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Gathering food scraps for meals to make
Grating the apples and cheese onto the plate
Mashed potatoes, latkes, breaded chicken and frozza
Nothing gone wrong, give me a cola
Williamsburg
Feels like we livin’ lurge
Popping chips and salsa, like it a natural urge
El dorado, yeah, that’s what we ate
Two dicks two vaginas in a Super 8
And that’s how we roll
Down the 68
White Subaru pumping folk, country and kanye
We shuttled ourselves from South Bend to Louisville after a
few days spent just chilling at Duncans. Left Kino to fend for himself,
cardless, carless. Doomed to 24 hour video game sessions. Once on the road it
wasn’t too bad of a rainy drive to Louisville KY. The diner we wanted to eat at
was CLOSED Lynns Paradise, with sparkling horses out front. So we found a
classy street out of the millions of distressed ones…and sat at the Please and
Thank You Café, where we got subpar organic/local Panini/quesadillas. Cool
thing was the record DJ room, and my morning jacket/washed out record sleeves
adorning the wall. A nearby store had a 25 cent pony ride, a bunch of Kentucky
shirts, makers mark souvenirs and whiskey bourbon cookbooks, all of southern
hipster style.
On the road again setting out for the TN/KY border-Williamsburg.
Found a Super 8. Don’t forget contact – pregunta. The super 8 was crummy and
spendy. Ate two nights in a row at El Dorado, second night being less than
satisfying but first night being INCREDIBLE>AVACADO ENCHILADAS.
We went to Big South Fork and met our rental clerk at a
stable, his name was whiskers, he was a poofy black cat with sharp green eyes.
The first stop on our hike was an erect sandstone feature, chimney-esque. We
rock climbed up the steep slippery sides. Making an arm rope to hoist each other
up. Videogame players are for real.
We found a trail by the mucky green river that was 6 miles
to the waterfall. Along the way we encountered several water obstacles, where
the trail would literally be cut by a stream. Sometimes there would be twig bridges,
others had only stones, sometimes there were no clear routes across. Sometimes
we just had to take a leap (this was the final challenge, across a deep but
narrow ravine). Tyler really enjoyed himself. And we did get to see a covert
waterfall, walk across log bridges, and stone step. The couples held hands
through the woods. Duncan called me a nymph, thinking I had to have been one in
a past life. Sure we all have our weird past-life abilities. I do like to think
that I was a forest dweller of some kind. I hope Abby and Duncan enjoyed that
hike. We played Settlers that night and Abby cleaned up- longest road, victory
card, shoot.
The next day we traveled to Knoxville to have French crepes.
I had a montecristo with a chocolate croissant and macchiato. All super
authentic. That flaky croissant made the trip. Tyler got a croissant plain,
kinda different. The town looked quaint. We went to murdocks music, the
cheapest banjo was $250, and sounded great. They had dulcimers, mandolins,
steel guitars, slide guitars, violas, and cowboy shirts. Everything you’d need
for that country group. That was really neat. The oldtown was burnt out
industrial places that led to a playground and the 1982 site of the Worlds Fair
– solar energy, the highlight is the sunsphere observation tower. We went up
for free, n’ got an aerial of Knoxville. Duncan and Tyler were so excited about
parkoring through the streets they’d climb the towers beams to get to the
second floor and jump thick walls by helping each other up. I tried to get on
Abby’s respectful side, even though its hard to do that when she keeps flirting
with Tyler/putting her head on his shoulder when I’m not right by him.
At a café we played Power Grid for 3+ hours. Got a free diet
coke from the barista who looked a bit like Jason Gordon-Levitt, cuz he didn’t
know how to make a “tea latte” so he’s like “how bout a chai latte?” “I just
don’t want to mess it up, I just started here” so I agreed and wahla coke for
free. Tyler thought oh no she’s flirting. And kept putting the coke in front of
me to make sure I kept getting free ones. The same waiter liked Power Grid, or
at least liked board games. BOTH waiters liked board games, and one of them
cited a cracked article about them. HA. Tyler/Duncan won the game…Duncan bought
up Tylers coal more like. But game was technically over and Tyler fed the most
houses with electricity.
Ok dinner at tomato head, lamb caper sun dried tomato pizza
and tofu salad. Pistachio gelato for dessert at coolato gelato. Really
delicious.
Night drive to Asheville NC. Got more snow flurries. Stopped
at Holiday Inn…most ritzy looking hotel, yet it was exactly priced at what the
super 8 was! Fudge.
So we stayed there. Pool, Jacuzzi, breakfast buffet,
spacious lobby, game room, exercise room ++++ all for the same cost…guess
that’s the beauty of competition.
We went into Asheville the following day- the day after
Francis I aka mr. funny smiles became pope- I bought a cast-iron skillet. Tyler
is really excited about it. The town was rather uppity tourist meets
intellectual mountain hippie. Guys roamed the streets with dogs with bandanas
and shops hailed their intuitive readings and incense. But the restaurants and
cafes were all too expensive. The Mellow Mushroom, where we ate and met up with
Duncan’s friend, had 4 slice pizzas for $14. But mmm, the thai pie was to die
4.
Duncan’s friend led us around. Found an old world
bookstore/bar with cozy armchair lounges in between the bookshelves. Found a
corner for my dad, his old poli sci textbooks and LBJ, Bush Dynasty books all
together. Abby would never stay with Duncan so we all went off and looked
around at artsy stores while they talked. Bookstore number II had signed books,
howl draft facsimiles and first edition stuff. Old woman librarian with
spectacles eating noodles. Ran across The Orchid Thief.
Back at the hotel, Tyler and I went swimming. Several laps
and pool shooting practice. Went to waffle house for dinner, I would go
back-for the waffles. That night we went back downtown to hear a folk group
that rivaled Duncan’s friends troupe. Meaning they play in Asheville for money
over the summer and battle along with other troupes for the prime tourist
locations. The bar the troupe played in was full of a diverse crowd, hipsters,
hippies, old folks, grungy youth with dreads, and normal bros. Thr troupe had a
clarinet, trumpet, banjo, steel guitar and upright bass. That’s the 2nd
group with that type of instrumentation of the day. Banjo girl was nicknamed
big nasty, for her weird vocals and cross-eyedness. Her brother was a goof.
Interesting show, we never bought drinks or gave money. We just went to say
goodbye to Duncan’s friend, but he never talked to us. Duncan has a way of
excluding everyone (not on purpose). I remembered last minute that Ben Stoddard
lived in NC so I txted him that NC was pretty cool. He said he was ONE HOUR
from Asheville. Haha. Then later he said we should join his St Pattys bar hop.
Nah sorry, heading back to ND…Love you! Was his response. So weird. Later that
night we played poker and war. Abby and Tyler volleyed for the title. I won a
lot at poker. Guess my intuition is better than my luck. Poor Duncan has a gf
who never loses.
We left late out of the Inn. Got to Newport and made a
Bojangles stop. Southern salt. Since we couldn’t make makers mark, the ole
smokey moonshine sign looked promising. So after 30 rounds of toss around the
ketchup KKK –we set out for Gaitlinburg TN, a town 23 miles into the mountains.
It was very humble surroundings until just outside Gaitlinburg we see signs for
Ripley’s Believe it Or Not…and believe it or not but it was a TOURIST BOOM TOWN
FROM HELL>animatronics, haunted houses, aquariums, MELLOW MUSHROOM!? So we
said Fuck it to the parking garage tenet and Duncan drops us off in front of
Ole Smokey-right in the middle of it all. We get our booze and move out, Tyler
and I got the peach. Dad’s jealous.
The detour in Gaitlinburg and respective tourism barf made
us 2-3 hours later than planned…then we had the check engine light go on—made
everyone worry. But it was all electrical, not engine related. Stopped for KFC,
not too far from the Colonels birthplace. Should do xtra crispy. Next time.
Into Muncie at 12am. They were ready to go, Austin had
people over, just hanging on his porch, guy came over named ryan, part of new
band, punk garage sound, josh came home – guys jammed in the closet basement
practice space, dogs dingus and Stanley played rough then slept. Jammed
downstairs, josh was nicer this time to me/more receptive, told me to tell
tyler to shut up so he could follow my lead, he was drunk, tried to bang the
drums and couldn’t Austin came down stumbling drunk and left again. We played a
few songs – Duncan on drums, says he plays best drunk. Really fun to jam. “do
you know my mama only loves me by bb king?”
Went to bed on separate sofas after being too squished on
Austins bed with the four of us.
“hey I know you assholes aren’t asleep but I want you all to
know I’m going to breakfast with you, if you’re doing that, wake me up if I
don’t get up”
Next day we wake up to Dave coming back, saying, “hey” then
never being seen again. hear josh’s creepy phone alarm, then he takes a shower
to blues. We all go to THE CUP. Good convo, nice reaquianting, they’re better
not drunk.
Back to school?
Couldn’t handle it. Spent two days just mellowing out with
Tyler and watching bad indie films.
Interviews up and coming…
