Here’s some excellent truckstop fare I recently enjoyed — a sides sampler featuring collards, mac & cheese, rice & gravy and pinto beans:
It was delicious.
Another stormy night here as the remnants of Erika dump more rain on our saturated region. What’s up in your neck of the woods?
redshirt
Was it a nice truck stop?
I like nice truck stops.
Elizabelle
Hey Betty. Looks delish. Sides are good.
Finished some leftover Chinese food; in jammies hanging out with visiting sister.
jl
Everything looks great. Meats? Waddabout the meats?
Mornington Crescent
Jake Arrieta with no-hitter for the Cubs at Dodger Stadium.
NotMax
Friend’s grandmother worked as a waitress at a truck stop in Montana. Finally retired when she was 70-something.
After hitting 80, went back to waitressing there because she was bored.
PeakVT
Sides? I go with the appetizer sampler when I can.
Wally Ballou
The Cubs’ Arrieta just completed the first no-hitter of his career vs. the Dodgers.
First Dodger Stadium no-hitter by a visiting pitcher since Kent Mercker in 1994. That’s sort of hard to believe.
redshirt
@Wally Ballou: An awful lot of No-No’s this year. Wonder what the record is for any one year?
I blame the “new” strike zone.
Punchy
Always be suspicious of any “Erika”s with a “k”. Looks too Greek. Which is socialist and uses gyros as money.
mai naem mobile
Theres a clip of Miley Cyrus on a stage swing like the Wrecking Bsll video except it’s a swing. Anyhow,she’s swinging away repeating shlt,fvck,bltch,mutherrrfvckkkurrr. Just repeating it. This is what.I feel like doing when the 2016 GOP candidates are on.
SiubhanDuinne
Three wicked-looking systems in the Pacific. Stay safe and dry, NotMax (and any other islanders).
There also appears to be a new storm organizing off the west coast of Africa.
http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-124.98,9.38,440
scav
solid orange moon rose over the lake in Chicago.
Wally Ballou
@redshirt: Most in the “modern” era is seven, which has happened three times (1990, 1991, 2012). There were eight of them in 1884.
Arrieta’s is the sixth of the current season.
Renie
@SiubhanDuinne: What a fascinating image of the earth! Thanks for posting that. Who runs that site, do you know?
Gin & Tonic
@redshirt: Baseball Reference says 1884 was the record year with 8.
Amir Khalid
@Punchy:
Erika is a German name. My dictionary says it’s also the word for “heather”.
Betty Cracker
@redshirt: It’s one of the greats. Bett’s Big “T” in Chiefland, FL. Highly recommended.
@NotMax: She must’ve been a tough lady. I waitressed in college, and that job wore my ass out. It’s hard.
SiubhanDuinne
@Renie:
I don’t know; wish I did. I only discovered it a week or so ago — can’t remember where, but I was so taken with it that I added it to my home screen for immediate access. Glad you like it. I think it’s very cool!
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
First time ever since weather records have been kept that there are two category 4 tropical cyclones simultaneously in the central Pacific.
@Betty Cracker
Sturdy pioneer stock, don’tcha know.
jl
@Renie: you can drag the globe aroumd to any angle you want.
redshirt
@Betty Cracker: Cool. I’ve driven cross country many times, and a couple of times in the past few years, and wow the quality of truck stops can cover a vast range, from “vomit filled murder trap” to “highway nirvana”.
Without even going inside, you can usually tell just by the appearance of the parking lot. See a couple of urine filled 2 liters? Set your expectations low.
PaulW
I got my rough draft superhero short story – at 19000 plus words it might be a novella – finally done and now need 1) a beta reader versed in superhero tropes, 2) a kickstarter to raise the funds needed for hiring a cover artist, and 5) affordable marketing campaign to get 50,000 people to buy it once I get it uploaded to Smashwords.
Also, I can’t stop blogging: http://noticeatrend.blogspot.com/2015/08/as-august-2015-ends-some-campaign.html
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
Wow! That actually seems pretty amazing to me, but then IANAMeteorologist. And irrespective of any records being broken, I reiterate my wishes for your staying out of harm’s way.
PaulW
@Punchy:
As a survivor of the mean streets of Tarpon Springs, I urge you not to say mean things about Greeks.
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
Thanks.
Flying out to NYC area to visit Mom Monday night, so will be well clear.
Counting on still having a cottage to come back to. :)
redshirt
@NotMax: Is living in Hawaii as awesome as it seems to a mainlander (from Maine, no less)?
NotMax
@redshirt
Yes. Expensive, but still yes. Moved here in 1983, when it was much less populous and much more laid back.
redshirt
@NotMax: Why is it not as laid back these days? Too many Californians?
Punchy
@PaulW: I harbor no ill will against a country named after the remnants of cooking bacon.
NotMax
@redhsirt
Just a general impression. More traffic, more hustle and bustle, invasion of mainland chains and big box stores, less rural flavor as development gobbles up land and roads get widened. The aloha spirit is still there, but now rides in tandem with some tough competition.
redshirt
@NotMax: Are the different islands markedly different in terms of “vibe”?
NotMax
@redhsirt
As well, back when first came here the population of the county was just under 50,000. Now it is more than triple that. That’s a lot of change, economically, culturally and socially, to digest in a short period.
BD of MN
Rice ‘n Gravy? Is that like fusion Asian poutine?
Seriously, I know I lead a sheltered life up here in the frozen tundra of MN suburbia, but I have never seen that combo before, ever….
NotMax
@redshirt
Yup.
Once sugar and pineapple lost their status as co-kings of business driving the state, it opened the doors for accelerated change (some good, some not so good) and an economy focused on tourism as the core industry.
greennotGreen
As a born and bred Southerner, although I do not think the South actually needs a flag (is there another region of the country that has its own flag? Didn’t think so,) if people insist on there being a flag for Southern heritage, I recommend one with the image above. (Replace rice with potatoes – more representative, I think.)
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@NotMax: Enjoy your jaunt to NYC, and I’m counting on a cottage awaiting your return as well. Or, best wishes, whichever makes more sense.
greennotGreen
@efgoldman: Really? I’ve only been retired two months, and I’m run ragged. This building a house is hard work, and I’m not evening hammering the nails.
Seriously, if you’re bored, find an organization you can volunteer for, and get busy!
redshirt
@efgoldman: Yeah, ease of movement is a real thing when you’re driving a big truck. Simple things like finding a hotel room can become very difficult.
Damn, there was this truck stop in Nebraska, wish I could remember the name, so disgusting as to be beyond belief. Literal vomit on the floors, piss jugs everywhere, and “showers”. Felt murdery too.
redshirt
@efgoldman: Have you considered the RV Life?
I am.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
Those are all one day/night runs, right? Round trip?
I ran a few lobster deliveries from Maine to Albany NY. It was a good drive.
trollhattan
Anybody know something about hand-feeding mourning dove fledglings? Rescued one in the backyard from the killer dog’s maw and would like to give him/her a shot at further life. Back in the nest isn’t happening, as it’s a good fifteen feet up.
NotMax
@efgoldman
May not be your bag, but local libraries are all too often desperate for volunteers.
redshirt
@trollhattan: no. Feed it via a dropper? Babyfood? No idea, really. Maybe pizza?
trollhattan
@redshirt:
Mmmm, pizza.
It would seem they like glop. Just can’t find the recipe.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
I love driving but hate other drivers. I’m thinking driving an RV would make you chill out when driving since 1. What’s the rush? and 2. You’re driving an RV. They’re generally big and slow. You’ve got no choice except to relax and go slow.
And 2 year olds are the cutest things in the world. It’s a shame they eventually turn into adults.
trollhattan
@redshirt:
A left coast observation: the great majority of the half-mil 38-foot RVs are jockeyed by folks 75YO or beyond. Hereabouts that means narrow mountain highways with 15% grade slopes, decreasing-radius hairpin turns and no shoulders. We could put a dent in unemployment by giving each a fvcking driver.
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: I’d call a vet in the morning and get some advice. Or a bird rescue organization if such a thing exists in your area. Good luck!
@redshirt: My paternal grandfather was a trucker. He used to take my sister and me along sometimes when his run took him through our town and to his home in Mobile, where he could drop us off to visit our granny. It was such a thrill to ride in the cab, looking down into the cars down below! Bett’s Big “T” was around back then too and was a definite stop if we passed through during a meal time. Food is just the same.
redshirt
@Betty Cracker: Sweet memories.
I miss the spirit of 1977 CB trucker elan.
Jordan Rules
I love you Betty! That’s good eatin. Nom X 1000.
Elizabelle
Thank you for telling us about Bett’s Big “T” in Chiefland, Florida. Yelpers like it a lot.
Bookmarked for a stop, if I get to the Sunshine State. (Still kinda wary of Stand Your Ground. And Burmese pythons.)
Another Holocene Human
@greennotGreen: Replace rice? Rice is extremely relevant to Southern history, both good and very, very bad. I do admit, rice and gravy is something I might only expect to see in a Florida diner because weird. SC has shrimps and rice, LA has red beans and rice. It’s a staple of the Southern coastal or pretty close to coastal diet. Once you get into the mountains, yeah, now we’re talking un-nixtamalized cornmeal (corn pone?) diets and pellagra and government bread.
eta: which would never have happened if they hadn’t “relocated” the Cherokee
they nixtamalized corn with potash (rather than lime, preferred by Mexicans)
Another Holocene Human
@Elizabelle: This northerner is not exactly chomping at the bit to visit Chiefland anything. There are less scary … less inbred … parts of the state. When even the rural crackers* are going, “So yeah … Chiefland … their family trees look like a telephone pole,” and follow it up with “You don’t want to know,” you know it’s baaaaaaaad.
*cracker is an ethnonym in this part of the world, not a slur
Another Holocene Human
@efgoldman: That made me curious so I looked it up. Many states, like Florida, have no requirements. Others, CT, have “class 2”, whatever that means. Other states have the “non commercial class B” which I suppose means taking the class B driving test to prove you’re not going to run it into a pole but without the medical test, which would exclude these folks.
In the interest of being fair, plenty of people with RVs were CDL drivers in another life. But … yeah. Around Aug 1 moving day I saw folks driving those UHaul box trucks like a pro. And then there were the other people. The people who write angry comments on Yelp! because UHaul charged them for bullshit damage. I’ve never been charged for damage on a UHaul in my life. They aren’t crooks. You just don’t know how to drive (or especially back up) that thing.
Zinsky
That’s my kind of food, Betty…
lurker dean
@SiubhanDuinne: wow – that map is fantastic.
J R in WV
I like the map too, bookmarked into my weather links. There’s another good site called USBoats which mostly sells insurance for boats and marinas, but includes hurricane and tropical storm info for mariners. Their show all models version is interesting when there’s action nearby.
The food looks good too, although I like more complex Mac and cheese than that. Truckstops do have a flavor all their own, even the chains. I ate at one when I was driving cross-country alone, and the newspaper had a story about a suspected serial killer working that Interstate, they were finding bodies dumped off the end of giant parking lots every few weeks, in different states.
Not as fond as I once was of solitary travel.