This will mesh with Don (Cajun King's) ongoing report on this forum also. We made a long weekend trip down to Southern Alabama with the Primary Purpose of attending the military ceremonies surrounding Janet's son Eric's graduation from the Warrent Officer Academy at Ft Rucker. In Addition we were able to meet with IQDIVA and her husband Paul, and ADJUDICATOR and his wife Rinda, as well as with our neighbor from here in Southern Indiana, Donald, CAJUN KING.
The trip down was uneventful. See Don's threads for photos as we have done the ride many times and don't take the camera out much on this ride. We left Sunday afternoon and after staying in Cullman, AL and eating the pretty good breakfast that the Day's Inn serves their guests (table Service off the menu in the cafe- included in the room charge) We made it to Ozark mid-day on Monday. OH... I did sneak thru a drive-thru at
Jack-in-the-Box south of Nashville to snag half-dozen of the greasey little Tacos to keep me 'burping' for the rest of the ride. I love those nasty little devils as much as I do White Castle Sliders!
We attended the reception for the graduates Monday evening, and then Janet was able to pin on Eric's new Bars at the ceremony Tuesday morning. She was a very proud Mom doing that task. Then they cut the cake and fed the Troops !!
Eric had to leave shortly after the ceremonies to head for Aberdeen proving Ground in Maryland for his next duty station, So we waved as he drove off , then rested a bit and got ready to meet the Roadfood Friends for a nice dinner.
Being visitors to the area, we had to show ID's everytime we entered (or crossed) the Fort Rucker Post to get from Ozark to Daleville and back. We had just become used to the routine when we left the area!
At Mclin's Kitchetette we had a nice table in a roomy area that helped us relax and enjoy the company of our new friends.
Paul and Susan
IQDIVA 
Don,
The Cajun King 
Joe-
Adjudicator and Rinda
We ordered some Crab Claws to munch on while we got organized for dinner. I must admit I don't care to mess around with little crabs, hammering and breaking them up to get little pieces of crabmeat just isn't fun for me. I love crabmeat...it's the beating and crushing that gets to me !!
So it was with an "Oh well, What the hell!" thought in mind that I ordered these.
Well as the folks in attendance will tell you, I am a convert to this form of fried crab! They were great. Tastie little tidbits, easy to get the meat out of the claw, and fried and seasoned just right!! Thanks to my friends for introducing these little guys!!!
Dinner was outstanding. I would Recommend McLins to anyone who wants a great cross selection of fried seafood. Janet and I shared a Captains Platter. 4 whole Catfish, a bunch of Onion Rings and Hush-Puppies and F Fries, as well as a handful each of Scallops, Oysters and Shrimp. All in All, it was as much as the two of us could manage.
After Dinner, Donald delivered the Birthday Cake which was absolutely delicious. Light in texture and very chocolatey It did the trick bringing me into my 65th year. Joe was also celebrating his birthday...but since he is in his 20's it wasn't as critical as mine...
After talking for most of the evening we packed up our little CARE packages and headed back to the motel. The ladies bid each other farewell with promises to have a reunion when the group comes South in February.
Wed. Morning we headed north for the long day ride. We stopped at Durban's Peach Place and enjoyed a Peach Sundae just like the one in Don's Photo on his thread...only we had Peach-pecan ice Cream ! It was veery refreshing. We also stopped at one of the many Stuckey's still in operation along I-65. A box of
Goo-Goo Clusters (Pecan variety) and some Pecan Logs and Pralines went into the cooler for use here in Hoosierland!
We had made arrangements for a lunch meeting with Poverty Pete South of Nashville. We got to the place he suggested, but he wasn't waiting
So I called him and he told us I had the name wrong...He had suggested the
HenPeck Market at Exit 61 of I-65. So we stopped there. It was 103 plus in the mid-afternoon, so I didn't shut off the air in the truck and waited with the dogs while Janet went in and got us some take-out food. This place was a bus-stop on the April Roadfood tour. The food was outstanding. I had two toasted BLT's (loaded with crispy Bacon) Janet had a grilled flatbread chicken/cheese sandwich, and we got a couple of Chicken Fingers to feed the Scotties. In addition a side of Potato Salad, good bt a bit dry, and a large side of the Cornbread salad recommended by Poverty pete. It is unique...hard to describe, but very good. We have earmarked The
HEN PECK MARKET as a good stopping place when running south on I-65 , thats for sure. Poverty Pete purchased our 'joint-venture' Powerball tickets that afternoon, and I am proud to say we won $107 last night. Since no-one hit the 250 million $$ prize we will re-invest another $20 in tickets in the next round to see if luck will grow for us.
Thanks to our new friends for making a good trip even better. I have a couple of airplane shots to send out to Joe and the guys, and we now have some real good ideas for the Mobile area meeting in February !!
