Kristian's Incredible Adventure - Part IV: When Fries Aren't Fries

Part IV: When Fries Aren't Fries

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Please be a traveler, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people, and look beyond what’s right in front of you. Those are the keys to understanding this amazing world we live in.

- Andrew Zimmern

(From book Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World of Food: Brains, Bugs, and Blood Sausage)

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Day 2: Saturday, March 17, 2012

After my totem pole explorations, my stomach was starting to grumble. It was getting to be on the late side of lunch and I already knew where I was heading.

I made my way up to Chelsea to catch the old Route 66 and then continue to Vinita...



...where the popular Clanton's Cafe awaited me.

Clanton's is the "oldest continually owned family restaurant on Route 66 in the state of Oklahoma" according to their website and they are really known for their chicken fried steak.

But that's not why I headed there...

...more on that in just a minute.

When I arrived, the parking lot in back was packed and every table was full inside. Being that I was by myself, I even offered to sit at a table with others (they didn't even humor that suggestion though).

Fortunately, like I said before, it was getting toward the late side of lunch...

...so I probably waited 10 minutes at the most before a table cleared and I was seated.

Once I found what I was looking for on the menu, I ordered it excitingly...

...and, after I ate my salad with blue cheese dressing...



...my awaited calf fries came with a side of potato fries and green beans.

Clanton's was also known for their calf fries, just as the town of Vinita was known for its Calf Fry Festival (so it seemed right to head here).

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Wait! you may be saying. What exactly are calf fries?

A very good question, I would happily respond.

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Also called mountain oysters and various other names, perhaps this video from the film Funny Farm should help...

...just change "lamb" to "calf."

So there you go! I was actually eating little calf testicle nuggets with either a horseradish or cocktail sauce to dip them in...

...and they were actually quite delicious!

With the crunchy fried seasoned batter and the tender meaty interior, they really did tasty like Kentucky Fried oysters with dipping sauce (and I can tell you this as an official Kentucky Colonel...no lie!).

I cleaned up my plate (unfortunately, without any room for their homemade pies) and went out to tackle a few quick touristy stops on the long day's drive ahead.

My first quick stop was right there in town over both lanes of I-44...

...at the world's biggest McDonald's...

...the structure itself was big and it even had a small Will Rogers Museum inside...

...but it was unimpressive when I went inside.

So I just kept moving.



I then headed to Miami (pronounced My-am-uh)...



...where I walked through the rather relaxed downtown area...



...checked out the mural...



...scratched my chin impressively at the historic Coleman Theater...



...and contemplated getting a burger at Waylan's Ku-Ku Burger.

But I was still stuffed.



Here's the Ku-Ku, by the way.

Only a few minutes further north brought me to Commerce, OK...

...where I found the house that Mickey Mantle grew up in (moved there when he was 4)...



...and it really was a tiny lil place.


And then I stopped to look at the time.

In fact, my dear readers, I should tell you now that I was hoping to make my way to Maryville, Missouri for the night (to make things easier for the next day)...

...and that was still another 250 miles to go (4.5 hours)!!!

Feeling the afternoon wind-down starting to take effect, I nabbed some coffee at a gas station and drove my way up Route 69 through Kansas.

Overall, this drive up to Maryville was a rather boring one, filled with either phone calls, silence or evangelical radio (this involved a lot of my trip, honestly...only near big cities did I get decent radio).

Then, when I got back into Missouri, the terrain seemed interesting enough...

...to make a video (just ignore the radio like I did).

When I finally did make it to Maryville, I follow the front desk's advice and ate at the local restaurant A&G...

...where I got this tasty (and slightly broiled) moussaka.

I didn't understand why there was a lemon wedge wedged into the food, but the people were nice (talked to two older couples at a table across from mine) and the food was homemade.

Just notice the small pies with the dish - a cheese pie and a spinach pie...

...just look at that homemade goodness.

Also, if you ever do head that way, keep in mind that they sweeten their butter and it's great on just about anything...so don't ignore it.



By the end of the day, I had driven more than 400 miles (7.5 hours) and I was really worn out.

It was the end of St. Patrick's Day and I hadn't done anything festive to celebrate the event.

So I finished the day at the Applebee's Restaurant next to my hotel...

...and honored the Irish culture with some Jameson Whiskey.

Kristian's Incredible Adventure - a preface

So do you remember that adventure I told you about two weeks ago?

(If not, you can read that post here.)

Well, I just got back and I put a lot of miles on the rental car to see all the wonderful sites I will present to you in the next few days.

I'll keep each post relatively short in text (I know all about short attention spans) and I'll coddle you with TONS of pictures.

I even have some videos!

Therefore, don't allow a post to be missed!

Bookmark this site...



...follow me on blogger...



...and share with your friends!

Because, apart from being absolutely entertained by my well-crafted posts...

...you'll learn about the fascinating gift this man gave to the world...

...you'll look in wonder at the spectacles placed in this unique park...



...and you might even feel pains of nausea once you learn what this is next to the fries.


But, fear not, my faithful readers.


Wonderful big things lie ahead for you...

...wonderful big things indeed.

Planting the Seeds of an Incredible Adventure

If you were to ask anyone about the type of person I was, they would probably say that I'm a responsible, dependable human being who is typically prepared for various unforeseen situations.

Or, as Julia likes to sum up...

"He's a triple Cap!"

And I guess this is true. I can be pretty responsible, dependable and prepared (on average), which may or may not result from my sun, moon and rising sign being under the sign of Capricorn.

And, although I've often benefited from these traits...

...they can sometimes go to extremes.

My car alone, for example, contains jumper cables, three umbrellas (one small and two golf), an ice scraper and snow brush (which remain in the car all year long), a road atlas of the US, a miniature phone book of Lorain County, a roadside assistance kit, a water bottle, 2 air pressure gauges and a St. Christopher medal.

And this is just my car.

As with anything, too much of this responsibility and preparedness can weigh on you after a while and make you feel rigid, stressed out and seem fairly uninteresting.

That's why, every so often, I feel the need to shake things up for a bit of balance!

(It also makes me seem more interesting.)

Usually, in the summer and fall months, I've been able to counter the structured part of my life with crazy festival trips.

But lately, after these past few months of slow festival activity, I've felt this incredible urge to go on some type of adventure...

...or, as I've found defined in a Google search...

...an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.

Now I'm not one to throw caution completely to the wind (I do appreciate my health and safety), but I did want to have some criteria in order to heighten this sense of an adventure.

Among those are...

1. Visiting states I've never been to
   
2. Traveling alone
   
3. Going during Mercury in Retrograde

Let's look a little closer at each!

1.) Visiting states I've never been to: Unlike my festival adventures where I travel through the very familiar state of Ohio, I wanted to go somewhere I've never been to before. This would allow me to explore new landscapes with different cultures, foods and people.

If there's one thing an adventure has, it's unfamiliarity.

2.) Traveling alone: this can easily work for you or against you. On the one hand, you can decide on your destination, create your schedule and route, and make spontaneous decisions and/or alterations. But it also pushes you to be an extrovert and talk to the locals and other tourists more readily in order to learn more about this new land.

This can definitely be a challenge, since I can get shy at times - and Lord knows I'll miss Julia while on this trip. But, apart from calling her often while in the car or at the hotel, I have to make a mental note to myself not to use my phone as a means of wasting time while at a restaurant or potential social situation. I need to put my phone away and interact with the locals.

That's how adventures develop. No one tells vacation stories that involve Words with Friends.

3.) Going during Mercury in Retrograde: OK, so I really didn't plan this. But, as it turns out, Mercury, the planet of communications and travel will be in retrograde during my trip, which can lead to delays, miscommunications and traveling snafus.

So, even in an astrological sense, there are potential risks to help my adventure become a great/interesting one. Hopefully, this won't add any situation I can't handle.

But if I was that concerned about it, I wouldn't be going.

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The main reason I'm even writing about this trip is because I want to plant the seeds of this adventure out into the digital universe in the hopes that it will grant me its blessings before the adventure even begins.

Perhaps you, the Reader, can send out a small prayer so that everything runs smoothly, I have a wonderful time, I learn constructive things about myself, and that the experiences of the trip inspire me to do great and spectacular things for the benefit of humankind.

(Believe me, God hears these prayers from me all the time...once you mention my name, He'll be expecting it!)

Another thing I thought was that you might be able to help me with your advice and suggestions.

This trip will include five states I've never been to (Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas) and one I have (Missouri) over a 4 day weekend in the foreseeable future.

This is the map I've created so far...

View The Great State Road Trip in a larger map


Nothing's set in stone just yet - I'm just putting interesting things down to help plan out the trip (I guess I'm still trying to be prepared to some extent).

If you could look it over and let me know what you think, I'd greatly appreciate it.

And don't worry...

...I will write about these adventures once I return!

Thanks so much!