It was a last minute trip. I unexpectedly finigled a weekend off from work so I took off after night turnout for Georgia. I drove all night and I timed my arrival in Atlanta perfectly. I had no idea where I was going but I knew the men's marathon was the first thing in the morning so I stopped at a rest area just outside of Atlanta. I bought a newspaper and plastered on the front page was the marathon route.
I didn't even have to drive out of my way. I drove straight to the a street that was just off the exit ramp and parked. I was only about 20 blocks from the Olympic arena. It was 8 am and time for the race to start. I knew the runners wouldn't make it to where I was for a little over an hour. I walked a couple of block and happened to look over at a street that was several blocks over and they had barricades along it so I decided to walk over and see what was happening.
I got there just as the first runners were leaving the stadium and running by. I cheered with the crowd until they all ran by. Then I started back toward the street where I was parked. I found a bar that was open and they had a full crowd watching big screen tv's following the marathon and they were serving breakfast and beer for all. I hung out at the bar until it was time for the runners to come by on their way to the stadium.
I cheered the runners on to victory until most of them went by and then I went back to my car and started back for good ole WV. I still had a day and I decided that I was too close to the Mississippi River not to go check it out.
That's what I did. The weird part is that I got lost alongside the Mississippi river than I have just about anywhere I have ever gone. It didn't make sense because I knew I was driving alongside it, I just couldn't see it because of the levy. I almost ran out of gas before I found a gas station and I found a spot where I dipped my toes in the Mississippi River and came back home.
My brother and his wife wanted me to go with them to the Olympic games but I knew I wouldn't be able to stay as long as they were staying. They saw the Women's Gold Medal Basketball game which the US won. My brother said he paid scalpers $600.00 a ticket and he would have bought me one if I had been with them. (He would have had to because I would NEVER pay that much for ANY ticket. My niece and nephew would have pressured him into buying me one even if he didn't want to..haha)
The Upper Big Branch Memorial was dedicated Friday. It looks very special. I can't wait to visit and pay my respects.
The only difference between this recipe and hers is that she liked to use applebutter or Whitehouse applesauce between the layers. She also said you had to bake each layer in an iron skillet. To make it extra special she would warm it up and slather butter on it! Delectable!
