42. Georgia

     We had been to Savannah before and knew we wanted to eat at Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House. It's not a boarding house anymore but the home cooked meals are still served family style as they were years ago when it was. It is located in a residential area not far from Lafayette Square. They are open from 11am - 2pm and there's always a line but as long as you are in line by 2 you will be served. You never know what will be served but I can promise you it'll be good down home southern cooking. Don't go if you're on a diet because you're sure to blow it. Fried chicken is usually one of the meats and it is some of the best fried chicken you will ever taste. The flavor is not just in the breading but marinated through and through. We arrived at around 1:30 and the line wasn't too bad. We were lucky enough to find a parking space right in front. The restaurant has 8 tables that seat 10 people each. The family still owns the restaurant and a member of the family

greets and directs you to your table. When you arrive at your table a feast awaits you. The various meats and side dishes are already set out. I counted at least 20 various dishes. There was fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, chopped barbecue, macaroni and cheese, macaroni salad, fresh sliced cucumbers, sweet potato soufflé, collard greens, rutabaga, rice, dirty rice with sausage, cream corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits and cornbread, butter beans, black-eyed peas, noodles with English peas, green beans, squash, and of course, banana pudding for dessert. Since this is family style you'll probably be eating with people you just stood in line with. There's always plenty of food and if needed, the servers will bring out more. After hearing a comment made by one of the ladies at our table who was looking for a wing, a plate of wings soon appeared. Earlier I said how good the fried chicken was but I must mention the sweet potato soufflé. At first glance I thought it might have been a carrot and raisin salad but once the warm bowl was in my hand I knew I was wrong. I'm not big on sweet potatoes but I'm beginning to change my mind. They were so good I had to have two helpings. I did find the recipe and to my surprise coconut and lemon rind are ingredients. I'll have to add this dish to my Thanksgiving menu. I had not thought about it before but after reading a tip posted on tripsdvisor.com I had placed in my bag a couple of small Tupperware dishes and some ziploc bags. Once the dishes are placed on the tables they can't serve them again, so why not pack up a few items for later. This was especially helpful for the banana pudding since by the time we finished eating the main dishes, there was no room for dessert. We knew we would be on the road so why not have a few delicious items to munch on. I was a little skeptical but did my packing discreetly once everyone one finished. Once our server realized what I was doing she said how smart and she wouldn't tell. Dennis did hand her a nice little tip to seal the deal. The cashier is on the way out and it was the same gentleman, also a family member, who took our money a couple of years ago. Do bring cash because they don't accept credit cards. The price had not increased as it was still $16 a person.  

   We drove around Savannah; we should have walked after that wonderful meal, to see the sights. Last time we took a trolley ride and that is definitely the way to go. The narrated guides are informative about the history of Savannah plus you can get on and off. That is how we found out about Mrs. Wilkes in the first place. Quite a few movies are filmed here, in fact one of my favorites is Forest Gump. Tom Hanks, aka Forest Gump, sits on a bench at the edge of Chippewa Square while telling his story. The floating feather at the beginning of the movie is floating down from the steeple a couple of blocks away. One of my favorite things about Savannah is the moss covered trees that line the streets and squares. There is so much history here that you can't help but feel like you're in a bygone era when strolling through one of its many squares.

40. New Mexico and 41. Utah (The Four Corners)

      We finally made it to Albuquerque, now we can go to the Four Corners Monument but first we need to eat breakfast. The Frontier Restaurant had been recommended to me so there we went. It is located right across from the University of New Mexico and has been a tradition with students, current and former, since 1971. We ordered the huevos rancheros with cheese and green chili to split. We couldn’t resist ordering one of their famous sweet rolls after hearing someone else ordering one. The food is inexpensive but you wouldn’t know that from the quality and taste. It didn’t take us long to finish off the huevos rancheros. The green chili sauce was excellent and not too hot for Dennis. I sometimes worry about how Mexican food will affect my stomach but that didn’t stop me and thankfully it all agreed with me. The sweet roll or cinnamon roll as I like to call it was okay. It wasn’t the best we’ve had but was still enjoyable. A few hours away was our destination, Four Corners Monument. For those that don’t know it is where the corners of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah touch. Wow, I can get four states checked off with one step.  Since we had already visited in Arizona and Colorado, we focused our attention to Utah.  

   Around the monument are booths selling Native American ware and food. Since part of our adventure is to eat something in every state we bought some Navajo Fry bread to eat in Utah. Ours was coated with cinnamon sugar.  It was such a hot day that the snow cone afterwards was better. The fried bread was greasy and really not appealing to either of us so we sat in Utah, ate a couple of bites, and went on our way. Mission accomplished. At some time we’ll have to go back to Utah and really give it a chance. I know the Four Corners Monument is not a good representation of Utah. 

     We arrived back in Albuquerque and chose to eat at El Pinto which had also been recommended by a friend. When we drove in to the parking lot it was packed. I hoped the wait would not be too long. The hostess said it would be about 30 to 45 minutes but it didn’t feel that long. The restaurant has a number of dining rooms and patios and we sat next to a waterfall. We began our dining experience with chips and queso. The queso was a thick blend of cheeses with green chili. El Pinto is known for their salsa and it’s no wonder why. It is some of the best salsa. It’s a good thing they ship. I ordered the evening special which was two stuffed sopapillas. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted beef, chicken, or pork so I ordered one chicken and one pork. The entrée was covered with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and guacamole. I had mine served with their green chili sauce. There was so much food that I could barely eat one of the sopapillas but it was so delicious. This was probably one of the best Mexican meals I’ve had and coming from someone who lives in Texas that’s pretty darn good. I made sure to get a container so I could take the other  one home. Dennis ordered the half rack of baby back ribs that are marinated

in red chili and baked until tender. Talk about tender, the meat just fell off the rib. He did have to brush some of the red chili off but they were so flavorful and tender it didn’t matter. Dinner is served with a basket of sopapillas and we saved ours for dessert to enjoy with some honey. The leftovers did make it home and was just as good as when they came out of the kitchen.

        

        Leg 13

                 2 days

                 2 flights

                 543 miles driven

          = 2 states visited

                        9 states to go!

http://www.frontierrestaurant.com

http://elpinto.com

39. Indiana

     As soon as I sat in the car, I fell asleep. I started to write the blog but as soon as I wrote the word Kentucky, I was out. We arrived in Indianapolis a couple of hours later and started looking for the speedway. It is so much larger then Churchill Downs. We entered the parking area by driving beneath the track. There were a couple of cars going around the track and they were loud. I can only imagine how loud it gets on Indy 500 race day. We walked around and watched the cars go around the track for a bit.      It was almost 4pm and that's when St. Elmo Steak House opens. St. Elmo's is famous for their shrimp cocktail. The shrimp cocktail consists of five large shrimp coated in a freshly ground horseradish sauce. The sauce is more horseradish then ketchup, which has a kick with each bite.Talk about

sinus opening. I'm glad we decided to split one. I love hot and spicy food but even this was almost too much for me to handle. St. Elmo's is also known for their steaks and we shared the New York Strip. The entrees are served with either navy bean soup or tomato juice. I had to ask about the significance of the tomato juice since I thought that was an unusual option. Come to find out, tomato juice was discovered in 1917 in Indiana and has been on the menu since the 20's. The 14 oz. strip was cooked a perfect medium rare, just the way I like it. The meat was tender and juicy and seared with the right amount of seasoning. The baked potato and sautéed mushrooms were perfect accompaniments.  We had shared the shrimp cocktail 

and the steak but when it came to dessert we couldn't decide so we selected two. The sweet cream pie is the state pie of Indiana and on a journey like mine it would just be wrong not to try it. It was a custard pie but very light and delicious. Our second choice was the chocolate dark fudge cake.  Nobody can go wrong with chocolate. It was so rich that we knew some of it would have to travel back with us to Louisville. 

     On our way out of town we observed the Indianapolis Fire Department in action. We almost got blocked in as they were coming in from all directions. We did see some smoke from what we think was some municipal building but we moved on as quickly as possible so they could do their job.

     Leg 12

         10 days

         11 flights

         713 miles driven

      = 8 states visited

                      11 states to go!

http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com

http://www.stelmos.com

38. Kentucky

     Whew, my body doesn't know what time zone it's in. We started this morning in Chicago (Central Time), flew to Flint (Eastern Time), flew back to Chicago (Central Time), and then flew to Louisville (Eastern Time). Now I really need a good night's sleep before we start a busy day tomorrow.
       We began the morning at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. Dennis has always wanted to go to a Derby but a visit to Churchill Downs will have to suffice for now. It was a little misleading when we first drove up. We’re so used to seeing Churchill Downs from the track side that it didn’t look like what I had expected from the parking lot. We explored the museum before we took the historic walking tour. Thankfully, it wasn’t too hot or too crowded. I’m not sure I would enjoy it on Derby day with all the crowds. Trackside is exactly what I expected. The tour ended at the stable behind the museum where Risen Warrior is the thoroughbred in residence. He is a beautiful horse. After the tour we explored the museum a bit more while we waited for the Derby Cafe to open. There was the Triple Crown Trophy won by Citation, a display of jockey silks, a display of Derby glasses. Hey, we have that one!

     Once the cafe opened, lunch was just as expected, a Triple Crown winner. I ordered the Bubbling Over Hot Brown which was thin turkey slices on an English muffin topped with tomatoes, cheese, bacon, and Mornay sauce heated and served bubbling hot. Dennis ordered the Big Brown, a BBQ chicken sandwich. We couldn't leave with out sampling the Kentucky nut pie.   
     There really are a lot of things to do in Louisville but all good things must come to an end so we headed to the car for the short drive to Indianapolis.

 

 

http://www.churchilldowns.com/

http://www.derbymuseum.org/

http://www.derbycafe.com/

37. Michigan

    After landing in Flint and renting the car we drove the 20 miles to Birch Run to have lunch at Tony's I-75 Restaurant. I had heard about this place and the amount of food they serve and wanted to see for myself. I was afraid we'd have to wait but on this particular day we were seated right away. The menu looks like a newspaper complete with pictures and facts about Tony's. I was astonished to read that they use 11,000 pounds of bacon a week and give away 900 pounds of candy in a week. How can that be? It seems like an awful lot. Most people were still eating breakfast but we watched as our server took a sandwich to another table. It looked so good we had to ask what it was. It was a Tony's submarine. The sandwich was quite large, hence the clue "battleship size" adjacent to the name on the menu, so we had decided to spilt it and order a side of fries with gravy. The gravy for the fries was a thick, beefy gravy that was so good we could have eaten just the gravy with a spoon. Yum, Yum. We watched as a little elderly lady was served a turkey club sandwich that was as big as she was. The club was piled high with bacon. There was absolutely no way to bite into it. She graciously allowed me to photograph it.

Our sub soon arrived and we weren't disappointed. It was full of ham, salami, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Despite the battleship size we were able to devour it. While we were eating, the table next to us received their BLT sandwich. Now I know how they serve 11,000 pounds of bacon a week. This sandwich had a pound of bacon on it. I think the girl was in shock when they sat the plate in front of her. All she could do was laugh and take a picture.

   From what I understand, their banana splits are also enormous. If it had been later in the afternoon and I could find someone to eat it, I might have paid for one just to see it with my own eyes. When we received the check we found out how they give away 900 pounds of candy in a week. The check comes with a mound of candy. I’m not talking about 1 or 2 pieces, I’m talking about a couple of handfuls. We weren’t going to take it all but our server was adamant. He didn’t want to have to pick them all up. Need a peppermint? I probably still have some in my purse.