Up until this point, I have been following a geographical model in arranging each place I have eaten out at, as I first mentioned in the introduction to this series (find it here). However, that changes this week. While previous posts covered multiple stops in a place, or in two places that only had a few stops, today's posts starts the coverage of all the places where I only visited one stop, sometimes just the one instance. This first part covers a lot of schools, dairy bars, and convenience marts. Part two should have a little more variety. To make up for this, I will cover more of the backstory into each entry. Let's begin.
- [McDowell Elementary School/High School, TO, kind of: When I was in seventh grade, my Talented and Gifted class got to go to this school (I'm not sure which one was the actual host, as the show took place in the shared gym.) to watch a special show. After lunch, which I brought my own, we got a special lesson in various acting techniques. This included some lessons in juggling. I only ever got to two balls. (My grandmother would later take and hide the rubber balls from me, thinking I would break things. She was always doing such mean things.) Just before we left, we got to visit their concessions stand, which had a much larger variety of products compared to what was offered a my school. I bummed some change off of someone to try some frozen treat. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish it before getting on the bus to leave, and I had to throw most of it away. I repaid the girl back the next day. Both schools would ultimately close and be consolidated in a story too complicated to repeat here. I believe currently stand empty, but I may be wrong.]
- [Allen Central High School, unknown: I went here on two separate occasions. The first was my junior year when my American history class went to a panel of government and politics. I don't remember if anything was served, but I doubt I had anything. The second time was for a tournament my senior year. I don't remember getting any concessions that night either, but it was possible. Again, the school was closed and consolidated with another to a new one that was barely two minutes away from here, but fifteen minutes away from the other school. I think the county board of education currently uses the buildings.]
- [Tiger Mart, between Prestonsburg and Paintsville, TO: Okay, it's in city limits, but it is not really near anything, so I'm calling it separate. I stopped here a few times on my way back from trips to the Huntington Mall, back when I still had lunch early instead of afterwards. I think my mom found out that the Mart had a Pepsi slush machine, and I wanted to try it. On the third time or so, the machine was broken, so I had to get a regular fountain drink. We stopped going entirely after we started having lunch after shopping. Plus, I got unfriendly vibes from the place, which is still open, but I have no idea about the slush machine.]
- [Unknown convenience mart, Van Lear: Don't remember the name. We tried stopping here one on the way back from Huntington, but we wound up not getting anything. I think we were looking for pizza or something, but the wait time would be too long. It probably is still open, but I have no idea if it is under the same brand.]
- [Unknown convenience mart, Allen, later Double Kwik, unsure?: We used to go to Allen for a number of reasons when I was a kid. I may have stopped in at least one place here. Later, one mart got a Burger King installed. I thought my mom picked something up from here to bring to my store in Pikeville back when there wasn't one in Coal Run, but she says it was somewhere else (see later entry). Anyway, the BK would close, and the mart would become a Double Kwik, if it wasn't already. That one would be torn down, so a larger one could be built on the site.]
- [Betsy Layne High School Gym (The Dome), unknown: Sophomore year. We played here a number of times for a tournament. At least one of those days, I may have had something from the concessions stand. Don't remember. Never visited the current high school. The Dome was hit bad by the recent flooding in February, but I don't know if it currently used for anything.]
- [Unknown convenience mart, Harold, unknown: At least once, we stopped at a convenience mart at the Harold junction with Mud Creek. Don't remember if we got anything, but it is possible. This was maybe late 90s, so I'm unsure if it is still the same brand now as it was then.]
- [Virgie Dairy Bar, now Double Kwik, TO: When I was a little kid, we would sometimes stop here for a cone that I would eat on the short ride back home. Sometimes I would even finish eating it in time without getting sick. It wasn't that often. The bar would close, and be torn down to put up a Double Kwik. That would later burn down, only to be rebuilt. It is currently my primary gas stop. While I have never gotten anything made here, my mom has gotten free drinks on occasion. Mostly Coke, but sometimes coffee.]
- [Shelbiana Dairy Bar, TO?: This dairy bar was attached to a restaurant, which I was only recently reminded of. Anyway, I stopped here once or twice after The Virgie place closed. One time, the machine was down, and we had to wait a long time before it could work. My mom and I went into the grocery store next door. They also had a book store, Book Nook. It was mostly mass market paperbacks, magazines, and comic books, although they had a smattering of other books. It was here that I bought my first ever issue of Games Magazine. {I still get the current version of the magazine to this day.} I continued to stop at the Book Nook, and even bought some groceries on occasion, until the store closed. The dairy bar also closed, although the restaurant may have continued a while longer. Other businesses would open at both spots, but they all closed when the buildings were torn down for the Shelbiana Food City and the liquor store beside it.]
- [BP convenience mart, outskirts of Pikeville, TO?: {Yes, it was well within city limits. However, I wanted to start the Pikeville section with LJS, so I skipped it until now. I barely consider anything that far south to be in Pikeville anyway.} So, this mart had both a Baskin Robbins and a Burger King attached to its traditional convenience mart. This is where my mom supposedly stopped when I thought she got BK at Allen. I only stopped in once, on the way out of town. A downpour had set up, and we had to get off the road here. By that time, I think both the BR and the BK had closed. Turns out, the mart was getting ready to shut down too. The building was torn down. It took years for other businesses to go into the very large lot. There's still some of the lot empty, even after three places came in.]
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