Back in March, Mew and I packed up our apartment and moved to Kentucky. Starting out in Montreal with a U-Haul packed with the help of several strapping beer-fed Saskatchewaneans, we stopped for two nights in Charlotte, Vermont, and sent our belongings ahead in the care of the movers.
We briefly contemplated the purchase of a new road atlas (to replace a dog-eared 1998 Rand McNally North America), but thought the better of it. Instead, we pored over the decade-old atlas at Burlington’s Penny Cluse for brunch and plotted a route forgoing Interstates for more scenic state roads.
Dusty from two years' barn rest
Day one: The Wooden Soldier in Fair Haven, Vermont provided a late-morning snack: coffee/tea and a grilled muffin.
Diner counter at the Wooden Soldier
Woodland art and St. Patty's observance
Day one continued through upstate New York, stopping for lunch in Saratoga Springs. Prefaced by popcorn, our lunch (a burrito fit for two) came with sweet potato fries served with squirm-inducing sweet raspberry dipping sauce.
Circus themed resto in downtown Saratoga Springs
Near sunset we broke our resolution to stay off the Interstate. The hilly two-lane roads were beginning to make the driver a bit nervous.
A representative stretch
Dinner, day one: an Indian place called Amber in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
Thums Up or Limca?
After dinner entertainment: “Bachelor Party” (1984).
Tom Hanks keeps his promises
The afternoon of day two: Virginia’s Skyline Drive, a way-point recommended by our friends Chuck and Darrilyn.
Day three, morning: A breakfast stop in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
From a bridge in White Sulphur Springs
Who could resist a french toast cheddar cheese sandwich?
We walked into the Mason Jar Café feeling voracious at 11:30. A sign on the buffet told us we had missed breakfast. But we were the only ones in the place and a waitress asked what we’d like, so we told her we were looking for breakfast. She said she’d go back and ask the cook what he could do. What did we have in mind? Eggs, toast, potatoes? She disappeared briefly and returned to say it was as good as done.
A mason jar inside the Mason Jar
Breakfast was simple but delicious and extraordinarily friendly. As we polished off our meal, the place started filling up with a lunchtime crowd ordering towering cheeseburgers that tempted us to stick around. We opted instead for some provisions at the Food Lion for a rest-stop feast later in the day.
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Southern sweet tea, Vermont sausage and cheese, W.Va
No photos exist of the twilight arrival in Louisville. After three days of travel through foreign territory, pulling off 64 at the already familiar intersection of Lexington and Grinstead felt unsettling, like booking a room in an Alpine resort and finding yourself inside a scale replica of your childhood bedroom. All that remained of our thousand-mile trip was to navigate the few blocks to our new apartment.
