Mapping the Malls, Mapping the Malls

    As I mentioned in my recently completed series, most of my 'trips' having been for shopping.  As such, I am quite familiar with the layouts of every place I go to. This is not just about going to them so often, but also about what to do in case something goes wrong.  Fortunately for me, I've only had one instance where I had to vacate a mall, and that was in an anchor store. (False alarm, but I did have to travel down three escalators and wait outside over ten minutes in late November to make sure nothing was wrong before we were allowed back in.) While I am sure I have been to many such malls in my day, there are only three that I've been to often enough to have this level of familiarity. There have been others, of course, but I either never went to them that often or I was so young that I didn't make a mental map of them.

    The first one is the Southside Mall at South Williamson, KY.  Of its original three anchors, two were regional favorites (Watson's and Dawahare's) and the third being Kmart, which dominated the north end of the mall. There were also a mega-drug store and a Kroger connected to the Mall, but not actually a part of it. Even at its late 80s height, only the Kmart could have considered crowded at any one time. The two corridors were way wider than necessary, especially with only two main entrances. (One being at the rear next to the theatre, and almost nothing else down that way-- a Sears appliance store and a Christian gift shop.) Once the anchors, including the outside two, started closing, the Mall lost its touch.  Although some stores have come in as replacements, I haven't been back there in over fifteen years.

    Now, the Huntington Mall at Barboursville West Virginia is something else entirely.  I've been there dozens of times, the Mall I've been to the most. Basic north-south layout, with an east-west crossing corridor and two additional smaller corridors on the west side between the ends. While the Mall itself hasn't had too many changes, the anchors have. Sears, the original largest anchor at the south end, would close, and the space is being taken over by a community college. A number of smaller units were combined to create a quasi-anchor in Borders, only to be taken over by BAM after it went out of business. Macy's is still the same, although it was Lazarus at opening.  Phar-Mor was built as a fifth anchor on the west end of the horizontal corridor, only to be replaced by Dick's after it closed. Dick's would go on to take over a bunch of smaller units in expanding. Stone and Thomas was the only single story of the original anchors, only to be rebranded as Elder Beerman. The space would be chopped up upon closing, with most of the space taken by TJ Maxx and Homegoods, with a shared checkout and expanded doors. JC Penny's is the north anchor. It tried to expand in the early 90s, adding an entire furniture section. This section would be closed off in a later remodel, but the ghost can still be seen from the outside. I will probably commit an entire post later this year to the Mall, after my annual late summer/early fall trip.

    The Fayette Mall in Lexington, Ky is the largest one in the state, and the largest one mall I've ever been to. The original mall has an unusual design, where the four main corridors don't combine to form a central courtyard, but are instead the sides of it. The north corridor is about a unit east of the south corridor, while the west one is about a unit north of the east one. Macy's is the largest anchor, with three stories. (Yes, this is the one with the fire alarm mishap.) JC Penny's is the mid-anchor, and the smallest of the original spots, although it only took over the space in the early 90s. Sears was the original south anchor, as well as the largest one. That all changed when the southern expansion came about. Then they went out of business, causing major problems getting from one part of the mall to the other for a while.

    That is until the remodel. The entire Sears spot became a number of smaller stores, but only H + M even had the tiniest part of a second floor. There are two halls around some of the stores to get to the restrooms for the area, as well as secondary mall offices and the fire exit. There are even two units outside of the east entrance to the area that didn't even want to be a part of the main mall, built as part of the reconstruction. At least the way to the southern expansion is still the same. It was built higher up, so there are steps and ramps to get to it. While the main corridor is mostly straight, the crossing corridors are not, with the entrance ends being further south than the inner ends. MacAlpin's was the original anchor, but it became Dillard's a year later.  It kept the staircase to the mezzanine salon though. Dick's became the 'fifth' anchor, but much later after the rest of the expansion was opened. This causes problems reaching The Plaza, a mini-shopping center behind and south of the main mall. Again, this deserves an entire post, probably this fall after the pre-holiday shopping trip.

    An honorable mention goes to the Mall at Lexington Green. Originally, it had two anchors at the west and east ends, with most of the stores between them and the central hub. I only into the hub once, when we got there before the stores opened, and my mom had to go to the restroom. We found out that the stores inside the hub were being forced to move out, after Joseph-Beth Booksellers wanted to move to the hub. After that, it meant that every unit had their own outside entrance, making the mall more like an upscale shopping center than a mall.  They still call it a mall though.

Giving the Cold Shoulder to a Hot Pocket

    I never had a microwave oven growing up. Our house was just too hot to have multiple electrical sockets in the kitchen. We barely hade one, and it was right by the main kitchen counter. There just wouldn't have been enough room for both an oven and kitchen prep. We did have a great conventional oven, though. Anyway, I didn't have a microwave until I opened my store in 2000. I didn't someway to cook meals there, usually frozen. The second thing I ever heated up there was a 'Three-Cheese Pizza' "Hot Pocket." Two actually, as I was still in my 20s and had high enough of a metabolism that it didn't matter that I ate that much. I was still trying to lift weights at least three times a week back then, so I had an extra benefit.  Anyway, I was kind of hooked on them. At first, my picky eating habits limited the types of food I ate, but having them in 'pocket' form helped me to expand my options, slowly increasing the types of foods I had at the store.  Particularly when it came to meats. I quickly began to expand the varieties I rotated on a weekly basis. I particularly liked the "Lean Pockets" line, while I mostly passed on the "Croissant Pockets." Those were just too fatty for me. 

    While I would try to not repeat a single flavor too often, I just kept going back to ones. I had favorites such as the aforementioned pizza, but also 'Chicken Parmesan,' 'Cheeseburger,' 'Cheddar Broccoli Chicken,' and 'Chicken Quesadilla.' One thing I didn't eat were the pork-based ones. I try not to eat pork for various reasons I won't go into. This meant that I had to skip anything with ham, bacon, pepperoni, and sausage. This included the 'Italian Meatball' variety.  I would have loved to try it, but had to skip it because of the inclusion of pork. It pays to read the labels. This is how I found out the some of the 'chicken' in the pockets back then was actually turkey. That changed over the years, but it blew my mind when I first read it on the label. Such facts made me finally understand the infamous Jim Gaffigan sketch about "Pockets." (It was a few years after I started eating them before I saw the sketch.)

    "Hot Pockets" would go on to introduce many other products, that I mostly ignored. There were the "Pot Pie Pockets," which didn't seem appetizing. There were "Fruit Pie Pockets," but they only came in apple and cherry, which aren't my favorites.  Besides, I would more likely eat that such a thing at home, rather than at the store. (Yes, back then the packaging had instructions on how to fix them in an oven, but that took way too long comparatively speaking to warrant use at home.) Of course, there were the "Breakfast Pockets," which I couldn't have because of the pork and eggs. (I have a slight egg sensitivity at times.) That product would go on, when others didn't. "Hot Pockets" also experimented with other things. One was introducing pretzel bread for the pockets in some varieties.  I tried some of them, and they did work at times. Even better was the introduction of 'Limited Edition' flavors. The best one, and best flavor ever, was the 'Steakhouse Mushroom,' which had Angus steak slices, portobello mushrooms, and a mozzarella cheese sauce. I would squeeze this one in as many times as I could when it was available.

    Things changed around 2020 and the pandemic.  Due to lockouts, I didn't get to eat at the store for months, and I still didn't have a microwave at my current place. (Plenty of outlets, very little counter space.) Once the store was reopened, and I needed lunches again, I began to notice something wrong. It didn't happen immediately, but the 'pockets' were missing.  The entire "Lean Pocket" line was discontinued. So was the "Croissant Pocket" line, although some of those would re-emerge in the main line. Instead of having between twelve and fifteen varieties to rotate through with the rest of my frozen lunches from other brands, I was down to about five or six, and even that number began to shrink.  A year or two ago, the final shoe dropped. Certain varieties were going exclusive it seemed, such as 'Beef Taco' and 'Barbecue Beef,' in boxes too big to fit in the store's mini-fridge.  This left me with three:  'Four Cheese Pizza' (They somehow added another one over the years.),  'Philly Steak and Cheese' (My least favorite, by far.), and 'Steak and Cheddar.'  That last one is weird, as I don't ever remember having it until quite recently. Maybe I had it a few times in the early years of my store, but I don't think it was anywhere around me for a time. Maybe it really did just debut in the last decade or so. Who knows?

    Things got worse.  They decided to remove the paper crisping sleeves, as a means to reduce waste.  They said it would still taste the same.  It doesn't.  The pockets just don't get as crisp. They were offering a reusable plastic sleeve to eat it without burning your hands, but that just felt silly. Then, 'Steak and Cheddar' got exclusive as well, with new "bold" and "spicy" flavors that I didn't like taking over. I was starting to skip having pockets for a week, just so that I wouldn't have to take the same two flavors again and again.  Next thing I knew, quite recently, "Hot Pockets" were disappearing from the shelves, with one store putting them on clearance. Somehow, I found a 'Steak and Cheddar' among them, for the first time in months. Of course, I bought it. Soon after, I discovered the reason why. Not only were the bolder, spicier flavors being phased out, so were the two-pack boxes. Now, they are only in four-packs, but none of my flavors are exclusive.  In fact, the exclusive flavors are even being sold anymore, that I can tell. Now, I can barely eat my one-a-half pockets at times, (the other half goes to someone else, now) having to eat one flavor twice in a row is difficult. Worse, while the boxes fit in my mini-fridge freezer, there's barely room for other frozen meals. I sometimes have to take the pockets home and then bring them back to eat. Or even take them out of the box, just leaving them in the freezer. It has gotten very confusing. If it wasn't for my need for a wider variety of lunch options, I would stop getting them. Did I mention that some stores carry one packs of certain flavors? Only ones I don't like though. Like I said, confusing.

The Great Comic Book Quest of 2025

    I have been reading comic books for almost all my life. They are one of the reasons why I was able to read on the day my mom signed me up for kindergarten.  (I was five though, so I was technically a little older than some of the other students.) For thirty years now, I have been getting most of my comic books from Page-3 Game Zone. Sure, I lost most of those books in the 2003 flood, but I have made up a lot of ground since then. This tragedy was reflected this past February when Page-3 got hit bad in the 2025 flood. At first, I had the naive thought that they would be storing the new comic books off-site until they could get the store in order. I mean, they were posting pictures of new trading cards they were getting in. Well, I could never coordinate my schedule to go in at the irregular times they were open until late April. (They were also having problems with their phones and Messenger service, so I didn't know of a good way to contact them sooner.) I was able to meet with the owner and found out they stopped getting books until they could fully open back, either in late June or July. At that time, that meant I was now over two-and-a-half months behind on my books, and getting further behind by the week. I immediately began to come up with ways to get my missing books.

    I would have started that weekend, but a relative had just died, so I waited until after that weekend to start planning. I was going to start out at a shop just over the state line in Virginia, when I heard about a store closing at the Huntington Mall complex. We had only started to go to the Drug Emporium a few years ago, it quickly became a favorite destination. Unfortunately, it ran into some deep financial trouble and was going out of business.  Since it had some unique products that were hard to find, we decided to go there first, and I would check out the new comic book shop/ice cream parlor Super Hero Creamery, that recently opened up. The bad news was that the very products we were looking for had already sold out, including one just a day or two earlier. The good news was that I got about seventeen of my missing books that day, and I could've gotten more. I turned down two books as they were only in the more expensive variant covers, and I wanted to save some money. I turned down four issues of a new series, thinking it would be easier to collect them when they came out in trade if I had further problems finding comics. That is also why I turned down a new first issue as well. Finally, I skipped one last book because they didn't have the previous issue, and I didn't want gaps at that time. At least I got the last issues of three titles that ended in the time. That was just about the only things that weren't food we got that day.

    A little over a week later, we made that trip out to Norton to check out what Cavalier Comics had.  We went through Knott and Letcher counties, and some roads were still in need of repair from the '22 and '25 floods. At least I got to see some animals, such as a deer and a bunch of buzzards.  Cavalier had a fairly decent amount of comics, and I was about to buy nine titles I was missing, including getting fully up to date with three of them. I would have gotten twice that amount if it wasn't for my "no gaps" rule. What surprised me was that they had some titles missing from the much larger store at the Mall, but some titles were still missing, either by being sold out or never there.

    After that, I stared making plans for my big annual summer shopping trip to Lexington. I began to study the various comic book stores in town. I quickly eliminated some that were closer to my regular shopping route, but weren't as likely to have the newer issues I needed. That basically narrowed things down to the big three. Well, four, as one of them has two locations. I decided on Comic Interlude because it wasn't that far off my route, had a large amount of titles, and have an online shop. I also planned my other shopping, to save as much time as possible so that I could search for comics after my main shopping.

    Well, we wound up being late all day. At least I got two new Murano shirts, in Magenta Berry and Ocean Green. (The second one being foisted on me by my mom. I would have much preferred the Midnight Blue.) Anyway, as we left the mall, I made the mistake of saying we could forego my comics if she was feeling too bad, this after she dawdled almost fifteen minutes talking with cosmetics and fragrances salespeople. Well, she took me up on my offer, saying that she thought that my plan was to shop online all along. WRONG! Still, I was stuck. Worse, she had talked me into waiting to money onto my online only reloadable credit card, thinking I might need more money for other things besides my comics. This meant I had to wait another day to place my order.  Still, Comic Interlude had all but eleven of the comics I was missing. Ten if I ignored some gaps. I realized at the last second that I didn't have enough money on my card, due to a mistake on my part involving "free shipping." I had to put more money on the card before I could complete the order. In the interim, five comics had sold out, including the last minute title I ordered that had put me over the total I planned on, although I could get an alternative cover for one of them. It took two days for them to process the order. They contacted me on Saturday saying more comics had sold out, leaving me with twenty-three of the original thirty-six. I emailed them back saying to continue the order, even though it left me with a lot of gaps. 

    The order came in earlier today. It is a big reason why I'm late with this week's blogcast. This is only about the fifth time I've gotten over twenty comics in one day. Now, I started making new plans over the weekend about how to get the missing nineteen titles. Make that twenty-one as of this Wednesday. The best bet is to try another online comic store, this one with physical shops in Louisville and Florence, Kentucky. Between the two, I might be able to get all of the ones I'm missing, if they will still be in stock when I place the order after the holiday weekend. Otherwise, I have to go with one of my other alternatives, some of which aren't as lucky sounding.

My Culinary Odyssey: Errata, Part Two

    Yep, more mistakes. While 

    For this extra-special bonus Monday post, I continue the errata from Saturday. They are listed in the same order as the original posts. Blue is for locations still open, while black are for those places that are closed. I'm not expecting any new entries, so I won't be explaining the other terms I have been using.  Let's go then.

    Paintsville/Louisa:  For Paintsville: One the way back from Huntington one time, we tried to stop at the Arby's at a strip mall in the same shopping center as the LJS and the BK.  The entrance was to the side and partially hidden, and it led to a hallway to the rear of the restaurant. The place was crowded and a little messy, so we left immediately.  Haven't tried it since. For Louisa: On another trip back from Huntington, we may have stopped at the Hardee's just off the southbound lane of US 23 for my mom. I definitely didn't go in, but I can't remember if she got anything.

    Huntington Mall:  We have gotten food at many other places in the Mall that aren't considered restaurants. I'm not including stores that sold food as just a part of the general selections, such as the close Phar-mor or the closing Drug Emporium. I'm also not including places where food is tertiary to other products, such as the candy and mixes available at Adams Hallmark. For instance, when the Mall opened, they had a Hickory Farms outlet in the south/Sears end of the Mall. They had a variety of products. How we got perishable items back in a then three-plus drive in the middle of summer is beyond me. When the store closed, they later opened a kiosk with a small selection during the holidays. Since I haven't been there at that time of year for a long time, I don't know if they still do.  The Mall also had a Frontier Fruit and Nut Co. in the Food Court where I think I got popcorn, maybe other things, a few times. The place closed, to be replaced by a number of other stores, including a DQ Sweets and Treats.  Never had anything there. The spot is currently Bubble World, a boba tea/smoothie shop. Across the Food Court from that is Great American Cookies.  While I don't remember getting anything at that location, a may have gotten something at the kiosk they had on the south side of the central courtyard. (That spot has since closed.) The Mall has had a few candy store, the current being Candy Craze just north of the central courtyard. I have gotten a lot of candy there, mostly "Jelly Belly" jelly beans. I used to get my own assortment of flavors, such as Watermelon, Top Banana, and later Kiwi. About fifteen years ago, I stopped as I started a new health kick and I would get tired of having so much candy for such as long time.  While I have yet to try the ice cream at the recently-opened Super Hero Creamery, I did buy about seventeen comic books as part of my quest to find my missing issues. While not at the Mall, I did buy a blueberry-based pastry at the Starbucks kiosk inside the Barboursville Kroger, but that is borderline groceries.

    Greater Lexington:  I find it hard to think that I had never eaten at a Lexington LJS.  We may have during the 70s, but I was too young to remember it clearly. We used to drive right by one of the original, if not the first, LJS on our way into the city.  I kept asking to stop there on the way out of town, but we never did. By the 2010s, an Arby's was added in. It did no good as the restaurant was closed a few years ago, to be replaced by the breakfast-themed Biscuit Belly. It is a sacrilege that there are no longer an LJSs in the city. I am pretty sure I had to have at least a drink at one of the malls and/or shopping centers we went to when I was a kid, but the events were too unimportant to recall. Finally, I know I sat at a booth at the bistro that was inside Joseph-Beth Booksellers at the Mall at Lexington Green. I don't know if I was waiting for someone to finish eating or just to rest.  I may have had something, but that was not like me.

    Fayette Mall:  Yes, it gets its own entry. I have gotten food at a few spots in the Mall too.  First, Great American Cookies had a spot in the southwest wing of the south expansion when it first opened. I think I got a brownie there.  That spot would close to merge with the original location in the Food Court. I don't think I have gotten anything there. Next, there was a candy store called Boardwalk Treats on the south end of the courtyard in the south expansion. I got "Jelly Belly" there too, as well as the occasional other, and I stopped going for the same reason. The store closed earlier this year, to be replaced by Chocomania, a high-end chocolatier. While some of the desserts looked interesting, they were a little expensive. Also, it was the middle of a heat wave, and they wouldn't have lasted the car ride back home. Finally, See's Candies used to have a kiosk right in front of where Sears was, and later they had a storefront.  We had gotten free samples there, and maybe bought something when they had a store, but they went out of the Mall a while ago.

    Stanton/Saylersville:  For Stanton: The place is called the Stanton Food Court, obviously. The A & W Restaurant left recently, leaving that side just LJS. I really should eat there again, as it is always so empty compared to the Arby's. Speaking of them, they do have some regular tables, with the higher ones just along one wall.  Finally, we had to make an emergency stop at the McDonald's after refueling so my mom could use the restroom again. I've added a star to the original entry to reflect that. Still wanting to try the Dr Pepper slush. For Saylersville: We probably stopped at their McDonald's once, either going to or coming back from Lexington. I can't remember which.

    Addenda: Yes, here too. I stopped at one of the small restaurants in McDowell to get a hot meal for my grandmother (or another) while she was at the hospital/rehab center. Don't know which one, but they have changed names/owners and/or closed over the years. One the way back from Huntington, we stopped at this pizza place in Lawrence county, way north of Louisa. It may have been a Giovanni's or even Gino's at the time, but not any more. It wasn't for me, but for one of our relatives who went with us that time. We had to wait a long time, messing up plans. Never stopped again.

    Afterthoughts: Yep, even here. I forgot to include Fayette in my list of counties with relatives. I had to stay the night a my cousin's house for that ill-fated trip to King's Island that never happened.  He lives in Johnson county now.

    And with that, I'm done. See you Wednesday for my regular post.

My Culinary Odyssey: Errata, Part One

    Mistakes were made. 

    When I first came up with the idea for this series, I made a few notes to make sure I got the order right and didn't leave anything out.  However, that wasn't the exact case. Many days, I was rushed to type my post to make sure I had it up in a reasonable timeframe. Sometimes, I would leave something out. If I remembered in time, I would change it that day, but not much later than after I posted the link on Facebook. Other times, I didn't. If I didn't realize soon enough, I would just leave it for the errata section, which I was always planning on. I would forget to either add an entry or an important fact for it. If I was too pressed for time, I deliberately skipped some briefer entries and made plans to add them here. I wound up finding out some details well after the fact (strange what can pop up on your feed). Anyway, all of those facts are included here. I originally planned on just one post for the errata, but it looks like it will be so long that I will have to split it up into two parts. The second part will either be another special post on Monday or in the regular spot on Wednesday.  Other things will be coming up to determine which day it will be. The entries are listed in the same order as the original posts in the series. Blue indicates places that are still open; black for places that have closed. Brackets indicate places where I haven't officially eaten; either I only got drinks or someone else stopped here for something. TO means 'take-out,' while DI is for 'dine in.' Let's get on with this.

    Wheelwright: I left out bake sales and parties for Osborne Elementary, both of which became rarer the older I got. Individual hallways would host bake sales in the spring, with each homeroom getting to bring in food. My mom would frequently volunteer for my room's turn. I would get money to get stuff, with more money for my room's/hallway's day. In sixth grade, my mom made a batch of cupcakes, but the next day was a bad flood, so I missed out and the cupcakes were lost. Parties were usually held on various holidays. Sometimes, homemade food was brought in. However, by fifth grade or so, all such stuff were premade, for the few times people brought in stuff for everyone. These events included 4H meetings. For some reason, my mom's bad cooking, I took cooking one year. I made some dessert bars to take in, but I had a Boy Scout meeting that night. (I only stayed a year or so, and never went on any camping trips or anything.) My grandmother forgot to take the bars out in time, and they were partially burnt. I still managed to find a few to take in, but I never tried them nor did I ever bring anything in again. Probably didn't take cooking again either. In hindsight, I should have given Wheelwright High School a full entry, as I remembered other food-related facts. I don't think I got any concessions at games. There were a few parties, but I don't remember eating at them. The lone exception may be the year-end Academic Honors dinner. I went all four years, wearing a new dress shirt each time. I had a Sprite the first year or two, but nothing after that, as my hatred to Coke products grew. The school gym (the only building remaining of the old school) had a fall fair one year when I was a kid. I went for a few minutes and left soon after as I didn't really feel for it. I don't think I got any food.  Finally, I totally forgot about the movie theater. I went there a few times, such as for Star Wars and one of the 'Star Trek' movies. (Also for Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart Club's Band as part of a school trip.  Not really appropriate.) I had some concessions each time. The theater closed in the 80s. People would fix it up for other uses, but they would always closed. The place was even considered to become the home for a new library, but politicking shut that down. It is currently the warehouse for the prison.

    Martin: I could be wrong about the restaurant being a Burger Queen, because many became Druthers before changing to DQ.  The place had a yellow color scheme, which wasn't Druthers, but who knows. I recently had to stop at the McDs for my mom, so I added a star (⭐️) to the entry to show I've been there recently. I didn't go in, but I got to watch a baby bunny scampering behind the Mexican restaurant, El Toro Negro, 'The Black Bull.' I tried to take a picture, but it was so small and far away that it didn't take.

    Prestonsburg:  First, I made a mistake in the Hoebert's Pizza steak Stromboli recipe clone. To make garlic lettuce you soak it in Italian dressing with added garlic powder, not water. I changed the recipe in the original post as well as here. Next, I totally forgot to include a location. I guess it was because it was between two posts.  Anyway, here is the official entry.

• [Prestonsburg High School, DI technically: I went here a few times for games. For a pre-season tournament, I may have gotten a drink. I stopped doing that for all other games, as I felt the sugary drinks could harm my trumpet. The school cafeteria also hosted the year-end countywide academic dinner. I was invited my freshman and senior years. I didn't eat either time, but I did receive trophies, even though the one for my freshman year had the wrong topper and had to be changed.]

Finally, my mom mentioned that Prestonsburg had a Burger King around the time I was born, but I think she is mistaken. It is more likely to have been a Burger Queen that got updated to a Druthers by the 80s. While I don't think I ever ate there, my mom may have gotten some collectable glasses instead. I might even have one or two still. I think the Druthers may have become Hardee's instead of a DQ, since the town already had one, but I may be mistaken.

    Pikeville:  When I was very young, my mom took me to a place called the Lantern Restaurant. There, I would paraded around like a celebrity. I may even remember one of those times. The place closed, but the building might now be used by the Happy Day Diner, but I don't remember the locations. Back in the early 90s, there was once a pizza place on the inbound road to Pikeville, just past the flood wall. It was next to a hairdresser I went to a few times. I know my mom got something there once, but I don't think I ever ate there. The place closed after a few years.  The building now holds a leather goods/cobbler shop (owned by the son of the man mentioned in the original Prestongburg entry) and a pet groomer. There was also a loan advance there, but it recently moved to a building across the road. Finally, there may have been a Checkers/Rallys in the north end of town, where Krystal was. For many years, I had an emergency straw I think was from there, but I don't really remember eating there, so I could be wrong. As mentioned earlier, the spot is now a branch back and a used car dealership.

    Coal Run: I'm pretty sure I dropped my mom off at Sam's Hot Dog Stand at Crossroads Plaza. I may have even gotten a drink, but I don't usually eat hot dogs at restaurants. (I only eat beef and the occasional veggie dog. Anything else is suspect when eating out.) There was also KFC there in the 2010s as well, but I never ate there as the downtown spot is way closer to the store. The place closed, and there is now a Japanese steakhouse there instead.

    Williamson/Norton: For Williamson:  I'm pretty sure that the snack place was called Frontier Fruit and Nut Co.  Definitely apt for their products. I still haven't checked on the condition of the local restaurants from the recent floods.  For Norton:  My mom says we went to a restaurant in Pound once. Don't remember it, unless it was the place I thought was in Hazard. Don't know why a relative would go there for a party though if that was the reason. I recently had to go to Norton, and I had to stop at a new place.  Here is its entry.

• [Wendy's, TO, ⭐️:  I had to go to Norton recently on my quest for my missing comic books. (More in a later post.) I went through Knott and Letcher countries, and the roads were still bad from the '22 and '25 floods in spots.  At least I got to see a deer and some buzzards, and a few other animals. My mom needed a restroom break, so she suggested here.  She got her regular, and we then left. I didn't go in, as usual. If I go again, it will be via a different route.]

    Whitesburg/Hazard;  For Whitesburg: I think I dropped my mom off at the Pine Mountain Grill once, but I don't recall why or when. It wasn't for long though. I may have also stopped at the McDonald's once. We were seriously thinking about stopping at Pizza Hut once, on the way back from Norton/Pound, but I can't remember if we went through with the idea. I am unsure about the conditions of all three places, but the Grill is the one most likely to have been unaffected from the floods. As to Hazard, I don't think there is anything to add.

    With that, I finish Part 1.  Come back Monday, or for the regular post on Wednesday, for the conclusion of the errata, and the finale to this series.

My Culinary Odyssey: Afterthoughts

    Last week, I finished going over pretty much every place where I have eaten out at.  This week, I will go over some of the conclusions you may have seen from reading this series, beyond that I eat way too much ketchup and have an almost unhealthy obsession with LJS.  First, you may think I don't like to travel based on how geographically close all the locations are.  That's not the case at all.  I love going to new places, and I am getting tired of going and eating at the same places so much.  It is my mother who is the problem.  For some reason, she insists one going with me everywhere. I mean, she has always been somewhat controlling, keeping me on a short leash even when I didn't need, but she has become fairly demanding. She is the one with variety at times. As such, I frequently have problems trying to convince her into changing up the itinerary. I could give an example or two of how she has reacted and overreacted, but it would take too long and be humiliating. This is also the reason why there are no bars or clubs on my list. By the time I turned twenty-one, I no longer had any close friends. Not even a secondary friend group. Since I am the type of socially awkward person that would need a lot of help in such a new environment, I really needed someone's help, and I had done. A guy doesn't want to go to a bar with his mother, especially not for the first time. So, I have never gone. (I have drank alcohol, though, just not in public and not that often.) Yes, this has extended to late dinners as well, but only slightly. See, I have very sensitive eyes and great night vision.  As long as there isn't a sudden very bright light in front of me, that is. The sudden shift in intensity can distract me for a second. It doesn't really affect my driving, but I still don't like it.

     Next, there are a lot of places I left out, deliberately. I felt that having to buy the food be the main criteria for including, even if I ate for free sometimes. This left out relatives in Floyd, Pike, Letcher, Knott, and Johnson counties, although as the cliché goes, some would make you pay. This left out friends' homes as well.  There were only seven, and all but one of them was in grade school. Short leash; see above. The last one was when I cut school early on the day of my high school graduation. Still a great memory, but no other friends since. No social group or co-workers ever since. 

    I also deliberately excluded other places where food is bought and consumed. I left out almost all grocery stores/supermarkets, even those with dining areas. The majority of food sold isn't made there or meant to be consumed there. While I have had food made on spot, I have never eaten such in store. In fact,  I did include the one time I can remember actually sitting down in one. This is also why I excluded other such businesses, such as bakeries. If they didn't have a dining area, I left it out, even when I bought something there.  Both criteria had to be met for inclusion. Malls are a tricky situation, as most due have seating areas, even if the individual store does not. (I will mention a few of these places in my errata that starts Saturday.  Yes, some mistakes were made.)  I mentioned the few that did meet these requirements. While I could have included some places, I didn't feel like adding over a dozen supermarkets, many just a different store in a chain, to this list. Many places are either closed, no longer have a seating area, or I'm unsure if they ever had seats.

    Finally, if you look over this series, you may get the wrong idea about my eating habits. Just because I eat at many similar places doesn't mean that is the type of food I either make for myself or buy already made, such as frozen. While I might eat at LJS a lot, I don't really fry chicken at home, or even fix french fries. I may have been on a grilled chicken sandwich kick for over a decade, but I rarely made one at home. One of my favorite meals is spaghetti, but I have never eaten it at a restaurant, possibly because I don't want to find out how bad a cook I am.  Or just how it might not come even close to mine. I do make a fair amount of my dinners almost completely from scratch, either by adding my own touches or coming up with variations on a recipe. 

    After I finish the errata, I will go back to my regularly scheduled weekly blogcast on Wednesdays. I've already got a good idea for my next series, but I'll keep it a secret until I'm sure. Be here for the errata starting Saturday.  There's a good chance I'll have to split it into multiple parts.

My Culinary Odyssey: Addenda, Part 2

    It is the second part of the addenda in this special Saturday post. As I have been mentioning since the introduction, here, I have been eating out at a lot of different places.  This part of the addenda highlights a number of spots I've only been to once, particularly in places where I've only ever been to once. Unlike part one from Wednesday, some of these locations I actually had food at. Let's begin this final chapter.

• [Pikeville High School, but not really, see post, ?:  In my senior year of high school, I got to play at the premier 'All A' basketball tournament that winter. While I had to ride with the rest of the band to the game, I got to ride with my mom on the way home. She had gotten a cup of pop for me after the game, but she didn't get it at the game. The most likely place she gotten it would be the Pikeville Super America/Speedway, but it almost could have been from any convenience store between Prestonsburg and Pikeville. The pop was a little flat, but still cold with ice cubes by the time we got to the car, so that clue doesn't help. While the school got hit by the recent flooding, it was only closed a short time before reopening.]
• [Various convenience stores, Fleming-Neon, TO: From the late 70s to the mid-80s, we used to go to Neon frequently. While it was mostly just a stopover on the way to places like Whitesburg or Virginia, sometimes it was just to go there.  Neon did have a small variety of stores for some time. What they didn't have was many places to eat. Usually, we would just not eat or eat at a later destination.  That wasn't always the case. Neon had a dairy bar, but I don't think I ever ate there. One what was probably one of our last trips just to Neon, I had gotten hungry, so we stopped at one mart.  Their fountain machine was down, and I didn't like to just grab a can or bottle. We skipped a second mart, as I didn't like its looks.  I finally got something at one mart at the junction on the way to Isom. On my most recent trip to Norton, where I was looking for some of my missing comic books, I went through Neon. The dairy bar was long since closed.  I'm not sure of the convenience marts, but I am pretty sure at least one had closed. I thought the one on the way to Isom had been closed, but there were vehicles there, meaning at least something was open, if not a convenience store.  {Speaking of fountain drinks, here are some of my favorite flavor options. For Coke only: I skip them.  Don't like any Coke products. For Coke + Dr Pepper: Dr Pepper mixed with water and/or Diet Dr Pepper. For Pepsi only:  Pepsi mixed with some or all of the following: water, Diet Pepsi, splash of Starry/Mountain Dew, splash of root beer.  If Wild Cherry is available, I add it instead and skip the last two. For Pepsi + Dr Pepper, Dr Pepper with some or all of the following: water, Diet Dr Pepper, Pepsi, splash of root beer or Wild Cherry Pepsi. I never add citrus flavors to Dr Pepper. If Dr Pepper flavors are available: Cherry/Vanilla or Cherry. I don't like Cream Soda/vanilla or Strawberry and Cream enough to drink them with most meals. I could go with Blackberry, but I haven't seen that at machines yet. (Strawberry and Cream debuted in machines years before it was in stores.)}]
• Sorghum Festival, West Liberty, I'm not sure if you would call it DI or TO:  Sometime when I was four to six, a distant relative suggested we check in on this. We didn't spend that long there, but I'm sure I ate something. I remember stopping at a Maloney's somewhere on the way back. I also remember seeing the P-burg LJS as if a was flying above it, like an out-of-body experience. As my mom recently reminded me, old US 23 once ran on the top of a mountain, which could explain that view. (Although, I may have had other, real out-of-body experiences later, but that is for a much future post.) We never went back for the Sorghum Festival again. [Side note. Although I work in Pikeville, I have never been to a single Hillbilly Days Festival, although my mom got roped into going a few times by friends. From her descriptions about the sanitary conditions, I wouldn't ever eat anything from there. My picky eating habits haven't changed that much.]
• [Hardee's, Jenkins most likely, TO: On the way back from Virginia, in the late 80s/early 90s, we stopped by this Hardee's drive through because I was getting hungry. They were running a promotion for banana milkshakes, and I got one because I was unsure about their Dr Pepper status. Now, while I may have tried a milk shake before then, this was the first time I can remember eating an entire one and loving it. The strange thing is that even to this day, I rarely think about having them. I haven't eaten one in ten years or more. Maybe I should try one again. I haven't been to that part of Jenkins in years, so I don't know if it is still open. (In fact, I thought this was in Elkhorn City instead, but my mom says Jenkins, so that is what is listed. It does make more sense.)]
• Hardee's, Morehead, DI: During my senior year, I got to go on two field trips. The first was to Morehead State University for a regional meeting of this business club I belonged to. I got roped into competing in a business math challenge without a calculator. Turns out, I was just about the only one without one. I couldn't finish most of the question long hand, so I quit a few minutes before the end. I got to roam the campus until the presentation at the end of the day, but I didn't eat at the cafeteria although we were supposed to. Afterwards, we stopped here. While I didn't buy anything, I did steal some fries from some friends. I later walked to the shopping center where I bought two cassette singles from a record store before stepping into a Walmart. Then we went home. (This was also the trip involving the stop at the P-berg McDs.) I haven't been to Morehead since, so I don't know if anything is still open at the same spots. [Side note 1: I didn't join many clubs in school, so I missed out on a lot of trips. For instance, if I had joined Beta Club my junior year, I would have had the opportunity to go to New York City.  Instead, I joined senior year and got to help with a blood drive. Still a huge regret, even after so long. My mother probably wouldn't have let me go without her as a chaperone anyway.] [Side note 2: Because I commuted, I never had to eat at the cafeteria or student center at any college I attended. Never went to any games. Never any parties. I didn't even get anything from a vending machine. At most, water from the fountain. I missed out on lot.]
• May Lodge Restaurant, Jenny Wiley State Resort Park, DI: My second field trip was at a literary conference here as part of my journalism class. Other students outside of the class went too. Lunch was served here, but I only had some rolls as I didn't like how the food looked. I actually had to show people I had money when they asked why I wasn't eating. Quiet embarrassing. The restaurant has had problems over the years, but it is still open, although it will be closed for remodeling started the September. I have been here at other times. Once, in grade school, all of the Talented and Gifted classes in the county had a picnic at Dewey Lake. While I brought stuff to eat, it didn't feel right eating outside, so I didn't eat anything. Again, the Lodge hosted the dinner for the county's literary magazine my senior year. I was included, and I got a small prize for an essay. There were refreshments, but I don't think I ate anything. Finally, the Lodge hosted my junior prom. I technically didn't go, but I did go. See, I was going stag as most of the girls I was interested in were already seeing someone. This included some of my friends, so I wouldn't cross them. Didn't ask them for help either, as we weren't exactly that close yet. Anyway, I had the tux and was ready to go. The only thing I didn't have was a driver's license. My mom was going to take me. I wouldn't want to be a third wheel with anyone else, not that my mom would allow me to drive with anyone else anyway. So, we got to the Lodge a little too early.  I didn't feel ready to go it yet, so I waited a few minutes. That turned into fifteen minutes. I couldn't go in.  I just didn't feel right. So, I asked to leave, without even trying to leave the car. I just can't be myself around her. Maybe if she wasn't there, I could have gone in, but I don't know. What hurts the most is that I didn't even think about going my senior year, even after I had my license. I hate that.

    I think I should end it here for today.  Come back Wednesday for my regular post where I give my afterthoughts to this entire series.