-bugs covered everything. It went back to being hot, so by the time we were done, I was happy to get back to Faith's house and shower and change. It was so hot in the back of the truck that afternoon, I got a bit heat-sick. I ended up skipping supper and going to bed early.
Wednesday and today were mainly driving. After sleeping in late Wednesday morning, we finally got on the road after lunch. Tomas wanted to double-check the brakes on the trailer, which I heartily approved of! The drive was long and uneventful. It did feel good to sleep in a real bed last night, even if it was in a motel. The cot at Faith's was doing a real number on my back.
We had lunch yesterday at a restaurant called Demo's in Lebanon, Tennessee. We found the place by chance, and I'm glad we did. It was cozy, the food was good, and the prices were cheap. I had the Greek Chicken Sauce Spaghetti, and I've never tasted anything else quite like it. I usually don't like stuff with a lot of onions, but this is a definite exception. It was wonderful. The Chocolate Raspberry Bash Cheesecake was good too...
We finally arrived in Newport News a few hours ago. We had dinner at Sam & Steve's House of Beef, and had the same waitress we had last year; strangely enough, she remembered us. And the seafood there is still good.
Now, I just want to crash. We're finally here on the East Coast. Tomorrow we have to set up the tent again, that didn't quite fully dry by the time we packed it. Wet canvas is such a joy...
I already miss home. I want to crawl into my own bed and sleep with my cats. It's fun traveling, but when you literally spend 24 hours a day with your Boss (and his mom) it gets tiresome and frustrating. At least I managed to buy a new cell phone charger at the local mega-mart tonight. My old one got left in Mississippi by mistake this spring.
I also stripped out the extra Gig of RAM I put in the laptop last fall. I don't really need it for daily work, and I've been getting frustrated with the machine constantly overheating. It chip is packed safely away for later re-use; I just want to be able to work uninterrupted right now.
But enough rambling for tonight. More another night, if I can get the boss to spring for the internet again. We have to pay for it in 24-hour installments, and it only works on one computer. Tonight, it's mine!