Sunday, August 15, 2010

Disappointment

All I wanted was a pancake......We headed out towards the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday but decided we needed fortification before the climb upwards. We stopped at a local place advertising "all you can eat breakfast". We didn't want unlimited eggs and sausage and bacon and grits and biscuits and gravy and ham. One of us just wanted a pancake. Which they did have..........but they didn't have BUTTER. !! Now, the pancake is an important part of the 'pancake with syrup and butter' order but the most important thing is the BUTTER. Not 'pure vegetable spread' or 'lite pure vegetable spread' of some unknown brand. The pancake is just the vehicle for transporting the BUTTER to your mouth. I'd have even skipped the syrup if they would have had just the BUTTER. After eating a few bites of a naked pancake with very imitation syrup in a squirt bottle, I gave up. So much for the local establishments. Next time it's straight to Cracker Barrel where the syrup is warm in little pitchers and the butter is.......butter.


We entered the Parkway at the southern end with plans to drive the 80+ miles to Asheville. The countryside was beautiful and we made frequent stops to view the Smokey Mountains. We were in no hurry.
There were many tunnels but most were not as blurry as this one.
As we climbed, the clouds settled in.
And soon, above about 4000 feet, the view became non-existent. We managed to get up to a visitors center above 5000 feet before the rain mixed with the fog and driving was hazardous. We crawled back down below the clouds and gave up on our scenic drive.
We headed to Asheville by a more direct route and enjoyed a stroll around the Biltmore Village. And we had gelato.

2 comments:

  1. I have banished butter (and those other spreads) from the house because it just ends up on my waist. But when I go out for breakfast, which is a rare treat, I want to slather my pancake with real butter. I feel your pain.

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  2. I am vicariously enjoying your journey since I've been to all those beautiful spots in the past.
    I did have pancake this weekend in Lowell, MA with real butter, fresh blueberries and even with make-believe maple syrup, they were delicious.

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