Asheville to NJ

I'm home. In eight days I drove 2, 258 and this Jersey Girl has pumped A LOT of gas!

The return trip took me just under 12 hours door to door, including a quick stop to pick up dinner. Each leg of the ride from Asheville to NJ was smooth and pleasant. Highway 26W out of North Carolina cuts through the mountains and for a long stretch I shared the road with a single truck. Then 81N to 78E. The only place there was traffic was on the GSP for a brief stretch. All the way home, I listened to Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, which was completely engrossing and read aloud beautifully.

In the early part of my drive, 81 crossed through Tennessee. At a convenient spot, I pulled off for gas. Next to the station was a Kozy Kitchen and I decided to get an egg sandwich to keep me going. It was about 9:30 and guys were sitting on the porch. They said good morning and looked at me, clearly an out-of-towner. Inside the restaurant, there were steam trays on the left and a large, bright dining room. An older gentleman behind the counter smiled.
 

"What can I get you?"

"I'd like an egg sandwich."

"On toast?"
"Do you have a roll?"
"No. How about a croissant?"

"Are your biscuits homemade?" I realized this was a ridiculous question to ask in Tennessee. He just smiled patiently.
"I'll have the egg on a biscuit."

He wrote a ticket and said, "That'll be 98 cents."

In the meantime, a clean-shaven young guy walked in. He was wearing a white tee shirt, jeans, a small tattoo, and a tight face. He asked for three pieces of bacon on a biscuit. His bill was $2.19. The bacon looked good.

"Could you put a piece of bacon on that egg sandwich?" I asked a waitress behind the counter.
Then I asked the gentleman the new price so I could pay. He replied, "I'll catch you next time."

The waitress who was wrapping my egg sandwich in red and white checked wax paper shouted, "Do you want salt and pepper with that dar-lin?"

"Yes, please."

I turned to the gentleman to pay, but he just grinned largely and waved his hand. Didn't say a word, just shooed me away.

In the car, before I even pulled back onto the highway, I ate the egg and bacon on a biscuit. You could win someone's heart with that food.

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