Southern California - From the Deep Fryer

So, here I sit in my parents house in Clarksville - what I jokingly call Fried Chicken Land - having had some homemade bean salad and corn salsa. I'm a little bored, not that my folks aren't sweeties, but I am visiting home, after all. I took my sister shopping at Target earlier (yes, they have that and a super-Walmart here, and my next outing will be at Walmart!), had a healthy lunch and went for a ride on my dad's Trek 7500. Since I talk so much on here about FCL, I figured I'd share some photos if there is even anyone interested. I will state that with all of my joking, the south really is a lovely place. Yes, there are stereotypes here that I poke fun at, but many people here are the nicest you'll meet. And it is lush green with trees, something I miss for sure in CA.

Nothing exciting to tell about the ride. My dad has regular pedals on the bikes and knobbies (grumble, grumble), but his Trek rides like a dream otherwise. I just rode around the neighborhood, and going up hills killed me! Without being clipped in, it is MUCH harder to get up the hill. Lucky his bike has a triple, but my quads are still tingling as I type this.

Here are some pics:

I took this from the plane - Fried Chicken Land from 13K feet above:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/FCL/10.jpg

My dad's new love, he named it "my bike":
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/FCL/12.jpg


http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/FCL/11.jpg

The neighborhood I grew up in:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/FCL/7.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/FCL/6.jpg


http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/FCL/5.jpg

Look, trees!
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/FCL/4.jpg

The house I grew up in:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/FCL/3.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/FCL/2.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/FCL/1.jpg

It looks muggy.

I'll have really nice, dewy skin for a week after I return. The air here is great for skin.

I don't need to take another shower. Nice photos, Mary.... My neighborhood where I grew don't even exist anymore.....:)

Very cool, ME. Just think how much stronger you will be, one week after riding that tank. Better watch out for the speed demon when she returns.

One thing I noticed ... there's so much space there. Must make real estate developers crazy!

I don't need to take another shower. Nice photos, Mary.... My neighborhood where I grew don't even exist anymore.....:)

Thanks, George. :) Actually, Clarksville has grown up quite a bit - but the neighborhood hasn't changed much except when a tornado ripped through it (and almost took my parents' house with it) about two years ago.

Very cool, ME. Just think how much stronger you will be, one week after riding that tank. Better watch out for the speed demon when she returns.

One thing I noticed ... there's so much space there. Must make real estate developers crazy!

Please, Ron...I'm getting fat. :p Besides, I won't be riding too much due to the family visitation schedule! We're headed to MO in the next couple of days. Yes, tons of space and enormous back yards. you can't tell from the pic, but my parents' house is on a 1.5 acre lot.

Please, Ron...I'm getting fat. :p
Oh pleeeeez ... we'd need proof of that. pics???

Thanks, George. :) Actually, Clarksville has grown up quite a bit -
They got indoor plumbing and a WalMart?

Oh pleeeeez ... we'd need proof of that. pics???

I took one pic of me, but I look like I'm smoking weed. Maybe I'll post it for S&Gs. I'm also wearing a YMCA t-shirt and look awful. :p

They got indoor plumbing and a WalMart?

Oh, no, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to imply that we have indoor plumbing yet, but we DO have a SUPER-Walmart. It has everything from bacon to deodorant. :D

Oh, no, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to imply that we have indoor plumbing yet, but we DO have a SUPER-Walmart. It has everything from bacon to deodorant. :D

Bacon-scented deodorant?

The Walmarts have really grown up, I remember going into the one in Henderson and it being like a grimier K-Mart back then.

But they had Chigga-rid... :D

Bacon-scented deodorant?

The Walmarts have really grown up, I remember going into the one in Henderson and it being like a grimier K-Mart back then.

But they had Chigga-rid... :D

Well, you must have been in Redneck County, darlin'. We ain't got any of them there chiggars in our back yard. :p

Well, you must have been in Redneck County, darlin'. We ain't got any of them there chiggars in our back yard. :p

The farm had lots of forest and backed up against a state park, so it was a bit more rustic and wild.

Lots of fireflies, too, those were cool.

The farm had lots of forest and backed up against a state park, so it was a bit more rustic and wild.

Lots of fireflies, too, those were cool.
Oh, I plan on catching fireflies tonight or tomorrow night. Those DO exist and I love them. I don't kill them though, I let them go. :)

love that mailbox.:D

They got indoor plumbing and a WalMart?

Oh come on now, it's Clarksville. If you'll note the sign, that's the NEW south. Indoor plumbing and Super Wal-marts for everyone.

love that mailbox.:D
My dad is so proud of that mailbox. You should have seen the POS he had before. He named it, too, but I simply cannot use that kind of language on here. :p

Just out of curiosity, how did you end up in SoCal?

Just out of curiosity, how did you end up in SoCal?
I was 20 and my aunt offered to fly me out for the summer. I told her I was planning to stay and move to LA (she was near San Diego), but she just brushed that off. Then I refused to fly back when it was time for me to leave. I desperately wanted out of Clarksville for reasons not appropriate to post. So, when she dropped me off in LA with two suitcases, two dresses (that she bought me) and $300, that she and my other favorite aunt gave me, and told me "get a job and a place to live in two weeks, or you are going back," - I found a job and roommate in two days. I was determined. I rode the bus for a year and a half until I saved up for a used Toyota. Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing except maybe not yell at my aunt (which I did like a very disrespectful niece). She is one of my favorite people in the world and a very strong, opinonated southern woman. She has since forgiven me (and her husband, my uncle, who has been such a positive influence in my life has told me repeatedly how proud he is of me for staying and making it on my own in LA).

That's my uphill in the snow for three miles story - only it's uphill in the "sand" given where LA is located. ;) :D

Bring me back a grit or two. :)

I was 20 and my aunt offered to fly me out for the summer. I told her I was planning to stay and move to LA (she was near San Diego), but she just brushed that off. Then I refused to fly back when it was time for me to leave. I desperately wanted out of Clarksville for reasons not appropriate to post. So, when she dropped me off in LA with two suitcases, two dresses (that she bought me) and $300, that she and my other favorite aunt gave me, and told me "get a job and a place to live in two weeks, or you are going back," - I found a job and roommate in two days. I was determined. I rode the bus for a year and a half until I saved up for a used Toyota. Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing except maybe not yell at my aunt (which I did like a very disrespectful niece). She is one of my favorite people in the world and a very strong, opinonated southern woman. She has since forgiven me (and her husband, my uncle, who has been such a positive influence in my life has told me repeatedly how proud he is of me for staying and making it on my own in LA).

That's my uphill in the snow for three miles story - only it's uphill in the "sand" given where LA is located. ;) :D

geez louise, +1 on the respect for you - o - meter.

I was 20 and my aunt offered to fly me out for the summer. I told her I was planning to stay and move to LA (she was near San Diego), but she just brushed that off. Then I refused to fly back when it was time for me to leave. I desperately wanted out of Clarksville for reasons not appropriate to post. So, when she dropped me off in LA with two suitcases, two dresses (that she bought me) and $300, that she and my other favorite aunt gave me, and told me "get a job and a place to live in two weeks, or you are going back," - I found a job and roommate in two days. I was determined. I rode the bus for a year and a half until I saved up for a used Toyota. Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing except maybe not yell at my aunt (which I did like a very disrespectful niece). She is one of my favorite people in the world and a very strong, opinonated southern woman. She has since forgiven me (and her husband, my uncle, who has been such a positive influence in my life has told me repeatedly how proud he is of me for staying and making it on my own in LA).

That's my uphill in the snow for three miles story - only it's uphill in the "sand" given where LA is located. ;) :D
Cool ... I've always wondered how people make it out here without family. I have no concept of that, since my parents conceived me in SoCal. I thought maybe you moved out here, trying to hit it big in tv or movie biz, and it didn't pan out.

geez louise, +1 on the respect for you - o - meter.
+2

geez louise, +1 on the respect for you - o - meter.
Ahh....thanks, Ron. :love: And I haven't even told the part about the hooking, drug deals and my criminal record. But, hey, I made it. :D

(Yes, of course, I'm kidding...about the drugs...:p )

I moved here from Atlanta in 1998 with $1,000, no car and no job. I moved in with a girl I met on AOL, who I still live with today. I had a job within 3 weeks, but I don't think I even looked for the first 2. My parents thought I was nuts too.

I moved here from Atlanta in 1998 with $1,000, no car and no job. I moved in with a girl I met on AOL, who I still live with today. I had a job within 3 weeks, but I don't think I even looked for the first 2. My parents thought I was nuts too.
Stop trying to steal my thunder or you get no grits...:p

Does fried chicken there taste any different than KFC? If so, how different?

Does fried chicken there taste any different than KFC? If so, how different?
:rolleyes:

Does fried chicken there taste any different than KFC? If so, how different?
KFC isn't really chicken, is it? Nah.

KFC isn't really chicken, is it? Nah.

It's the other white meat and, no, I'm not talking about pork. :p

Stop trying to steal my thunder or you get no grits...:p
my trip wasn't uphill like yours. :)

southern fried chicken has an extra ingredient called flavor. :)

southern fried chicken has an extra ingredient called flavor. :)
+1 :)

you don't consider grease flavor?

^^^^^^ OK, now you've done it. I'm hungry and I need some good fried chicken. But first, a Sierra Nevada.:D

you don't consider grease flavor?
Honey, we don't use grease in the south. It's called CRISCO or BUTTER - preferably a mixture of both. :D

Stop trying to steal my thunder or you get no grits...:p


Well, I moved here from Massachusetts with no money, no job, no car, no nothing. Not even a prospect of a job. I could barley read, my English was not very polished.

Sorry for stealing your thunder, but it had to be said.

Oh, btw, I was 5 years old when I moved here and naturally my parents and brothers were with me.

Oh and btw2, seems to me I have laid this joke before....oh well...

Too bad, M.E. you are going to miss out on some great riding just a few hours to the East in NC. Perhaps on your next trip?

I told my wife I was going to do the Solvang Double next year. Maybe I can make that happen.

Too bad, M.E. you are going to miss out on some great riding just a few hours to the East in NC. Perhaps on your next trip?

I told my wife I was going to do the Solvang Double next year. Maybe I can make that happen.
You know, there is the Solvang Double in Autumn :D

I moved here from Atlanta in 1998 with $1,000, no car and no job. I moved in with a girl I met on AOL, who I still live with today. I had a job within 3 weeks, but I don't think I even looked for the first 2. My parents thought I was nuts too.

Ha... I moved to Tennessee to move in with a woman I met on AOL. Two or three lifetimes ago.

You know, there is the Solvang Double in Autumn :D
I didn't know about that one. It may be a little close to plan out with some other things already on the schedule.

Mary, do you get to ride with any people while out there?

Ha... I moved to Tennessee to move in with a woman I met on AOL. Two or three lifetimes ago.


sucker

Oh, btw, I was 5 years old when I moved here and naturally my parents and brothers were with me.
...

Yes, well, um...like me, did you resort to hooking to get by? :p

Mary, do you get to ride with any people while out there?
No. :(

Sorry BikeWNC - first for now realizing that I flirted shamelessly with you in another thread (mea culpa, I didn't know you were married or I forgot :o ) and secondly, for missing out on a ride with you and some other wonderful southern cyclists!

I saw a fella out riding when I first arrived in Clarksville on the Hwy76. He looked in amazing shape and was hauling. I honked at him and waved, but I think he thought I was nutty. :p

Sorry BikeWNC - first for now realizing that I flirted shamelessly with you in another thread (mea culpa, I didn't know you were married or I forgot :o ) and secondly, for missing out on a ride with you and some other wonderful southern cyclists!

I saw a fella out riding when I first arrived in Clarksville on the Hwy76. He looked in amazing shape and was hauling. I honked at him and waved, but I think he thought I was nutty. :p
No worries M.E. A little harmless fun is fine with me. I know where to draw the line.

Yes, you did miss out this time on some good riding. Keep us in mind the next time you are in the area.

Yes, you did miss out this time on some good riding. Keep us in mind the next time you are in the area.
I certainly will! Only next time, I'm going to just take the hit in my bank account and fly my bike here!

Is that the Clarksville from the Monkeys' song?

I certainly will! Only next time, I'm going to just take the hit in my bank account and fly my bike here!

Why not just buy a bike to leave there? then it will always be there...

Is that the Clarksville from the Monkeys' song?
Hey, Matt. :) Yes, it is.