2014 Trip - Day 16 - Nutbush City Limits....or not?

Off to Memphis today.  We will visit Graceland again and the apparent resting place of Elvis.  I say apparent because I have always believed in that conspiracy theory that suggests he did not die on 16 August 1977.  You already know that I am a nutcase so I wont need to justify that further.

On the way out of Nashville we decided to stop at Sonic for breakfast.  This is a chain restaurant that I mentioned in my blog during the first trip, where you order via intercom (just like at Maccas) but you park and the food is brought out to you, sometimes on roller skates.  We both had a tortilla but also tried some "French toast sticks".  I don't like most of the fast food in the USA but I did like these.  There was some weirdo after taste that curled your nostrils hairs, but it was so very brief and did not over-ride the initial taste of this food.   They were like deep fried toast soldiers with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.  Quite pleasant!

Heading for Nashville, I wanted to take a detour via Nutbush.  This is the birthplace of Tina Turner and is the place she sung about in "Nutbush City Limits".  (The song was actually written by Isaac Hayes who ironically was born in neighbouring Covington) Whilst most peoples bucket lists consist of sky diving and owning a Lamborghini, mine is to visit places that appear in song names, and owning 100 Miniature Longhaired Dachshunds at one time. 

It was my intention to do the Nutbush, in Nutbush although I didn't have Nutbush in my music list (sacrilege!).    If you can understand that, then hell.....give me some of that Moonshine to swig on too.   The Bear quickly established that he did have the song "Nutbush City Limits" on his own laptop which we are carrying with us so was able to transfer that to the music list on my phone.  Why did we not think of playing it off the laptop once we got to Nutbush?  Shut up.

So...off to Nutbush, to do the Nutbush in Nutbush, using the Nutbush on my phone. I am as sick as a dog with no voice (probably just as well as I am sure that NO town would be ready for my singing) and can barely breathe.....but hey.....this is the Nutbush in Nutbush.  

I wasn't sure what to expect.  Maybe Tina Turners name up in neon lights?  Maybe a restaurant in her honour?  Maybe a "Nutbush City Limits" sign illuminated with flashing lights?  Maybe a chorus line of dancing dogs and a talking goose?  I don't know but I should have taken heed of the actual lyrics of the song :

" A little old town in Tennessee,
That's called a quiet little old community,
A one-horse town you have to watch.
What you're putting down in old Nutbush".

Alarm bells should have been ringing as we drove along old Interstate 19 listening to Chuck Berry singing "My Dingaling" on the radio (and no.....I did not sing along to it.  Well....ok....maybe I did a little bit.  Fine then....a lot).   This is what we came across.....
 

 

No flashing lights...but its something I guess.  Maybe the bigger signs are ahead?

 

More of a country lane than an Interstate Highway...but that's ok!  The city lights must be ahead!

 

Or not...........

 

Ermm.......

 

Where the heck is the "Nutbush City Limits" sign????

 

Hmmmmmm.......

 

This is Nutbush?

 

No "Nutbush City Limits" sign (most towns and cities DO have city limits signs) so this will have to do!

 

I am guessing this is the gin house as mentioned in the song?

 

 

Nutbush City Limits

written by Isaac Hayes sung by Ike and Tina Turner.

 

A church house, gin house, a school house, outhouse
On highway number nineteen, the people keep the city clean
They call it Nutbush, oh Nutbush
They call it Nutbush city limits

Twenty-five was the speed limit, motorcycle not allowed in it
You go to store on Fridays, you go to church on Sundays
They call it Nutbush, little old town, oh Nutbush
They call it Nutbush city limits

You go to the fields on weekdays and have a picnic on Labor day
You go to town on Saturdays but go to church every Sunday
They call it Nutbush, oh Nutbush
They call it Nutbush city limits

No whiskey for sale, if you get caught, no bail
Salt pork and molasses is all you get in jail
They call it Nutbush, oh Nutbush
Yeah, they call it Nutbush, Nutbush city limits

A little old town in Tennessee,
That's called a quiet little community
A one-horse town, you have to watch what you're putting down
In old Nutbush, they call it Nutbush

 

 

Well there is another tick off my bucket list.  I am a little disappointed that there was not a city limits sign, but that's ok!

 

The southern parts of Tennessee are a little better than the north.  There is obvious cotton farming here. The landscape is still very brown but it doesn't quite appear as poverty stricken as the north.  The roads seem wider although that maybe just because the fields are open rather than there just being mile upon mile of dead bush on the side of the road.  I particularly liked Jackson which struck me as a clean and modern town.  We did come across a multi vehicle pile up there, all of which were semi-trailers.  If you saw the drivers here, you would understand why. 

 

We drove through Covington which is the birthplace of Isaac Hayes.  It is only a few minutes from Nutbush.  I am blown away by the talent that emerged from southern Tennessee. Covington is a reasonable sized town which reflects a lot of poverty despite the fact that it is surrounded by some very, very large factories which I am sure would generate employment.

 

I am also quite fascinated by some town names.  My favourite today was "Bucksnort".   Hmmm...Bucksnort.  Where do you live?  Bucksnort.  Bucksnoooorrrrrt.  Welcome to Bucksnort. Yawl come back to Bucksnort ya hear!    The Bear saw a town which was named "Humboldt" and decided that would make a good dogs name.  I told him that if we got a male dog I would promise to name it Humboldt!  You will understand my surprise when he said "no" to that.  *rolls eyes*

 

I am quite fascinated by the fact that the interstates (highways) in Tennessee are almost dead straight.  There is very little in the way of the road curving.  If it does, it is ever so slight.  From the top of the state, to the bottom, it is straight and is almost overwhelmingly covered with cops.  Its just not worth breaking any road rule here because the state troopers will get you!

 

Tonight we dined in the Rendezvous Restaurant which a couple told us about when we visited Las Vegas in 2012.  We had also seen this place on Man V Food and it looked pretty darned good!  They are apparently world famous for their ribs, so who can go past that!  Despite the fact that the Bear (who is now unwell too) and I are not feeling flash, we walked to the restaurant which is a few blocks away from our hotel.  We wanted to get in early just in case they were busy so decided we would go there as soon as they opened at 4.30pm.  We were almost too late!  They were already chockers!  There was still room for us though which was awesome. 

 

 

 

The ribs are slow baked in an oven with vinegar and dry rub and are meant to be finger licking good.  I found them to be quite dry where as the ribs we have at home are very moist.  They are served on paper plates with plastic "silver ware" and come lying in a layer of vinegar.  They also come with a serving of beans - which are a barbeque baked bean with something like a taco seasoning in them.  They were extraordinarily yummo although heaven help the toilet bowl in a few hours time.  The ribs also come with a "slaw".  They don't call it coleslaw for some reason although it does resemble it.  The "slaw" is finer, and lighter than coleslaw and has an orange colour to it.  I imagine the colour comes from the seasoning that they put in it...which also tastes like a taco seasoning.  Whatever the case, it was yummo too!  I think if I went back there, I would pass on the ribs and have double of the beans and slaw!

 

We finished the night off with a stroll along Beale Street and caught a tram back to where our hotel is.  Tomorrow we are headed back to Graceland!

2014 Trip - Day 15 - Say what?

Just when I think this country cannot surprise me any more, it somehow manages to do so.  This morning on the news whilst listening/watching intently to the tornado warnings, a headline flashes across the bottom of the screen:  "USA suffers National Clown Shortage".   What the?????    This breaking news disclosed that apparently the numbers are down on recruits to Clown School.  *insert a raised eyebrow here*    I am fairly tempted to contact the television station to suggest that they approach the Australian Parliament because there are ample suitors there. Good grief.

So we are out of the heavy snow now, but as I said above, we are now experiencing tornado warnings.  Interesting.  I am wondering what sort of weather event we can expect to hear of next.  The snow storms are still raging up north so I am really glad we got out of there.  I am not sure that I would be particularly keen on being somewhere where there is a tornado, despite the fact that I have a small fascination with them.  I am wondering if I should shoot out and buy some red glittered shoes (or in Nashville, red glittered boots) so that I can click my heels three times and say "There is no place like home" should the need arise.    This being said, I can honestly say that I know that there is no place like home.

Driving around Nashville today we were glad to see the sunshine.  Second Avenue in the city is the happening place here, which has the infamous saloons like Coyote Ugly and Dicks Last Resort.  We saw another number of strangely named places, such as a restaurant up the road called "Cock on the Walk".  Yep ....okey dokey.  I wonder how they answer the phone there?   Interestingly, ALL of the restaurants and saloons here display signs saying that "Guns are not permitted" and "no soliciting".  That really must put a dampener on their fun!  You can get shot in a Walmart....but not in a pub!  The scary thing here is that the signs are serious.  Guns play such a prominent part of life here, I guess the warnings have to be put in place.

Finally we are southern enough where I can have my grits.  I do LOVE grits although the locals look at me a bit funny because I have brown sugar on them.  Apparently the usual is to have cheese or butter on them.  What are grits you might ask?  It is basically ground corn (sort of small broken bits of corn) where the kernels are prepared in different ways. This is then is cooked like porridge and would have the consistency of porridge that has been set (like jelly).  They are typically not eaten sweet.  Just as their names suggests they are gritty but not in an unpleasant way.  They can be cooked in milk and butter, or can be sliced and cooked on the broiler.  I have not had them that way as yet, although I would love to try.  I might seek them out as we travel further south.

We are off to Memphis tomorrow.  Hopefully I am feeling somewhat better so that my blog can be a little more interesting!

                                       

 

 

 

2014 Trip - Day 14 - Gun control? What gun control?

I am feeling slightly better today although breathing is a little bit of a struggle.  I have come down with a heavy head cold which is fast moving to my chest.  I am not very well at all, so my writing will reflect that.  Sorry in advance.

This morning we stopped at a 24 hour Walmart in Chattanooga before driving to Nashville.  We figured we might have been taking our lives into our hands given that someone was shot and killed in a checkout line at another Chattanooga Walmart yesterday.   How does this happen one may ask?  Well that might be because everyone, who is everyone has some sort of weapon in Tennessee.

Whilst it is common knowledge that every redneck has a gun, I had never really stop to think about it.  In Tennessee it is plain as the nose on your face though.  Even at the local Walmart there is a gun counter, with shot guns lined up for sale.  Seriously, it is bizarre when you can go to one place and buy your underwear, a carton of eggs, and a shotgun.

 

 

 

It is only a 2 hour drive from Chattanooga to Nashville.  However I got so darned confused at the changes with time.   Halfway through Tennessee there is a change in the time zone.  You are driving down the road and all of a sudden the time zone drops back an hour.  You don't cross any border for this to happen.  But....to get to Nashville.....you also do a little bit of a loop out of Tennessee, into Georgia, back into Tennessee.  And then.....if you are some sort of lunatic such as myself, who believes that to legitimately obtain a fridge magnet you must actually VISIT a state or city.....and insists on taking a detour into a state so that a fridge magnet can be purchased just to show you have been there (backward I know.  You really need to be in my mind to get this....so just work with me)...so therefore popped into Alabama.....the time on my mobile phone and our GPS pretty much had a mind out.   We went in and out of Tennessee more times than we have had hot dinners!

 

Tennessee does not get any prettier.  It is brown and ugly.  I seriously do not want to feel this way as apparently I have kin folk in these parts however there is little that I find endearing about it, with the exception of the southern drawl.  My great, great grandfather was born here so I effectively have roots here! I find myself understanding most people in the USA (although most people cannot understand us) but the drawl that people have here prompts a "pardon" from me every time.   Everyone is known as "Sugar" or "Darlin'" which was sort of cute on the first day, but has been irritating ever since although the Bear was called "Babe" yesterday which sort of tickled me.

 

Tennessee is also a state which promotes fire works and in a big way.  Between guns, fire works and moonshine I feel that there would be a huge market here for artificial limbs.   I vaguely remember fire cracker night when I was a little girl although that was a loooooooong time ago.  The Bear said it was legal to have fireworks in Tasmania until about 1987 so he remembers setting them off a little better than I do.  We decided to stop in at a fireworks shop (ok....warehouse) on the Tennessee/Alabama border.  I would have LOVED to have bought some just to set them off.  When we walked in, I was smashed back into about 1970.  There was something that set off a very vivid memory although it was gone before I could figure out what it was.  What an awesome step back in time though.    I am tempted to ask whether we are able to just buy them and set them off outside the city limits.  There doesn't appear to be any law that prevents you from doing so.

 

 

 

 

 

The whole way between Chattanooga and Nashville there are reminders of the fact that guns play a large part here.  From about an hour out of Nashville, right through to the city limits, there is billboard after billboard promoting firearms.  There are billboards reminding us that "silencers are NOT illegal" although I am damned if I can work out why this needs to be pointed out.  I don't mean this is on a couple of billboards.  I mean this is on EVERY billboard. I shall put some examples below.

 

 

 

I cannot quite figure this state out.  The one thing I do know though, is that there are more places selling guns and fireworks than there are McDonalds.  Now in this country THAT is saying something!

 

 

2014 Trip - Day 13 - Too crook to type

I wont be posting anything for today.  I have come down with a heavy head cold so I am feeling as though my head is going to explode.  Those razor blades that I must have swallowed are doing nothing for my throat either.

In short, we drove from Knoxville to Chattanooga today.  It is a very large city that fits in with the rest of Tennessee. There is quite a lot of history here though.  Its a pity I am not feeling a little better to enjoy it.

Hopefully I will feel better for the trip to Nashville tomorrow.

2014 Trip - Day 12 - And we thought we had bad drivers.

We managed to survive the night without being woken by rattling chains and ghostly calls.  The Hotel Roanoke is truly a place frozen in time.  It was an amazing find and the shivers that it gave me just added to the experience.  We had our breakfast in the most ornate of restaurants.  It was truly beautiful adding to our memorable stay.

We were on the road again after breakfast heading further south to try to avoid more snow storms.  But alas....we had not been driving more than a couple of minutes when it started snowing.  Again.  FML.   I am a nervous passenger under the best of conditions.  Driving through another snow storm (ok...not quite a snow storm.....but close enough in my books) absolutely terrified me.  The wind buffeted the car around and the snow swirled into the windscreen.  Interestingly, when it is snowing, you don't need to use the windscreen wipers.

The fact that drivers around us overtook at amazing speeds and threw their vehicles around like matchbox cars did nothing for my nerve levels.  However......nothing will side track me from my woes as much as a good accident will.  Not surprisingly, there were plenty. 

Our first taste of this was a small white sedan which had somehow jammed itself sideways across a snow covered median strip.  It would have slid across the road and landed there I guess.
 

 

A little bit further down the road, there was a large semi-trailer that had rolled.  I was too caught up in sticky beaking to remember that I had the camera and did not get evidence of such!  A little bit further down the road though, there was another on its side and I had the camera ready.

 

I couldn't believe this!  The roads are dangerous, and the loonie drivers are plentiful but I never expected that I would see this many accidents in a row!  And.....you guessed it!  A little bit further on, there was yet another accident.  Another large semi on its side.
 

 

Fortunately there were no more accidents that we saw between Roanoke and Knoxville.  We did see a dead skunk though which was a first.  Fond childhood memories of Pepe Le Pew had me choke back a tear.  Ok.....that might have been a crumb from the over stale chicken torpedo that I had for lunch......but the thought was there.

I am sick of snow.  So damned sick of snow.  I hate snow.  Snow, snow and more snow.  And....as though just to piss me off further....I have found that I cannot photograph a snow flake.  Lord knows I have tried.  I will photograph anything that moves.  There is 2000000000000000000000 billion trillion snow flakes on the car right now, and I cannot photograph one of them individually.  The snow is trying to have the last laugh.
 

 

Snow ploughs are everywhere.  I highly doubt that Australia would be that prepared if they were needed.   I turn my attention to the signs off the road to try to cope with my nervousness.  We pass a store somewhere in the middle of whoop-whoop which carried the sign "Jesus is Lord.  We buy guns".  Hmmmmmkaaaayyyy.  If it wasn't so dangerous to do so, I would have got the Bear to stop and turn around so that I could grab a photo.  A little bit further down the track....a road sign said...."First Exit - Winery.  Next Exit - Weddings".   This appeared to be a very serious sign.   Hmmmkay again.  

 

We are driving along just willing the white scenery to pass quickly and we are playing music from the Bears phone through the car.  Radio Stations in these parts have two types of music.  Country AND Western.  Given that this most definitely doesn't float our boats, we plugged in his phone.  Now the Bear and I have very similar music tastes a lot of the time, however we both have a streak in us that absolutely loathes the music of the other.  I was happy to take the risk with his music as Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton just don't do it for me.  Well that was until "Macho Man" came on.  I took a side ways glance at the Bear to which he exclaimed "I didn't put that there!".  Yep sure Bear.....sure.....

 

Crossing the Virginia/Tennessee State Line showed me that one thing is for certain.  My first impression of Tennessee back in 2012 was not exaggerated.  I still did not like what I saw.  I know it is winter and everything is brown (with the exception of the snow) but this has BORING stamped on it in a major way.  As we drove further  the snow began to thin and I was thinking that the state did have its upsides.  I noted with interest that that the contents of the yards had changed from one state to the next.  Unlike the sprawling ranches in Virginia which kept large herds of very healthy cattle and horses, the yards in Tennessee kept a minimum of 6 car wrecks, a few rusted tractors, someone's broken fence, a donkey and two chooks. The more affluent of residences also bore a collapsing henhouse.

 

We pulled into Knoxville early afternoon and had a little bit of a laydown before heading out to dinner.  I was so thrilled with the Golden Corral yesterday that I wanted to go again!  There is a Golden Corral Restaurant in Knoxville Tennessee so that was settled.

 

Well tie up your mothers people.  This was an experience.  Do you remember how I said yesterday that the Roanoke Golden Corral was like being on the set of the Duck Dynasty and the Jerry Springer Show?  Well dagnammit.....I have no words for this one. 

 

I was facing the food bar which was possibly mistake number one.  I witnessed some old coot drop a calamari ring which rolled under one of the bay maries.  He stuck his foot under it to drag out the food morsel.  I mentally congratulated him for picking up dropped food and disposing of rubbish.......until he put it in his mouth.  It was at that time I noticed the soiling on the back of his track suit pants.  I swear I had a little bit of vomit rise.  As I tried to ignore that, everything else around me was magnified.  Firstly it was a man (Shrek?) that was sitting across from the Bear (who was opposite me) who kept dropping his teeth.  At one point he actually took out his dentures to pull something off of them.  Like....come one dude! Second it was a bloke, for want of a better word, that kept getting up and down and running (?????) to the bay maries looking as though he had a ten cent piece stuck firmly between the cheeks of his very ample butt. I lost count of how many pieces of cutlery (lovingly known as silver ware over here) up his sleeve.  I didn't want to turn around in case he used one of the pieces to poke out my eye.    Thirdly there was a little girl, probably about 8 or 9 years old that was dipping her stick of fairy floss into the large dish of liquid orange cheese that was on the food counter.   Her parents thought it was majorly funny although in support of them, I believe they may have been inbred so wouldn't have known better.  There was more dribbling in this restaurant than done on a basketball court.  I think it was the lack of teeth that had people failing to keep their salivations to themselves. I got to the point where I could not eat and could not find a place to look where I wasn't going to be sick.  And I mean....I would have projectile vomited.

 

We left rather quickly although it took a few hours for my tummy to settle.  The Bear and I are definitely coming down with something, so that would not have helped.  Hopefully a good night sleep will have us feeling better.  We move onto Chattanooga tomorrow!  I have my fingers (and toes, legs, nostril hairs) crossed that there are less slack jawed yokels there!

2014 Trip - Day 11 - Take Me Home Country Roads

Ok...well maybe not home.  Its just hard to drive amid these parts without thinking of the song.

The snow ploughs were out early in Washington. That along with the sun being out ensured our escape from our hotel prison by 9am.

Rather than driving to Pittsburgh we drove in a southerly direction.  Pittsburgh is north west of Washington and the weather is predicted to deteriorate further.  36 hours stuck in our hotel was enough for us.  We didn't want to risk being caught anywhere else.  We figure if he head south we will be coming into slightly warmer weather where the temperature will be above zero and would be less likely to have us caught.  The storms across the USA have brought record breaking snow and quite frankly I could go for the rest of my life as well as the next one without seeing a single white snowflake. I am learning to hate it.

It was roughly a 4 hour drive to Roanoke, Virginia.  There was very, very thick snow the whole way although it didn't really affect us on the Interstate. The snow ploughs are out in their thousands clearing the major arterials. Unfortunately people in the suburbs are stuck because the snow ploughs have to keep the major Interstates clear and cannot get to the suburban areas for several days.  Some people have their own portable ploughs, or in most cases, their own snow shovels.  It is back breaking work though.  Clearing their footpaths or driveways, or more importantly digging their cars out, is horrendous.  In fact the news reported yesterday that in the Washington area alone, there had been 3 deaths where people aged 47-55 had suffered fatal heart attacks whilst shovelling snow.

Driving through Virginia was pretty despite the state being blanketed in snow.  I still find it amazing at how each state can come with its own personality and culture.   I think that if the state wasn't blanketed in snow, it would be farming country.  There were a lot of cows and horses, as well as big and beautiful properties.  There would be money here I would say.

I felt an enormous privilege to be in the presence of what John Denver sang about.  I am always overwhelmed to be anywhere that has supplied the inspiration for song lyrics.  I can see how the Blue Ridge Mountains got their name.  They indeed were a blue ridge which ran for miles and miles throughout Virginia. They have a very distinctive thick blue line which appears to run across the top of them the whole way and I am darned if I can figure out what does that.   The Shenandoah River was pretty much just a river though.  Not large and partially frozen.  I am sure it expands in areas away from the Interstate but I can only go on what I saw.

Roanoke is also blanketed in snow but unlike the major cities, had not been ploughed that well.  The main highway has most lanes cleared, with the exception of the far left hand lane (usually the turning lanes or slow vehicle lanes) so merging became interesting.  In the city centre the streets are extremely narrowed however due to the show.  Obviously a narrow plough had gone through just pushing the snow drifts slightly off to the side making it somewhat hazardous.  Traffic heading in both directions where forced into the middle of the road so there was a lot of patience required. 

Our hotel in Roanoke (The Hotel Roanoke) is known as the "Grand Old Lady on the Hill".  It has stood since the late 1800's which if course meant to me that it has to be haunted.  The hotel resembled a German Chalet which was extraordinarily quaint and just a little bit spooky.   The rooms remind me of what an attic would look like - small, cozy....and haunted.  I made a mental note NOT to research the hotel until after we left.

Tonight I finally got to eat at a "Golden Corral".  The Bear has wanted to take me to one since our first trip to the United States but the opportunity just hasn't been there before.  Well what a place!  I will be honest and say that I felt like I was in a restaurant that was filled with people from both the Duck Dynasty and the Jerry Springer Show, but that was ok!  I could be my extremely bogan self! 

Now this is a place we could do with back in Oz.  It would send Sizzler out of business in a heartbeat.  It was a buffet of the heartiest kind with all sorts of simple meat dishes such as pot roast, rissoles and fried chicken.  It had all sorts of vegetables including mashed potato (which I just LOVE!) and all sorts of pasta, Mexican dishes, and steak.  It also had a completely cold salad bar filled with cold cuts, salads and "yeast rolls".  But best of all, it had a desert bar AND bakery, as well as a fairy floss machine.  The desert bar had a milk chocolate fountain and a white chocolate fountain with fruits and marshmallows to dip into it.  There was a variety of cakes and truffles, slices and jellies....a soft service ice-cream machine as well as 8 sorts of main ice-cream.  There were toppings that included choc chips and gummy bears.  Most importantly it had my favourite ice-cream that I absolutely LOVE to have whilst in the US - a sherbet ice-cream.  We do not have this at home.  The most amazing thing of all, is the price.  Its about $10 an adult which just absolutely does my head in.  How the hell does Sizzler get off charging what they do? 

More snow is predicted tonight although it wont be as heavy as if we travelled to Pittsburgh.  We are going to move further south to Knoxville tomorrow, providing the ghosts that undoubtedly roam the hallways of The Hotel Roanoke don't eat me alive!

2014 Trip - Day 10 - Snowed in

2.30am -  We look out the window to check on the weather.  There had been storm warnings in place for the last 24 hours and we wanted to see if it had arrived.  It had.  When the sun went down yesterday the landscape was brown - grass dead and trees with no leaves etc.  Now it is a brilliant white with heavy snow falling.  The snow flakes are very large unlike the tiny ones in New York.  There is no evidence of roads as they are also covered with a thick blanket of snow.  It really is very pretty.  Even though it is night time and the snow storm is raging, it is still easy to see for some reason.  Its as though the street lights are illuminating the snow clouds which is really weird.  God I wish I could sleep.

2.31am -  Shit.  It has just occurred to us that we cannot go anywhere.  We are snowed in.

3.00am - still snowed in.  Like I really thought that would change in the last 29 minutes.  Heavy snow continues to fall.

4.00am - the Bear and I wonder if the hotel staff are able to get to work today.  It is becoming more obvious that not only can nobody leave, but nobody can get in to work either.  The news broadcast basically indicates that the city has shutdown.  No flights, no buses, no trains except for the underground.  Those that have attempted to get onto the roads have become stuck in snow drifts or have slid off the road.  Some have even rolled.  Its just not worth it.  Stay snowed in.

5.00am -  the news is just repeating itself.  Reporters are around the traps showing what sort of snow has fallen.  How the hell did they get out?  Are they not snowed in?

6.00am - ok.  Panic sets in.  If we cannot get out, how are we going to eat?!  When we are on holiday, that is one of my big pleasures!  Eating take away!  The hotel has a small breakfast as a part of the room rate but they don't do lunch and dinner.  What if the staff didn't get in?  There will be no breakfast!  I do a stock take on the "supplies" that we have with us: Half a box of Twinkies, a box of ho-hos (I will explain those later my fellow Australians), a bottle of Moccona coffee (brought from Australia), some sachets of Caramel Latte (also brought from Australia), Brian's vitamins and fish oil tablets (removes them from the inventory), a packet of Dorrito's, and a container of cheese, meat sticks and pretzels as purchased from Walmart the other day.  So we wont starve today.  There is a small market (and by small market I mean a fridge) in the lobby which contains some frozen food which can be purchased so that is an option too.

7.00am - Breakfast. The staff stayed at the hotel last night.  They took the warnings seriously and wanted to make sure their patrons were looked after.  Three cheers for them! Breakfast was made up from yesterdays things (bagels and toast), scrambled eggs, chipped potatoes (some sorts of cubes that look like sweet potato) and sausage patties.  Blerk.....but that's ok.  I will eat to keep up my strength because I just might need it being snowed in!  I also use a little bit of creativity.  Along with the condiments, there is salsa and shredded orange cheese.  I grab a few coffee cups and fill them with cheese and salsa.  We have a packet of Dorrito Corn Chips back in the room, and a microwave.  This will allow us to have Nachos! I pat myself on the back for being so ingenious. We also grab a pizza pocket from "the market" in the hotel lobby.

8.00am -  Still snowed in (of course).  Getting bored.

9.00am -  Still snowed in.  Bored as bat shit. Life outside has come to a standstill.  Snow continues to fall.  The news is carrying on as though it is the end of the earth and quite frankly I am starting to agree with them.

10.00am -  Still snowed in.  Who in this country actually names their food?  I am looking at the boxes of Twinkies and Ho-Hos.  For those that may not know, Twinkies are a small, cylindrical sponge cake filled with mock cream.  They are no bigger than your hand.  Ho-Hos are like a tiny chocolate scroll that has been dipped in chocolate.   Now this might be just my opinion....but wouldn't Twinkie be a better name for your little toe?  Or, an alternate word when going for a "wee"?  It just doesn't strike me as something you might eat. Maybe naming them.....Torpedos.....or...Sponge Logs....or something like that might have been more appropriate.  As for Ho-Hos....well lets leave that topic well alone.  At the store they sold something similar which are called Ding-Dongs.  "Yes please....I will have a box of Ding-Dongs".  How stupid does that sound???

10.30am -  Repacks suitcases.  Still snowed in.

11.00am - "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall. Ninety-nine bottles of beer.  If one of those bottles should happen to fall.  Ninety-eight bottles of beer...on....the....wall"

12.00pm -  So what is the go with the toilets over here?  I know that I have had my love-hate relationship with them but something has troubled me since our very first trip.  Why on earth are the toilet bowls half full of water?  I can make my own assumptions here, however I feel the benefits that I can come up with are far out-weighed by the problems it would cause men when their junk falls in the water.  I mean it just has to happen surely?  I know if I go a little bit wild when drying myself that I can accidently hit the water with my hand (and you cannot damned stand up to do it otherwise the stupid automatic flushing happens.  You then have to sit on the seat again to put the paper in the bowl and re-flush) so I hate to think how poor blokes fair when they go in for Number Two-s!   I seriously need to Google this.

12.30pm -  Still snowed in.  Sick of these four walls.  Cant get beyond the front door of the hotel.  Snow has now turned to sleet.  This will compact the snow but will make everything icy and dangerous.    Time for the Pizza Pockets that we purchased from the fridge in the lobby!  Following the directions on the little packet I cooked them in the microwave in our room.  I am thinking I would have done much better to make the nachos that I had planned because the pizza pockets had small explosions. Orange cheese ran everywhere.  And what is the go with the word "crispy" on the packet?  Nothing crispy about these.  More like soggy lettuce.  But that's ok...we are dealing with a crisis here.  We are snowed in and are in survival mode!

1.00pm - Need to vacate the room for a little while so that the cleaners can have access.  There are several people sitting downstairs in the lobby who have also exited their room for a little while to allow it to be cleaned.  I am dressed in my tracksuit which is covered in the contents on my pizza pocket. I look wistfully out the window wishing the snow a very quick demise whilst listening to someone on the TV report the news in Spanish. 

2.00pm - Does anyone know why mixed lollies are all in different shapes?  I mean they all taste the same so why put one in the shape of a snake, another in the shape of a frog etc.  Jelly beans are all different flavours yet they are the same shape and it has been amazingly successful for them!  And who gets to choose what shapes are made?  Who actually stops and says "Hey!  Lets make a bag of body parts!"?  I think this is an extremely reasonable question!

3.00pm - Back in our room. Snow ploughs try tirelessly to clear the roads and make one hell of a racket.  We are watching TV and I am depressed to learn that if I lived in the USA I would qualify for "Final Expense Insurance" aka Funeral Insurance.   Fancy trying to hide behind some fancy word indicating that you are older than God?  Why not just call it "Horse Head Insurance" or "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts Insurance"?    Apparently I am old enough to have "Final Expense Insurance" and I don't need a medical.   If we are stuck in this damned room for more than a day I might find cause to need something like this!

4.00pm - Still damn well snowed in.  The Bear and I had a little bit of a Nana Nap (a necessity for those old enough to qualify for Final Expense Insurance). Fortunately there has been a saving grace.  "The First 48" has come on the A & E Channel.  I can get lost in the gory details of a murder for a little while. Also, there is nothing falling from the sky currently thank heavens! The Bear cracks open the cheese and pretzels.  I soon find out that I don't think they really are what they say they are.  The cheese and sausage sticks are like something you might find in a little girls fake supermarket, and the pretzels are like something I would find at the bottom of my handbag......after a year......of it sitting beside the Bears sandshoes.

5.00pm - The snow STILL hasn't friggin well disappeared.  I sit here wondering why the hotel chose this particular colour scheme for the carpet.  It is a mix of multi coloured lines and is seriously making me angry.   I thought that some nice, calming colours would be preferred for tired travellers!  No wonder Booth shot Lincoln.  He stayed in this damned hotel first and got pissed off by the carpet!

6.00pm - Anyone got a noose? It's f**kin' snowing again.

7.00pm - Oh goody.  Our second frozen meal for the day. I am sure we have had tastier belches.  And we are still snowed in!  I check the internet to see if there is any pizza delivery services advertising that they are open to bribes.  No there isn't.  That would be freakin' right.  The Bear and I decide that no matter what, we are escaping tomorrow.  We were meant to be driving to Pittsburgh however there is little likelihood of that given that more snow is predicted which means either we have to stay put here in Washington or risk getting caught at another location.  We decide to play it safe and change our next couple of destinations.  We shall now start travelling south to where the weather will be above zero.

8.00pm -  We check the road reports and weather conditions for tomorrow one last time.  The Bear figures if we leave Washington at around 9am then the snow ploughs will have been through and the roads will have been salted. As tomorrow is predicted to be fine the sun will have had a chance to thaw the ice a little bit too.  If we can get out before the next snow front moves in we should be right. If it doesn't work out this way, we will be leggin' it out I tell ya!

9.00pm - Night all!