A mini vacation

Last Monday, Dad came in to lunch with an idea. He had just heard from the man we buy bags from, that he also delivered to some Amish mills in Kentucky. These feed mills were powered by horses, and needless to say, dad was raring to go.
So Thursday, we headed out.
Now, this, we found, was nothing like Ohio or even out local Muddy Pond in Crossville. This was in the tiny little Pho-dunk town of Scottsville. Not much bigger than a wink.
After we visited the little community, and located the mills which were to grind the next day, we returned to town to find a motel. Upon asking for directions, we were told that there were three in town. Two were really bad, and one was good. The two story Spanish style building we were directed to seemed to be entirely deserted. But no, we acquired a room. And it appeared to be clean and tidy. It had Internet, and cable, and a closed outdoor pool.

At this point, dad reached for the phone. No service. Now, we use straight talk, and I'm pretty sure we're on Verizon towers, but alas, nothing. He told me to keep an eye on it.
We spent a few hours just relaxing, and I enjoyed the free wifi. But all too soon our road snacks seemed to be hours away, and it was time to locate supper.
Downtown was a quaint little place, with a modified roundabout square, and one red light. We circled and circled, but found no place to go. You see with Dad's Gluten intolerance our choices are limited. We passed a Sonic,a Pizza Hut, and a McDonalds and finally stopped at a Dollar Store to ask. (okay and mom needed eye drops)
The Lady we spoke to had an accent just like Reba MacEntire! No joke. She told us there were three other places that we had missed. "Thars a place 'cross the street thar, makes the best burgers. Now, I An't sayin they don't make nuthin else, they're burgers is just good. Then thar's that, oh what's the name, sumthin bout dumplins. But me n' my husband got got mad at 'em. Went down there a'fore work to eat breakfast an they wouldn't serve us. Course then thar's that place up the road that makes great catfish." Now that got Dad's attention. Catfish is his middle name. ;D "You go out a town an up a hill an it sorter drops off beside the road and down in a holler."
So we took that advise and drove out of town. We drove and drove, and then turned back around and around again, before we found it. Down in a holler just like she said.
It looked like a hole-in-the-wall. Not much more that a glorified double-wide. Everything had a 1970's decor with wood panel walls, and everything else was a mustard yellow. Now here in Tennessee, they passed a law that you could no longer smoke in restaurants. It's been a blessing to me, who gets terrible migraines around cigarette smoke. But here that obviously wasn't the case. The restaurant was separated into several rooms, one in the front by the register, one hallway type place with a salad bar in it, and a large room in the back with larger tables for evening. Now to me it was odd to see ashtrays on tables again, especially in the main parts of the restaurant. As we passed the salad bar, to the left was a tiny room with a small basement window. Taped to the open door was a cardboard sign "Non Smoking"
Needless to say we walked into the larger open dining area. For some people this could have been a nightmare. Like a city slicker in Mayberry. But luckily, I like Mayberry, and this place was a blast! I was glad to find that only a few people were smoking and they were on the far side of the room. Watching the people in this place was so fun! In this small town, everybody knew everybody, and it was a jovial atmosphere. We loved it!
Food came, and the waitress had advised us to go for the child's portion, Hooweee were we glad! The plate was HEAPED with catfish and the biggest potato I think I've ever seen! Even then I had to take some with me.
Then it was back to the motel where I got to watch all the production video blogs from the upcoming "Hobbit" movie! (Hooray!!) And finished my dress for the next day (Pictures coming soon)
Sadly I didn't get any pictures of all this... the only time I had my camera was at the mills. And then I was limited because of the Amish beliefs on photos.
The next morning early we went out to watch the grind. Ten big Belgian horses pulled it, walking in circles and turning gears. It was pretty neat to watch. Here's the pictures of that.
　
　
　
And after a little bit we went on, not wanting to be a nuisance.
We drove home on back highways and it was a good thing we did. We got on top of the mountains halfway home and one of my truck tires flattened. (Dry rot :(
But we were so glad we had elected to go that way, and it hadn't happened on the interstate.
So here we are, We had an absolutely lovely time! All of us just chatting in the car, or listening to audiobooks (Louis lamour... tradition. :D) And despite the flaws, I do believe I'll be going back to Scottsville again sometime. :D And if you want a getaway where you don't have to worry about the phone, or fast food joints, I highly recommend it. :D