Day Tripping

 

What a lovely day as we begin our adventure. We are going to Franklin, North Carolina. Only 35 miles away to the east of our mountainside. More mountains loom in the distance.

We traveled this road before we actually moved here. We pulled a U-Haul with some of our belongings to our new home before we closed on the sale of our business. Keep in mind that there is a U-Haul dealership right here in Hayesville, but the contract in hand had us returning our unit in Clayton, Ga. Why? Who knows.

Anyhoo, we had been on this road before, but the scenery was lost to me since I was riding in my designated area in the back with the dogs. Hard to gaze upon the mountains with just a slither of window for my view. We did not go into Franklin before turning south to Clayton.

I kept seeing things on Marketplace for Franklin, so I did a little research and found that Franklin had lots of thrift stores and .... places to eat. HeWho loves to eat away from home, despite being married to an excellent cook (me). I let him choose the eatery and I got to prowl some thrift stores. Win win.

We turned off Highway 64, which is the North Carolina Scenic ByWay. The roads narrowed and we found ourselves in small town USA. We passed a Radio Shack!! I was unaware that they still existed. Beautiful churches along the way on the country roads until we hit the more commercial areas. 

We stopped at a Habitat for Humanity store to see what they had to offer in the way of great finds. I know there was one near St. Louis, but I never got the opportunity to visit. This one was reminiscent of every thrift store I have ever been in. Same smell of old clothes trying to find new homes. I skipped through the clothing and went to housewares, while HeWho was uninterested until he saw the door leading to "warehouse". You never know what treasures are hidden in these places and I rifled through some cutlery and over-priced gee-gaws on display. I happened upon a bin overflowing with pillows and found some outdoor seat cushions for my rockers on the porch for a mere $3 each.

I was finding things to be over-priced, like the quart mason jar for $5. Onward, I made my way through a wealth of recliners that will be there for awhile. Priced $150 and up, they were donated! They will have to rethink their price point if they want to move them.

I met up with HeWho by the book area. Aww, he was thinking of me and my passion for reading. I reminded him that we no longer buy books, where would we put them? Not to mention that I listen to them now. I get my reading materials from the library for free, as God intended!

Nothing in the warehouse intrigued my mate and we headed to the front of the store to pay for my cushions. On the way I spotted a lazy susan ..... old school wood and larger than those you find now. It was $5. A few blemishes on the top, like maybe something wet had made the finish bubble. I can fix that and refinish it. I can see it on our table. No more passing napkins or salt and pepper, just spin that bad boy and get it yourself!

We drove onwards, looking for the chophouse I had seen in my research. Not my choice, I was looking for something out of the way with a more local flavor. What can I say, he loves meat. We followed the road to Main Street and we were in the heart of the city. A one-way street that looked like Ben and Erin from HGTV had already visited. Quaint and full of history. The chophouse was not open. Located in an old restored building on the corner, it looked inviting, if dark and deserted. He was disappointed as he walked to the front looking for hours of operation signage. I stayed in the air conditioned truck. He stopped to talk to a couple who recommended another eatery on the other side of the street.

Staying parked where we were, we crossed the steet on foot and walked down to "that place with the big black awning". From the side I could not see the name, but had a suspicion that it was the one place I would not have taken this man to! Gracious Plates serves farm to table, so the menu is always changing. Lots of strange pairings of different locally grown foods with cheeses from a local dairy. Jams and jellies used to enhance the meats on the sandwiches offered. Lamb balls were in a sandwich and I hope that meant meat balls from ground lamb meat, but didn't ask.

"Are you sure you want to eat here?" said the wife. "Those people I talked to said it was good." Instead of arguing that he did not know the strangers who sent us there or what they considered to be good, I meekly followed him in. I was hoping to find a menu while we waited to be seated so that he could peruse the offerings and maybe be able to change his mind, but failed in my search to find one. I had looked up the menu in my research and knew he would not like it. 

Seated at a table for two right in the path leading from the kitchen, we were served water from a stoppered wine bottle and left to peruse the menu. I watched his face as he looked at his choices and could read his mind "Where's the beef?" I smiled a lot to keep from laughing at him. I asked if he liked the choices and he shook his head in the negative. There was a burger on the menu, but it had "stuff" on it. He ordered it without the "stuff". It came with fries, so he was okay, though not happy.

I ordered the grits and gouda cheese "cake" that was breaded in panko and fried golden brown with a side salad. It was delicious. He wrinkled his nose at my plate and finally agreed to taste it and found it to be good, he looked surprised. His plain burger looked appetizing. The burger was a nice sized patty of meat, thick and juicy and probably would have been equally delicious with the "stuff" he disdained. 

Our waitress was very personable, offering the water as moonshine without the corn drippings. He ordered sweet tea which she proclaimed to be southern Baptist wine. The tea came unsweetened, but instead of the sugar and non sugar packets of sweeteners, she brought along a tiny pitcher of simple syrup. At the end of the meal she offered dessert, and before I could decline, being as full as I liked to be, he gave her an emphatic NO. Rude! He had not bothered to look at the sweet offerings at the bottom of the menu. I was a little intrigued at the "chef's ice cream". Maybe next time? I doubt there will be a next time!!

Unfortunately, I was using my phone to navigate and didn't get pictures. There was a government building we walked by and I stopped to look at the marker on the ground. It was covering a vault of items chosen to depict everyday life from the early 1900's to be opened 2055 by the mayor. Benches lined the wide sidewalks of main street and parking was hard to come by. It was not bustling, exactly, but  busy with pedestrians. Lots of shops along the way. I did not see any empty buildings. 

A stop at Goodwill was disatisfying, mostly discarded clothing, and we were on the way home, planning to stop at a thrift store I spied coming into the town. We ended up a little lost and had to consult Siri and she took us home a different way. I was happy enough with spending only $11 and we came home.

The grade was a little steep, but the highway was not busy. We planned to stop at an overlook we passed on the way, but we missed it. We were both looking, but somehow we missed it. Next time, for sure!