American Soul Food

This week found us in beautiful Tennessee. Our first stop was Memphis. The weather continued to be good/bad. Good in that we left the heavy rains behind in the upper Midwest, bad because we are now suffering from a record breaking heat wave. Most days have been over 95 degrees with high humidity. Thank God we have an air conditioner in our fifth-wheel. On hot days like this it tends to run non-stop until late in the evening when it can finally keep up with the outside heat.

Standing Out in the Crowd – We picked an interesting church to visit this weekend, Long View Heights church. We usually try to find a church with a fairly large congregation and this one fit that requirement without a doubt. It was a nice large stone church with a large, black congregation. Not that there is anything wrong with that. We were just a bit surprised to be the only non-black people there. It didn’t bother me as much as it seemed to bother Mellie. After all, I’m use to being the only blond guy around in our Filipino gatherings. But we had a great time. Everyone was so welcoming and the choir was awesome. Man, they could really sing! Can I get an Amen from the congregation on that?

Graceland and the King – It was 30 years ago when Elvis passed away. We missed the big memorial “celebration” (can you call it that?) by one week. Even though he has been gone for a long time, his fans keep coming. They get $25 and up for the tour of his house, a lot more if you want the deluxe tour which includes his two jet airplanes. It was fun just the same to see and even feel the excitement of this place called Graceland.

Neeley’s Barbeque – Now this place is definitely in the running! Dry rubbed ribs with vinegar based sauce on the side, now this is getting good! We went to Neeley’s, one of Memphis’ best barbeque joints, on Saturday evening. The food was great, the service so-so and the décor mediocre but after all that’s why they call it a barbeque joint! We found this Memphis style of barbeque so enticing we ended up going out for barbeque again on Monday and again on Thursday. Three times in a week must mean something. Of the three places we visited though Neeley’s was the best.

Grand Ole Opry – Moving on down the road we found ourselves in Nashville home of the Grand Ole Opry. So we went to the Tuesday night show and had a ball! They really know how to put on a show. I guess they should since they have been doing it for over 80 years. What began as a simple radio broadcast in 1925 is today a live-entertainment phenomenon. There was a sad moment though when the legendary Little Jimmy Dickens announced that he was not feeling too well. Seems he had a sore neck but perhaps it was caused he thought when he was getting ready for the show putting on some toilet water and the lid came down and hit the back of his head! I think the highlight of the evening for me was hearing the band Little Texas sing their hit “Thank God for Texas”. Porter Wagoner and Dale Watson were great too.

The Corvette Mecca – We took a side trip up to Bowling Green Kentucky to visit the National Corvette Museum and tour the Corvette factory. I’ve never owned a corvette although it was high on my dream list when I was a kid. When the factory tour guide asked “so who owns a Corvette?” almost every hand in the group went up. I guess it was good that we discretely parked our Ford truck way in the back of the parking lot. They even have Corvette only parking spots, right next to the handicapped. I could make a remark about that but better not. I don’t want to offend any handicapped folks out there.

Road Revelation #12 – Feed your soul. Man does not live on bread alone. You have to feed not only your stomach but also your soul. That may come from experiencing an energy packed sermon backed up by a first rate choir, seeing a legend’s home like Elvis’ Graceland or participating in an American tradition called the Grand Ole Opry. We went back for seconds and even thirds this week! Can I get another Amen!

Wagons Ho!

It’s the 20th of August and we are saying goodbye to Iowa. It’s been a wonderful time but we have roads to burn, places to see and barbeque awaiting. Our time in Iowa was packed with family visits, great food and celebrations. All of us Lande boys have birthdays in August so it was natural to have one big birthday celebration. That occurred on Sunday the 19th. We feasted on Norwegian delicacies such as Kumla (potato dumplings) and Lefsa (sort of the Norwegian version of tortillas) plus we had our favorite birthday cake, chocolate upside down cake. My grandma named it that. Seems the original name was Devil’s Float cake. She refused to bake anything associated with the devil and so renaming it made it ok. Oh, and yours truly baked a rhubarb pie!

We are off to see the wizard the wonderful wizard of Oz!

Next stop is Kansas City, home of the famous Kansas City style of barbeque. So naturally we had to include it in the agenda. I have visited Kansas City many times on business and was well acquainted with the restaurants. I selected one of my favorites, KC Masterpiece Barbeque. This place is famous for their sauce. I’m sure you have seen it in the stores. We went early for dinner at 5 o’clock to be sure that they would have enough burnt ends. Yeah, it’s one of their specialties. They take the burnt ends from the sirloins they smoke and fix them in a special way with their famous barbeque sauce. Mellie always asks for the burnt ends of the tri tip barbeques that I do and so I was sure this would be a big hit with her. Our rating on this barbeque? Well…any barbeque is good but I think our quest must continue. We will keep it in mind though when the final scoring takes place.

Branson Missouri, “Where Values Are The Difference”

Branson has been selected as one of the top 3 vacation destination in the US for the past several years. Imagine a born again Las Vegas. No gambling, no naked dancing girls (or boys), but with all of the performance theaters, restaurants, hotels and souvenir shops. That’s Branson. It was an enjoyable diversion. For my birthday, which happened to fall in the middle of our stay, we saw a performance by The Oak Ridge Boys. It was two hours of nonstop music. They have been performing together for over 30 years and seem to enjoy themselves as much as if it was their first year. Unlike some legendary rock bands, these guys actually look like they fit the part. Don’t you just hate seeing one of your teen idols now gray and paunchy up on the stage singing the old hits? It’s so sad, but not these guys. Like I said they just looked the part.

Road Revelation #11 – Do what you love, love what you do!
If there is any secret to life it must be this. Enjoy whatever you do and do what you enjoy. Look at the Oak ridge Boys. They have been doing what they love for over 30 years and still seem to be having fun. What a blessing and you know Elvira still sounds as fresh and enjoyable as when they first put it out almost 30 years ago. Now I'm a singin' Elvira;
Elvira My heart's on fire Elvira
Giddy Up Oom Poppa Omm Poppa Mow Mow
Giddy Up Oom Poppa Omm Poppa Mow Mow Heigh-ho Silver, away.

Who Cut the Cheese?

This week found us in Wisconsin, home of the world famous cheese. California may have “happy cows” but in Wisconsin it’s serious business. In just one cheese factory we visited they had over 50 varieties of cheese. That’s a lot of cheese to cut! Know how to tell if a cheese curd is fresh? It squeaks when you chew it. Believe me I now know the difference and only fresh cheese curds for me from now on!

Riding the Ducks – When it comes to seeing the Wisconsin Dells, nothing else will do but to ride the Ducks. I’m not talking about our feathered friends but 60 year old amphibian vehicles originally designed for use by the military during World War 2. These 7 ton rides have a top speed of 50 MPH on ground and 10 in water. The tour covers over 8 miles of fern covered dells, deep dark forests, narrow canyons and a cruise down the Wisconsin River with it’s towering sandstone cliffs. Perhaps one of the highlights of the trip was when the driver told everyone to turn around and look back at the house we had just passed. As we all craned our necks to look he explained that the house was nothing special he just wanted us to experience looking out of the rear end of a duck! What a view!

Architecture Wisconsin style – we visited a couple of famous houses while in Wisconsin. One was the “House on the Rocks”. This home is hard to describe, built by an eccentric on top of a cliff has views forever. The house is full of collections of stained glass, musical machines and antiques. The infinity room is particularly amazing, an unsupported room sticking out 218 feet, soaring 156 feet above the valley floor. In order to provide a bit of balance, we next visited the home of Frank Lloyd Wright. Taliesin is one of the most well known architecture examples in the world. The Mecca for Frank Lloyd Wright fans.

Concert on the Square in beautiful Downtown Baraboo – You know how much we enjoy evening concerts, especially free ones. So when we saw there was to be a free concert at the town square we couldn’t resist. The guest band for the evening, The Hank Thunander Band! What you have never heard of Hank Thunander? Well it’s truly amazing what one can do with an accordion. Hank together with a guitar player and drummer played a repertoire of ethnic, big band, old-time favorites and variety music for 2 hours. Without a doubt the crowd favorite was the polka medley. What else would you expect to find in Wisconsin but a guy with an accordion playing polkas. Ahh, savor the local spice!

Road Revelation #10 – STOP means stop! We were in the process of leaving the campground when our route took us through an area where the cars were parked a bit out on the street. I tried to miss them, really. Now don’t jump to conclusions, I didn’t hit anything but when Mellie said to STOP, I though the view in my mirrors seems to indicate I had enough room. The need to stop finally sunk in (supported by several campers hollering and pointing) I was about 2 inches from hitting a tree trunk with the trailer steps. Through God’s grace, a bit of backing up and three campers moving their cars we were able to safely pass without consequences. So when you hear STOP, you better!

Happiness - a Soft, Warm, DRY Bed

This week found us at the ever popular, annual Lande Family campout. The campout was held at Pine Lake State Park near Eldora. Now some of you might have the impression by now that we are spending this year camping out…wrong. In fact what we do is far from it. We generally sit inside our comfy trailer, air conditioner on high, lounging in our recliners and watch TV. I like the outdoors, it’s just that either it is too hot and humid or the bugs are out.

A Modern RV’ers Confession – A couple of days before the big campout event I decided it was time we figure out how to use the awning on our trailer. As I explained to Mellie, “We better try it out now so we won’t look like idiots at the campground”. Can you believe it? Over 6 weeks on the road and we had never used the awning. Not only that but we had never even used a picnic table. At the last minute we went on a shopping quest in hopes of finding a picnic tablecloth (no luck though). In the end everything went quite well. The awning deployed without a problem and came in quite handy when it began to rain. Yeah, it rained and thundered a lot!

Food, food and more food – I guess that is what camping is all about, at least here in Iowa anyway. Over the two days we were there we had feasted on brats, homemade chili, pizza made in the camp fire, smoores, toasted marshmallows, Belgian waffles, French toast, smoked turkey and of course my famous Santa Maria style tri-tip barbeque.

Urban Camper to the Rescue - As I mentioned we had some rain over the weekend. By Saturday night it was pouring down. I made a casual comment “if anyone wants to they could stay in our trailer. We have a spare bed after all”. Next thing I knew, I had six takers on the offer. It was fun though. We had beds made out wall to wall and the snoring was not even that bad. At least I didn’t hear any complaints.

Road Revelation #9 – Be prepared to share with fellow campers – We find that in every camp ground we stay at there are many friendly folks. It’s one of the benefits of this trip, to meet and visit with interesting people. It’s so rewarding to share. Maybe it’s just a story or extra sweet corn or a dry place to spend the night. Sharing is the essence of being a Good Camper.