Day 2

Day two was a great day. It was hot as hell and was a bellwether of the heat that would not let up for the whole run to Texas. I left out of Miamisburg and headed south at about 11 AM. It was still a comfy 90 degrees and building fast.

Once in Kentucky I looked up the best motorcycle road in my HOG Harley Owners Group atlas I have relied on since the 80s. I hooked down to Louisville and peeled off on the HOG favorite 31E heading south. It is part of the old Dixie HWY system that ran from Michigan to Florida. I have run a few sections of this lost highway and have always left amazed at the treasures along the windy road. I think of it as the East Coast's Route 66.

I was starving and passed up several good chain restaurants in hopes of finding a local diner once on the back roads. it didn't take me long to round a curve and see an old worn out gas station/convenience store with a "High Grove Grocery Diner" sign painted on the front. I had to check it out. Sure enough in the back hidden behind food racks and coolers were some old booths in what looked like a forgotten piece of local lore.

I walked back out of the back room and was greeted by Carol from behind the counter. There she asked me if I was hungry and opened a styrofoam clam container she pulled from the glass front cooler. Holding it low like we were doing a dope deal or something she looked up and said "how does that look?". In the box was a healthy slice of meatloaf, a scoop of old fashion skin included mashed potatoes and a piece of corn bread. She added that she had a side of pinto beans to go with it for three dollars.

I sat in the back eating a kick ass meatloaf and bean dinner like I had stepped back into time. I turned down the plate and ate it right out of the box. Along with the cream soda the whole dinner came to a whopping $3.19. I walked out stuffed and happy. The whole time I was eating the steady flow of people coming in to by beer up front all stopped to greet me with a smile and a wave. The only people I didn't meet was Aunt Bee and Opie. As I walked out the door some locals were gassing up and with a smirk asked if I was full or not.... I was and it was the best meal of the trip so far.

Before I got done with my two lane boogie down 31E I passed lots of historic towns of Civil War fame and both the birth place and the childhood home of Abraham Lincoln. I stumbled up a wild old town with a grand old building that now serves as a wild bar. It had a few layers of old names on doors, walls and window so I'm not sure of it's name but Sundays are Biker days. I get the feeling it's biker day everyday...

It had a balcony wrapping around the main area and the woodwork was amazing. I took time to video the architecture but some how that clip didn't take. The two feisty ladies working the bar were happy and their energy carried out over the bar. I was still full of meatloaf or I would have took advantage of the complementary food table laid out that included some famous bread pudding I'm told. I worked the roads over to Dickson Tennessee where my but decided to take a break and stop for dinner.

I pulled up to a local non-chain joint and asked a young lady walking out how she liked it. she said the food was great but it was so hot inside she was miserable while eating. That thought pushed me across the road to "Cracker Barrel". While there I soaked up the air conditioning and buckets of lemon aid. I found only one hotel there that Trip Advisor would even half recommend. I found several down the road in Jackson so I decided to roll another piece down the road until I stepped back out into the heat. Coupled with the realization sitting on the bike that my sore ass had seen all the road it was willing to deal with that day. I pulled next door to the Econolodge and for $45 got a decent room and called it a night.

Follow this link to Day 3 &4

 

Ride South

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 & 4