Ice House Grill, Titusville *Germany/Poland Travel Notes

I tried this spot on S Washington Ave on Wednesday at lunch after swimming at the beach at Cape Canaveral NP because I awoke so early from jet lag and had a rental car for the day. Sand mites chased me away though. I also drove to stop 13 that they say has nudists. Yeah they do. Franks and beans! I had a fried bay scallop basket with fries for $13. I know it was just frozen food fried up, but, it was good. Fifty scallops! Pretty fresh. I didn't love the starched fries, but, they were fried well. A soda with unlimited refills was $2.29. The menu has 11 fried baskets, 7 rice bowls, 3 salads, 11 apps, 5 tacos, 9 sandwiches, 4 wraps, 5 burgers, dinners, sides, milkshakes and a kid's menu. Costliest item is $20. A slight Indian influence (ie tikka taco and bowl). Gyro, BLT, Cheesesteak, pulled pork, cod, shrimp, wings, falafel, salmon, Cuban. Lots of ethnicities. Basic decor. Seats about thirty. Four cops were the other customers. Order at a counter. Fine basic diner/fast food option. 

*Travel Notes - Germany and Poland: I flew Delta to Berlin through JFK for $665. Took the FEX train to the Hauptbanhof for 4.70E. Bought from kiosk. Station on bottom floor of airport. It took around 40 minutes. Stayed at the Ibis (Expedia 8.8) across the street for $90 plus 5E tax due in cash. Walked past the Cube, Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Grosser Tiergarten, Victory Column (Siegessaule), Bismarck Statue, President's Residence (Bellevue) and back along the Spree River because the room wasn't ready. I had done three of the first four before. Bought a ticket (71E) from the ticket office to Gdansk thru Poznan for the next day. Made some hotel reservations. Got some food and wine at Rewe at the station. Crashed. I should say at this point that I had been to Berlin before. Euro was 1.16 to USD. It was over 90 degrees. Trains were too expensive as always unless you got a regional all day ticket (in some areas). I did at some points. You have to pay extra to guarantee a seat! Trains to foreign countries were a pain. Not all available on machines and (I was told) in poor condition (ie you would need to get on a bus in points) in certain regions. I was maybe going to fit in Czechia (that's what they call it now) and Austria. Couldn't get where I wanted to go in Czechia easily. Salzburg was too expensive for Austria. Plus I may do them two trips from now. Had been to the bigger cities in Poland before.

The next day the train to Gdansk was bullshit. They made me transfer at another Berlin station minutes away (but not on return?). The train had a brake problem and couldn't go fast. The AC didn't work. Missed two transfers in Poznan. They had one info person! Four hours late. Seats barely available. Got into Gdansk at 9pm. Stayed at the So Stay Hotel (Booking 9.0) for $97. Poland doesn't use the Euro. Ate a candy bar I had left over. I found out after I had booked the ticket that the next day/weekend was one of their bigger holidays. They claimed things would be closed (weren't here). Prices were 4x. This is why I only spent two days in Poland.

The next day I walked through Gdansk. This is where Lech Welesa started Solidarity. It was Danzig. A port town that gets lots of ferry visitors from Scandinavia. Modern with on old town look. Walked in from Uplands Gate and Golden Gate. Dluga St past Town Hall, Neptune Statue, Farenheit Thermometer to the Stara Moltawa (canal) "center". Past Green Gate and Milk Can Gate to Nowa Moltawa canal. Up past MS Soldek and then over the drawbridge towards the train station (Glowny). Past St Catherines Church. I took the train south to Poznan for 90E. I booked this in Berlin. It included the next trip to Leipzig through Berlin. I saw this town on Curious Traveler. Checked into the Platinum Residence Boutique Hotel (Booking 8.7) outside the old town (because of the holiday) for $163. Walked to the old town. Past Wolnosci Plaza to to the Ratusz (Town Hall) Plaza. Past Archeological Museum and Church of St Stanislaus and Teatr Polski and Centrum Syzfrow (WWII Enigma Program) and Zamek Cesarski (Kaiser's Castle). It was getting dark. I went back to the hotel and ate the fruit plate they gave me. I should have walked to the Cathedral. It was a bit far.

The next day I walked through Park (Woodrow) Wilsona and the MTP Poznan Expo Complex. Took the train to Leipzig in Saxony. Checked into the Premium Inn Hahnekamm (Expedia 9.0) for two nights at $158 plus 6E tax due. Got some food and wine and beer at Rewe in the station.

The next day I walked to the Stasi Museum (East German KGB). Cost 5E. Onto St Thomas Church (where Bach is buried and was a Cantor/Choir Master and Organist and many of his pieces were debuted and many famous Classicists played). Across was the Bach Museum. Over to the Altes Rathaus and Markt Platz. Past the statue that is half Commie and half Facist. Over to the Neues Rathaus and through a park to Mendelessohn's (last) House where he composed Elijah. The city is compact. Inside a circular grid. Back up to Augustus Platz and Gewandhaus and University and First Gewandhaus (Oldest Civic Orchestra in 1781 in which Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, Brahms, etc premiered works) and St Nikolai Church (helped end Communism) to the Opera House. More food and wine and beer at Rewe. Bought some train tickets from the machines at the station. I really liked Leipzig. Very clean and compact. There is also a memorial to a battle over Napoleon at the outskirts that I didn't get to and big skyscraper you can get good views from. 

The next day I took the train (47E) to Erfurt. A total rip off for this short jaunt. This is Luther town. Stayed at the Prize by Radissson (Expedia 8.6) for $91 with 4E due that they wouldn't allow cash for. Room wasn't ready. Walked into the old town to Michaelis Kirche. This is where the first Protestant Sermon (not Luther) was given. Across the street is Luther's College (Collegium Maius). Up the street and right to his dorm (Georgenburse) and on to where he became a monk (Augustiner Kloster). Back to the Dom Platz and up to the Zitadelle Petersberg (Citadel) and back down and around the Marien Dom and Severi Kirche. Back towards the hotel and the Rathaus and Kaufmanns Kirche St Gregos and Luther Statue. Got some food and wine at Tegut.

The next day I took a train to Nurnberg for 35E. This was one of those regional tickets. It seems that you can use it as an unlimited day pass on all RE trains in the region. I did this because I was going to try and get south to Berchetsgarden through Salzburg and tickets to there or Munich were crazy. It turned out to be a waste of a day. Especially since I went there last year. I checked into the Premier Inn Opernhaus (Expedia 8.6) for $78 no tax. I walked into the center and the Executioner's House (Henker) and the Bratwurst Museum and Deutsches Museum Turnberg and Spieltraume (Toy) Museum. Just browsed the free areas. Back to the hotel and some food and wine from Aldi. To the train station to buy a ticket to Passau after I looked at the hotel prices in Salzburg. Regional for 32E.

The next day I got off the train at Regensburg. It is a cute town on the Danube. Lots of river cruise tourists here (and Passau). To the river. Past Dom St Peter. To the bridge. Across the bridge. Back. Past the Rathaus. Had a Regensburger (pickles, horseradish and kraut) on Semmel (roll) at Wurstbraterei Reisinger for 4E. Back to the train. I'll add here that the train situation isn't great. Most trains are late or cancelled. Lots of track work. You will miss a tight connection. They were thirty minutes late to here on a thirty minute journey. Why I had to rush. Back on the train to Passau. Walked into the peninsula town. Past the Pfarrkirche St Paul and Dom and Dom Platz and this head statue called Passeur Tolpel. To the Hange Brucke (Bridge) where you can see the Veste Oberhaus (Fortress). Down to the tip where the Danube and Inn converge. Up the Inn side to the bridge and over to my hotel (they were scarce) on the other side. Not too bad of a walk. Hotel Innsento (Expedia 8.8) for $91 no tax. Had some food and wine and beer from the Edeka next door.

The next day I took the train back through Nurnberg (cluster fuck of cancelled and SRO only replacement trains) to Bayreuth for 32E Regional. I was trying to get as close to Dresden as possible on one of these tickets and the train lady told me this was Wagner territory as well. I stayed at the B&B Hotel (Expedia 8.6) for $90 no tax. I was late because of the train, so, I walked to his grave and house and museum and garden and Franz Liszt Museum. There were these little man statues throughout the city of Wagner. It seems to be a city for musicians. To city center and Neues Schloss at Residenz Platz. Back and on past Schloss Kirche and a May Pole. Onto the Stadt Kirche. Got some food and wine and beer at Netto. Bought another regional ticket for 49E to Dresden.

The next day I walked past the Opera House, big Wagner Statue, bus station and around the train station. Train through Hof to Dresden. Stayed at Occidental Dresden (Expedia 8.6) for two nights at $230 plus 10E tax. Great views. I had been to Dresden before for an hour or so on a bus tour twenty years ago. I totally mis-remembered it. And it must of grown. Lots of Chinese tourists. I walked to the Altmarkt. Had some cheese samples at Henri Willig. Past through the adjacent buildings and murals of the Residenz Schloss (Royal "Saxon" Palace). It has a museum inside called the Grunes Gewolbe (Green Vault). 17E. Didn't go in. To the Elbe. Past the Kathedrale SS Trinitats Katholische Hof Kirche and Semperoper (Opera House) and into the Orangerie (Zwinger). That was cool. It has a porcelain museum (5E)+. Didn't go. Past the Kunste (Art) Museum and Albertinum (Modern Art Museum) and Rathaus and the rebuilt Frauen Kirche (go to the top). Just went to public areas. Bought some food and wine and beer at Rewe. Tried to recall Slaughterhouse-Five.

The next day I retraced those steps and went across the river to Albert Platz in the area called Neustadt. Markthalle and Augustus I Goldener Reiter (Golden Rider statue). There are more things to see. Back to other side and Standehus and up on the Bruhlsche Terasse and museums and Frauen Kirche again and over to the Schauspielhaus (music hall) and Kreuz Kirche. Rewe for food and wine. Bought a ticket to Berlin for 60E. It shouldn't have cost that much. I was going to try and go to a town on the Polish border called Gorlitz on a day trip. They have filmed movies like Inglorious Basterds there. Couldn't muster the energy. I liked Dresden more that I thought I would. 

The next day I took a too slow moving ICE train to Berlin. Checked in at the Motel One (Booking 8.6) for two nights at $175 no tax. I bought a 24 hour S train pass for 12.30E. I went to Potsdam. It is called their Versailles and the Allies met here for the conference breaking up Germany and fighting Japan. It takes about 35 minutes. A must do. I walked to the Potsdam museum and St Nikolai Kirche. Then up through the Neuer Garten to the Marmor Palais (Marble Palace) and the Cecilien Hof (where they had the conference). I saw this on Joseph Rosendo. It is full of lakes (sees) and canals I walked back (two km or so) through some Dutch and Russian enclaves to Park San Souci. It has three big palaces (Sans Souci, Neues and Charlotten) and an Orangerie with a Windmill. Big park. I walked back to the train station by Garnison Kirche and some other buildings. Got some food and wine at Rewe in Berlin.

The next day I took the S train on the Spandau route. Stopped at the Olympic Stadium stop. It is still there. Cost 11E. Didn't go in. To Spandau. Didn't find the ballet. Found out it means the jerking of legs of Nazi war criminals while being hanged at their prison that looked like the jerking of dying soldiers on barb wire in WWI. Past the Rathaus to St Nikolai Kirche and back. They love them some Nikolai don't they? Was running out of time on the 24 hour pass. Should have seen the Fort. Didn't research Spandau before I went. Back to train station. Walked along the Spree past the Reichstag to Bode Museum. Pergamon was closed for repairs. Over to the Dom and Altes Museum and Humboldt Forum. Up to the Rotes Rathaus and the Fernsehturm Tower. Over to the Hackesher Market and Monbijou Park and back to the hotel. Food and wine at Rewe. I had done some of these sites before.

The next day I bought a 4.70E FEX train (not S) ticket to the airport from one of the hard to find machines and flew home.

I wish I had done Gorlitz and Wittenburg. Some odd things I ate were: Frankendammer cheese, Krater Rolle and a Ritter with cashews. I saw kraut in hummus. They mess with hummus. They put a spicy ketchup on the chicken sandwich at McDs. Bottles of beer were under 1E. The German wine was mostly bad. But, I bought the supermarket middle tier stuff (5E). Weather was very hot until the last two days. Some of these itineraries were inspired by Tricky Ricky Steves. Spent $1264 on hotels. 24E on extra hotel tax. 438E on transportation. 175E on food. 18E on Misc. That is $760. $163 on rental cars to and from the airport. Total in USD = $2852. Ouch. I guess it aligns with two one week trips. Actually spent less because I used some credits on the airfare and hotels. Really $2690. And I am going to get a refund on some of those train journeys.

*The German rail system fought every dispute over dealys and offered no compensation.

Grub Crawl - Orlando and East Colonial: Tropical Paradise Pepperlicious and Moa Kai

I tried these spots yesterday at dinner. The first in on 436 near the 408. I think it was a Cuban place. The second is in the old Mongolorian spot on East Colonial (50) near the Milk District. 

Tropical Paradise Pepperlicious - I think it was just TP before. Maybe just Pepperlicious now? I think I went there. Think of jacket (stuffed/baked) potatoes. Now picture green peppers instead. I had the Tradicional for $6. All are. I nuked it the next morning for breakfast (jet lag) and it didn't have any char, etc on it. Not sure how (or if) it was cooked. Seemed near raw. Picadillo and shredded mozz and a hint of a tomato sauce. I should state that I dislike bell peppers. Give me gas. Flavor is weird. I take it off any dish it comes on. I was so hungry this time that I ate them. The toppings were enough to mask most of the flavor. I liked them (the two halves). They also have empanadas and tequenos, desserts and smoothies. And a section called Cuban Pizza that looked like more peppers. I think they opened that night. Twelve or so tables of different seat levels. Two stages. Wood. Mish mash of interior design. Man and woman team. Parking. Something different. They said they were serving healthy items. Couldn't really pin down where from. 

Moa Kai - I read they were in a soft opening and hoped they would be open. They call themselves a Hawaiian Diner. I call them a Favorite. Cute. Good value. Worth the wait. From the people who do the Korean Fried Chicken on Mills and Poke Hana (I think). I had a spam musubi for $5 and the two item mix plate for $16. It comes with two suggested sides that you can either switch out for a few others or upgrade for a few bucks. I stuck with the two servings of white rice and mac salad. I chose shoyu ahi and Korean fried chicken for the mains. I had a fever for both (as Chris Walken would say). They do the rice well. Sort of sticky. Short grain. This helped the musubi. Big. I used the onions from the ahi and that should be required from now on. Everywhere! Even dipped it in the shoyu. There was a poke bowl size amount of ahi. Pretty fresh. No dental floss. There was one bad (stringy/dry/unchewable) piece (out of four) of chicken. The mac was the best one I've had from a Hawaiiann place. Not too sweet. Firm pasta. The dishes came out fast. Four cooks in black t shirts. They also offer up a bao type app, fried wonton with shrimp and pork app, burger, mahi, poke, kalua pork, pupu platter, moco loco, eggs, po boys, saitan dishes, desserts, cocktails and I think some noodle bowls. That not all. Just can't remember more. Three booths. Eight fours. Fourteen stools (L shape) in front of the cooking area and bar. Earth tones. Wood. Green jungle tree wall paper. Windows. Steel. Little travel posters. Patterned tiles. Off white. Faux white marble table tops. Two giant ceiling fans. A diner feel, but, a hipster diner. Two servers in red Hawaiian shirts. There was one family there when I came in. Six more tables (off all kinds) came in after. And it was 8pm. Opened last Tuesday. I think the name has something to do with a rooster or chicken. Probably the Kai part. If I lived near here, I would eat here at least once a week. Even the free water wasn't gross.

*Ok I tried to teach Grok AI on X (my first AI foray) to read my blog and tell me what Orlandoer would do. What are his Favorites? Make me a travel plan to X like he would. Etc. Things that I wish this platform would do. Things that would make this a usable web destination. Grok is not allowed to do much. Utter failure. It is only allowed to search from what other search engines find. Mostly Google. Like looking for fish in at a fish market instead of the sea. I asked it directly after much frustration. Which is funny because Google owns Blogger and as you know I often complain that it won't even (whatever the term is now for spidering) its own platforms. I tried to get Google's AI to "find" my content. You have to log in (if you have an account) and disable privacy function first. I didn't feel like doing that then. Maybe later on. I doubt it will do it either. I bet it will also say it can't access web sites directly. Grok said this was to limit requests from crashing servers. I guess I get it. Not sure if all AI companies have agreed to these rules. 

I would love it if you would crack the code (and tell us how). It seems you almost have create your own program to get the data you want. I had to request it ONLY use www.orlandoer.blogspot.com. I tried to get it to access the header/title and/or body. Because I put Travel Notes in the title and Grub Crawl, it would return odd things if you wanted Orlando Restaurant stuff vs Travel Info. It put Orlando restaurant info in Travel Plans. It didn't understand the state abbreviations I use. I had to teach it those. Or asterixs. It couldn't find the tutorials. It didn't understand that Grub Crawl meant numerous, different restaurants. I'm not sure it got slashes (/). I tried to get it to learn all posts from 2008 on and then by the months. Like I said, it won't get the info directly. It was funny, when I first started the session it whined that I ghosted it after I did something else while it was screwing up again. And the sucky thing is that if you suceed in training your AI, it isn't "house broken" for the rest of us. I think you even have to save the search and it is ONLY FOR YOU. It doesn't make it any smarter for the rest of us or for itself. There doesn't seem to be a common "brain". Hopefully, one of the AIs will. Or maybe that would be bad?

Tomasinos Pizza, Lake Mary

I had a chicken parm to go for $16. Fairly usual. Cut strips made mushy by sauce. Fake white cheese. I didn't like the narrow, sweet, glossy roll. The chicken had frozen qualities. I want an uncut scallopine with real mozz on an Italian roll baked in the pizza oven. The menu is large. Five subs, calzone, pizza, knots, pasta, wings, apps. Pizzas are from 14" and $22. Beer and wine. $10 for Junior's cheese cake. Four locations. Original at mall on 50. Some possibly true NYC origin story. Red and black and tan. Pallets repurposed as hanging gardens. 8 booths. A few tables. Patio. Older music playing. Been there a while.

*Still getting bonkers views. Seem to be big in Singapore, Hong Kong and Mexico now. Is this how one can see which countries are launching AI and gobbling up data? Can you tell AI to make me a travel plan to X like Orlandoer? Is that the answer? I tried on Google. Nothing happened. Too apprehensive to interact with the real doom bots. Imagine if my rantings inform/empower Skynet. I apologize. Just trying to digitize data to have mobile access to it. Will it turn out that AI learns of us through food bloggers. Like the quote on Iron Chef by Brillat Savarin - tell me what you eat and I'll tell you what you are.

Tacos vs Pizza, Azalea Park

Since there has been ridiculous interest (probably bots or AI stalking) and I am inexcusably drunk, I will hep you to this Mexican/quasi Italian boite in a strip mall on 436 near 50 that I left without tring a few months before. This time (Monday) a sole waitress actually appeared to take my order. I did the ($12.50) chicken fajita plate lunch special. It came with a tostada cup of refried beans, red rice and l and t. Three steamed corn tortillas. I know you are supposed to have corn. But, they sucked. Too flimsy. Plus they clogged your windpipe. Ok chicken with peppers and grilled onions. A big glob of sour cream. The salsa was a bit desicated (remember these terms are coming out au naturel from a sot). They gave you free chips and ok salsa. I hate to say it, but, it was a good "mid-level" Mexican meal. That price is like $5 to7 cheaper than most places. I was only here because the cunts at Cevich in WP stopped the $20 combo lunch. The place is mostly windows. Light gray and brown. 6 booths and two 8's. Mex music from tv. Pretty full. Food came quick. They hopped my order over a six of bimbos. Two cooks. I saw a few pizzas. Ok? Big menu. Better than I expected. You probably have the like in your home town.

Grub Crawl - Winter Garden: Mirchi, Tacos Padrisimo and Cariera's

I tried the spots in a strip mall at 50 and Dillard (Four Rivers on the corner) Wednesday at lunch. They are all on the same row.

Mirchi - It means pepper. Indian street food. From the people who have Cilantro on Plant St and Spice Kitchen and Market on Dillard. I had these thickish rice pancakes (mixed) called Uthappan for $15 and took an order of black pepper chicken home with me. Both were good. The first time for the pancakes. One was filled with green peppers. One with vegetables. One with onions. And one was coated with a spice powder. They served them with four dips on a metal tray. Coconut chutney, lentil broth, some oily one and an orange colored pureed something or other. The tap water was clean tasting. In a bottle with a topper. Pewter drinking glass. The chicken was great. I think I love anything with black pepper. Chunks of chicken alone. Coated in a thin batter. That was from the Indo China (maybe they called it Asian?) part of the menu. It was a mostly vegetable based menu. Large. Lots of dosas. Pan-Indian. Prices were pretty fair. Small place. Around a dozen tables. Colorfu umbrellas and basket lights above. Wallpaper "mural" of old advertising. Front of a Tata bus/van. Bar/counter. One server. Three couples. Open for seven months. Probably will be a Favorite. The one negative was the mumble rap they had on. I saw on the way out that the had a $12-$13 lunch special. Didn't see what it consisted of. *I looked into Spice Market. It seemed too be not very professional. The food prep area was unmanned and looked abandoned. They did have a full menu out. I also saw some $1.50 samosas on the way out.

Tacos Padrisimo - Next door. Small footprint. Order at a counter. A few seats. Other locations in Kissimmee. This one has been here for two years. I had the three taco (any) option for $9.50. They lied and said all tacos were included (at $8.50) and then upcharged for two of the three. $3 - $3.50 a piece. I chose lengua, barbacoa and carnitas. In (probably) store bought corn tortillas (double wrapped) that were warmed/grilled. The barbacoa was the worst. Still good. Chunks of soft tongue. They added a black chipotle sauce that tasted of cigarette ash and a verde that tasted of that non-Haas avocado (unripe). Onions and cilantro. They had lower prices if you buy in bulk. I think ten cost $25. You could get dishes with beans, etc. Additional meats were fried fish and shrimp and steak, al pastor, chicken and chorizo. They also sell birria, quesadillas, tortas, elote, burritos (one with fries inside) and combos. Prices were fair. Two employees. Spoke English. No customers. Would have been a Favorite if they made their tortillas and didn't lie about the price.

Cariera's - On the corner near 50. Been there for seven years. The second generation of the people from the defunct one on Dr Phillips. I reviewed that on March 5, 2012 it seems. Didn't re-read it. I had fried ravioli (for the first time) to go here for $7. I think (two out of the three menus said) the current price is an outlandish $12. Ten. Fried, mostly unfilled, probably frozen and store bought, cheese ravioli with no flavor. The marinara sauce was very necessary. The rest of the menu was standard American/Italian fare at inflated prices. A 12" pizza and half lasagna may be the best values. All their "Under $20" prices are reduced/small portions. Even a small chicken parm is $19. Lots of things are near $30. Risottos are a joke. Wait and see what they slap on top of them. Sandwiches (with side) on focaccia around all over $21. You can't get them alone. I think I saw a sign outside that said $1 wings on Wednesday. Dark, black decor. Around twenty tables. Bar. Tvs with live scenes from Venice. Those common, large, Italian advertising posters. One server. Two couples there. Charged a fee for cc use. You can avoid it.

*I noticed H-Mart driving here. It isn't in a strip mall as I thought. Right on 50 on the right side coming from I4. Still seems weeks away.

Honest, Florida Mall Area *NC/SC Travel Notes

I tried this vegetarian Indian franchise today at lunch. It is across the street from the mall on Sand Lake on the I4 side. The menu had bad values. Vegetarian. Bare bones staff. Plus it took forever and the dish tasted bad. I had vegetarian Manchow Soup for $6. It has the mouth feel of sweet and sour soup. Bland. Dank looking. The only real flavor is a bit of hot pepper with the aftertaste of old coins. The place is five years old. Only Indians there. Gray tones with some yellow. Booths. Owner, one cook and a janitor were the only staff. So bad for a pity fuck on top of it. You can avoid. Let me state that this strip mall and OBT is a nightmare traffic wise. I'd avoid all the places I am about to list. Also there, on different corners of the intersection are: Picanha's ($20 AYCE Brazilian - not in the mood), La Verguenza (shabby looking PR place that took too long and cost too much), Sky Blossom Pho (pm only), Mammazitta (pm only), Viet Thai (I think I've been there) and Gozamba (pm). Turell's is closed on M and Tu. I was going to bundle a few of these, but, it just became too annoying. Especially after the Honest delay. Didn't find anything new on OBT towards I4.

*Travel Notes - North Carolina and South Carolina: I drove my own car because the imbeciles at Hertz ran out of cars. Thankfully, they called me ahead of time to let me know. HELL NO. NO WARNING. NO APOLOGY. I slept the first night in Wilson NC at a Microtel (Expedia 7.8) for $96. Tried the chopped pork (equal to any bbq joint) and onion rings at Cook Out. It is unbelievable that 95 through NC is in perpetual construction (my entire lifetime). South Carolina is no joy either. Assholes (mostly trucks) pull into the fast lane (and don't pass) on these pathetic two lane affair far too often. I should say here that the trip was meant to be a minor league baseball focused time waster either through the Gulf or the mountains of NC. The prospect of heat (in those areas) and high hotel prices scuttled that. Then unexpected, intense heat scuttled a central NC plan too.

The next day I drove a half hour to Zebulon NC to see the Carolina Mudcats. $15 top Sunday price plus $7 for parking. Did that. Learned it was pointless because they are moving to Wilson next year. Had a flight and chicken biscuit at Norse Brewing Longhouse. Drove to Durham NC. You can basically take 64 on and follow the signs for Durham. Stayed at the Springhill Suites (Expedia 9.2) for $126 plus $15 for parking. One block walk to Athletic Park (not the one in the movie) to see the Durham Bulls for $26 for behind home plate. Both stadiums gave a printed ticket. Had bbq nachos and free hot dog at the stadium. Durham has changed ALOT in the twelve years since I had been there.

The next day I drove to Raleigh. Had a forgettable chopped pork sandwich with potato salad and slaw and hush puppies and biscuit for $13 at The Pit Authentic Barbecue (MvF). The founder sold it to Harris Teeter. I was going to try a chicken place nearby as well, but, every square inch of road is metered. Drove around Capitol and back down 401 to 64 to 264 through Wilson and Greenville to 33N to 64 to Nags Head NC. I decided to come here because hotels were cheap and it was the only area in NC below 100+ degrees. I stayed at the Seahorse Inn (Booking 7.3) for two nights at $115 a night. It was right off where 64 enters the area at Jennette's Pier. Across the street from the beach. Went for a swim. Clear water. Many jellyfish. But, they seemed to have no sting. Drove north a bit. Got some beer and snacks. Watched DC Open.

The next day I went for a swim and then lunch in Manteo at Ortega'z (3D). Bad tuna tacos. Saw Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse. Drove 64S to the Bodie Island Light Station at Cape Hatteras National Seashore (free). Got some wine and great Heron Shoal and Cape Hatteras oysters (and steamed green tail shrimp) at Whalebone Seafood. I'll state here that the state of fresh seafood at every resort town is a joke. Most places have next to nothing that is LOCAL. One place here tried to sell me shrimp that they said was frozen from December. Aside from Whalebone, every local market I went to was a joke. You might as well buy from the supermarket. They were cheaper. In the next town I will write about, they told me it is too hot this time of year for anything local. Their shrimpers had to go to NC. Oyster farmers won't supply them. Took pics at the pier. Watched Billy Joel HBO documentary.

The next day I drove 64 to 94 to 264 to 17 to avoid 95. Still takes too long to get through Wilmington and Myrtle Beach. Tried the BLT, Chicken Q and Chicken Wrap at Cook Out in Surfside SC. Got into Charleston early enough to get fried oysters to go at The Wreck (MvF). Surprise, they use gulf oysters not local ones. Cute, ramshackle location near the creek though. Slept at the Comfort Inn at Patriot's Point (Expedia 8.8) in Mt Pleasant for $114 a night for two nights. Great location. Walked to the Golf Links and College of Charleston soccer and baseball fields. Found a trail that hugged the river. Watched the sunset at the river below the Ravenal Bridge. Hotels were way cheaper than I expected for this time of year. Watched Toronto Open. 

The next day I drove to downtown Charleston and had an overpriced ($60) swordfish (from NC) and broccoli rabe lunch at Chez Nous. It was on a list of favorite's by Callie on that show How She Rolls. Drove up King St to Graft and bought a bottle of overpriced wine. Also on that show. Her brother owns it. Over a bit to Taco Boy for uninspired chicken taquitos. Chilled a bit and did some late day swimming at a beach on the river with free parking on Sullivan's Island. Parking is a problem on most of the other areas there. Stopped at Poe's Tavern for a poor shrimp salad sandwich with fries to go. Stopped near the creek at Kickin' Chicken for ok nuggets and tots to go. Watched the rest of the Billy Joel doc.

The next day I drove home. Traffic jams just south of Jacksonville and in Daytona Beach. At noon! Spent $153 on gas. $679 on hotels. $375 on the rest. $1207 total. Two new stadiums. Two new oysters. Ten new restaurants. Five new breweries/beers. One new cider. Three new wineries/wine. Wish I had known the Greensboro Open was that week. Minors are a pain because they don't play on Monday. I couldn't justify wasting a day in Winston Salem during a heat wave for instance. Distance to Hatteras from 95 is a real pain. It's kind of low class on top of it. Only went to justify all those miles I had already put on my car. I left on Saturday and returned on Friday. I think Friday had less traffic!

Grub Crawl -- Apopka and Altamonte Springs: Just Like Momma's, Three Odd Guys Brewing, Apopka Pizza and Mis Antojitos

I tried these spots today at lunch. The first three are in a strip mall on 5th St. That is one block south off Park Ave in the center of town. The last is in an old hot dog and ice cream shack on 436 back towards 434.

Just Like Momma's Soul Food and Wings  I had a three piece fried chicken with side and rice and corn bread for $12. They gave me six wings instead. Breaded. Ok. Small. Rice had no taste. Side (Mac) had none either. Isn't flavor an essential/renowned component of soul food? CB was good. Muffin looking. The cost is too much for this amount of food. The menu has things like oxtail ($18) and smash burgers ($10). The place is large. Black with some gold accents. A stage. Around twenty tables. Closed M and Tu. It was their one year anniversary today. You don't have to rush here. It was just like my momma's. She couldn't cook either.

Three Odd Guys Brewing - Next door to Momma. I tried a flight of five for $12. Mostly good. The place is large. Black with corrugated tin. Sofas. Games. High tops. Picinic tables. Tvs. Brewing equipment. Opens at 2pm on week days. Opening a sister location in Longwood. Open for five years. No outside food allowed.

Apopka Pizza - Inside Odd Guys. Steel pizza oven. Also do knots, stromboli and a few other items. I had a plain 12" pizza for $14. Ok. Fake cheese. Good crust.

Mis Antojitos Street Food - May have been their first day. I had three tacos at $2.45 a piece. The meats (pastor, pierno de cerdo and birria) were good. Salsa and limes were fresh. Two issues. Homemade looking corn tortillas weren't warmed on the grill. Tasted raw. What was supossed to be pastor tasted and felt like chicken. I was eating while driving, so, I'm unsure. They also offer up ten antojitos like hot dogs, nachos and elote. Sopes, tortas, quesadillas, burritos, etc. Seafood. Five special plates. Drinks. Sides. Kids menu. Good pricing. They cleaned up that little hut. New picinic tables and umbrellas too. Out of Vera Cruz. Would have been a Favorite if not for the issues cited. Worth a pop in. Good parking.

*I checked out the lechonera place on 436 near Apopka that I espied last time and another place that turned out to be a sushi/steak place (unclear if still in business). The lechonera couldn't be bothered to list prices and English was a foreign language. It seemed like you had to do a full meal. Rice and beans are almost always no temptation to me. So, I passed on this pity fuck. There was also a market next to Antojitos that served that kind of buffet meal. This seemed more Cuban though.