Mills River Restaurant – Horse Shoe, NC (near Asheville)

Great Restaurant!! Fantastic Food.

I love this place. The CurbCrusher family first went here about five years ago when we were in Asheville to visit the Biltmore. We stayed out near the airport where Airport Road and I-26 meet. When we asked where the closest place to eat was, the desk clerk gave us directions to the Mills River Restaurant. Since then I’ve had a couple of occasions to travel to Asheville on business. Since I stay near the airport, it is convenient to drive the 4 miles down to eat.

This is home style cooking, and hospitality. Just about every time I’ve eaten there, there’s been one or more regular customers that are carrying on with the entire staff. Tonight it was an older man. They were training three or four new service staff. All the veteran staff were bringing their trainees by and introducing them to “Mr. Henry” and talking to him about how his week had been going.

I enjoyed the Country Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy. Served with mashed potatoes (freshly made, with chunks of the ‘taters in them) and gravy, and the salad bar. Top it off with an excellent sweet tea and this was a five star meal. Like any good down home cooking place, they have chocolate layer cake, so of course I finished off the meal with desert. The entire meal was $12.32, plus a tip. A great value.
Mills Creek Restaurant is located at the corner of NC 191 and NC 280, 4201 Haywood Road. Horse Shoe, NC 28742.

Hampton Inn Convention Center, Washington DC

When I created this blog, I knew I’d describe some camping experiences and talk about traveling in the RV. I initially thought I’d include eating reviews from places that I eat around the country when traveling, but then realized that a lot of those places are hotels or chain establishments. I decided that I didn’t want to review chains, so I haven’t written that much about hotels or restaurants. But looking back, it seems that most hotels are chains, and occasionally they are worthy of review.

For the trip to DC, we are staying at the Hampton Inn – Convention Center. This hotel gets the nod for a few reasons. First it is only about a block and a half from the Convention Center, which is where I needed to spend part of the day Saturday and all day Sunday thru Tuesday. Second, the rate for a “King Suite w/Sofabed” was the same as the standard hotel room at the conference hotel. Thirdly, there is free breakfast each day. While I get breakfast at the conference, Lady CurbCrusher and Little CurbCrusher need to eat. Finally, free Internet.

Our experience at the hotel got off to a rocky start. Upon arriving and checking in, we went up to our room which was standard King Room. Note the guy at the desk did not reduce my rate or even say anything, he just downgraded my room without a nod. This required a trip back down to the front desk, where the other clerk moved us to the appropriate room. This was followed by two other issues with the room. The first being that the in room safe did not work (it needed a new battery) and on the second day of our stay, the toilet started running and would not flush. They took care of both of these quickly though, so I can’t complain too much.

The hotel is conveniently situated at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 6th Street. This is about a block and a half from the Convention Center, and a bout two blocks from the Metro Station at 7th and H Streets. It is in Chinatown, and for the most part it seems like walking on the streets is safe. However, the hotel does seem to be at the edge of a neighborhood in transition. A block away from the Mall, there are dilapidated looking buildings, and people that seem to be just hanging out. But when you exit and walk toward the Mall, things look fresh (new and restored buildings, people moving through with a purpose) and feel safe.

Short version. Nice hotel room, pretty decent service, and good location and good value.

Air and Space Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Sunday was a work day for CurbCrusher. The show started, but the day ended with an event at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles. This is the Air & Space Annex that opened a few years ago. There are some nice unique pieces of aviation history here: There is an SR-71 Blackbird, a Concord and the Shuttle Enterprise. However, having had the privilege of visiting the The Astronaut Hall of Fame in Titusville and the Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola repeatedly, there is also a bit of a let down at the Smithsonian collection.

Washington, DC

We spent a day and a half roaming around before CurbCrusher had to go to work. After returning from Monticello, we returned the rental car at National Airport and took a cab into the Hampton Inn Convention Center hotel. The cab pricing is almost humorus. In DC cabs don’t have meters, instead you are charged based on the “zones” that you cover. So from National to the Convention Center is listed at $13.00. But, there is a $1.50 per person charge for all people over one, a $1.75 airport fee, and another $1.50 for a gas surcharge. That means the cab trip is $19.25 before you tip the guy for a $13.00 cab ride.

Once checked in, we hit the sidewalk. We walked down 7th Street to Pennsylvania Avenue. Made a right and walked to the White House. Some pictures, and then across Constitution Avenue toward the Washington Monument. When we got to the WWII memorial, we looked around it, and the headed down by the reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial. After visiting Abe, we walked over to the Korean War Memorial. Back along the reflecting pool to the Washington Monument. Then on to the Smithsonian Metro stop and trip back up to the Metro station near the hotel.

The next day started out a bit differently. Lady CurbCrusher and Little CurbCrushser packed up and headed out to do some sightseeing, and I headed over to the Convention Center to set up a show booth. After lunch I headed to the Mall and found them around the Washington Monument at the Girl Scout Sing.

We participated in the sing for awhile, then headed off to the other side of the tidal basin to the Jefferson Memorial. We then went back across the bridge, and visited the Holocaust Museum. We were lucky enough to have shown up at around 1530, and were able to get tour tickets for 1615. That pretty much took up the rest of the day.

Dave’s Deli and Cafe

Well, once we finished with Monticello, we had to head back to Washington, D.C. Two reasons: One was that starting Saturday CurbCrusher needed to do some work; Two, on Saturday Mrs. CurbCrusher and Little CurbCrusher are attending the Girl Scout Still Singing After All These Years event. We left Monticello and headed north on VA-20 toward the town of Orange. In Orange we took the “Business 20” route through downtown and stopped to eat.

Around the corner from the visitor’s center (a converted train station) is a old building with a sign hanging outside that says “Dave’s Deli and Cafe.” From the outside you would expect an old looking establishment once you got in, but the inside was fresh and clean. They server sweet tea, which is an automatic one-star increase in the establishment rating in my book. We all ate sandwiches. A grilled cheese for Little CurbCrusher, a turkey for Lady CurbCrusher and a shaved cheesesteak for me. Throw in a side of onion rings, and you have the makings of a good meal.

Two sort of homey things that happened while we were there. First was a group of three people came in after us and sat down. We had just received our drinks, and the waitress took their drink order and then came back in a minute or two. “I’m sorry, we’re out of ice. So it will be a couple of minutes until I can get your drinks, since he (points at guy leaving through the front door) needs to go get some.” About five minutes later the guy came walking back in carrying a couple of bags of ice. Then when taking their orders, these poor folks had to change their order a couple of times. “We’re out of tuna salad.” When they changed to chicken salad they heard the same thing.

All in all Dave’s, located at (or around) 113 E. Main Street in Orange, Virginia is a worthwhile place to stop if you find yourself driving out in this part of the country. Considering that James Madison’s house Montpelier is located about five miles away, you just might.

Monticello

Day two (and the final day) of visiting the houses of the Founding Fathers. Today was Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. We woke up in Charlottesville, Virginia at a Hampton Inn and took advantage of the free breakfast. Then checked out and made about a 20 minutes drive out to Monticello.

You approach Monticello on a climbing road that eventually has a turn that takes you across a stone bridge to a shady parking area. You purchase your tickets ($15 adults, $6 children (6-11)) and then you can board a shuttle to the top of the hill where the mansion and gardens are. The tickets contain a time that you will be touring the house. For those that are very organized, you can purchase your tickets for a specific time online. We arrived around 0845 and our tickets were for 0910. By the time we rode the shuttle to the top, made a pit stop and looked around for a minute or two, it was time to go through the house.

The house tour took about 30 minutes, and leads you through most all the rooms on the ground floor of the house. The most interesting rooms are the entry parlor, and then the combination of the book room, the office and Jefferson’s bedroom. The entry parlor has an assortment of stuff hanging from the walls. There are antlers that Lewis and Clark sent back from their expedition, maps, rugs and other assorted items would allow someone stuck here to stay busy for quite some time examining the items. And that was apparently the purpose of the room. According to the guide, numerous people would come to visit Jefferson without and appointment. They might wait three to four hours in this room to see him, so he decorated the room so that they could stay busy.

The book room, office and bedroom are all connected along one side of the house. The book room is floor to ceiling shelves and filled with books. Currently a small number of them are the ones that actually belonged to Jefferson, but the titles on the shelves are the ones he had on the shelves based on inventories that are available. Considering what it took to publish a book in the 1700s it is an impressive collection. The office has a collection of items, surveying and navigation tools, a telescope, writing tools and so forth. The office and the bedroom are connected by a door and the bed. Jefferson’s bed actually sits in an alcove that joins the office and the bedroom. If he got up on one side of the bed he would be in the office, on the other he would be in the bedroom.

After the House tour, we walked over and took the Plantation Life tour, which was oriented around the life of slaves at Monticello. This was about a 40 minute tour that involved walking along “Mulberry Row” which was about a quarter-mile path located between the house and the gardens where there were slave quarters, blacksmith shop, carpentry shop, stables and the other functions that were necessary to keep the plantation running. One interesting contrast in Jefferson and Washington. While both apparently came to disapprove of slavery, upon their deaths their actions were quite different. Washington freed all his slaves upon his death, and left stipends for some of the older ones to support them in their old age. Jefferson freed only five of his slaves upon his death, in at least one case (per the stories told by the guide) breaking up a family by freeing the husband, but not the wife and children.
We finished our visit to Monticello by walking around the gardens a bit, then down to Jefferson’s burial place. There is then a trail of about one-third of a mile that is all downhill that takes you to the parking area.

Mount Vernon

Well today began a two day whirlwind of tours of former President’s homes. Not in the RV, but we flew up to National Airport this morning, visited the Budget lot, and made our way to Mt. Vernon. This is the home of our first President and Father of the country: George Washington.

It was the first time the Little CurbCrusher has visited Mt. Vernon. Lady CurbCrusher and I visited back in 95 or 96. There were a number of changes that were evident. First was the big Ford Orientation Center.  There is a new 18 minute movie that discusses the events surrounding the crossing of the Delaware during the Revolutionary War, and an account of his actions at the rout of General Braddock’s force in the French-Indian war in 1755.

We followed this with a walk around the grounds. Once you view the movie, you are pretty much free to organize the rest of your day at Mt. Vernon. We worked our way around the grounds clockwise, visiting the Upper Gardens, the Greenhouse, the Slave Quarters and a visit with Mrs. Washington. One of the volunteers was playing Mrs. Washington in the Little Theater, and stayed in character as a 1780’s individual throughout the visit. At this point we we just about to the Mansion, and the line to get in was all the way back to the end of the Bowling Green. So we skipped and went on a looked at the Stables, the Original and New Tombs and the Pioneer Farm. When we got back after taking the Forest Trail about an hour of so later the line was practically gone. Part of the reason was that there were a number of school groups on the grounds that were trying to get everything done in time to go home. By waiting until after lunch, we were able to miss the congestion they caused at the Mansion.

We finished the trip with a visit to the new Musuem. The Musuem houses a number of artifacts that were used by the Washington’s at Mt. Vernon. In addition there is a clay bust of Washington, along with a video of how the bust was made
We left Mt. Vernon headed for Charlottesville so we could visit Monticello tomorrow. There is not anything pleasant to say about driving the 90 some miles from Mt. Vernon to Charlottesville. The drive took about three hours. The first half of the trip was the 30 miles on I-95 down to Fredricksburg. It was between 3 and 4 in the afternoon, and it was bumper to bumper averaging about 30 miles an hour. As we approached Charlottesville on US29 from North a little after 5 PM, the traffic headed north on US29 was backed up for miles. I’m definitely glad I’m just visiting.

Hillsborough River State Park

Well, took the Itasca on the road for the second weekend in a row. This time about a 90 mile trip from the house to Hillsborough River State Park near Tampa. This park is located around 10 miles from LazyDays RV showroom, as a matter of fact if you’re traveling to the park via I-4, you take Exit 10, the LazyDays exit, and continue west until the road dead ends into US 301. Head north on 301 to the park entrance.

There are over 100 campsites in the campground, split into two loops, one next to the river. There are a couple of pull throughs in each loop, but most of the sites are back-in sites. There is electricity and water. A single dump station serves the entire park. When you enter the park, you are about a half a mile from the campground, but since the park is served by a single road that is one way and about 2 and half miles, you are about 2 miles from the campground. You turn away from the campground and pass through the parking lots that are associated with the park’s features.

Parking Lot #1 is where you park to take the tour to Ft. Foster. This is a wooden fort that is located across 301 from the park. Parking Lot #2 is near the river rapids. Parking Lot #3 is near the suspension bridge and Parking Lot #4 is next to the pool.

The site we were in was a large pull through in the Hammock Circle loop. There is no river in this loop, but the sites are shady and there is a playground (slide and swings) in the middle of the loop along with a bathhouse. This trip was one made with the Florida Pop-up Camper (FPUC) group. We arrived and got set up by about 1PM on Friday.

After having some lunch, we took advantage of the ranger led canoe trip that takes place every Friday at 2PM. You can call the park and make reservations (suggested), and then show up at 2PM at the concession stand. Our Ranger was Patrick, and there were eight other people on the trip beside the CurbCrusher family. Patrick carried out a safety briefing, issued everyone life jackets and paddles, and we wandered across the parking lot to the canoes. At the river’s edge, Patrick inquired as to everyone’s canoe experience. Canoe 1 had a “veteran” canoer and park volunteer along with a lady that was going to start volunteering at the park the next week. Canoe 2 had a woman and her adult son who had canoed before. Canoe 3 had Grandma, Ma, baby and teenage brother. Canoe 4 was the CurbCrusher family. We all mounted our canoes and pushed off. The first thing Mrs. CurbCrusher notices is the smell of cigarette smoke. We turn around and there is Mr. park volunteer puffing away. Mr. park volunteer then navigates his canoe in front of us and starts a running commentary on the fauna of the park. He points to a Bald Cypress tree and loudly announces that it is a “Cypress Oak.” Mrs. CurbCrusher asked for a clarification and he repeated “Cypress Oak” again. There apparently is such as thing as the “Cypress Oak“, but it is a cultivated tree, not one found on the river banks of south central Florida. We drifted down the river for about an hour, and then turned back. Your trip length will vary depending on the skills of group you are with. In our group, Canoe 3 dictated our speed as they were beginners and navigated the river by going from one side to the other.

Saturday involved some time at the pool. The was short though, as the pool was pretty cold. Little Curb Crusher was shivering after about 20 minutes in the pool, and never seemed to get warm enough to go back in. Both Saturday and Sunday were great lazy camping days, as we visited with friends from the FPUC group and took long walks and bike rides.

Pictures from the trip are here. 

Beefy King

Location: Bumby near Livingston, across from the Colonial Plaza, Orlando, Florida

Rating: Good!

Visited: 5/22/07

Its been a while since I grabbed lunch at Beefy King, and I had almost forgotten about it. Due to circumstances at the office, an emergency trip to Staples was in order around lunch time. As we left the office somone asked, is there anyplace to eat around Staples. I thought for a second a then said “I know the perfect place.”

Beefy King is one of the last of a breed, a local fast food place. It’s not a chain, it’s just a family place that was started in the late 60’s and is still around. They server a “sliced meat” menu, beef, ham, turkey from a steam table where they make the sandwiches. For sides the standard is Tater Tots, but you can get onion rings also. They also make shakes here, if you get a flavored shake (chocolate, strawberry) they actually mix the thing up for you instead of just drawing it out of a machine. You get a fair size serving for the price, and it is tasty.
The place has character, its probably been a while since it was re-decorated, but it doesn’t need it. It is a timeless look that invites you to feel comfortable while you enjoy lunch. It definitely beats the chain fast food places in charm and quality of food. If you find yourself a little east of downtown Orlando around lunch, find Beefy King and have a sandwich.

Turkey Lake Park

Or as it is officially named: The Bill Frederick Park and Pool at Turkey Lake. This is a city park located on the west side of Orlando, about 4 or 5 miles from Universal Studios. If you’re traveling north on the Turnpike, you can see the lake and the park off to the right after you go past the Turkey Lake Service Plaza.

This is a great little park with about 35 RV camping sites. The sites are concrete pads, and most are fairly shady. The city has a 30 day limit on camping, but even so there were a couple of “permanent” looking rigs there. The kind where people have so much stuff built around the rig (screen rooms, shade tents, boats, golf carts, mules, etc) that it looks like they are there permanently. Of the sites, there are about 18 that are full hook up with 50 amp service. The others offer water and electricity. There is a separate tent area closer to the cabins and the turnpike.

This is a city park, so there is a huge playground for kids. In addition, there is a fairly large pool, and a disc golf course. There is a “kids farm” on one side of the park. They are particular about telling you this is not a “petting farm.” There’s a stable with a couple of horses, a cow, a few chickens some goats and a hog in the farm. In addition, there are a number of pavilions that are close to the pool and playground. On both of our visits to this park, Saturday has been a busy day at the pavilions with catered parties and other activities.

I like the nature trail that puts you right along the Turnpike. I don’t know why, but I like walking along the trail looking at all the people driving by. Since there are two disc golf courses in the park, there is a lot of open area along the lake front. We found a couple of cool trees to climb, and had lunch in the shade of a huge live oak on Saturday. Sitting around the campground, we met three of our neighbors. Two retired judges, one working in Orlando for the week, and the other breaking in his new motor home. The other guy was a movie guy that was working over at Universal Studios and had found the park by accident. He was very happy with the park, as he only had about a five-ten minute commute to the sound stages.

Our pictures of the trip are here.