Karen & Teresa’s (hopefully!) Excellent Adventure

On Friday, April 19th, my college roommate and long time friend, Teresa, and I will be setting off on an adventure. We are taking a two week driving trip that will take us from Nashville, to Asheville, to DC, to Philadelphia, Akron, and Pittsburgh PA, then to Cleveland Ohio and Metropolis, Illinois.

We know at the outset that we will not be able to do EVERYTHING we would like to do. We would need a LOT more time and a LOT more money for that. But, we are prioritizing, and hope to see the things that are most important to us. Teresa, whose father was shot down in Vietnam when she was four, wants to see the memorial finally created for those killed in this conflict. I want to visit with my sister-in-law and her family who live in Akron, near the Amish country we hope to explore.

I would never be able to make a trip like this if it were not for Teresa. She does the “heavy lifting.” Calling herself the “Master Packer”, she totes the luggage from van to hotel room and back, somehow making sure everything fits. She does much of the driving, allowing me to take re-energizing naps on the road. She lets me off at doors and chases down my walker if the wind catches it and it goes careening across a parking lot.

When I asked for prayer for our journey Sunday morning in church,a comment was made by someone (the preacher!) hoping that Washington DC will still be the same when we leave it. With two crazy, middle-aged women out for adventure, there is just no telling!

Chick-fil-A

I think I may be one of the only people in Vicksburg who is not particularly looking forward to the opening of the new Chick-fil-A. Their restaurants are usually clean and their employees are more professional than most I have encountered in the fast food business. I will probably go to this one if my husband or a friend really wants to eat there. My feelings about Chick-fil-A are definitely mixed for a number of reasons, not all of which I will go into in this post.

One of my main beefs (pardon the pun) with this Chick-fil-A is the location. I have seen the way traffic backs up into the street at the ones in Clinton and Jackson during rush times or special promotions. Hall's Ferry is already a busy street and getting out of businesses that don't have a traffic light is difficult enough already. I am wondering if I will be able to get in and out of the parking lot to see my financial adviser at Edward Jones. Another concern I have is wondering if the parking allotted for Chick-fil-A will be adequate or will they have to spill over and take parking area away from Caffe Paradiso, Yanni's, and Orange Leaf Yogurt. As a frequent visitor to some of these establishments, will my handicapped parking spaces be taken up by the overflow generated by Chick-fil-A?

I am hoping that the city has some ideas for dealing with potential issues that come up, but I have to admit, I am not holding my breath. At any rate, I will probably be in another part of town supporting our locally owned places by eating at Martin's, Toney's, Goldie's, and Billy's. 

For the most part, I'll let other folks "Eat more Chikin."