Heading into the home stretch - such that some of these days kind of blend together, so I may have to rely on the Mayor's better memory to correct me if I'm wrong.
Monday, February 16 (Presidents' Day)
This is one of the portions of my trip that was truly up in the air. I tried to make plans to get together with a friend of mine in Evansville, but to this point, we still hadn't connected. I also had some personal errands to run, and I wanted to catch up with
DoubleDeadGuy, who I hadn't seen since last fall in Nashville.
After a nice, vacation-y slow start to the morning, the Mayor and I made our way to a late breakfast. After going through some bizarre "Who's on First" ritual, I figured out that Al had made his mind up to take me to a nice restaurant in New Albany. Or, maybe that should be
A Nice Restaurant in New Albany?
One of my favorite restaurants here in Hooterville and my favorite luncheonette back home are both frequented by local contractors, so I figured this place had some potential. I could see the appeal in this place to the blue collar world - hearty breakfasts at most reasonable prices. I had my heart set on some good pancakes, and these were fine, fluffy specemins.
However, I really do think I screwed up, as the Mayor's French toast looked like a real winner. As good as the cakes were, I was jealous - and will keep this in mind for next time.
One of my errands that was becoming essential was the need to secure a haircut. On my way, I did determine that while Al took me to A Nice Restaurant, he didn't take me to the (Our)
Best Restaurant. 
I guess that's where he takes out-of-town guests that he actually likes!
My haircut was an adventure of its own. I ended up going to the local barber college for a quick cut. It was quite the scene. I was immediately seated and a young woman covered in tattoos and piercings began to cut away....slowly....really slowly.....I mean realllly slowly. She must have been going to town on my noggin for over half-an-hour and seemingly making little progress. I asked how long she had been taking classes there - and she cheerfully told me that this was the start of her second week! Oh yay! Not long after, a waifish 17 year-old (it came up in conversation) ambled over to help. She must have been in the advanced class. 45 minutes into this little project, I was on my way out the door with one awful haircut....and an offer from the 17 year-old to move in with me down here in Florida. Yep...no kidding. The legend of The Travelin' Man grows - as does my ability to rescue small-town girls from their dull lives and move them to the big city. Who knew I was so exciting?
Dinner on Monday was hardly photo-worthy. Heck, it was barely discussion-worthy, except to warn folks away. I wanted to play some poker at the local riverboat casino - so, Al suggested that it would be convenient to hit the buffet at the casino. It was convenient - but, it was nothing I would ever recommend. And, our waiter seemed a little eager to enter into the "server photo" legend, despite our lack of camera. I think he was about ready to go and secure one from someone else. He kind of scared me.
Should be able to wrap this up soon. Tuesday lunch in Louisville, dinner in Evansville, and then Wednesday lunch in Shelbyville should wrap up this trip report soon.
