Second Day on the Road

Monday April 2

I awake about 6:30, and the first thing I do is remove the dry kitty food in an attempt to "fast" Phoebe so she doesn't throw up the contents of her stomach while on the road. I shower and shave. There is no breakfast here, other than coffee, so I head over to a nearby Cracker Barrel. I know this is unimaginative and that there are plenty of Cracker Barrels back home. But I love their pancakes (which are served with real maple syrup) and their turkey sausage (which is not as greasy as pork sausage). I return to the room, pack up the kitties and their gear, and head out on the road again.

I am bound today for Clarksville, TN, where I stopped the first night on my way to Florida four months ago. I have reservations at the same Econo-Lodge. The first hurdle is getting through Atlanta, and I make it fine with no major delays. I must say that Gretchen (my GPS unit) is doing a good job on the way back keeping me on the Interstate and off the state highways.

My approximately 475 miles pass without incident. Just the usual pee and gas stops. Fortunately, nothing comes out of either end of Phoebe, and both kitties are relatively quiet today and settle down for big long naps.

I arrive in Clarksville about 4:30, and after setting up the kitty food and litter, the next thing I do is crank the AC and take a nap. The AC at the Motel 6 the night before was on some kind of "governor" that limited the amount by which you chill down the room. Bastards. So it was nice to bring the room down to "meat locker" temperature, get under the covers, and take a proper nap. I awake about 6:30 and am hungry, having nibbled during the day only on the last of the bargain bison jerky from Dixie Grocery Liquidators, along with some trail mix. Without taking a drive anywhere (which I really don't want to do), my choices within walking distance are an Arby's, a "Captain D's" (which is a fast-seafood chain of restaurants similar to Long John Silvers) or a McDonalds. I opt for Arby's because I have been wanting to try one of their Reuben sandwiches which they have been advertising on TV.

I decide to order the "Super Reuben" in which they put a layer of shaved turkey (or turkey-like substance) on top of the corned Arby meat, so you get kind of a "double portion" of meat. I order this with a small drink, and my bill comes to the better part of $9, of which $7 represents the sandwich. I didn't really look a the menu price, because I simply wanted to try the sandwich.

And while it was tasty enough -- salty in that fast-food, impossible-to-distinguish-among-individual-ingredients kind of way -- I am thinking that seven bucks for a sandwich is really pushing the limits of a fast-food establishment. I am thinking that for seven bucks, I should have a waiter or waitress bringing me the sandwich, rather than carrying it myself on a plastic tray from a counter.

Or is it me? Am I once again showing signs of getting old and/or being out of touch with what shit costs?  I just think of Arby's as the place you used to go and get five roast beef sandwiches for five bucks. In my poorer days, I could take those sandwiches home, put them in the fridge, and stretch those sandwiches out to five meals, and life was good. That was Arby's proper place in the universe. A source of cheap protein. Protein of unknown origins, granted, but protein none the less, and something other than hamburger, though exactly WHAT remains a mystery to this day.

Since when did their corporate execs get delusions of grandeur and imagine themselves a "restaurant" and imagine that your average Arby's customer would pony up seven bucks for a single sandwich? Even McDonald's has enough sense to limit the price of their most expensive sandwich -- a third-pound "Angus Burger" -- to $3.99.

Oh well, I had the sandwich. It was good and filling. But I was taken aback by the hubris of it all.

Back to the Econo-Lodge, where Phoebe seems to be in good humor this evening. I pass the time reading, surfing the Internet, and watching "Pawn Stars" on the History Channel.

I am looking forward to making it home tomorrow. The thrill of the open road is losing its charm --- especially traveling with two kitties.

I hit the sack about 10:30.

Bruce