Southern Fried Hangover

I was planning on an early night the first one in Raleigh, I really was.  But there was some serious catching up to do with my closest cousin, and after like four of these:

...which consisted of blueberry juice, rum, and diet something-or-other...
well, all I remember is walking around the neighborhood, as the sun came up.

Then walking around it again, by myself, looking for a cell phone I had somehow zippered into my own suitcase.

 

After "sleeping", John drove us to a heaven-sent drive thru called "Bojangles", and a delicious creation was stuffed into my hands:  Chicken-Egg-and-Cheese on a biscuit.

Can we just talk about this, for a minute?  I have never, ever seen this breakfast sandwich in the North - and we do breakfast, alright.  We do something called a "heart attack sandwich" consisting of three types of meat stuffed into a roll (with scrambled egg and cheese, to balance things out).  Well, they do that in Fishkill, NY, at least, and I have seen brave co-workers eating it in the A.M. 

But this was a glorious breakfast, truly a "Breakfast of Champions"...champions who like to drink until the wee hours of the morning, that is.  They don't have these type of flaky, light, buttery biscuits at McDonalds.  And you can't get this fried chicken at KFC, that is for darn sure.  How do they get fried chicken so delicious down here?  And how do the biscuits come out so.....perfect?

Anyways, the chicken-egg-n-cheese did the trick; it made me drink lots of water, pass out again, and wake up sober.  We took an afternoon hike, as a matter of fact:

...during which I somehow managed to pull a muscle in my arm that lasted for the next four weeks.  Yeah, I know, it was a bad 24 hours.

But then, everything turned around.  We drove to this place and got these things:

Fried pickles!  With ranch dip...OMG they were delicious!  Here are some cute pics of the baby eating fried pickles, which she was decidedly, well, undecided about:

(my favorite)

In an attempt to eat a balanced meal in North Carolina (ahahahaha)...I had a veggie wrap for dinner, which was actually quite delicious.

Oh, and some of John's cheese fries.  

Have I mentioned how much North Carolina rocks?  It does, Raleigh-eating totally rocks the socks off of Poughkeepsie, NY.  Stay tuned for some Wilmington adventures!  Ghost hunting and good eating, alike :)

~A

National Donut Day

Did you know that June 3rd was National Donut Day?  Oh hells yes, it was.  The Petersens and I celebrated it the only respectable way... we went to the Krispy Kreme Drive Thru, and got four free, fresh, pipin' hot donuts.

Damn, they are hot.  They melt in your mouth, not like M&M's, but actually melt in your mouth.  They are the most delicious things I have ever tasted.  We don't have these, back at home.  (Sigh.)  Well, there's always Apple Cider Donuts at the orchards in fall...I guess.

~A

The Q Shack in Raleigh

Visiting my cousins in North Carolina was no joke, in the food department.  I was introduced to a variety of things I had never heard of, let alone tasted.  All of them were delicious.  All of them made me fatter.  First, let's introduce the family:

Cousin John & me...

John's beauteous wife Lynne & daughter Hailey...

...and Harley, the guard dog.

We started with an introduction to "Actual Barbecue", an important lesson for any Northerner, at a lovely little place called The Q Shack, that specializes in local, 100% natural smoked-meats, and homemade side dishes.

 

Apparently friends, BBQ is not:  Hamburgers
                                                   Hot Dogs
                                                   Grilled Chicken + Kraft Barbecue Sauce
                                                    A Kielbasa

I know what you're thinking, Tristate-areans ...of course that is barbecue.  Hello, what else do you eat on Memorial Day and Fourth of July?  DUH.  One can't just go around eating mac salad, baked beans, and corn-on-the-cob.  Or go straight for the roasted marshmallows.  You have to have something to wash down with Coca-Cola!

Wrong, we were so wrong.

Fellow Yankees, let me introduce you to...

BRISKET!

The picture is a little fuzzy, but so was my vision after a few bites.  Um...this stuff is delicious! Honestly, I don't even know what it is...slow cooked cow, or something.  But if you drizzle some Carolina vinegar-based (as opposed to tomato-sweet) BBQ sauce on it - well, just go down there and find out, you will thank me.  With it, you can eat:

Fried OKRA!  (The little balls..it's a vegetable)...COLLARD GREENS!  HUSH PUPPIES (little fried bits of scallion-flavored dough that you dip in butter).  Oh, those hush puppies...

 

And you can wash it all down with:

SWEET TEA!  It's iced tea, only better!

If you haven't keeled over already, you can sample your friends' foods:

 

 

Mmm, what do we have over there?  Homemade pasta salad?  Some sweet-potato fries?  Slow-cooked pulled pork, or chicken, or something?  Don't mind if I do!

It's a little overwhelming, at first.  I understand, kid.

So you see, in the South and such, they slow-cook all sorts of meat cuts.  It's goddam delicious, I tell you.  And we haven't even gotten into frying yet!  To be continued!!

~A

We're Not in Kansas Anymore...and Thank God, because Kansas is Boring

On Sunday, April 17th, I went to the gym to work off a few souvenir pounds from Florida, on my favorite thing in the world - the elliptical machine.  As if moving your ass up and down for 30 minutes wasn't pleasure enough, they attach little TVs to the equipment.  I saw something on the news this particular morning that got my heart pumping.

A tornado had ripped into Wake County, North Carolina the day before, where my cousin's family lives (in Raleigh).  After seeing a death toll, I called to make sure everyone had their fingers and toes, and a roof.  My cousin, his wife, their toddler, and their poodle had all crawled into the bathtub and were all unharmed, however, the tree out front didn't make it:

 

Other people in their neighborhood weren't as lucky.  Here are some pictures I took while in town, two months later:

 A house around the corner was leveled.  I heard they were not home that day, luckily.

Tornadoes are kind of...well, arbitrary, aren't they?  One house is destroyed, and another across the street is untouched.  While full of gratitude that my family was in the "lucky ones" category, I cannot help but mention the unfairness.  Some people lost a home, or worse - some families lost members. 

It seems that Mother Nature doesn't really care about us on a personal basis.  We're all just Ants Marching, to her.  Is it "God's Plan" (*bows head to Kansas*)...or is it just chaos?  While we contemplate this question, our meters continue to run out.  Have a nice day!

~A

P.S.  No offense to Kansans, but honestly, seven hours of crops and Jesus signs?  I will never get that day back.  Don't laugh, Missouri, you were no better.

The Silence of Virginia

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.                              ~ a headstone in Ireland

" U n a b l e   a r e   t h e   l o v e d   t o   d i e .   F o r   l o v e   i s   i m m o r t a l i t y . "  ~ Emily Dickinson

Love here on earth

Love beyond the grave

There are no roads

My love for you can't pave.

~T. Sachs

"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."  ~ J.K. Rowling

~A

The Beauty of Virginia

Creepy hotels rooms aside, Virginia turned out to be a lovely place to make random turns down deserted roads...

s t o p p i n g  a t  w i l l .

To stumble upon old cemeteries

w

h

e

r

e

loved ones patiently await your arrival.

(Like, the great arrival?)

~A