Two Happy Bellies

Destination - Hannibal, Missouri

Part two of our Saturday involved geocaching our way over to Hannibal, MO. We got there as the rain turned into snow so luckily we found a nice warm lunch in Hannibal at Lulabelle’s. A brothel turned bed and breakfast, the decor definitely tries to call to mind the days of old. We did not get to see any of the rooms, however enjoyed our lunch before going out to explore the town. For some reason we did not snap any photos, however Tracy had a lovely fettucine alfredo with spring peas, while Richard, Ryan, and Aaron all enjoyed sandwiches of some variety. We wouldn't visit the town just to eat there, but did enjoy ourselves since we were visiting.

Other than that, we drove around to several historical sites and tried to stay warm while looking for a few caches. After that, Aaron drove us back to Springfield while everyone ended up napping out on him. The joys of traveling in the RV.

Destination - Springfield, Illinois - Part II

Saturday morning for breakfast Ryan suggested we check out another Springfield hotspot, Charlie Parker’s, for a big breakfast before we headed out on a geocaching adventure to Hannibal, MO. Ryan ordered this monster of a pancake - 16 inches served on a pizza tray.   I ordered the biscuits and gravy.  They may have been voted Best in Town but those folks have never had my mother's biscuits and gravy.    Tracy and Richard both ordered the Strawberry Stuffed French Toast.   This was snapped on the inside of Charlie Parker's.  

I promise this next picture is not a smoke filled restaurant.  My camara lens was still fogged over from being cold outside.  The inside of CP's is decorated in all kinds of 1950's memorabilia like posters, records and product signs.  The weather did not look like it was going to improve much but we were still determined to make the best of it. Willie and Lindy were stuck in the RV while we were inside CP's having breakfast.  They were mad we did not bring them any bacon.

However, once we were on the road they made the best of it and enjoyed each chance to get out and geocache. (Plus we did give them a treat or two.)

Destination - Springfield, Illinois - Part I

2HB took to the road for a heck of a food trip.  Tracy’s brother Ryan moved to Springfield Il a few months back and it was high time to go see him and his dog Willie.  Also accompanying 2HB on this trip were Tracy’s dad Richard and our Pooch, Lindy.  We loaded up the RV, hit the road Friday morning and made our way north for some food adventures and some geocaching.  Here we have Richard as Navigator and Lindy as Copilot.  She is not normally a lap dog but on this trip she wanted to see every mile. 
The further up the road we went the colder and rainier the weather became but it did not dampen our spirits at all.  Ryan had some food adventures planned for us once we got to Springfield but we knew we would have to make some stops along the way.  I decided to consult the Road Foods website to see if anything of particular interest would be in route.  As it turns out not too far from Paducah in the little town of Princeton there are two places known for good BBQ.  For a quick lunch and a tasty BBQ plate Heaton’s was a nice stop to take a break.   All three of us ordered the BBQ plate with two side.  Their BBQ baked beans had a taste as good as any beans from Memphis.  The coleslaw was your standard fare. The potato salad was mustard based and not bad.  The Tater Babies are potato wedges and weren't bad.  However the meat itself (and their sauces) were quite tasty! And the best place to people watch as you enjoy lunch is next to the Valvoline Oil display.  

Back on the road our next stop was Metropolis, Il home of the Superman statue and a quick geocache.  Too bad it was raining and the weather was getting colder.  If any of our readers ever make it to this location, if you look to the right of the Superman statue, back by the tree in the corner of the building, you will find a geocache there: (GC1VMDJ).

 
Friday night in Springfield Ryan took us to Barrel Head for us to experience Springfield’s culinary oddity – The Horseshoe. Sadly we have no pictures of any of the Horseshoes we ate. However, they come in quite the variety. Restaurants try to stand out via the cheese sauce they use and at Barrel Head it was a cheddar type sauce while the ones we ate (the next night) at the Brickhouse Grill & Pub was more of a white cheese (think queso dip) sauce.

Be it a Ham & Turkey & Cheese Horseshoe, a Buffalo Style Chicken Horseshoe, a Hamburger Horseshoe or any of a number of variations, there is a Horseshoe for every Happy Belly. 
   
 
 

Resolution - how'd we do in March?

March was an interesting month. We had family visiting for a couple of weeks so enjoyed a lot of tried and true favorites, and visited several new restaurants. Which means we didn't get through as many recipes from the stack as we might have otherwise. However, it does mean we'll have some lovely things to blog about as we get back into the swing of things!

So - March - how'd we do?

I'm back feeling like Step One is done! Step Two is still a work in progress as I'm trying to transfer the recipes that don't fit size wise in the file to cards that will fit. Step Three is definitely done! Step Four has had a first pass completed, the type of dish. I still want to separate by main ingredient before filing. And Step Five is also being accomplished, we are trying at least two new recipes a month. However Step Six? Well I haven't been quite so good on the blogging front lately so I'm a bit behind. We will get caught up though!