So, right. There was Asheville. It was cold in Asheville... very very cold, but we had a great little salad at a place named Todd's Tasties (unfortunately so) and we were fed hippy food mostly with weed in it.
... Then it was time to hit the road.
Up over the Great Smoky Mountains we went (the Great Smoky Mountain National Park by the way is - and always will be - free... it's written into the initial land transfer. Just an interesting little factoid for you). On our way to Nashville we hit Dollywood (eek!), Gatlinburg (double eek!), and the Grand Ole Opry... all of which were closed for the season. OK... Gatlinburg obviously doesn't "close" but I either blocked it out from the trauma or I was still stoned from the hippy food. Your guess is as good as mine.
Anyway... my most interesting food related observation from this leg of the trip was the reminder about boiled peanuts...
There are roadside stands hawking them all over the place.
If you haven't had boiled peanuts you are missing out... and what you are missing out on is a great story to tell your friends about how there is a food in the south that is less appealing then eating cardboard that was wrapped in bark and then boiled in unflavored toilet water.
They taste exactly like you would imagine... like a hot, soggy bean.
Those southerners never cease to amaze me. First that war thingy... and then this. Cray-zee.
