Ted has been watching the skies and has decided to take advantage of a clear window in the weather by leaving a bit early. Weather in Asheville will be stormy starting tomorrow so we’re hoping to avoid it. We’ll be passing through a small front, but after that it looks like clear skies through the west coast.
We spent the earlier part of the morning waiting for the freezing fog to lift. After breakfast and some scrambling, the weather cleared and we were good to go.
The flight started out swimmingly, and we made our way to our first stop in Huntsville, AL. We expected it to be a quick stop for fuel and facilities, then on our way.
Outside Huntsville, AL
As we took off from Hunstville, Ted noticed he was leaking fuel from the gas cap, so we turned around and landed to have a look.
Leaking fuel
It didn’t seem like much fuel was lost, and maybe it was leakage due to the tanks being overfull, so we decided to head on and keep an eye on it. We left for Little Rock.
Eventually the leaking subsided and all looked well, but then we started encountering considerable turbulence and headwinds that slowed us down to a crawl. Ted decided to take us down in Olive Branch, MS to refuel, take a break, and re-group.
Olive Branch Tower
Fast moving clouds
Our original intent was to fly back to McKinney today and spend the night with my family (primarily because we were worried about hotel availability on New Year’s Eve, but also because it would be nice to share the holiday with family instead of holed up in a Holiday Inn). But things weren’t looking good. It would be another couple hours to Little Rock, then 3+ more to McKinney. We already had a late start to the day, we’d be arriving in Little Rock after dark, and if the weather was as bad as we’d just been having, it would be a very long haul. Ted decided it would be OK to fly another leg, but McKinney was probably out.
Once again, we have nothing but good things to say about the folks in Mississippi. We come bursting in, unsure of where we’re going or whether we’ll be staying, and they helped set us up in the lounge, called a local hotel, and were generally friendly and helpful to us during a somewhat stressful juncture in our trip. Bless their hearts (and I mean that in the nicest, truest sense).
We called ahead and got a reservation at a hotel in Little Rock and made the decision to press on. Again, we had leaking fuel, but no worse than before. Happily, the sky cleared, the winds calmed down, and we had a blissfully uneventful trip to Arkansas.
Dined at Boston’s, a place adjoining the Holiday Inn where we were staying. It was just what we needed - hot food, cool drinks, friendly service staff who were efficient but not overbearing. The place had just opened, so it had that New Restaurant Smell, too. I celebrated New Year’s Eve with a couple Guinness and spicy pasta; Ted had pizza.
They also brought out their dessert tray, filled with lifelike plastic samples of very large sweets. We didn’t partake, but I did enjoy the fact that someone signed the plastic cheesecake:
Every year, the Grove Park Inn hosts a National Gingerbread House Competition. Bakers and decorators across the country submit their edible architecture to be judged and displayed during the winter holidays.
To give you an idea of the level of competition, these two didn’t even win any prizes:
The Grand Prize winner was this entry by Patricia Ashley Howard.
We were visiting several weeks after the judging and many houses had since been moved and damaged by time and transit, but even with the damage you could still appreciate how truly amazing this house was. Constructed of individual bricks of gingerbread held together with frosting mortar, bordered with hedges and topiary made of frosting and herbs, with sugar-glass windows and doors graced with delicate frosting “ironwork.” Amazing.
Other entries I really liked:
In the Adult category, third place winner Merry Spafford gave a twist to the gingerbread house theme, nestling them amongst the branches of a grand gingerbread Christmas tree
Also in the Adult category, first place winner Billie Mochow constructed a winter diorama inside a gingerbread sphere.
Ted, Sr., got a Garmin GPS unit for Christmas. Her default voice setting is Jill: female, American English. Today we took her out for a spin.
Ted and Hilde, ready to go
Our first stop was to the Greenhouse, which is run by the Men’s Garden Club of Asheville. It was someplace familiar, and we put Jill to the test to determine whether she could keep up with Ted.
Propagation box and small plant greenhouse
Inside the small plant greenhouse
Greenhouses for plants in later stages of growth
The greenhouses are in a flood plain area, so utility meters are accessible from an elevated platform above the greenhouse roof-line.
Jill sounded so disappointed when Ted deviated from her planned route (which was often). After a while, we think she gave up by saying “A better route is available…”
After the races, Bethany and Scott prepared a sumptuous feast for our post-Christmas dinner. The centerpiece was a deep-fried turkey, which took a whopping 48 minutes to cook (that’s 3 minutes per pound). The result is a crispy-skinned bird that is tender and juicy (or so I am told )
In the fryer
Bubbling hot
All done
Of perhaps more interest to me, personally, were all the other dishes Bethany prepared: corn, stuffing, broccoli with cheese, spinach casserole, green beans, cajun potatoes, brussel sprouts… all vegetarian, all delicious.
I don’t like to make a fuss about my dining preferences and always try to make the best of whatever I’m served, so it means a lot to me when people go out of their way to prepare non-meat options for me. I know it can be a hassle so I greatly appreciate the effort.
Sadie says: I am ready to eat.
Kudos to Bethany and Scott (with an assist from Donna) for the delicious meal! It was a tasty end to a fun day with family.
After the morning’s festival of gifts, we headed out to the Antioch Motor Speedway in Morganton. Scott and his sons frequent the racetrack and invited us to come along and catch a few races before dinner.
The flag guy
From the viewing stand in the pit
In the stands with T and C
Ted and Jack looking on
The first thing that struck me was how beautiful the red clay in this area is—a deep terracotta color. There were some pockets of the clay along the side of the road on the way, but once we turned into the drive at the speedway it was nothing but red. We were forewarned about getting dirty from all track dust—don’t wear white—but since it had been raining the days before it wasn’t a problem during our visit.
A Chevy Corsica arriving at the track
We arrived in time to see the qualifying heats for the various stock car races on tap for the day. It was a wonderfully diverse array of cars on the track that folks had put together. Chassis were mostly modified sedans, but a few of the standouts included a Ford Pinto, a Toyota Corolla, and even a station wagon. Some of the cars were spiffier, with sponsor names emblazoned on the sides (our favorite: number 69 sponsored by the G-Spot, a strip club). But I was delighted by the entries that were clearly created by individuals simply for the love of the sport.
Queuing up for a qualifying heat
The Waffle House car!
The blop mobile
Black Betty!
4 Sale
The first “main event” race was the Young Guns 4. Drivers ranged in age from 12-17. Yes, you read that right - 12 to 17. You could tell the difference between them and the big boys, but I was very impressed by these kids; they were great. The winner of the race was just beaming from ear to ear.
Winner of the Young Guns race (12-17 year-olds)
We didn’t see a Late Model race, but there was one Late Model car there that took a few laps.
Before the next race, the dirt track equivalent of a Zamboni came out to smooth out the clay:
Pickled egg!
The racers in the second stock car race were going considerably faster and in tighter formation; it was exciting to watch them jockeying for position. Scott informed us that at this track there’s a significant dip entering the first turn, and we saw the effects of this dip as one car after another blew out their tires after hitting it. This had a tendency to interrupt the action as cars were towed or pushed off the track to change their tires during a caution flag lap. By the second-to-last lap only two cars remained, but a third car that had been gimping through the entire race came back to finish and place for the third prize.
Surviving the dip in the first turn
Winner of the second race
We left early to get ready for dinner, so we missed the big race: the Enduro. Sixty laps, with a ten minute fuel stop at lap 30 and no caution laps. It’s basically a free-for-all and they had 26 cars entered by the time we left. But dinner called, so we’ll have to save that for another day.
One of the major elements of the Faber Family Christmas(tm) is a table heavily laden with cookies and other confections. Donna and Bethany bake a dizzying array of delectable sweet treats.
In addition to the traditional menu of peanut butter balls, pizzelles, coconut balls and such, Bethany made Half Moon Cookies—a cake-y cookie Ted remembers fondly from his childhood Christmases in upstate New York. They were fantastic; Ted was thrilled.
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