JUST LIKE OLD TIMES!

Ron and I were out again today for lunch and adventure.

The adventure part began at the new Frontier Arms store on Gallaher Road, between Kingston and Oak Ridge. It’s a huge place, and not yet jumping because the firing range isn’t quite ready. However, I expect the place to a hang out for many local residents once the firing begins!

Oh yeah, we also visited my 8-pointer that I donated to Brant Williams to help decorate the store. He looks pretty good hanging up there!

We then stopped off near K-25 and I again took photos of the beautiful green swamp that has emerged there between the Clinch River and the back roads of the old diffusion plant. All it really needs is a couple of gators and we’d be in the tourist business with swamp boats!We decided to go to Oak Ridge instead of Knoxville for lunch and check out the newly opened Lincoln’s Sports Grille. The Lincoln's Sports Grille is owned by three local businessmen and a professional baseball player -- Mike Lincoln -- for whom the establishment is named. The group also includes Marcus Caldwell, Scott Green (whom we met today), V.J. Murray, and Len Hart.

It was Hart's relationship with Lincoln in Minor League baseball that brought the current Cincinnati Reds' hurler into the group.

Lincoln also pitched for the University of Tennessee before going pro.

As I stepped from my truck, my eyes were drawn to an AC Cobra parked in front of Lincoln’s. It’s always been my desire to own one of those, even if it was a “kit car” like this one. However, it looked pretty hot to me.

Just then someone hollered at me, “Paul, is that you!?”

It was about eight folks from K-25 on their lunch break. My last boss, Don Scheve, along with Brad White, Leslie Palmer, Debra Freeney, and Jim Edwards, to mention a few. It was terrific to see them again, and even Ron (my brother-in-law) seemed to enjoy the group. He had met several of them at concerts we’ve attended at the Tennessee Theatre in years past.

Lincoln’s Sports Grille turned out to be a great place. It’s much larger inside that it appears, complete with private party rooms, a large pool room, a stage that is occupied with live music Thursday – Saturday evenings, a huge bar with multiple pulls (they had Fat Tire – that’s all I needed), a two levels of tables and booths to chose from! If you smoke, Lincoln’s is smoke free, so take it outside to their large patio area with tables and umbrellas! It’s huge folks!

Now, lets talk food! I tried the K-25 (medium heat) chicken wings...and they were tender and juicy! Jim elected to try the “Cesar chicken wrap”, and I think I’ll try that next time.

Don and a couple of other tried the “tuna melt”, but Leslie liked her food presentation best (use your imagination)!

Then there was my old buddy (he’s really like a son) Brad and his “home wrecker” hot dog! Man, that thing is huge and, yes, he ate it all!

CLICK TO ENLARGE

I even got to see old David Rose...it has been almost 5 years since he and I shared an office. He hasn’t changed, though he’s had some health issues like me.

Ron and left the bar and headed over to the old Alexander Inn. The Alexander Inn, called the “Guest House” in the early “secret city” war days, is closed and starting to deteriorate. It was built in 1943 to serve the top-secret Manhattan Project (WWII), and serve as a place for visitor’s like J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, and Secretary of War Henry Stimson to stay while visiting “the project”!

Way back in the 50’s my Grandfather Williams, who worked at the ORNL (X-10) site as a carpenter. He had a little room and I remember visiting one time and he showed me a secret he kept hidden from the Inn’s management – a hotplate he had attached to a table, and somehow the device folded down out of sight – hidden inside the table. The guest were not supposed to cook in their rooms, but he was not one to follow rules! So, the place has special importance to me because he lived there.

The good news is some money is coming in and the Alexander Inn may once again shine and welcome visitors. Many of us used to go to the bar there after work, so maybe that will happen again.

Anyway, the organizers are also making some income by recently allowing investigators with the Office of Paranormal Studies put all the ghost stories to the test.

"We're ghost hunters. We go around to places where paranormal activity is claimed. We'll check it out for ourselves and see what we can find," said Office of Paranormal Studies Co-Founder Clint Ferguson.

"There's a lot of rumors that it's haunted. We'd like to find out if it's haunted or it's not. If there's activity here, we'll find it," Investigator Pete Fransen said.

Requests to track paranormal activity at the old hotel aren't rare.

"I get a call probably every week to either take a tour to see the ghosts or somebody wants to come look for ghosts," Oak Ridge Revitalization Effort Executive Director Kate Groover said.

Heck, maybe they’ll start some ghost tours and make even more money for restoration. They may even find my granddad’s old hidden hotplate – if nothing else!

It was a great day, I even stopped on the way home and visited my buddy Gary Baker for a few minutes. He’s getting excited about restoration work on the Princess Complex that will begin soon, and the television station in downtown Harriman is coming right a long. I can hardly wait!

I stuffed a lot into one day and it felt good...just like old times!

NOTHING LIKE FOOD WITH FAMILY ADDED ON VALENTINE'S DAY

The Knights took the Dragons out for Valentine's Day on Saturday evening. They decided they wanted to try Carino's, which used to be Johnny Carino's, in Knoxville.

The place was already jumping when we arrived, but by the time we relinquished our 8-seat table, the lobby was standing room only.

When Judy and I arrived the others were gathered at the bar having wine, margaritas, and Fat Tire draft. I ordered a pull, and by the time I paid they had called our names.

We love to meet'n eat and exchange magazines (PC, Photography, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and Playboys) and vampire and forensic mystery books in the parking lot. Naturally, all the dirty family secrets are cussed and discussed, and time is taken to make fun of each person in their own order.

The food seemed to please everyone, even the pickiest. Judy had the Jalapeno Garlic Tilapia - Pan sautéed in lemon butter cream sauce with spinach, tomatoes and angel hair pasta. I liked the looks of the Spicy Shrimp and Chicken - Penne pasta, cayenne pepper Romano cream sauce, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and green onions!

We split the wonderful Italian Wedge Salad - Applewood smoked bacon, candied pecans, Gorgonzola, Roma tomatoes and apple slices with roasted garlic ranch! So very satisfying and almost a meal in itself!

Judy and Terri decided to join Tracy and Katie at the Ice Bears game across town, while Steve and I elected to go on home and watch the Olympics!

Of course, being the romantic that I am, I stopped off at Kroger's and bought my traditional jar of macadamia nuts, Snicker bar, and a Valentine card for Judy. She was quite surprised when she got home, around midnight and found my offerings under her pillow! What a man!

Oh, did I mention the great shrimp meal Judy and I had at Calhoun's Thursday!?

Then there was the P. F. Chang meal Judy brought me the other day...wow, love that place!

The food has been great lately!

HINT: Double click on all the food photos and you can actually smell them!

THEY DIDN'T REMEMBER ME AT HOOTERS!

First let me get the food out of the way! I had some good stuff over the past week, including "Fried Pickles" at Hooters. However, their wings leave a little to be desired, and what I desired while eating them was some "Wild Wings"! Next time, if there is a next time, I'll order plain wings with the sauce on the side. I'm not sure how I got back to Hooters, but someone wanted to go and I obliged.

So years back I banned myself from Hooters over an incident that still rubs me raw. I mean, I may be old, but I got money too!

We sit down in Hooters, the Knights and I, any finally a young girl (notice there was no "lady" included in the description), with midriff bulges all around, comes over to a table of the 4 or 5 of us and takes a our drink order. We would probably have eaten there had this gal put just a little effort into fulfilling our needs. A smile would have gained her an extra five bucks!

See turns and walks to the bar and turns in our drink order and then returns to the table of young'uns we had previously broken her away from, and picked back up on the conversation she was having with them. I noticed that the beers are opened and placed on the bar, but she pays no attention. We sit and wait, thinking about how warm our beers are becoming and then watch her laughing and having a ball.

Finally, after about 15 minutes, Ron gets up and goes to the bar and picks up the beers and brings them to the table. No one seemed to care or notice, so we drank them down. The cool beers do nothing to cool the fire burning inside us. The incident only proved that the waitress knew nothing about old men and their generous tips! Had she played us, she would have been rewarded generously, but the longer we sat there and waited for a return visit the more we fumed while staring holes in the back of her head.

It may not have been so bad had the routine not repeated itself a second time.

She finally returns, not even noticing or remembering that she hadn't brought the beers to the table. "Would you guys like to order?"

"No," I said, "just give us a check for the beers."

"You guys gonna leave me?"

"Yes, we're going somewhere with better service," I said calmly.

"Wha...you mean I haven't given you good service?"

I couldn't hold it in any longer. "Hell no, you've been over there stuck up those young dude's butts since we arrived!"

"I brought your beer..."

"Bullshit, we went and got them ourselves! Now give me a check," I said firmly without taking me eyes off her's.

A manager was sent to the table and he started to jump us for being rude when I broke in and explained how things went down. He backed off...I threw money on the table, minus a tip, and we left. Had she just given us some courtesy she would probably have made fifteen to twenty bucks from us.

This last week was the first time I had been back in 3 or 4 years, and little had changed except we did receive better service, and they had added Fat Tire and fried pickles to the menu! I still don't like the wings sauce!

PRE-EASTER GATHERING

We had so much fun today…so much food today…that we simply forgot to take any photos.

These three were all I took all day!

Note how spring has come to Charlotte and Gary’s place; notice too the puppies (click to enlarge) in the kennel watching every move I made. Gary’s kennel is full…actually overflowing!

He is so well known for his expertise in training labs that his spring and summers are booked. However, he does get in a little duck and turkey hunting himself, but he and Charlotte are up at the break of dawn each day running the boys and girls through their paces.

It turned out to be a cool, but a very beautiful spring day. Heavy storms passed through our area last evening, but we were spared the tornadoes Middle Tennessee suffered.

Oh, yeah, there was some cigar and Fat Tire indulging too!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! HE is risen!