For as long as I have been traveling(Almost 50 years), whenever I can find one, Waffle House is breakfast.  It's fun sitting at the counter watching the cook and chatting with the locals.  For some weird reason, it says I'm in the best parts of the southern U.S.

Anyone else a fan of that place?  What are some others you look for when you're on the road?  I know that Canucks have a thing for Tim Horton's(Double Double).

After the jug band I was in finished up playing a Halloween gig at Thomas Bruce Reese's notorious Beaux Arts Gallery in Pinellas Park, Florida back in 1968, we went for chow at the Waffle House on Rt 41 after midnight still in costume. Our costumes were white shirts, neckties, sport coats, dress shoes, pork pie hats, boxer briefs, and no trousers. The hostess greeted us with a sweet cracker palmetto-and-pine twang—Well, aren’t you some handsome boys!—then without hesitation paraded us right past the pony wall separating the dining room from the entrance and straight away to a large table in the center of the room. We receive an enthusiastic ovation from the diners, too, best one of the night, in fact.

I’m a dedicated customer!

Southern Hospitality on steroids!

I shall break fast at the first Waffle House I come across once I'm in the deep south next weekend! I wonder if they know how hot black breakfast tea is properly served....Prolly with a slice of lemon. 

Two Wheels Better wrote:I wonder if they know how hot black breakfast tea is properly served....Prolly with a slice of lemon.

They know how. It's served with ice in it and a tablespoon or two of Dixie Crystals.

Laitch wrote:

Two Wheels Better wrote:I wonder if they know how hot black breakfast tea is properly served....Prolly with a slice of lemon.

They know how. It's served with ice in it and a tablespoon or two of Dixie Crystals.

LOL!

Never saw a Waffle House in the twelve months I spent in the Mid West and Deep South. I'm still proud of the fact that I managed to avoid going anywhere near a Maccas for three months, until a wreck on the Daniel Boone Parkway forced us into the nearest fast food refuge while we waited for the road to be cleared. It had to be a MacDonalds, didn't it?  

Talking about tea; to my utter astonishment Starbucks now do both a half-reasonable English Breakfast Tea and a passable Delhi-style Massala Chai. It tastes very different up in the Himalayas.

Laitch wrote:

Two Wheels Better wrote:I wonder if they know how hot black breakfast tea is properly served....Prolly with a slice of lemon.

They know how. It's served with ice in it and a tablespoon or two of Dixie Crystals.

Well, ain't that nice. That'd be almost perfect with Lipton.
 

Dai wrote:Never saw a Waffle House in the twelve months I spent in the Mid West and Deep South. I'm still proud of the fact that I managed to avoid going anywhere near a Maccas for three months, until a wreck on the Daniel Boone Parkway forced us into the nearest fast food refuge while we waited for the road to be cleared. It had to be a MacDonalds, didn't it?  

Talking about tea; to my utter astonishment Starbucks now do both a half-reasonable English Breakfast Tea and a passable Delhi-style Massala Chai. It tastes very different up in the Himalayas.

Surprised you didn't spot their tidy yellow box of a restaurant if in any of these states:

• Alabama – 153.
  
  
• Arizona – 15.
  
  
• Arkansas – 46.
  
  
• Colorado – 10.
  
  
• Delaware – 3.
  
  
• Florida – 184.
  
  
• Georgia – 434.
  
  
• Illinois – 2.
  
  

I obviously did a really good job of not looking in FL, AL and AZ!! Although on checking Orlando, it looks like I got within a mile of two of them.

Dai wrote:Talking about tea; to my utter astonishment Starbucks now do both a half-reasonable English Breakfast Tea and a passable Delhi-style Massala Chai. It tastes very different up in the Himalayas.

It might taste better in the Himalayas if they used NI Water water.

Two Wheels Better wrote:Well, ain't that nice. That'd be almost perfect with Lipton.
 

Salada.

Red Rose Tea for me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-918OMwCx6w

No name tea, but it sure is good with a splash of milk, no sugar.

...And those fine coastal Biloxi ladies, with their honey-smooth drawl, bumping their ample backsides in the narrow, busy kitchen, make a delish brekky, too.

Driving 2300 miles from Washington state rain & 42°F to snow in Wyoming at 10°F to Ocean Springs, Mississippi at 76°F, calm & sunny. It's alright.

Have some grits for me. 

Waffle House grits and butter.  Mmmm... wish I could make them like that at home. 

Gonna have to get south when the weather warms up.

Two Wheels Better wrote:Driving 2300 miles from Washington state rain & 42°F to snow in Wyoming at 10°F to Ocean Springs, Mississippi at 76°F, calm & sunny. It's alright.

How long did that take?

I left Tacoma WA last Friday, stopped Twin Falls ID, 655 miles. Next day ID to Loveland CO, 649 miles, two nights stopped there. CO to Balch Springs TX, 850 miles. Next day to Biloxi, 575 miles, arrived Tuesday arvo. Looking at the odometre it's closer to 2,700 miles.

Tonight had a shrimp po' boy with crawfish & shrimp bisque, washed down with unsweetened iced tea - not @ Waffle House.

Grits for brekky.

Tomorrow, Atlanta, <600 miles away. Next day, Barber Motorsports Track & Museum, Birmingham Alabama, <250 miles, then back to Biloxi. Beyond that, visiting Albuquerque again, then Phoenix AZ, to Pasadena CA. Then back to the Pacific North West via California's central valley, the Siskiyous of southern Oregon, to Washington state.

That's not what I'd call 'fun'. My best mate has done a few Ironbutts but the most I've hit in one day was just short of 600 miles. After that - I'd had enough. So it was a good job that the end point was home then!

Dai wrote:That's not what I'd call 'fun'. My best mate has done a few Ironbutts but the most I've hit in one day was just short of 600 miles. After that - I'd had enough. So it was a good job that the end point was home then!

I have to agree with Dia on this. My ironbutt days are way "behind" me. Had a hip replacement about 1.5 years ago and now I guess I  stop for a few every hour or so. Just how it is now. All good though. I enjoy the ride a bit more now. I get where i get now and that's ok.

Ya wanna get lucky on Valentines Day?

https://mailchi.mp/wafflehouse.com/happy-national-waffle-day-boiaiqdtx5-1313718?e=469248fd7a

Nothing like a large order of hash "Browns", "scattered", "country" with sausage gravy to set a romantic mood.

I've done some Iron Butts, including the BunBurner Gold(1500 miles in 24 hours) on my 69th birthday. 

Haven't had a chance in the past couple years to get out, but when I do, I like to do at least 800 mile days between my home in New York and the Rocky Mountains.  That allows me two extra days out west out of a two to three week trip. 

If the first day of a trip is on I-90 and I-80 I will shoot for Nebraska which is a 900+ mile day starting at 6am and hitting the hotel around 9:30pm.  This lets me get into the Rockies anywhere from the Canadian border to northern New Mexico by supper time of my second day.

My K75RT is so comfortable at 80+mph that even with all the aches and pains of my 74 years, the biggest hurdle is the boredom of getting across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.  I never ride with a group because I hate stopping once I get in my "Groove".  A ten minute fuel stop with a quick drink and a granola bar or Slim Jim is all I need to keep rolling.  Of course, I have to start the day with a good breakfast which is why I like the Waffle House so much.

Ah! There you have the advantage with the roads. You'd never manage 900 miles in fifteen hours here - there's not even a motorway/freeway loop you could keep going round endlessly. Even in GB you'd have lost your licence a long time before achieving that figure. It just isn't possible to keep up the necessary constant speed on any of the roads in the UK.

I say nothing new here, but only a reminder that while it's important to have a goal in mind the journey itself is at least half of the reason for the ride. Der Weg ist das Ziel (the German readers might Korrect my improper grammar or mid-sentence capitalisations) 

Sometimes there are fantastic reasons to simply reach a day's end riding or driving goal. Here is one - powered by Waffle Haus!

I took a lotta piccies!

Dai, this illustration sort of shows the difference in what I'm dealing with when I head out west.  Not to denigrate the Great Plains, but the scenery and the roads are a lot more interesting once you get past Nebraska and Kansas. 

I think what really brought home to me the size of the US was flying from Lost Wages to DC via Philly and realising that for the last 5.5 hours I had been staring out of the window at land rolling by below me. That's only just slightly less time than the hop from Dublin to Newark over the big wet bit that I'm more used to staring at.

As in Let's go to the house, meet me at the house...

Waffle House started in GA, hence the numbers.

They only close maybe twice a year.  If they close for weather, look out!  It's bad 

I've seen people in tuxes fistfighting, people ditch their bill and the cook leap onto the bar and pull a .38 from his boot.  Ahh, good times. 

I don't go as often as I used to, but what great memories.  

Maybe I'll take the missus there for Valentine's Day.  Seriously!

Point-Seven-five wrote:
I never ride with a group because I hate stopping once I get in my "Groove".  A ten minute fuel stop with a quick drink and a granola bar or Slim Jim is all I need to keep rolling.  

You have hit the nail on the head there.  

My main limiting factor is having to stop for a leak in the process of keeping myself hydrated. If I need a break I try to stop at a random rest stop between towns.

Two Wheels Better wrote:Next day, Barber Motorsports Track & Museum, Birmingham Alabama

I'm 1.5 h south of Barber in Auburn, AL.  I like riding up there because when I'm done, my bike is cleaned out (carbon buildup) and runs like a scalded dog...

I'm gonna have to put a WH visit on my 2023 bucket list.

The nearest one to me is in Fort Collins, CO.

Duck, that WH in Ft. Collins has my stamp of approval.  I have eaten breakfast in there maybe 10-12 times when visiting my daughter who lives in Ft. Collins. 

Everything is good, but being a bit north and west of the Confederacy, the grits might be as fresh as you might find in more southern locations. 

It's right off of I-25 next to a couple of hotels so it's a convenient place to crash for the night.  Oldtown Ft. Collins and the college is only a mile or so away.

Point-Seven-five wrote:Dai, this illustration sort of shows the difference in what I'm dealing with when I head out west.  Not to denigrate the Great Plains, but the scenery and the roads are a lot more interesting once you get past Nebraska and Kansas. 

 I agree with this! I made the trip from Maryland to Portland and back a few times. I found getting through Nebraska was the key. That is a very long state. Has its own beauty though. I want to head back someday and do some more fishing. Loved it out there.

The entire middle of the continent is a snooze-fest - from Saskatchewan to Texas.

The first couple crossings are interesting, there are some historical spots, but around the 4th or 5th time the only mental entertainment is seeing how many miles I can make before I can't ride anymore. 

Having said that, someday I think it would be cool to spend a couple weeks between the Mississippi and the Rockies from Texas to the Canadian border.  It probably wouldn't be the most interesting trip twisty wise, but there are a lot of historical sites and the people are cool.

In the end, after covering 6,000+ miles, I visited just one Waffle House. That was in Biloxi Mississippi, on the shoreline facing the Gulf of Mexico and the barrier islands. Upon entering the car park there were three local police cruisers parked at random with their blueberries and cherries ablaze. Various patrons were scattered about as the coppers interviewed them. A Ford pickup had its right front bumper buried into the back of a Kia Soul from which two elderly folks emerged and stood calmy as the burly, almost obese driver of the Ford was being restrained by an equally burly cop as the driver attempted to lunge at the Kia driver, shouting obscenities and gesturing with a particular digit of his right hand. 

I enjoyed a hot, breakfast cuppa tea (with milk, no sweetener) and the chicken bowl which consists of a pile of shredded potatoes, two scrambled eggs thrown on top, melting cheese, and ample cubes of chook meat. I added red Tabasco for taste and watched the show outside die down, while the waitstaff chattered about the goings on, seemingly laughing at the actions of the Ford driver. "I thought he was gunna kill him" said one waitress.

No guns were fired in this particular altercation.

AND...

...You didn't have to pay a penny extra for the live episode of COPS. 

Just my luck that all I ever get is a good breakfast that can keep me in the saddle for at least 600 miles.

Point-Seven-five wrote:AND...
...You didn't have to pay a penny extra for the live episode of COPS. 
Just my luck that all I ever get is a good breakfast that can keep me in the saddle for at least 600 miles.

Years ago, when Cops was a thing on cable-ish TV, I was camping at the BMWRA rally in the North Carolina, Fontana Dam, circa 1997. The very same place that Deliverance was filmed back in 1971. The local sheriff decided the rally goers must be a bunch o' bad asses, and so had his deputies do helicopter flyovers of the rally site with the theme from Cops, "Bad boys, bad boys, watcha gunna do when they come for you" blasting loudly from speakers, ala, Apocalypse Now. As well, they were stopping everyone at the gates, coming and going, under the guise of safety and welfare, i.e., searching for guns, drugs, knives, & perhaps whether the rider liked frilly ladies' panties in secret.

That pissed off more than a few law-abiding Beemer riders to no end, some of whom were lawyers themselves. A suit was brought, which garnered some regional media attention. Local new reports over the weeks and months showed a majority of the locals not happy about the abuse the riders copped, especially since they had dropped a load of money into the local coffers of restaurants, motels, & etc. And let's face it, you're not gunna see a burnout show or white pointers up on stage in a wet t-shirt contest at the average - middle of the road, middle agers - Beemer rally.

It all seemed to go a bit quiet. Then the sheriff was brought up on charges perhaps a year later. Seems he lost an election but left some damning evidence of kiddie porn on his work computer, ending up in his own slammer.

Years later, and I mean like 22 years later, I move to a suburb of Tacoma Washington called Lakewood. There's a lot of suburban neighbourhoods, cul-de-sac, strip malls, along with leafy parks, and a large joint military base nearby, which, let's face it, attracted a certain calibre of individual, often in need of a quick pickup or pick-em-up. The girls and the dealers were obvious in those days. You know, places where the trash wasn't collected as often as where the mayor lives. The show Cops, if it had six segments to an hour-long show, three of them were as ride-alongs with the Lakewood Police Department. Bad boys bad boys...

One can never escape the reach of the law.

"& perhaps whether the rider liked frilly ladies' panties in secret"

Ah, checking for lumberjacks, I see...

 

A most unexpected reference!!!


For them wot missed it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FshU58nI0Ts

You've got to watch it the whole way through for the reference to make sense.