Anything that needs to be smothered in butter or cheese or sugar to be edible doesn't sound worth eating!

I've never had a problem ordering a child's meal anywhere. Why should they care really? You could have said, never mind, I'll go somewhere else thank-you and then they would have lost your business altogether.

True Jen, but I'm a drama queen always on the lookout for a good story

Put me down as one Northerner who LOVES grits. And I eat it plain when I get some. Which is only when I'm down south, of course, so they're a treat. But then I like cream of wheat and oatmeal too, usually with a little milk on those.

Loved the travelogue, jillegal.

that's EXACTLY the shirt we saw someone wearing in chicago!!!!!

ok.. and more.. toad suck park??? big bone lick??? see why i only rarely go south of the mason dixon line???? <n'awlins excluded of course> oh and texas [san antonio] PAVED a river with concrete.. so i'm doubting the sanity of folks down there..

and anagram. it is possible to buy regular and instant grits in my local grocery store. not that i WOULD. but it IS possible...

I've seen them in some stores here, too, Jif. But then there'd be no mystique - they'd be NORTHERN grits. I just like them served up to me in a southern restaurant. They're probably not even the best grits in the world but don't anybody tell me that. I'll just eat my oatmeal above the M-D line and relish my grits below.

Ohh, I love Big Bone Lick park - we stopped there when my husband and I went down south to meet the in-laws - in Mississippi - we talking the SOUTH! I bought a worry stone, so my husband could try to calm down. I got nervous when I took him to meet my folks.

For all you ladies with dirty minds - Big Bone Lick was an Indian site where game came to lick salt, which was also one of the richest open fossil beds in the eastern United States. The first bones of the Jeffersonian mammoth were sent to Thomas Jefferson from Big Bone Lick - and it's said that the deposit was one of the reasons that Jefferson made the Louisiana purchase. Since the Jeffersonian mammoth was the largest elephant species ever found (all larger mammals were related to rhinoceroses), it makes sense that it would be named for the big bones!
So many bones were collected there that the park now has no original bones, and is only a diarama. However, the gift shop sells Sieverware pottery that we now collect, we bought our first piece in the gift shop.

Sorry. hope I didn't bore anyone

Sue - a paleontology and history geek

I live right next to Toad Suck, AR. We have a Toad Suck Daze festival every year. There's games, rides, lots of food, and of course, toad jumping races!! It's great fun and people come from all over the state to attend.

Beverly

Halfway through the story I KNEW it was Denny's. You don't go to Denny's b/c you want a healthy breakfast, you go there b/c the bars have closed & you want pancakes.

SAPF--

While we were in VA, we went to one and waited and waited and waited. Finally got a table, and waited some more. Then we ordered and waited again. After 1.5 hours from entering the building, we left without breakfast (although we did get coffee, thank goodness!) because we had an appointment we had to keep. So I'm not too thrilled about Denny's either.

That sure sounds like my experiences with various Denny's in recent years though we usually get up and leave long before you did, Sheila. I can remember (long ago) when it was a pleasant experience but recently have run into only two I'd recommend - one in Port Orange, FL and one in South Daytona Beach, FL. Our local one is very close but I no longer even try - and would you believe my neighbor says she's never had a problem there? And we have a long horrendous story about one in SC when we were travelling one New Year's Day.

Update!

I haven't heard back from Denny's but I did get a response from Tim Hortons to my request for a fat-free, sugar-free "Iced Cappuccino" - which, I admit, I figured was an exercise in futility

The letter started off thanking me for my interest and assuring me that they strive to maintain the quality of their products .... I got the response by snail mail with a booklet entitled "Nutritional Guide" revealing the calories, fat grams, protein, carbs, sodium, potassium and fibre content of every item on the memo (kudos). PLUS, I got a $10 gift voucher!

A 10oz. Iced Capp (made with cream) is 230 calories and 11g fat. Actually, as bad as that is, I thought it'd be worse. The letter informed that although they had no plans to create a ff, sf version, did I know that I could request one made with 2% milk (I had no idea!). The difference is impressive, calories drop to 150 and fat to 1.5g. Heck, I'd have no problem spending 3 Weight Watcher points on such a cold, creamy delicious treat (I've been craving a Timmy's Iced Cap since the first hint of summer!)

A few surprises:

A carrot whole wheat muffin has 440 calories, 23 gr fat and 52 carbs - the 4g fibre helps a bit...but WOW! Compare that to a cherry cheese danish at 320 calories and 14g fat or a Boston Cream donut at 220 calories and 5g fat. Even the low-fat blueberry muffin is 300 calories (2g. fat) and 66 carbs! (Not that I'm saying the danish and donut would have greater nutritional value than the muffin. Also, personally, I'm not prepared to use that many WW points on ANY of those items, but I guess the point I'm making is sometimes when you're in a rush and need a quick breakfast or lunch you might think a small carton of skim milk and a low-fat muffin is a decent choice, when it's rather horrendous).

The soups have good numbers, such as Vegetable Beef Barley at 110 cal. 2g fat and 2g fibre (2 WW points); likewise the chili (and I LOVE Timmy's hearty and filling chili - 244 cal., 9g fat and 3g fibre (5 WW points).

So, I'm going to Timmys today to pick up a bowl of chili and a 2% Iced Capp for dessert (total 8 WW point lunch or dinner). I'll have enough money left over from my gift certificate to bring home my sweetie his large "double, double" and blueberry fritter - there'll be no jealousy on my part since I'll be sipping on my "Capp"...ahhhhhhh

Good info on Tim Horton's! I shall keep that in mind when I'm desperately hungry at 2am, heh. As for all this chatter about Denny's and "grits", whats wrong with me?? I've never set foot in a Denny's in my whole life, and have only heard about grits on TV, I feel so uncultured! Not only that, but I heard a mention of Perkins, and I haven't seen that place since I did the big move from Manitoba to BC. I remember driving by a Perkins at age 15 and thinking it was pretty trashy... I've made myself fat with high quality fatty foods, heh. Infact, I think I was 21 before I'd been to Burger King, or Wendy's. Crazy, eh? The small town in BC that I moved to at age 15 had A&W (which I've always disliked, something about getting food poisoning at age 12), and Subway, and that was it for fast food.

Thanks Jill for this info again!

I'm still in shock over the Boston Cream... And I will most likely be going for a 2% Iced Capp this week! Yummy!