Meals on Wheels, The First Course: Tennessee
In recent months, we have attended family events that drew
large numbers of relatives. While we
enjoyed the opportunity to visit briefly with everyone, we realized that our
interaction with each person was much too brief. To really catch up, we needed more time with
fewer people, not less time with more people.
Hearkening back to our old Polar Express treks to deliver holiday gifts
to our nieces and nephews when they were young children, we conceived the Meals
on Wheels Tour.
Like our long ago winter whistle-stops in Santa’s footsteps,
the idea of the trip would be a brief visit with one family unit only. To ensure it would not interfere with their
regular routine, we would meet them at a restaurant of their choosing. That way they wouldn’t need to worry about
cleaning their house. The meal would, of
course, be at our expense, and at the end of it we would part ways.
After we volunteered to drive our travel buddy Steven to
Alabama for a visit with Nanamama, his return home to Tennessee seemed the
perfect time to implement the first course of Meals on Wheels.
SUNDAY: Kathy and
Steven at Drake’s
FRANKLIN, Tennessee—It was Easter Sunday, the last day of
his spring break, when we drove 13-year-old Steven back home to Franklin, Tennessee. Rachel had come home from
college for the weekend and we just missed her by a few hours, but we’d catch her on another
stop.
Fortuitously, we had the opportunity to participate in
Steven and Kathy’s clever restaurant lottery game.
Last year, they compiled a list of restaurants in Franklin, and there
are many—both local fixtures and regional and national chains. The names of all these eateries were inscribed
on index cards and placed in a bucket.
Each Sunday Kathy and Steven draw three cards from the container and pick one of those three for a meal. Having
three options keeps the game interesting and lively because they still have an
element of choice. The ones not selected are returned to the pail.
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Steven and Kathy, a great pair of trivia partners! |
The biggest news we learned from Kathy and Steven was about
Steven’s plans to attend a special three-week college campus program through
the Duke University Center for Summer Studies.
Scoring in the top 1% nationally among seventh graders in math on the
ACT was his ticket to eligibility. This
13-year-old is very excited about getting a taste of college this summer.
MONDAY: Alison at
Crescent City Po Boys
GALLATIN, Tennessee—Cousin Alison, a teacher of gifted
middle schoolers much like Steven, was our lunch date for Monday, her spring
break beginning as Steven’s came to a close.
We met in downtown Gallatin near Alison’s cherished First United
Methodist Church, where she has been singing in the chancel choir for 16
years. The church was a short walk to
the reinvigorated Gallatin town square and Alison’s favorite local
restaurant—Crescent City Po Boys, purveyor of fresh, authentic Cajun and Creole
food.
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A little place with a big impact on downtown Gallatin |
In addition to hearing the latest news about her family, we learned from Alison how to determine a dog’s previous name. Last year her family adopted a ruggedly
handsome Bouvier des Flandres (Flemish cow herder), a black-coated shaggy dog,
from a local animal shelter. Learning
that their new pet was almost five years old, Alison was convinced he had a
name from his prior home, though the shelter staff had no information
available.
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This Crescent City food didn't last long. |
MONDAY: Rachel and
Gavin at The Cheesecake Factory
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee—After a brief walking tour of downtown
Gallatin, we drove east for our dinner date with niece Rachel and her friend
Gavin. They chose The Cheesecake Factory
near the University of Tennessee campus.
With almost 200 locations around the world, the restaurant had its
humble beginnings in 1972 when Detroit natives Evelyn and Oscar Overton moved
to Los Angeles and opened a bakery selling cheesecakes made with recipes Evelyn
had spent 30 years perfecting. With a
flair for business, their son David soon opened a restaurant featuring both entrees and a wide
variety of desserts to showcase his mother’s creations. The Cheesecake Factory was born. In the intervening years, the chain has built
a faithful following with its eclectic menu and generous portion sizes.
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It had been at least 20 years since we visited a Cheesecake Factory. After our delicious dinner, we wondered why. |
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The lovely Rachel and charming Gavin |
TUESDAY (Knoxville to Asheville)
With no engagements on Tuesday, we letterboxed our way from
Knoxville to Asheville along a picturesque section of I-40. Near the state
line, we had parked on the shoulder of a side road to fetch a letterbox hidden on
the Appalachian Trail nearby. From our
vantage point on a hill overlooking the road, we noticed another car pull over
behind our vehicle. After disembarking,
the driver took a quick look around.
Finding no one in the vicinity, and with a look of desperation we recognized only
too well, she demonstrated that it is indeed possible to view a full moon in
the middle of the day.
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Check out the blazes. We're on the AT! |