Excursion

One of our running jokes out here on the road has to do with the number of Outlet Malls there seem to be. I mean, when you stop and think about it, Outlet stores should contain seconds, irregulars, and reject merchandise at rock bottom prices. However, judging by the number of these malls around the country (at least the states we've been in), I'm guessing they are nothing more than a marketing gimmick to get people in and make them feel good about purchasing from an Outlet (ooh! I must have gotten a really good deal...).  So generally whenever we pass one, or see a billboard for one, one or the other of us will say "look honey! An Outlet Mall! You don't see one of those everyday".

Well yesterday after picking up a load in Morgan, OH, we had to take a 10 hour break and decided to take it near our pickup site. Mr. Trucker remembered there being a truckstop there that he said would curl my hair and couldn't resist the opportunity to show it to me so that I could take pictures of it for my blog as an example of a really awful truckstop. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), the truckstop was no longer open. We DID park there, however for our break and for the night, and walked around to take a few pictures.

Darn! We wanted to solicit.

Lovely, no?

Doors chained from the inside

This was a convenience store and diner here. Mr. Trucker said you had to pass the porn kiosk to get to  the diner and it looked so gross that it caused him to strike out and discover Gold Star Chili across the road. The Coyote Ridge saloon is, however, still in existence at the end of the building.

This is the entrance to the fuel desk, which IS still in operation

We stopped in here (more for effect than anything) and asked the scary looking people working there about the truck stop being no longer in business. They assured us that they were still serving diner food in the saloon. We thanked them and then ran away as fast as we could!








So we headed across the road to Gold Star Chili, but we weren't that hungry yet, so we followed the signs to Cincinnati Premium Outlets. We actually spent several fun hours there. They were decorated for Christmas already.

Cincinnati Premium Outlets

Courtyard with Christmas decor

Food Court

Mr. Trucker has been looking for a jacket for a little while now. He's the type of guy who hates to spend money on anything new and has been wearing the same jacket since I've known him (the same underwear too, I think. When it's full of holes, it's just getting broken in). His jacket is now pretty much black with grease and it's a little embarrassing to have him wear it when we eat out. So I've been encouraging nagging him to get a new one. 

We ended up in the Columbia outlet where he tried on several jackets

This faux fur number was in the "hunting" section

Mr. Trucker said "I'll be the envy of the truckstops in this jacket." I said "more like the laughing stock!".

Columbia's "Mountain Hard Wear" model, for
those who care about such things.

The jacket above is the one he ended up with and he was mighty pleased with it. It looks nice on him, too.  In Saks Off 5th, I saw a pair of stiletto heeled black strappy shoes with feathers on them and sent my oldest daughter, Sissy, (the shoe fanatic) a picture with my cell phone.  She immediately responded that she loved them and wanted them in a size 8.5. Since she DOES have a birthday coming up, we briefly considered it, until we saw the price tag...marked down from $795 to $309!. I think not!

All in all, it was a great day. We got a lot of walking in, and the weather was nice, though crisp. We had some good philly cheese steak sandwiches in the food court and some great chili on the way back to the truck. I need a day like this every so often, otherwise I start feeling claustrophopic.

This morning dawned bright and cold (29 degrees) and we headed out early for IL. 

Somewhere in Indiana

Somewhere else in Indiana

Today's Silly Sounding Place Name:  Okolona, KY ("O...kolona, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain"...sorry, I couldn't resist the show tune)