Our RV Adventures

After several changes back and forth, lunch today ended up at the Kelley’s over in Alvin once again.

And once again, Jan got the Grilled Fish with Sides,

while I got the Vegetable Beef Soup, a bowl this time so I didn’t also get the Grilled Chicken Salad too.

Finishing up, there was talk of another pOpShelf visit, but it turned out to be just talk this time, and we were home by 3:30.

Tomorrow is probably Denny’s and then HEB for our weekly stuff. Maybe.

One of the TV shows that I was happy to find on streaming was one called UFO. Done for British TV back in the early 70’s. I knew it had two seasons, but I only saw 1 back in the mid-70’s.

You may remember it as the one where the women on Moonbase all had purple hair.

Not sure why, because all the men’s hair was normal.

So I was happy to find it for free on FreeVee, but there was a problem. After the first 3 episodes, every one afterwards would cut out in the last 5 minutes and go to the next one.

Bummer!

So I decided to check on Amazon to see if a DVD set was available. And it was.

An 8 DVD set containing both seasons was available for $15.77 + $3.99 shipping. Or I could buy the same set for only $234.92 + FREE shipping. Such a deal.

But reading a little closer, showed me the reason for price difference. The $15 set was in PAL format, one of two used in Europe (The other is SECAM).

However in the US we use NTSC format. So the cheap set would not play on most US DVD players, unless they were very high-end.

BUT I had read that most desktop computer DVD player/recorders will play PAL format video. So I ordered the cheap set, and it works. So this evening Jan and I went back and watch the last 5 minutes of the episodes we had missed.

Nice.

Tonight is, of course, the Spring Forward part of the whole Daylight Savings Time thing. And if some people get their way it will be the last one.

Last year the U.S. Senate surprised everyone and unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would have kept the country permanently on daylight savings time. Not many bills get the thumbs up from every senate member, so there was a sense that switching clocks twice a year had met its final Waterloo. But then the measure went to the House, where it died.

Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey (D) has been the point man for keeping daylight savings time (DST) permanently. He recently asserted, “The sun doesn’t have any enemies.” But he may be wrong about that. Sleep doctors maintain an extra hour of sunshine can mess with human circadian rhythms.

But there seems to be a real move afoot to do away with it once and for all. However the public is kind of divided on which way to go. A recent poll showed that 44% wanted to stay on DST permanently, and 35% wanted to keep switching back and forth.

And the other 21% either can’t make up their mind, or want to stay regular time year round.

So it will probably will be a while before things get hashed out.

One I haven’t heard mentioned is the fact that a lot of electronic devices like watches, digital clocks, etc., are hard-coded to make the change. And there’s no way to reprogram them. You would just have to buy a new one.

So you might end up changing them back and forth, since they’ll change and the real time won’t.

Fun!

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Thought For The Day:
So How Bad Were They Before The Improvement?

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March 11, 2009

Slow day…

Today was a slow day.

Jan read, watched TV, and sat outside in the sun with Mister.

Mister, in turn, played alligator bait by hanging around the bayou bank.

I worked on several projects, including a new mount for our satellite disk and installing the color backup camera I bought at Sam’s Club a few days ago.  I ended up installing this one in our toad as a conventional backup camera.

I’m going to get another one tomorrow to mount on the back of the coach as a rear view camera.  We already have one that came with the coach, but it’s B&W and really only keeps an eye on the toad we’re towing behind us.  I’d like to see a little farther behind me for lane changing, etc.

Around 5 pm we drove up toward Foley to have dinner at Outback Steakhouse. We’d heard they had a new menu, but what we found out was they’d dropped the Jackaroo Pork Chops, which is pretty much all I ever order there.  Oh well.

Sorry. No pics today.

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March 11, 2011

Goodbye to New Friends and Old . . .

Today was hopefully our last early morning for a while. . . a long while, I hope. I got up about 7:15 and started coffee while Jan was in the shower.

About 8 we walked over to the Vendor Building to have one last donut (or maybe two) and say our goodbyes to new friends and old.

By 9 most people had headed out, but some hardy souls stayed to help us put away the tables and chairs, and then sweep out the Vendor Building.

By about 10 we finished up and went back to the coach to get ready to move back over to the stables where we were the week before the rally started. Since we were just moving a couple of blocks we didn’t need to pack like we were hitting the road.

We did see this nice hot air balloon floating off in the distance. Really colorful.

Around 11 we pulled out of our site and across the road to the parking area. There were still two coaches parked in the area we planned on moving to, so we started up the generator to run the AC’s to keep the coach cool, since it was in the mid 80’s and getting a little toasty.

Around 11:30 I took a golf cart tour around the fairgrounds to check for any stragglers. Everyone was supposed to be out by noon, but there’s always a few who wait until the very last minute to leave.

A few minutes after noon the last coach left our area so we headed over that way, stopping off to dump our waste tanks on the way. A few minutes later we were parked back in our old spot and getting set up. Then within the next hour, Tom and Barb joined us here.

Finally it was time for the next item on the agenda . . . a nap. It’s been so long I’ve almost forgotten what a nap feels like.

It felt gooood!

About 2:30 I called in our prescriptions to Sam’s Club to be picked up tomorrow, and then in a little while, the four of us headed over to Texas Roadhouse for an end-of-rally steak dinner. Jan mentioned that since we were eating so early we would be hungry enough by 8 to go to DQ.

And we were . . . and it was gooood! too.

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March 11, 2012

Shrimp Burritos and Fairgrounds . . .

We pulled out of Daryl and Cheri Lawrence’s lot, got hooked up, and hit the road about 10:45 heading for Tucson about 250 miles away. It was a nice easy trip with the light Sunday traffic helping out.

About 1pm we pulled into a large lot in Gila Bend right across the street from Sofia’s Mexican Food, where we had a delicious lunch. Jan just had to have another shrimp burrito fix. Then it was back on the road on our way to Tucson.

A little before 5pm we pulled into the Pima County Fairgrounds for a two week stay. We know we’ll be leaving after two weeks because we won’t have a choice. The fairground RV park is closing for the season on the 25th of March, so one way or the other, we’ll be hitting the road then.

After getting everything set up, I decided to call it a night. My ankle has been bothering me a lot since I twisted it Friday morning stepping down out of the coach onto the uneven ground. And then spending all yesterday afternoon walking around the Yuma Market Place certainly didn’t help it any.

So Jan fixed us sandwiches for dinner and we just took it easy. We’ll see how my ankle feels tomorrow.

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March 11, 2013

Rut Roh . . .

Well, we didn’t make it to Balmorhea today. We ended up in Kerrville, TX about 250 miles short of Balmorhea.

But it’s too late and I’m too tired to write up tonight.

I did finish the blog from yesterday about Grimaldi’s Pizza and uploaded it, so you can go back and read it all now. The power finally came back on about an hour later.

We should be in Balmorhea tomorrow night and I’ll catch you up on what’s going on.

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March 11, 2015

Seminar Day . . .

I was up a little earlier than normal this morning so I could be sure I had everything ready to go for my seminar, “Gate Guarding for Fun? and Profit”, that started at 11:30. Besides my laptop, power supply, and mouse, I had the handouts, gate guard sample logs, and FRC shirts and pants.

Jan and I headed over to the hall a little after 11, and while Jan gave out the handouts as people came into the seminar area, I got the laptop set up and connected to the video projector. I was a little worried about how visible the photos would be since the area was well lit and there was no way to turn the lights down or off. But it turned out fine.

By the time we got started, we had about a hundred people there, a pretty good turnout, especially since another seminar called “Beyond Workamping: Income on the Road”, was scheduled for the same time period as ours

Our talk went pretty smoothly, and we had a lot of questions, usually a pretty good sign. I started off by telling them that things are pretty slow due to the downturn in oil prices, and now is probably not the best time to get started. But to keep an eye on oil prices.

Afterwards we headed back to the rig for a little bit. Later I talked to the guy on our right, and told him we would be leaving tomorrow afternoon. He has the small semi tractor that he uses to pull his 5th wheel parked between our rigs, and I probably can’t get out until he moves out. He said that wasn’t a problem because he was pulling it out this afternoon so his wife could take a driving lesson first thing tomorrow morning.

A little before 4pm Jan and I walked back over to the market hall to help break down booths since today is the last day for the vendors.I did buy my first thing here at the show, a spray bottle of special cleaner for our rig’s aluminum wheels. It’s acid-based and is supposed to get off the built-up corrosion and dirt.

We’ll see how it works.

Since we were on our own for supper tonight, Jan and I decided on Omar’s once again, especially since we didn’t used our free coupon last time. Once again our food was good, and even better, the free pie we got came with ice cream. Since we were full from our dinner, we got it to go.

Tomorrow afternoon we’re moving a couple of miles down the road to the Voyager RV Resort, where we’ll be for the next week until we head up to Apache Junction.

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March 11, 2016

Up Too Early . . .

especially on a non-travel day. But for friends, I guess it’s doable.

So I was up at 9:30 and, bringing my coffee with me, Jan and I walked over to Chris and Charles Yust’s rig to work on updating their website, C and C RV Insurance. We were trying to finish up so they could get back on the road in the 12 – 1 time frame. But, while I was trying to get Charles’ W10 laptop on the local homegroup so he could share the printers connected to Chris’ W7 laptop, she was so busy taking care of insurance customers that we didn’t get enough done so they finally decided to stay over another night here. It also helped them avoid all the heavy rain still pounding the LA/MS area. So it was a win-win.

And actually it was a win-win-win, because that meant that we’d get to go out to dinner with Chris and Charles again.

Back at our rig, Jan spent the afternoon Kindling and napping, while I worked on website stuff that we’d already gone over, updating and  adding things. Then a little later, Jim Dean came by to say they were back in the park for three weeks, so I invited him and Peri to join Chris, Charles, and Jan and I at Peter’s BBQ this evening.

Wal all headed up to Peter’s about 6pm, and as seems par for the course, we didn’t leave until they locked the door behind us at 9. And as it turns out, Jim and Peri, and Chris and Charles, grew up in same area, and had a lot for fun talking over old times and places.

We all ended up have the new special, the $9.95 Catfish and Shrimp buffet, which was really good, and somewhat cheaper than the BBQ version.

On another note, everybody’s favorite convenience store, Buc-ee;’s, is spreading out. And out of Texas, too. On Wednesday, our son-in-law Lowell send over this Houston Business Journal article about a new Buc-ee’s opening in Baton Rouge in early 2017.

And that’s not all. They’ll soon be opening their first north Texas location in Terrell, just southeast of downtown Dallas. And on a local note, they’ll soon start construction on a Katy, TX location, on the north side of I-10, just east of the Camping World. A perfect stop for Jan and I on our way to Brandi and Lowell’s.

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March 11, 2017

MacGyvering It . . .

Since we had a 300+ mile trip today, we pulled out of the Pecan Valley RV Park about 9am, and a few minutes later we were heading west on I-10 again.

Except for some of  the roughest roads we’ve seen in a while, the trip was pretty smooth. We had some heavy misting falling from the overcast skies, but it all cleared up later in the afternoon.

We pulled into the Southern Star RV Park in Van Horn about 2:45pm, and got parked in the first available space. The office was closed until 3pm so I got plugged in, and ran into a problem.

Although my Progressive EMS (Electrical Management System) said the power was good, and it was routing it into the coach, no power was getting inside. So my next stop was the Transfer Switch under the bed.

And that was where the problem was. Power was going in to the contactor but not coming out. For some reason the contactor was not pulling in.

So using a large screwdriver I pushing the contactor in and now we had power. But it still wouldn’t latch closed. So I MacGyvered it. (Jan says I was MacGyver before there was a MacGyver.)

Using two popsicle sticks I jammed the contactor closed and we were back in business. Hopefully it will hold for a few days until we’re parked in Benson for four days. Otherwise, I have plenty of popsicle sticks left.

About 5pm we walked next door to the Van Horn Steakhouse. Or rather we tried to. When we were here two years there was a shortcut out the side fence of the park. But after we walked all the way over there we found a new fence and NO shortcut.

So it was all the way back around to the front entrance of the park, out on the sidewalk, and down the block. But it was worth the walk.

We both started with their delicious salads with their homemade dressing, Jan’s Bleu Cheese, and mine Buttermilk Ranch.

Then we both got steaks with the Roasted Baby Carrots.

My Ribeye was fantastic, as were the carrots

Then  we finished up by sharing a Homemade Peach Cobbler.

After that delicious meal we definitely needed the long walk back to the rig.

Tomorrow we’ve got a 165 mile trip to Las Cruces for a two day stay.

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March 11, 2018

Sprung Forward . . .

I did plan to get some outside chores done today, but the overcast skies and occasionally spitting rain dissuaded me of that. Though I will say that I didn’t take too much convincing.

The whole ‘Spring Forward’ thing went off OK this morning, with everything resetting like it was supposed to. That’s the computer, two phones, my Galaxy Tab, our bedroom projection clock, our DirecTV DVR, the La Crosse Weather Display, and our big living room clock.

Everything is connected to the Internet except this clock. It actually receives the WWV time signal via radio and is always correct to the second. The only two clocks I have to manually set is the battery-powered clock in the bathroom, and my old school analog watch.

Like yesterday, I spent a good while researching moving the websites at work, but I’m still not sure which way I’ll go.

For you Alexa/Echo Dot owners, Amazon has added something a little new. Previously if you want to ask Alexa multiple questions, you had to start over each time by saying ‘Alexa’.

But if you go into your Amazon Alexa app, go to Settings, pick your device, and scroll down, you’ll find a control called Follow Up. Turn it on and you’re good to go.

And if you have more than one Alexa device, you have to do each separately.

Now if you make your 2nd, 3rd, etc., request within 5 seconds after the previous request is done, Alexa will continue answering you. Neat.

SpaceX is at it again, planning 5 Falcon 9 launches next month. In addition they hope to do the first test launch of their BFR Mars rocket later this year. If all goes well, they plan on the first unmanned launch to Mars in early 2019.

The BFR, much larger than the recently launched Falcon Heavy, can boost 150 tons of cargo into orbit, vs. the 50 ton capacity of the Falcon Heavy, and the 25 tons of the Falcon 9. And unlike early rockets, the BFR will be fully reusable, with all lower stages landing back on earth,  and can be refueled in space. Really revolutionary.

Here’s a really neat look back at the recent Falcon Heavy launch and landing, including the only released footage of the center stage crashing back into the ocean due to running out of ignition fluid.

And this is a fun look at the many failures along the way.

Only Elon Musk would compile all his failures into a video and set it to music.

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March 11, 2019

I’m So Ashamed . . .

But I’m just too cheap to pay the blackmail.

Today I received this email through an email address of one of my client website email addresses.

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FINAL WARNING [email protected]!

Sloppy! I never got the first one.

You have the last chance to save your social life – I am not kidding!!

I didn’t realize I actually have a ‘social life’. Who knew?

I give you the last 72 hours to make the payment before I send
the video with your masturbation to all your friends and associates.

If this happens, I would appreciate receiving a copy.

The last time you visited a erotic website with young Teens,
you downloaded and installed the software I developed.

As opposed to ‘Old Teens’?

My program has turned on your camera and recorded your act of
Masturbation and the video you were masturbating to.

\My software also downloaded all your email contact lists
and a list of your Facebook friends.

But I don’t have a Facebook account. Only Jan does.

I have both the ‘Webmaster.mp4’ with your masturbation
and a file with all your contacts on my hard drive.

You are very perverted!

No surprise! Jan already knew this.

If you want me to delete both files and keep your secret,
you must send me Bitcoin payment.

I give you the last 72 hours.

If you don’t know how to send Bitcoins, search Google.

Send 2000 USD to this Bitcoin address immediately:

3DTEpNVLyNFseoTXzhiHGv22hTsp9K1dre
(copy and paste)

1 BTC = 3850 USD right now, so send exactly 0.524126 BTC
to the address above.

Do not try to cheat me!

As soon as you open this Email I will know you opened it.

This Bitcoin address is linked to you only,
so I will know if you sent the correct amount.

When you pay in full, I will remove both files and deactivate my software.

If you don’t send the payment, I will send your masturbation video
to ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES from your contact list I acquired.

Again, if this happens, I would appreciate receiving a copy.

Here are the payment details again:
Send 0.524126 BTC to this Bitcoin address:
—————————————-
3DTEpNVLyNFseoTXzhiHGv22hTsp9K1dre
—————————————-
You can visit the police but nobody will help you.

I know what I am doing.

Is that so? Then why haven’t you figured out that my desktop computer doesn’t have a video cam.

I don’t live in your country and I know how to stay anonymous.

Then how do I know your name is Toby.

Don’t try to deceive me – I will know it immediately – my spy ware is
recording all the websites you visit and all keys you press.

If you do – I will send this ugly recording to everyone you know,
including your family.

Don’t cheat me! Don’t forget the shame and if you ignore this message
your life will be ruined.

I am waiting for your Bitcoin payment.

It’s going to be a long wait.

Toby
Anonymous Hacker

I wonder if Toby might be Nigerian?

P.S. If you need more time to buy and send 0.524126 BTC,
open your notepad and write ’48h plz’.

I will consider giving you another 48 hours before I release the vid,
but only when I see you are really struggling to buy bitcoin.

I guess I could start a GoFundMe account. But only if I get a copy of the video.

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March 11, 2021

Longhorn Rendezvous . . .

First up, yes I know that there’s a problem with emailed blogs going out to every one. I’m working on it and hope to have fixed this weekend.

Since we had couple of stops to make Jan and I left out about 10, with our first stop only a few minutes later for ice at the Circle K in Santa Fe.

Jan was taking two thermal bags of food, some refrigerated and some frozen, with her, and since we probably wouldn’t get to Brandi’s until around 4pm, we stopped and I got two bags of ice to keep things nice and cold.

And yes, Brandi has plenty of food at their house, but Jan wanted ‘her’ food.

Our next stop was at the Flying J north of Houston for a potty break before we got to The Woodlands Longhorn Steakhouse about 11:30, a little early for our noon meet-up with Debi and Ed Hurlburt. But coming through downtown Houston, I always try to allow plenty of ‘fudge’ factor.

In fact I was monitoring Waze on my tablet for any problems, so we could detour via the Hardy Toll Road if necessary.

Jan and I both went a little off-track on the menu. Jan got the Parmesan Chicken with a Sweet Potato.

I started off with a bowl of their ‘surprisingly’ good, Chicken Tortilla Soup,

and then, not wanting a big heavy steak meal in the middle of the day, got steak. But as a salad. Their 7-Pepper Sirloin Steak Salad.

I later told our waitress (or is it ‘server’ now?) that I was kind of disappointed because I only tasted 6 Peppers, not 7. She just stared at me and then walked away. I don’t think she got the joke.

But everything was delicious.

As usual for us, we spent almost 3 hours eating and talking before Jan and I headed out. And we’re already planning for next month.

Coming back down to Brandi’s in Katy via the Grand Parkway Toll Road, our first stop was at the El Pollo Loco on Mason Rd.right off I-10. Before we left Longhorn I had used the El Pollo app to place our order to pickup at 3:45, and we got there at 3:44, just when our Garmin GPS said we would.

Isn’t modern technology wonderful?

We got to Brandi’s at little after 4pm, and after getting Jan unloaded, and her laptop and Alexa set up, I was back on the road to Santa Fe by 4:30, finally getting home about 5:45pm

This weekend I’ve got a few more tests to run on rig rig AC, trying narrow it down, especially since we’ve got temps in the low 80’s starting next week.

I’m just hoping it’s not a blown compressor, but I’ll know soon.

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March 11, 2022

4 Q’s . . .

Following up on yesterday’s blog:

If I didn’t stir people up enough with Beans or No Beans controversy, how about the 26 best BBQ places in Memphis, TN?

26 Best BBQ Places in Memphis

And Jan and I have eaten at 3 of them, numbers 8, 5, and 2.

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Starting out, #8 was kind of a surprise to us, in that it’s a chain location.

Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q

We eaten at Jim ‘N Nick’s locations, not only in Memphis, but also in Birmingham at two locations, and in Montgomery, too. Plus they have 36 other locations in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Their BBQ is more north Alabama-Carolinas style, with both Alabama White Sauce, and a vinegar-based Carolina sauce, as well as a traditional tomato-based sauce.

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Here’s a repost of our Memphis visit to Jim ‘N Nick’s.

But looking over several lists, I came across a name I was really familiar with – Jim & Nick’s BBQ. I’ve eaten at their original Birmingham AL location a number of times back in the 90’s, and knew they had started to spread out in Alabama, but I didn’t know they had gone further. In fact they’re now in 7 states as far west as Colorado.

So off we went to Jim & Nick’s out in Cordova, a Memphis suburb about 30 minutes away on the east side of  the city. And it was well worth the trip.

We started off with their Sausage Plate, with a link of their home-made sausage, served with pimento cheese and BBQ sauce. So good that Jan, who doesn’t really care for sausage, loved this.

Then they brought out a basket of their Cheese Biscuits which we devoured pretty quickly.

They’re delicious, and so well-loved, they even sell the mix so you can make your own at home.

Jan got their Pig on a Bun pulled pork sandwich topped with Cole slaw, while I again went with a Combo Plate with Ribs and Pulled Pork.

And it was like I was back in Alabama again, with the spare ribs and the pork, all slathered in their sauce, especially their Hot Habanero sauce. Like being back home.

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Next up is # 5 which is located in a downtown Memphis alley.

Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous

We ate here on our visit before last, and loved it. But when we were here last time, it was a Sunday and Rendezvous was closed. So we ate there last night so we wouldn’t miss it this time.

Rendezvous is known for their ribs, and one taste shows why.

These ribs are different. They’re grilled over charcoal, not wood, and not slow smoked, or anything like that. They’re grilled 30 minutes on a side about 18 inches above a blazing charcoal fire.

This produces a delicious crust on the ribs that is then mopped with a mixture of vinegar, water, salt, and barbecue spices. Then before serving, the ribs are sprinkled with the secret Rendezvous seasoning.

I got the combo platter with ribs and their pulled pork, all juicy and delicious, while Jan just had ribs.

But another real standout here are their beans. They’re almost as good as the ribs. They have a delicate burnt caramel taste that I’ve never encountered before, but it adds such a flavor bonus, it’s hard to describe.

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Finally we headed for The BBQ Shop, a place that showed up on pretty much every “Best BBQ in Memphis” list I found.

And they were right !

Like most good BBQ places, it looks pretty nondescript on the outside, but the food inside was another story.

Jan had pulled pork sandwich piled high with meat and coleslaw. Once again, I had the Combo Platter with ribs and pulled pork. It was smaller than the one last night, but not by much. At least it only had two sides instead of tour.

The ribs are what they refer to as “half & half”. Memphis BBQ is usually cooked with just a dry rub, and not with sauce. You can add the sauce later if you want.

The BBQ was delicious, but what really set it apart was their sauce, or at least their hot sauce. We never even tried the regular one.

Their hot sauce was very, very, hot. But along with being very, very hot, it was very tasty and flavorful, maybe one of the best sauces I’ve ever had.

All in all, it was a great meal !

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And though it’s not actually in Memphis, TN, but in West Memphis, AR right across the Mississippi River, Ray’s World-Famous BBQ is at the top of a lot of people’s lists, including ours.

About 6 pm we headed out to a BBQ place we heard about near here, Ray’s World Famous BBQ. It’s a small place, only about 6 tables. But they have 4 delivery guys on the go constantly, so it’s certainly popular.

And here’ the big man himself, Ray of Ray’s World Famous BBQ.

Jan got a pork sandwich with two sides.  I got the rib and pork combo plate, but I wasn’t expecting this!

No, this is not TWO orders. This is just one dinner.

Two meats and four sides, potato salad, BBQ beans, coleslaw, and BBQ spaghetti.

OMG!!

On checking the menu again, I found it also called “The Trucker’s Special”.

Maybe I need to read a little closer next time!