After our overnight stay in Alabama..and a day of travel when our GPS didn’t even work in those small Southern towns…we FINALLY arrived in Goodlettsvillle, Tennessee. And I was MORE than ready for a BIG pile of Wings…and the best wings in that town can be found at Hooters! We stay at a hotel within walking distance so we can spend a leisurely evening without having to drive one more foot!
I noticed a sign on the door as we walked across the parking lot…and I had a feeling it was bad news. Hooters would be closing in less than an hour…unless you wanted a pay a COVER CHARGE to watch a BOXING match on TV! UGH!!!! How COULD they??? So we sat down at the bar and ordered a salad (wings no longer sounded worthwhile.) And I decided to live on the edge and get an order of fried pickles!
The manager stopped by to apologize to us for having to kick us out. He explained that it was a national corporate decision to close the place. (Another reason I HATE FRANCHISE RESTAURANTS!) So we asked him where we could go that was NOT showing the fight…and he recommended Dougie Rays right down the street.
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| Eat FAST…and GET OUT! |
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| Deep Fried PICKLES…Tubs of them! |
So we headed several blocks down the street to a “local” hang-out. As I opened the front door I was greeted by the aroma of LOTS of cigarette smoke…NOT what I was hoping for. But since we had no other option, we went in.
I took a look at the menu…but when the menu is titled “Drunk Food” I decided those deep fried pickles would have to hold me until breakfast.
We really do try to “roll with the punches” (UGH…a BOXING analogy????) when we travel, and Dougie Rays turned out to be a great place to visit. We met Tony, an engineer in the auto industry. And like many people around Nashville, Tony is also an aspiring musician. He shared some great stories about country singers he’s known through the years, and he told a great story about Johnny Cash’s grandson inviting him to a house party. He suddenly recognized Ricky Skaggs…and he finally realized he was at Ricky Skaggs’ house…and an impromptu jam session developed as more of his musician friends arrived. Quite a night for Tony, I’m sure!
We stayed for awhile, then headed back to our hotel for another shower…and a change of our “smoking clothes”…another Mishler adventure on the road…again. And those Hooters wings will have to wait til NEXT trip…
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