Our RV Adventures

Jan and I were up and out the door by 9:45 this morning, heading over to my cousin (2nd Removed) Anna Jean’s. We missed seeing her last year, so it was good to get together again, and talk over old family stories.

Later, her sister Marjorie and her husband Walter, showed up to add to the fun. 

We ended up spending about 3 hours reminiscing about family members, both past and present.

And Anna Jean’s still pretty spry for 91 years young.

Hopefully we won’t have to skip another year.

Finally saying our good-byes to Anna Jean, Jan and I headed down to Decatur to get that bad taste out of our mouths. Specifically the taste of the BBQ we had a couple of days ago.

So to take care of that problem, we went right to the top . . .  well, one of the Top Five, anyway

A while back the Food Network did a series on the Top Five Restaurants in the US in six different categories: burgers, steak, pizza, tacos, barbecue and ice cream. And we were really surprised to see the one on the Top Five BBQ Restaurants in the US .

We’ve eaten at The Bar-B-Q Shop in Memphis a couple of times, and have eaten at Big Bob Gibson’s a number of times over the years, since it’s only about 15 miles south of here.

And at the top of the list, Killen’s Barbecue, is only a few miles from our home in Friendswood, but somehow we’ve never made it over there. But hopefully soon.

Killen’s Barbecue
3613 E Broadway St, Pearland, TX 77581

The Bar-B-Q Shop
1782 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN 38104

Skylight Inn
4618 S Lee St, Ayden, NC 28513

Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q
1715 6th Avenue SE, Decatur, AL 35601

Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que
3002 W 47th St, Kansas City, KS 66103

Jan went with her usual Pulled Pork Sandwich and Fries, while I went with my go-to Combo Plate, with St. Louis style Ribs, Beef Brisket, and Pulled Pork, along with Potato Salad and BBQ Baked Beans.

Although they’re also known for their Chicken and Turkey, I stuck with the BBQ standards, ribs, beef and pork.

Everything was delicious,even the brisket. I had about resigned myself to not finding good brisket outside of Texas, but this was good.

A couple of years ago we were in Memphis and ate Central BBQ, one of the highly rated BBQ places in the area, and the ‘brisket’ I got was like thinly-sliced deli roast beef. Definitely not brisket.

The ribs were really good, juicy and meaty, with a lot of flavor. And that was before I added sauce. And unlike the other place, their sauces are really good too.

The one on the left is a very good (award-winning) conventional tomato-based BBQ sauce. The white sauce is another of those regional things (north Alabama, East Tennessee, South Carolina) for use on pulled chicken and turkey. Vinegar based, it’s tangy and spicy with a little kick.

The reddish sauce on the right is another not quite as tangy vinegar based sauce for pulled pork. Another one of those regional things.

And not only was everything delicious, we had half left to bring home for later.

And besides their BBQ, Big Bob’s is also known for their homemade pies.

Mine, on the left, is Peanut Butter Pie, while Jan’s on the right, is Chocolate. Both delicious.

Tomorrow we’ll head out for Meridian, MS on our way back to Houston. We’ve already decided to change our route home, and stay on I-20W to Shreveport and then down to Houston, rather than going down to I-10 and all the flooding.

In fact, it seems that I-10 is closed at the LA/TX border anyway, so we’ll try to avoid all the trouble.

Thought for the Day:

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

This is the Wal-Mart here in Athens on a Saturday afternoon.

Almost every checkout lane is open. And Jan says there was fresh flowers in Women’s Restroom.

Very Nice! This place has a good manager.

fgsfgsfdg

Please remember, Our RV Adventures is an Amazon affiliate. When you do your shopping through any of the Amazon links here, including the Search Amazon box in the right sidebar, it won’t cost you any more, but we’ll get a small commission on everything you buy. Just click on the Amazon link, then shop as usual. Thanks.

Plus, many of you are sharing our blog with others using the “Share this:” buttons at the bottom of each blog. Again, Thanks.

Jan and I were disappointed in the Perseid Meteor Shower last night. We were told to expect around 3 meteors a minute, based on the forecasted 160 to 200 an hour. But as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog we saw 12 in about an hour. So one every 5 minute or so.

When we went in at 1am, I told you Jan, “You realize that as soon as we shut the door, the sky is going to light up like fireworks.

So did anyone out there see the big show? Let me know.

About 1:15 we drove over to my Aunt Virginia’s house to pick her up for lunch. We ended up having to wait about 30 minutes for the yard guy to finish up, and then we were on our way.

We took Virginia’s Lexus since it’s easier for her to get in and out, and headed over to Huntsville  to have lunch at Rosie’s Cantina, a really good Mexican restaurant here.

Jan and I both agreed that the décor here reminds us a lot of a Pappasito’s in the Houston area.

And the food here is as good as pretty much any place in Houston. Jan had the Chile Relleno with spicy beef inside, while my Aunt Virginia had the Chicken Quesadillas, also Landon’s favorite.

I had the Tacos al Carbon with Beef Fajita meat. Charro Beans, and Mexican Rice which was really good, with the beef fajita meat tender and flavorful. Jan and Virginia both said theirs was really good, and both had enough to take home.

Me, I was hungry and ate all of mine.

Later, heading back to Virginia’s, we stopped by the cemetery to see my Uncle Theo’s grave and the new headstone. He died in May of 2015, and I talked about him here.

Theo Wesley Calvin, Jr.

Here’s some of that post:

As it turns out, Uncle Theo not only landed at Normandy on D-Day in June 1944, but he was also was part of the Operation Torch landings in North Africa in November 1942, and the Operation Husky landings in Sicily in July 1943. In all, he fought in 7 campaigns during the war, and received a Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, signifying that he was wounded twice, both times in France.

He also fought in the last major offensive of the war, the Battle of the Bulge during December 1944 – January 1945. Dug in near Bastogne, Belgium, he said it was so cold nobody wanted to fight. “We could see the enemy, but we didn’t shoot at them, and they didn’t shoot at us.”

Among the many medals Uncle Theo received were a Bronze Star, the Belgium Fourragere, and the French Legion of Honor.

Back at Virginia’s, we spent some time just talking over family and friends.

Finally saying our goodbyes, we got back to the rig about 6:45. Tomorrow we’re getting together with my cousin’s Anna Jean Lee and Marjorie Walker.

I say ‘my cousin’s’, but I’m not exactly sure where they rank. They are my grandmother’s sister’s daughters.

So I think that they are my first cousins once removed, but after that I get a headache.

But I know we’ll have a good time together.

Finishing up, it looks like I’m going to have to double-check our route home. I saw this evening that there’s severe flooding in the Lafayette/Breaux Bridge area of Louisiana, which is one of our scheduled stop-over points on our way back to Houston on Tuesday.

So when we stop in Meridian, MS on Sunday night, I’ll decide then if  we’ll continue on to Breaux Bridge, or stay on I-20 through Jackson and Shreveport and then down to Houston.

I guess we’ll see then.

Behind every great man is a women rolling her eyes. Just ask Jan.

adsfasdf