2nd leg of the trip...

While we were in Austin, we went to dinner at Bess Bistro. If you ever get the chance to get there, do it! The food, fabulous, the decor...so cute! (maybe that's not the right word, but I loved it.) See the etching on the front door? That's just the beginning of the 'little' touches the bring the charm inside while you dine. (notice that I shrunk down the pictures today, there's a lot of them. But you can click on them to make them bigger, if you so choose.)

Now, for all you artichoke and spinach dip fans, here's the twist they put on it. Rather than adding a lot of 'sauce' to it, they flash fry it and it comes out crispy! Oh and oh so yummy! We then had some bass and a rib eye, (sans a picture, sorry, you'll just have to go get your own!) and then ....

...Banana Cake that I swear is the same recipe my kids' family uses for 4 generations now for Birthday cakes and the creamiest Creme Brule I've EVER had! It was the kind of dinner where you don't want it to end, and wish to move into the place and be adopted.

One of the things that I enjoy about traveling, other than great yarn finds, is the architectural differences each region and city build. Like this building in Austin, just beautiful!

Heading north, we went through Arkansas mostly through the night..

Slept a bit along the way, not while driving of course. Have you noticed that some states have rest stops that really are there so they can say they are..but others have rest stops that are nicer than several apartments and houses I've lived in? And clean enough to pass my mother's inspection! (Just a traveling comment there...)

Day break found us on the Mississippi River heading into Memphis, with a Red sun in the morning...

Some more knitting at the cast-on stage for my 'Olympic Knitting' project...and so many GREEN trees! (California , can you pay attention to what trees should be like with rain fall? Green..not brown!)

Now, I ask you, when you're driving through Tennessee, how can you NOT stop and see something in Music City? It was bad enough we couldn't hop over to Beale Street in Memphis since we were trying to reach Michigan by the end of the day. But, Come-on...you HAVE to pay homage to the country music in you with a little trip through the Grand Ole' Opry. Right? How can any self-respecting Mother not stop and take her country lovin', Kenny Chesney-hat 'She thinks my tractor's sexy' wearing, daughter through the backstage tour? Check out the daughter trying to see the names on the mail in the mail boxes!

Outside of the Opry House, they share the parking lot with a huge mall. Now, in Hollywood, we have the Avenue of the stars. Here they have these :

Too cool-huh?

But, here's where the knitter in me found the best'est' travel souvenir EVER...

Quite some time ago, there was discussion of these on the knitting boards. I've been trying to find a Bass Pro shop ever since. I'll show more about this in another posting, since this one is already picture intensified. Let's just say for now that I'm a happy camper!

Next up, was Kentucky. More beautiful green rolling hills - are you paying attention Southern California? mmm...but also a state with some of the nicest rest areas! And air conditioned to boot!

What can I say about Indiana? Oh, seems like 2 weeks ago? HA! But, what a strange feeling to be driving up the 65 and pass right by the Bloomington signs and not detour over to see my son. I felt a few pangs I tell you. Another chapter in his life has finished as he's no longer living there. Onward! as a famous knitter likes to say.

Can anyone tell me the name of this plant/flower? They were at another rest area in Indiana that's very lovely to 'visit'. But my grandmother used to have these planted down her driveway when I was a very little girl. I've wanted to find that out ever since I moved away from home. They're so pretty, aren't they?

Towards the end of the night, Dad requested we stop and get a hotel for the night. Apparently he didn't think staying up until 2am was the 'thing to do'. So, we 'toughed it out' with soft beds, Taco Bell and wi-fi! Ah...

Boy did I wish I had a salt shaker and some butter the next morning. Field after field of corn with brown tops as we left Indiana. Yummy. But then I got to thinking, this was probably for grain feed. Umm....

Michigan! we arrived over the border with the end of leg #2 in site. I was knitting away on another chemo hat for mom. This time using the www.headhuggers.org pattern with the rolled brim and the Yarn Bee 'I Love this Cotton!' yarn that Hobby Lobby is now selling. I started the project in the hotel room and finished it just outside of the Saginaw area. We did stop in the Ann Arbor area to hug my auntie who is recovering quite well from her first hip surgery. You may remember the giraffe that I knit the prayer shawl and hat and scarf set a couple of weeks ago. That's the Auntie we visited, and forgot to take a picture. Shortly around dinnertime, we broke the border limits of Bay City. Parked the car, hugged the parents, handed over some little gifts, watched some Olympics (did you see Michael Phelps?) and then hit the sack for some much needed sleep without sitting in the car. Today, we're in a 'slow-motioned' kind of haze. Must go knit, and then we get to have dinner at Grandpa Tony's(no better place I tell you!) with my brother and niece tonight!

Oh, and there's a Hobby Lobby..just over 'yonder'!