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Sunday, October 24, 2010

Columbus to Detroit (well Auburn Hills)….

I left the Hotel around 9:30am after knocking on Kim and Joe’s door and saying goodbye. Not sure when I'll see them both again. I’ll see Kim's mum Beth in a couple of days as I'm staying at Beth's mum and dads with Beth in Omaha, Beth flew out there today and will see Kami in Philly in a couple of weeks time. Gonna miss Kim and Joe as we always have a great time hanging out before, at and after the shows.

I had a 4 hour drive up to Detroit and was only going to stop for breakfast on the way up. I was determined to have oatmeal today but again failed when i called into a cracker Barrel and found they stopped serving it at 10am! its like the only thing on the menu that they have a set time they stop serving it and it was now just after 11am! I got a Yoghurt Parfait and some sourdough toast instead which was nearly as good.

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I got back on the road and after 5 miles realised id forgotten to fill up with gas, i pulled off at the next exit and drove around for 5 minutes before i found a little gas station in the middle of nowhere. For someone in the US i was probably like a lot of gas stations but for me from England it looked like an old school place with a gas pump that i hadn't seen for years!

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After handing over $40 to a “good old boy” chewing what was either beef jerky or tobacco in the gas station i headed back towards the highway.

What's the deal with Beef Jerky ? am i missing something good ?

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Also what's the deal with “grits” ? what's are they and what do they taste like ? Kim mentioned them when we went to Cracker Barrel but they just don't sound nice!

The drive up to Detroit, well actually Auburn Hills which is about 20 miles north of Detroit went without a hitch. I drove passed Detroit which I've never actually been to even though I've been to Auburn Hills twice before. Everyone keep apologizing to me for Detroit! and i have to admit while driving past it didn't look the nicest place I've seen, Everything was abandoned and  disused!

Arriving in Detroit                          Empty buildings                           Gutted tower blocks!

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I arrived at my hotel around 3pm, took me a little extra time to get here due to stopping for an hour or so for breakfast and the slight detour for Gas. My friend Jeff Post called me while i was on the way and invited me for dinner with him and his wife tonight. As much as i wanted to go i do like my own space sometimes and the nights off i have from the shows and meet ups etc are pretty scarce due to there being a show every odd nice so i politely declined. Hope you understand Jeff, i just like to make the best of the nights off i have and chill out sometimes on my own but thanks ever so much for the offer.

6 comments:

  1. Have you ever eaten fruit leather? Beef jerky is basically dried beef, very tough but a sort of concentrated flavor. It's an acquired taste, most people only eat it when they go on long trips or caravans (what we call camping).

    Grits are a kind of porridge, you might like it but it's got a different texture and it's more savoury (you usually eat it with butter or gravy). You should try them if someone you know is having them just so you can have a taste but then if you don't like it you wouldn't have wasted your money.

    And that is *definitely* an old-time gas pump, I haven't seen one of those since the 1980s at least!

    Julie :)

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  2. We had a sample of jerky when we were on our trip.. it's disgusting... had to spit mine out eventually!

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  3. have you ever eaten polenta? that's basically the same thing as grits. some differences in texture and flavor depending on what's added (cheddar cheese vs parmesan, that sort of thing). but pretty much the same thing.

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  4. Love the beef jerky, even though it assisted with a tooth removal once! ' Jack Links ' is the best!

    JP@TO

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  5. Jerky is guy food.

    Grits will be on your plate whether you order it or not when you are down south.

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  6. Ah, home sweet home :)

    The jerky specialty places here I mostly don't get. They've got deer and elk and bison. That makes sense. They've also got alligator and ostrich. That makes rather less sense.

    Detroit is one of the most interesting and unique cities I've ever discovered, but it is definitely one of the most intimidating. The emptiness is overwhelming.

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