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It practically gallops!

Bean There

A picture of the interior of Doc Brown’s DeLorean got me thinking. Yesterday was the 26th anniversary of Marty McFly’s fictional trip from 1985 back to 1955. I realized that on the real Saturday, October 26, 1985, my friend Bean and I were hard at work on a show called “The 25th Hour.” Without the benefit of digital technology, we put together a one-hour program full of songs about time. It aired on WAVA as Daylight Saving Time ended on Sunday, October 27 and the clocks were changed from 2:00 a.m. EDT to 1:00 a.m. EST. One of the songs in the show was “Back in Time” by Huey Lewis and the News from the “Back to the Future” soundtrack. I don’t think either of us realized that we were using that song on the pivotal date from the summer’s hit movie.

Six years later, October 26 once again fell on a Saturday. That year I was in Los Angeles, interviewing for a job with Jay Thomas at Power 106. After a bizarre meeting in which Jay and the station’s marketing director pretended to be a gay couple just to make sure I would be okay with it, I had the evening free. I went to dinner with Bean, who by then had started working at KROQ. After burgers at Carl’s Jr., we went to Bean’s apartment near the Hollywood Freeway to watch the World Series. I’m pretty sure we heard gunshots in the neighborhood.

Bean asked if I wanted to go to a movie or if I would rather go to Las Vegas and be best man at his wedding to Donna. I had not been to Nevada, so I chose the wedding. In rapid succession, we took a Southwest flight to Vegas, a cab to the Clark County Courthouse and another cab to the Graceland Wedding Chapel. The sign out front said Lorenzo Lamas had been married there two years earlier. According to Vegas.com, the Thompson Twins were also married there on October 27, 1991. I never stopped to figure out if Bean and Donna’s wedding took place before or after midnight local time. As a result, I’m not 100% sure if their 20th anniversary was yesterday or today.

October 27, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment 

Pretty Big Stuff

Smoky Mountain Morning, the online video show I’ve been co-hosting with Taz Cable, is changing and growing. On October 15, a new version of the show, now called Smoky Mountain Magazine, will premiere on East Tennessee PBS. It will air weekly on Saturdays at 10:00 a.m., right before Marshal Andy’s show. Taz has been working very hard to make this deal happen. As you can imagine, I am extremely happy about the news.

Smoky Mountain Magazine will be a show for anyone who uses the Smokies, whether they live in Tennessee, North Carolina or anywhere. The broadcast signal of East Tennessee PBS reaches four states. Clips from the show, along with timely updates, will be available online to viewers worldwide.

Because locals and tourists use the Smokies as a place to relax, the show will focus on recreational activities and entertainment. I’ve already been contacted by someone who wants to teach me fly-fishing for a segment. Taz and I are also looking forward to covering performances and festivals around the region. I’m already wondering what different foods I’ll be able to try, like the duck taco I ate at Bele Chere in July:

September 8, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 6 Comments 

Boomington, Minnesota

The World’s Largest Prairie Chicken could have improved our trip through Minnesota. Last month, my wife and I visited the last four states on my quest for all fifty. Because we were going to be in the neighborhood, relatively speaking, we added stops in Wisconsin and Minnesota. I had visited those two states but my wife had not. Both turned out to be a bust.

My wife read about a restaurant in La Crosse that was designed to look like the betting parlor in “The Sting.” However it was closed on Sundays and holidays, which meant bad news for us over the Fourth of July weekend. After a long day of driving, we elected to skip the town’s Riverfest, even though two-hit-wonders the Spin Doctors were playing. I figured that the $7 per person admission fee could be better spent on buffalo burgers or loose-meat sandwiches in the days ahead.

Because we love the movie “Fargo,” we originally planned to drive through Brainerd, Minnesota. We scrapped those plans and chose a more direct route to Fargo, North Dakota. Along the way we stopped in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Some quick research revealed that they had a giant river otter statue. Unfortunately neither the customers nor the employees at Walgreen’s could give us usable directions to find it. We drove around the wrong city park several times, only getting frustrated. Things immediately got better once we reached North Dakota, thanks to the staff at the Fargo-Moorhead visitor center.

Two days ago, my friend Bean shared a photo on Twitter that he had received from one of his followers. It showed the World’s Largest Prairie Chicken. I Googled the bird to learn more about it. Imagine my disappointment when I learned that it is just off I-94 in Rothsay, which is about halfway between Fergus Falls and Fargo.

August 27, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Driving to Richmond was not part of our original plan on Memorial Day. We were in Northern Virginia for my niece’s Confirmation and we intended to come straight home to Knoxville. Fortunately, my mother suggested we take a detour to deliver a gift to my grandmother. The additional two hours of travel time were well worth it because it would be the last time we saw Grandma before she passed away a month later.

Thelma's Chicken & Waffles with a side of mashed potatoes A stop in Richmond meant that a few hours later we would pass Thelma’s Chicken & Waffles on Orange Avenue in Roanoke. I had been promising to take my wife there since my son and I tried it last year. However we didn’t know that the restaurant had relocated to downtown Roanoke. Their old building gave no indication of the move.

Thelma's Chicken & Waffles new location Grandma’s funeral put us back in Richmond on June 30. On July 1, we spent a ridiculous amount of time driving around downtown Roanoke looking for the new Thelma’s. I called to ask for help but the hostess thought I was coming from the opposite direction than what I was trying to describe. Franklin Road’s 90° turn didn’t help.

Thelma's Chicken & Waffles new front door We finally got to Thelma’s new digs at Church Avenue and Market Street. If you didn’t know where you were going, you could easily miss it. Despite the minimal signage, the restaurant was busy and the staff told us that business has been good.

July 29, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

‘Stard Spreading the News

If Barry Levenson was a Mets fan, the National Mustard Museum might not exist today. One of my all-time favorite moments in sports was when the Mets won the 1986 World Series. Fortunately for mustard fans, Levenson loves the Red Sox and his despair inspired him to take up a hobby. He chose mustard collecting.

gift pack from the National Mustard Museum My friend Bean traveled to Wisconsin on his most recent vacation. Naturally, he visited the National Mustard Museum in Middleton. He must have remembered that I switched from BBQ to mustard as my condiment of choice in order to cut calories. He sent me an awesome six-pack of mustards that I will be enjoying for months to come. To celebrate our good fortune, I asked my wife and son to sing the fight songs in the Poupon U songbook that was included in the box.

July 28, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Fontana from Heaven

Fontana Village Resort was originally constructed as a town for the workers who built Fontana Dam in the 1940s. Over the years, it served as a lodge for visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The families who have owned it for the past six years have upgraded the facilities and turned it into a very nice vacation destination.

I spent the night at Fontana Village on Saturday. I was there to shoot a few segments for Smoky Mountain Morning. I took a ghost tour through the old hospital and enjoyed a few toasted marshmallows at their nightly campfire. I was also treated to a great meal in the Mountainview Bistro.

Starting next week, Smoky Mountain Morning will run a Twitter contest with Fontana Village. A lucky family will win an all-expenses paid stay at the resort. To enter, follow @SMMiTV on Twitter. Get additional entries by writing a tweet with the #FontanaYourself Catch Phrase of the Day.

To get to Fontana Dam, I drove an infamous stretch of U.S. Route 129, known as the Tail of the Dragon, from Tennessee into North Carolina. My Honda Civic, which is only a little bigger than a Honda Gold Wing, was photographed multiple times by people who post the pictures online and sell copies. I thought the photographs would make an interesting plot point in a crime drama or novel. Depending on the writer, the photo could either prove the guilt or innocence of a character. It’s a little more exciting than the ATM or toll-booth cameras that are mentioned in half the shows I watch.

July 26, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off 

Loose Association

It probably would have been a good idea to bring my old paperback copy of “Roadfood” on our trip. Instead I used my new Kindle to purchase a electronic copy of the sequel, “500 Things to Eat Before It’s Too Late.” The e-book made me want to try a loosemeats sandwich in Iowa. I was disappointed that they didn’t have any entries for the Dakotas, where we spent the most time on our trip.

We were in Fort Madison, Iowa, before 10th Street Station opened for the day. On our way to the Field of Dreams, we took a slight detour to the Marion Maid-Rite, only to find that they are closed on Sundays. I gathered that the locals seem to use “maid-rite” to refer to any brand of loosemeat sandwich.

As we drove across Minnesota and North Dakota, I saw no signs for Maid-Rite but plenty of signs for a Wisconsin chain called Culver’s. We chose other places because the home of the ButterBurger sounded too fattening. We were saving some calories for a Maid-Rite. By the time we got to Rapid City, South Dakota, it was late and we were ready to eat anywhere. Culver’s was open and got our business. I ate one of the best salads I had on the whole trip. In hindsight, we should have gone to a Culver’s sooner.

Maid-Rite in Maryville, MO - Devon prepares our sandwiches Maid-Rite in Maryville, MO - my loosemeats sandwich Maid-Rite in Maryville, MO - s'mores milkshake When we were on our way back to Iowa, I started looking for a Maid-Rite near the Glenn Miller Birthplace Museum in Clarinda. The closest was in Maryville, Missouri, which happened to be along our route to St. Louis. Faith, the personable franchise owner, made us feel very welcome as she told us about her family. We satisfied our curiosity for a Maid-Rite and split a s’mores milkshake for dessert.

July 25, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments 

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