I Heart the Waffle House

This weekend marked our last planned out of town jaunt before Panda arrives. We drove up to Charlotte Thanksgiving morning to spend the weekend with my parents and my uncle and his family who drove down from Pittsburgh. We left on the 4.5 hour trek a little before 9am and intentionally let snack-less. I knew this was a mistake, but I was out of snacks at the house, plus figured I’d need to pee every few hours and would want to get out of the car to stretch, so could pick up a snack or lunch as needed along the way. I didn’t count on the fact that every free standing fast food establishment would be closed on Thanksgiving, which we found out only after exiting the highway and trying to find someplace to eat.

We had stopped for gas earlier in the morning at a travel plaza and observed that their restaurants were open, so after finding the other places closed, strategized that finding another travel plaza was our best option. We spotted a billboard for one with a Wendy’s and Dairy Queen a few miles up the road at SC 106, and decided to try the odds there. I was really hungry and also had to pee, so was really ready to stop. Greg seemed poised to exit; he was in the right lane when the exit approached, yet sailed right by it doing 75 as I frantically exclaimed, “Hey, that’s our exit!” But it was too late. And it was the last travel plaza for the next 40 miles. Trust me, I know that stretch of highway well.

I was extremely unhappy with Baby Daddy and was ready to give him the silent treatment until he suggested stopping at a Waffle House because they are always open. I clearly picked a good mate because this was the best idea EVER. It was also one of the best Waffle House experiences ever! Not only did I enjoy a delicious patty melt (no hash browns, I had to save some room for Thanksgiving dinner), but our waitress even asked me if we were having a boy or a girl – becoming the first stranger to assume I was pregnant and not just smuggling a pumpkin under my shirt. God bless the Waffle House. Clearly, the North just doesn’t know what they are missing.