Between the Miles You Gotta Stop at a Cracker Barrel

Some people have huge life long dreams.  Some want to visit every Starbucks and others, baseball and football stadiums.  Being the rather simple folks that we are, some might even say "you know, they're good people", Dena and I have decided we want to visit every Cracker Barrel.  When you're driving through Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tenn, it's a rather easy thing to do.  In fact on one stretch of Interstate in Alabama we could have stopped at a Cracker Barrel every 11-17 miles.  It was like CB is McDonald's in every other part of the nation.  Heck, Dena and I have visited several Cracker Barrels numerous times.  Dena can spot a Cracker Barrel sign like no one else and she has the uncanny innate ability to navigate the the twist and turns to finally arrive.  Who in the world buys the real estate to put a CB on and then finds the most twisty/turney convoluted way to finally find the dang place?  You have to be hungry to stay on course and get to your destination.  Hungry both to want it and well, to eat.  One of the reasons we love the CB is, it is a safe place to use the facilities.  After giving several gas station/conveninece store/fish fry shack and bait shops a try while buying gas; it is just plain nasty and unsafe in many of those places.  Besides if they are frying up some fish or chicken when you return to the car you smell like fish and chicken grease.  Ugh that's a horrible fragrance to deal with if you have a lot more miles to drive.  That grease smell gets on you like a sick kitten to a hot rock.   How lovely is thy selling place oh Cracker Barrel.  Most of the merch is the same state in state out but everyone once in a while you find something that no other store has.  That's more up Dena's expertise, she has found some really cute clothes and accessories at CB.  I just find the stuff that looks like, hey you bought that shirt at CB didn't you?  It was 70% off.  We have met some of the nicest wait staff and some of the slowest wait staff there but when it is of the slower variety, it's just the opportunity to put into practice the devotion we read out of Jesus Calling that very morning.  On our way home we stopped at the CB in Layfette.  There was a wait of 30 minutes for a table.  We weren't there to eat but when Dena was getting a refill on her coffee she heard the most funny conversation.  A couple was waiting for a table and their name was called, only the table was not a window table and the wife had specifically asked for that.  The husband patiently tried to reason with her; they could be seated immediately if they didn't wait for that table by the window.  She held her ground and was adamant about that window view.  The only thing is, the view is of the parking lot and I-10.  Not the Smokey Mountains or the ocean or a lovely vista..  No just a view of a bunch of mini vans, Crown Vics, Town Cars and one lovely beautiful Sequisha.  Guess she was making lemonade out of lemons but to me it was more like making a mountain out of a mole hill. 

Roy and I will be hitting the road in the near future heading to Nashville for my niece Erin's graduation.  He doesn't have the CB love going.  He is almost as good as Dena in the navigation aspect of getting to a CB.  He is not thrilled by the opportunity to make a purchase of CB merchandise at almost each and every exit.  He usually waits for me outside in one of their rockers. 

So...my favorite CB is in Sulfur, LA.  Maybe because it is the first one we stop at when we travel east on on I-10.  Miss Yvonne works there and she is good people.  Second favorite would be the CB in Hammond, LA just because I've been there several times and have usually had a pleasant experience.  Marie works there and she calls you baby.  At first we thought she was a little slow on the coffee service but she arrived with the fresh coffee.  She didn't want to serve us the dregs of the last pot.  She's good people too.  Hardest CB to get to?  The one in Mobile, AL.  Dirtiest CB's, the one in Jackson MS and the one in Lebanon TN.  Those last three were not on this trip but they do stick in my memory. 

If you are a musician you want to be named a CB artist.  CB sells a ton of CD's.  The CB's were all set up for Mother's Day gift buying on our trip to Asheville.  Wonder if they'll be doing a hard sell for Father's Day?

Well, I need to check my peach candy cane supply.  I kind of got hooked on those on this last trip.