Friday, August 7, 2009

A Different Culture...

So this is Jen's take...

The drive down was rough... Took a long time, and not much sleep. But we made it!

And our first stop was appropriate. Ate breakfast at Waffle House! Took a picture of it with my phone and emailed it to my boss. Apparently, it's now his wallpaper. He LOVES Waffle House. Where else can you get a tasty breakfast for 4.50? And where else would the gal helping you call you sweetie and then proceed to yell back that the hashbrowns you ordered were to be "scattered, smothered and covered"? Oh, and also where else would you would see a bunch of locals, one of them in overalls, talking about guns while the gal who served you called them by name?

Finished breakfast and got on the road. And the road was packed. This was where interstate 40 meets up with hwy 127. Stopped not far down the road just to see what everyone was looking at. Tons of awnings up, and lots of overpriced junk. Apparently, this is where everyone stops off interstate 40. After we were farther from the rest of the tourists, the sales were better.

We're finding that there are a lot of antique dealers who set up their stuff as "yard sale" stuff. But they're still priced as antiques. Fortunately, in and amongst these people are true yard sale tents / awnings. We're starting to learn that anywhere people are posting "yard sale areas for rent" usually have a lot of antique dealers. The smaller sales are the true yard sales.

Finding a lot of unusual stuff. And glad we didn't bring a trailer or car topper! We would have bought a lot of junk if we had. One thing I'm seeing a lot of is guns. HOLY COW. Guns everywhere. And old guys talking about displayed guns. And examining them. And seeing if they are loaded. Took a pic with my phone of just a lone rifle sitting on a table. Both for sale. WOW. Also, along with the guns are knives. All kinds of them. Folding knives. Hunting knives. Survival knives. It's just a different culture than what I'm used to.

Yesterday (Thursday), none of us found much, but we were still trying to figure out where the antique dealers were. Today was much better. Sue and Kristy found some "treasures", although, I haven't found much. Which is ok. I don't collect much - I'm here for the experience. The only thing I'm looking for are fun drinking glasses for Lydia, Myra and Reyna. So far, if I needed any Kentucky Derby or Coca Cola glasses I would have had many to pick from. Not much else, but we'll see what the next few days have in store.

The people are also very friendly. Sometimes too friendly. The gal who checked us into the hotel last night was way over the top friendly... Suggested a restaurant to us. And went on to tell us all about it and how it's the only place she'll eat. And seriously said "I trust them so much I'd let them do surgery on me if they were able to". Really??? I mean, I love a good recommendation, but this was a bit over the top.

Luckily, not everyone is that bad. And everyone is decent. I'm having the door held open for me a lot. Something I noticed - particularily today. And it's kind of nice! Not that it doesn't happen at home, but it's, well, natural here. And churches everywhere! As Kristy would say, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a church here. Oh, and the Lee's Chicken restaurant for lunch(where there were fried gizzards and livers - YUCK), and Dairy Queen we stopped at had the 10 commandments on the wall! How crazy is that?! Something I wouldn't see back home.

The scenery is gorgeous as well. Such a beautiful area of the country. Reminded me of northern Alabama. Winding roads, farms (crop and animal), low mountains, rivers, and a lush environment. New and really nice houses among the trailers and delapitated shacks. Small towns in the summer heat. Hot and humid, and everyone is movin' kinda slow. But that's ok - I'm on vacation.

Oh, well, Sue, Kristy and Erika have some fun stories, but I'll let them tell them. For now...

Jen

2 comments:

  1. Hey Jen, I loved it. I swear I could see it all you were so descriptive. Stay safe and drive carefully. V.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We've always called Waffle House the Awful House. But you can't beat the biscuits and gravy, or was it the Chicken Fried Steak (which begins the inevitable cosmic debate over whether it's chicken or steak or both)

    When you see Florence Y'All, say hi to it for me. Used to live close by

    Jeane, your fan in kitsch

    ReplyDelete