Ohio again!
We thought we’d spend the weekend between Christmas and New Year’s with Kendrick’s family. The drive was long but uneventful, other than the fact that I inhaled a stunning number of gummi worms, finished The Interestings – one of my favorite books I’ve read in ages – and started The Husband’s Secret (another can’t-put-it-down), and fed my son an A+ Parent dinner of Chef Boyardee beef ravioli, consumed with a plastic spoon while standing next to the half & half dispenser in a gas station.
For rest stops, we decided to forego Quaker Steak & Lube this time: our last trip was adventure enough to last us for awhile, and besides, we have a new Cracker Barrel convert over here.
Um, can we please talk about Cracker Barrel for a second?
The pie. And the biscuits. And the GRITS. Omg.
Also, the restaurant store. I cannot believe I’m just discovering this place, because it’s basically my mecca: it’s full of things like Jadeite salt & pepper shakers, retro candy and toys, home products in my very favorite scent (J.R. Watkins Aloe & Green Tea), and a quilt that I have seriously considered buying all three times that I’ve stopped in (the colors are brighter and prettier in person than they are in the picture; I love it I love it).
But Cracker Barrel discoveries didn’t even rank among the very best parts of the weekend.
We finally got a chance to introduce Indy to his cousins…
…Shoulders were ridden on…
…This cool-looking creation was consumed (at Gervasi Vineyard)…
…My father-in-law made me some extremely awesome coasters…
…And Lucy had what may have been the best weekend of her life, courtesy of the many young cousins willing to spend hours petting her.
