Review: Wings 'N More, Conroe Texas

Never have I started a review out like this; but if you read only this part and close out, you'll know my decision. This place was AWESOME. Highly recommended!

So I took a job in Conroe Texas and was out there for a few months. Well, with that came time for a lot of exploring. Conroe butts up against an area called "The Woodlands", and Shenandoah.  Nice little area; easy to navigate, and very convenient to where I was staying.  Lots of places to shop, and even more places to eat.
I passed this area quite often on I-45, as well as shopping, as it's in the big plaza with Wal-Mart, and Expert Tire where I frequently had to get my lemon of an Avalanche looked at (see previous review: So I bought a Jeep...not really... for more details on that adventure).  This place is down towards the back end of the shopping center, and it's called "Wings 'N More".  Really didn't look that impressive from the sign, but hey, I love wings, so curiosity finally won out and I decided to try it. I really wasn't expecting much judging on my history of places with names like that and the looks from outside; but man, was I pleasantly surprised!
I walked up to the door and was immediately greeted by a nice young lady who invited me in and my first surprise hit. It had kind of a country version of a sports bar with nostalgic things on the walls, really nicely done! Instantly I knew this wasn't going to be a quick stop wing joint kind of place like I find back home.  After making seating arrangements she showed me to my seat. I was there for maybe a couple minutes, and the server was running back and forth. Somewhat busy for a Sunday afternoon and she was taking care of 2 good sized tables, so I had no problem with the wait.  Within another minute, a rather big guy came over and asked if anyone had taken my order yet. I replied no, and he apologized. I told him no big deal.  With a brief discussion I learned that he was one of the managers there, and they had a policy that someone would be at your table within 30 seconds of you being seated. That's pretty awesome. I've been in many a place where it takes 5 minutes or more, and this is with slow time and plenty servers standing around.  Again, I told him it wasn't a big deal, and he took my drink order and I looked at my menu.  Lots of great deals. They have appetizers, wings, Ribs, wing and rib combos, big entrees, salads, and more! (I'll talk about a bit more of it later on in this review.)   

Jonathan the manager and the awesome server, Jess!

Now, I had a big problem here. Deciding between ribs, or wings.  Jess, who was my ever so busy server, and very awesome care taker for the afternoon, suggested I try the Wing 'N Rib Sampler.  At a fair price of $12.45, you get 5 wings, 4 honey-glazed baby back ribs, and 2 sides. Oh, and a big chunk of toasted garlic bread.  Folks, I'm gonna tell you. This is no exaggeration, that food was friggin amazing!  The ribs, were just at that "fall off the bone" stage which everyone loves...I like them just a little bit tougher than that, but I tell you it was perfect. The taste, the texture...perfect.  The curly fries and macaroni and cheese, perfect complement to the dinner.  I couldn't eat it all. I went there twice, and I'm a big guy, but both times I went home with awesome leftovers. 

This stuff was so good...and the wings were just as awesome as the ribs!  Top that off with a glass of sweet tea, and an ice cold beer, I was worried I would need someone to make me leave that place...





So, a week or so later, my time was wrapping up in Texas, and I took some good friends there.  One of them, has gluten allergies, and through that is very limited to what she can and cannot eat. She also by choice, doesn't eat a lot of meat, so again, limitations.  So I called back and spoke to them the day we were going to eat there and yes! They do have gluten free options! 
We went back to Wings 'N More for dinner that night. My buddy got a po' boy sandwich, and his wife got an awesome looking salad (and that says a LOT since I'm not a salad kind of guy), with shrimp that was gluten free, and a few gluten free sides.  I got the Wing 'n Rib combo again, and just as awesome...and I couldn't finish it.  Everyone had a great night, and we thoroughly enjoyed the food, the service, and the atmosphere! And even after I've returned home, my friends have gone back a few times.  So you can't beat that.

So let's see. Scoring.  I think this is a first in the history of all my reviews.  Wings 'N More, although they have a handful of stores, is NOT a chain restaurant. Which makes me sad because I would really love to have one out here. They're particularly rare in that the recipe for their wings belongs to one of their own people that work there, and it makes for awesome food. Jonathan shared it with me, but I'm not telling you. You'll just have to go there yourself and try it.  But for everything I experienced there, I couldn't possibly give this place anything less than 5 out of 5 hammers.  I'll even through in a mallet to boot because it's that great.  I highly recommend this place, whether you're traveling through, staying for a few days, a week, month, or are living in the area, you're not going to go wrong with Wings 'N More.
Thanks guys for 2 great experiences, and hopefully more when I get out that way!

Definitely approved by Hammer! Thanks guys!

So I bought a Jeep....not really...my experience with Jim Burke Automotive

Okay, some of you guys know already the situation I'm going to explain out.  I've waited this long to blog about it because I wanted it all to set in, and I wanted to see what was going to become of my new "Jeep".
This will be a rather long post, but there's a LOT of detail, and it's worth it...

During the summer, I decided I wanted to go ahead and look at buying a Jeep Wrangler. I've always wanted one, since I was about 5.  Love them. Well, here I am, 40, no jeep. Not getting any younger.  I decided to check around, see what I could find.  Checked with a few dealerships, no luck.  I pretty much knew this might be the case, with what I can afford vs. what I'm looking for, but I gave it a shot anyway.   After the third dealership of looking for the magical unicorn,  One of the local Birmingham dealerships who specializes in Jeeps told me part of the reason of difficulty.  By the way, the magical "unicorn" I'm looking for had to be a 4 door Wrangler, under 20K.   Almost impossible to find, since Jeeps retain their value very well, and they didn't start making 4 door Wranglers until 2007.   Seems ALL Jeep products from 2007-2011 had a major recall on airbag malfunctions. And this wasn't a quick fix kind of recall.  So the backorder log was tremendous.
On September 26, I stopped by Jim Burke Hyundai (Yes, I know, a Hyundai dealer for a Jeep...but the Jeep dealership was across the road!!) to look at a nice looking used Jeep Wrangler they had. But it was pretty well out of my price range.  A salesman came out, Don Traylor, and talked to me. I told him what I was looking for and he said he may have one that fit my requirements.  He checked, and said it may be on the way to the auction. I asked him to look in to getting it back and if they could, to call me. when it was ON THE LOT (that emphasis will come in to play later, trust me) and I'd come take a look at it.  He said okay, and I left.   So, about an hour later, I'm still on the job, I got a call.  "Mr. Hancock, we've got your jeep if you want to come on down".   I said "you've got it there on the lot?"  Yes sir.  Okay great, let me get off work and I'll be on down.   Now, fighting rush hour traffic in Birmingham is like pulling teeth with the tweezers from the game Operation.  So, it took me about 45 minutes to get back down town.  I finally get to the lot, find Don, and asked him where the Jeep was.  "Well, it didn't pass inspection, but we've got another one that's better, we're willing to make you the same deal on".  Now, you'll discover there's 2 things wrong with this statement.  1, after having told me "We have your Jeep HERE...ON THE LOT..." and 2, the original Jeep was going to be just under 18 grand, putting my payments right under $300 a moth...this "New Jeep same deal" was going to be "Only $349" a month.  I told him no, I couldn't afford that.  Mr. Traylor's reply. "Oh come on, it's only 49 dollars a month..."  Yeah, to you.  But to a guy who supports a family of 4 on 10 bucks an hour, that means less food or bills to be paid.    So, after arguing and me sticking to my LESS THAN 300 a month rule, he looked around on his computer and found one that could be in that range.   Great. Let's take a look at it. Oh, well, we'll have to order it, it's at another location.  Well, when you get it in, call me and I'll come take a look at it.  Mr. Traylor's reply: "Well, we don't work like that.  Have a seat let's make a deal!"   My reply:  "I'm not going to make a deal on a vehicle I can't check out in person first. Thank you for your time. " and I shook his hand and walked out of his office.  

At the front door, there's a sign that reads "If you are not satisfied with your Jim Burke experience, please cal the General Manager at ###-####.  I took a picture of the sign and left.   On my way home I called the number and talked to "Tee" Thomas, the manager.  I explained too him on what I felt was a lie to get me back in there and my agitation and wasted trip.   Mr. Thomas kindly explained to me that they are part of a group that can order vehicles from "other places" and have them shipped in and the "deal" that Don was making was needing me to sign a statement saying that I was interested in the vehicle and wanted to see it, but I was under no obligation to buy if I wasn't satisfied with the vehicle.  Sounds harmless enough.  Mr. Thomas asked me if I'd be willing to come back in and deal.  Sure, why not.  So I went back down, fully ready to give them a second chance.  Got there, Don apologized for any misunderstanding,  and we sat down to see what we could find.   So they found a black, 4 door, 4x4, soft top Wrangler, they said they could have it in probably in a few days.   I just needed to fill out the paperwork saying "I had an interest in it".  Later on I found out this was the pre forms for buying, AND, they did the credit check stuff.  Somewhat hiding all that fact...
After our dealing and agreeing was concluded, they asked if there was anything else they could do to make me happy. I made the joke that they could let me drive a jeep home for the night.  To my surprise, they said okay!  I got to dive home a 2011, silver 4 door hard top Wrangler. It was very nice.  They told me to keep it until they got my new Jeep in.  Okay cool! So I drove it for a few days and loved it.  A few days later, Don called, said they've got your jeep in!  So I got off work and drove down to check it out.  

2 blocks away...I get a call from Don.  "Mr. Hancock, the jeep we ordered for you is under recall, so we can't sell it to you.".  Well, that's understandable and nice that they told me!  I asked if I could come take a look at it anyway since I was just around the corner.  He said sure.   So I got to the dealership and he took me over to the lot where they do inspection and maintenance on incoming vehicles.   Oh man, this jeep looked nice.  Black on black, nice sized tires but not big mudders...tinted windows...
I opened the door and all of the floor bolts were rusted.  Clearly the vehicle had been submerged...guess they didn't bother to check that at the "other places".  
By the way, the "other places" turns out to be auto auctions.  They send people out to auctions to look for specific vehicles. They then BUY the vehicle and have it shipped to the dealership for sale.  This will come in to play later.  No pressure. Yeah.

Well, after pointing this out to Don, and telling him they may want to look at things like that before they acquire vehicles...and I also warned him about vehicles coming from up North as well...I was on my disappointed way back home.  He apologized and said he'd get on looking for another vehicle right away.  In the process of returning to the dealership, I'd made mention to Don that I'd really like to make a deal and have my new vehicle before the 21st of the month, because that's when the next payment on my truck was due. He said shouldn't be a problem, and if it was, he'd talk to "Tee" Thomas about making the payment for me since they were hoping to make a deal and that would include paying the Tundra off anyway.  (that'll come in to play later...)

By this time, it's around October 15.  yes, I'm still driving the silver jeep.  Over 2 weeks now. I get a call from Don, asking to bring the Jeep back. They may have someone interested in buying the one I'm driving. Cool, no problem with that.   So I get down there, Don's not there, nobody really seems to have a clue what's going on...45 minutes later, they put me in a 2015 Orange Jeep Wrangler soft top. Now, the orange isn't really that OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? Orange..it kinda grew on me.  And I liked the soft top. Easier to take down and ride topless.   Later one that day, I realized I still had the keys to the other jeep in my pocket so I ran back and dropped it off.   While there, found out the Jeep I had been driving couldn't be sold....why?  Because it was under recall.  So, for almost 3 weeks I was driving a jeep that was unsafe and shouldn't have had people driving it anyway.  Can you say...lawsuit?  I'm not that kind of person though. No big deal.  So, they're still looking for me a jeep in the meantime.
Nothing major happened for the next 2 weeks...I'd call and ask if any luck, the answer was no, everything they found was under recall or out of my price range.  Finally, one Friday towards the end of October, I get a call from some other manager at Jim Burke.  Tells me. Not asks me. To bring the jeep back. Okay, have you found me another one?  Guy says no, they just need the jeep back.  Okay...then he says "well let's face it, you're driving a jeep you can't afford anyway...".   Yeah. Thanks for that reminder.  You need to remember I'm not the one that GAVE the hairy fat man a jeep to drive while you're looking for the right one, buddy...

I called Don Traylor to find out what the deal was...he said he wasn't sure, that I'd have to talk to "Tee" Thomas. I also asked him about the offer to pay the next payment on my truck because it was now due...he said "well, since we gave you a loaner to drive, we're not going to be able to make the payment on your truck Needless to say this was another thing that pissed me off...  By this time I was on the road with my day job, so I took the opportunity to stop in while in the work truck to find out just what the heck was going on. I hate getting the run around.  Mr. Thomas said he'd let me know. I told them if they wanted the jeep back it would likely be a day or two because at this point I'm working 18 hour days and don't have a lot of time to run it by. I also discussed with Mr. Thomas about the deal on making my next payment, and he said they couldn't do that.

(Insert but not super important: By the by..there was a bit of confusion of them needing the key to my truck or me keeping the key to my truck throughout to this point...finally they asked for the keys to my truck in which I didn't have a problem. I was told that if I needed anything out of my truck in the meantime that I was welcome to come by and they'd help me out with that.  At one point, I think it was on the Saturday I took the Silver jeep back, they couldn't find my keys...this happened a couple times.)

Through discussing with a few friends I was given the contact number for the person that is the direct secretary for Mr. Jim Burke, and was told that I should give her a call and explain to her the troubles I've been having for the now MONTH (the time now is around October 25...), so I did.  She was out of office, so I left her a quick voice mail and she called me back.  Mrs. Gibbs was very nice and polite, listened to my story.  When I finished, she didn't sound really happy over the situation.  Replied that she was exhausted just listening to my story, and she'd get to the bottom of it.   In a couple hours, I got a call from Mr. Thomas, apologizing for the mixup and trouble... and told me not to worry about bringing the jeep back.  I told them that's good because if I would have had to bring it back after the guy was rude to me, there would be no deal.

Another week goes by, still no deal. Mr. Thomas calls me and tells me they're not having any luck with a Jeep but they're still looking.  He asked if they can't find me a Jeep, if there would be another vehicle I'd be interested in.  I told him I had an '02 Avalanche for 7 years and I loved it.  He said he'd start looking for one.
A few days later,  a sales man from another company who really had done his best to earn my business previous to me going to Jim Burke had called me, checking on me, and asking if I'd found anything.  I told him no, and my current situation with Jim Burke.  He apologized for it taking so long, and and then told me if I was really interested in an Avalanche, he could find me one quick, with no problem.  (Same kind of deal with people at auctions looking).  Within an hour, he called me back with 4 different options, 3 of them being in my price range.  I told him I'd consider, but I wanted to give Jim Burke a chance since they'd been working at this deal so long, but if it didn't work, I'd call him back.
Now, I was raised to be honest with people.  So I called Don and let him know that another salesman from another company had found an Avalanche for me, in my range, and wanted to do business.  He asked me to call "Tee" Thomas.  (I keep using "Tee" like that because that's what Don always referred to him as, and I never did get his real name...).  So I called Mr. Thomas and explained.  He got rather rude and accusatory with me, and saying they bought this truck for me and now I wanted to back out and that wasn't very fair since THEY BOUGHT THIS TRUCK FOR ME...
First off buddy, you lied to me yet again. Nobody ever mentioned (up to this point, this is where I found out about the auction thing...) that they had to BUY a vehicle to get it there...I also reminded him of the "no obligation to buy" that he told me up front...and then he made a comment about loyalty.  This pissed me off.  My reply to him, "hey buddy, you want to talk loyalty, I talked to this salesman LONG before I came to you guys, and you're the ones that keep dropping the ball, not me. I told the other salesman I wanted to give you guys the chance for the sale since I'd been dealing with you for OVER a month now."  Continuing with his condescending tone, he then tried to discuss the differences between the price difference of the 2006 Avalanche the other salesman offered me vs. the 2011 Avalanche they had, was because of the major overhaul and model change in 2008, and basically his 2011 offer to me was a much better deal.  Hmm....a 2011 avalanche, 110K miles, 2 weeks to get here, for 19.9.  The 2006 Avalanche, 62K miles, 3 days to get here, for 16K.  What's the better deal?   Mr. Thomas said he'd see what he could do.
After this phone call, I could not calm down, so I once again called Mrs. Gibbs, this time, VERY unhappy.  She wasn't really happy to hear from me either, stating that, she thought they'd already taken care of me and I'd made a purchase.  Once again, she said she'd make some calls.
November 6. I get a call from Don.  They had my Avalanche in, it was at the shop for inspection and it should be ready in the next couple days.  I wanted to come take a look at it.  No problem.  Went down, looked at it, talked to the techs that were doing the inspection.  They put a lot of work in to fixing it up. New tires, new brakes all the way around (supposedly, we'll see), water pump, and a few other things, they fixed a few scratches on it pretty nice, all in all I was pretty happy with it.  Granted, it took a couple days longer than the "couple days..." but finally, November 10th, we made the deal on the Avalanche.  Supposedly they knocked a few thousand off to get it to my price range, even though the monthly payment went up from what it was going to be, and the APR went up a couple points, but nothing enough to make me cancel the deal.  So... 46 days later...4 credit checks, 3 different vehicles, 2 phone calls to the higher ups, and an Avalanche in a pear tree, I got my truck.  It's nice. A bit too nice for my taste, but I'll deal with it. Lots of bells and whistles.  I drove off, happy with my Avalanche.

You think this is the end of the story, don't you.  Wrong.   First, a quick note to the story.   I was rather tired of the Tundra I was driving.  I was also tired of the 14.9% APR that Serra stuck me with, AND, I wanted to get away from Wells Fargo after the scams they'd pulled with their customers this year.  Turns out, they got me finance through....*drumroll*...Wells Fargo.  So there's that.

Now, in my best Paul Harvey voice, for the rest of the story.  Another issue I had with Jim Burke, is I wanted to do the deal before I had to make another truck payment. I'd just made one a few days before the 26th of September, and certainly didn't want to make another one while in transition of getting another truck...I finally wound up having to make the next payment on my Tundra, but they just "knocked some off my down payment to make up the difference."  Fair enough.  On with the story.
I called Wells Fargo around mid November to make sure the account was set up on the Avalanche to be able to pay online, and see if they could use the same account/logon information as the Tundra that I traded in.  I was informed that I still had the tundra on my account, and the payment was due soon.  ANOTHER call to "Tee" Thomas.  Apparently there's some big process on their end where it takes up to 2 weeks before the loan is approved and the trade-in is paid off.  To which I replied "I've already made the down payment, it's been removed from my bank, I better not have to make another payment on that Tundra, or you can have the Avalanche back and I better get my Tundra back..."
Apparently it got handled shortly thereafter.
On to the end of November!
I got a job in Texas, so I packed up and drove out hauling my little camper, no problems.  I'm here in Texas about 2 weeks and my check engine light comes on. I take it to an auto parts store that offers to read the code for free, and it's some sort of fuel evap cannister trouble.  I took it to a place up here and got it fixed.  Now, that may not be a big deal, I don't know.  But having just bought this vehicle and it ran through such a huge fine point inspection process, I'm not real excited about having it for less than a month, and already having mechanical issues.   So, got that fixed, cost me a little over 100 bucks.  Things are well.
Come time to Christmas and I get vacation time to go home and be with the family.  While driving home, just as I got in to Alabama, the truck starts chiming, the stabilitrak disengaged, then I got a light that said needs servicing.  Then, the traction control light chimes, and a needs service notification comes on for that too.  Oh boy. I'm still an hour away from Birmingham, and it's 2 am...
Then, nearing Bessemer, the check engine light comes on.  Am I'm gonna make it home??  I made it. Determined that, next morning, I'm going to go get it checked out.  AT this point, I'm reminded that Don said they were going to fix a couple of electrical issues in the truck as well.  Hmmm....
The next morning, the needs service lights for the traction things are off, but the check engine light is still on. So I went to O'Riley's and they read the code.  Cylinder 8 malfunction.   I take it to a place in Gardendale where we usually have the vehicles serviced. The guessing game was on. Needless to say, they couldn't do anything about the stabilitrak and traction control issues since the lights weren't on. Understandable.  The Check engine light issue, was going to cost me 100 bucks, just to find out what exactly was wrong with it.  I declined, they reset the light, I left.
On the way back to Texas, it all started happening again, but the lights would go on and off.  Finally, after being back a couple days, I took it to a place out here that fixed it the last time, and they managed to fix it, and it didn't cost me a lot of money.
Again, after having just bought this truck, and going through all the crap and so many days to get it, I'm not overly happy that I'm already having to shell out money to get the truck fixed...

I've waited this long to tell my story because I wanted to give it time to all sink in, let my anger cool, AND, to see how the truck deal turned out...

I'm not going to give my normal points system review on this.   I'm just going to give some advice, then a recommendation.
It seems a lot of big companies are going to this "Buy it at an auction and ship it" nonsense to keep up with smaller companies that do somewhat the same thing.   DO NOT make any offers or agreements to buy a vehicle if it's not on the property first, so you can check it out!  This is a scam to get you shamed in to buying the vehicle even if you don't like it, or it's not what you thought it would be.

As with always, never let a salesman pressure you in to getting a vehicle.  Don made me feel like I was being more rushed in to doing and not thinking, rather than being pressured.  I do not appreciate that. It's not professional.   Please feel free to walk away at any time if you're not satisfied with the progress of a car purchasing experience. You can, at any point, tell them no, and walk away, until you sign your name on the dotted line.  Make sure they explain EVERYTHING, and go over everything with a fine tooth comb before you're happy.
All in all, I'm happy with my Avalanche. I am NOT happy with the experience.
If I were to give Jim Burke a rating out of 5 stars, it would have to be a 2, at best.   I will never do business with that company again.   You are most welcome to take my advice or leave it.  The call is up to you, the reader.  This is as accurate as can be for my personal experience.   I cannot tell you if buying a car straight off the lot is any better than the ordeal I went through.  Only what I've experienced, or listened to from other unhappy people that were in the stores at my time of purchase.

May 10, 2016: A hard day's night...

May 4^th, 2016.  That’s a day I’m not going to forget.  Just around 5 am, I got a phone call. From my dad’s number.  Something clearly had to be wrong, because my dad would never call me at 5 am…I answer the phone and it’s my stepmom, Chris.

She’d called to tell me my dad had a heart attack, and died. My dad. Dead. At 64.

It hit me really hard. My dad’s side of the family has a good longevity about them. My dad was always on the go, always working. He retired early, and kept on going.  Apparently he loved playing with concrete…Chris says he would have concreted the whole yard if she’d let him…he was always fixing things; sometimes I wonder how much he broke just so he would have an excuse to fix it…but he was pretty good at it. He worked in his own way, and did it.  He loved fishing, hunting, camping, and getting stuck.  Chris tells me of the first time he got stuck since they were together.  On their honeymoon. In Grandpa Frank’s camper. In the Graham Mountains. And a troop of boy scouts came to his rescue…

We can assume here that he took this as personal…as he’d go out and get stuck just so he could get out on his own. Yup. Sounds like my dad…

Unfortunately this time, he didn’t make it. He was fishing down at one of his favorite spots to fish and camp, and coming out, he got stuck in a river bed. While jacking up his truck, that’s when it hit him. Someone came along and found him slumped over in this truck, possibly going to get his cell phone to call someone but it was too late.  The Sheriff was called, and he was dead.  So, the sheriff pulled him out this time…

Now, to the reader, please don’t take my words as harsh. I’ve learned this week, or rather been refreshed on the fact that we Hancocks tend to take death of a loved one sometimes with a bit of sarcasm and fun. It really helps to ease the pain. Chris, my son, and myself got together with Dad’s sister and two brothers, and my little brother Nick, and shared and listened to stores about dad. From blowing up dead cows with dynamite, to setting things on fire, to climbing trees on main street and throwing fruit at cars passing by, my dad was quite the mischievous fellow.

Back to the phone call. When the call ended, I sat there on the edge of my bed, my wife hugging me, and I cried. I cried a lot. I still couldn’t believe my dad was dead. Almost a week later and it’s still hard to believe. I went to work that day, and it was very tough. I’m a delivery driver, and between relaying the story to my co-workers and then driving, the long periods of me in the truck alone just wore on me.  I worked half my day and had to go home. Thursday was better, Friday was more bearable. My wife, being so supportive, had talked with several of our acquaintances, and made the decision to set up a gofundme account to help me get out to Arizona and back, and to help cover the loss of days at work. I have such a big hearted set of friends and family, and extended friends and family. They graciously donated from the heart to fund my trip.  So, I made the decision to go what would be perceived as the cheapest route and drove out, cross country, with my son.  Kind of a bonding experience.  We made it almost across Texas on Saturday, completing about 930 miles total, and stopping for the night in Big Spring Texas.  Up the next morning and on the road around 8, drove another 8 hours to Clifton Arizona. I’ve been here for 3 days, staying at my dad’s house with Chris, who has been a solid rock, and an awesome mother to me and Jr during all this time. She’s a great woman.  Certainly did all she could to keep my dad under control for 37 years, and I know that couldn’t have been an easy task!

While here, I’ve shared memories with my son, which my dad made with me. I guess I’ve sort of taken Dad’s role in teaching my son about being out here. We’ve gone around the copper mines. I’ve shown him the big huge dump trucks that my dad showed me. I took him around to the house that my dad lived in when I’d come out to visit when I was a kit. I’ve shown him around Clifton, Morenci, and we’ve tooled around Safford some as well.  He loves the train, the old mining town of Clifton, and we’ve had a great time.

It’s still not the same. I could never learn enough from my dad. He’ll never get to show me all the cool rocks anymore. He’ll never get to tell me and show me all the awesome constellations that I’ll just forget again.  He’ll never get to show me the great off road places he loves, the dried up riverbeds, or anything. I’ll never again get to hear him tell me that he’s proud of the man I’ve become, or crack some silly joke, or tell me he found another one of my “catches” (geocaching…he called it catching instead of caching…) without a dumb old GPS…

While I’ve been here, I’ve played around on your quad, taught Jr how to ride it and let him have at it. It’s been real fun.  I finished a project you were going to do for Chris, and I may have even figured out how to work your ice maker, and hopefully I can show Chris how to do it.  I sat in your shop tonight…the familiar smells of tools and metal, listened to your rigged up car stereo for a while, tinkered with a few things, and cried a lot...oh, and I scared the hell out of myself when I flipped the wrong light switch and turned on the air compressor instead of the overhead light…

Again. I’ve got some great and wonderful supportive friends and family. So many people have offered my family love and support through this tough time. I’ve never lost a parent before, but I’m learning what it’s like.  I know that, even though the words are kind, telling me that he’ll always be with me, and that he’ll speak to me through my heart, just isn’t the same as an email, or a goofy text, or a reassuring phone call. But I’ve got to go on as best as I can.

Dad, I don’t know if you can get stuck in Heaven, but I’m sure there’s a lot to explore.  I love you, and I miss you. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know it’s not going to be easy  getting over the loss of another great man in my life, my father.

Review: Old Smokey Bar -B-Que

Hey folks, been a while, but I'm back!

I apologize for being gone, but eh, that's life.  And I'm even late on this review. 
Old Smokey's...way down in Leeds Alabama.  Coming in to Leeds, you see a big sign saying "Old Smokey Welcomes you to Leeds", and on the back side it sees you out with a nice message as well. 
I'd been here once before, having wondered if it was a good place or no since it seemed to be sponsored by the whole friggin town.  I have to say, the first time I was NOT impressed.  The people were nice, the food was overpriced for it's quality, and it's quality wasn't even what I'd call mediocre.
I did not do a review on it at that time, but I did post a comment on their Facebook page.

A few weeks back, someone finally made a reply.  They stated, they were under new management and asked if I'd be willing to come back out.  Well, hey, I'm a fat man, and it's Bar-B-Que. Do the math folks, it's easy enough, so I gave it a shot first chance I had.

I came in just about lunch time which typically is busy at any eatery, especially bar-b-que if it's good.
Before I go in to the review, let me tell you about the place.  Right off the main Parkway running through Leeds, it's certainly not difficult to find.  Small parking lot, but small building.  Reminds me of where I grew up and several people ran the most AWESOME bar-b-que out of the little 10x10 buildings one would normally store their tools and lawn equipment in. I miss those places.
Oddly enough you walk in, and it's got a little bit of size to it.  Nice quaint little spot to do lunch, even a shaded picnic area outside for those who enjoy eating outdoors.  The deco is simple, lots of train stuff on the walls which matches the rest of Leeds. I like trains. I'm good with this.  They certainly don't try to make up in deco like some other places I've been, and that's good.   I like simple, I like cozy, and I like good food.

They had a few folks in there, an older gentleman had put in a large order so there was a slight wait. I got up to the counter, the lady asked if she could help me. Her name was Jennifer. I introduced myself and she was happy to meet me.  She took my order, in which I ordered their lunch special. A large sandwich, fries, and a large tea for $8.75
Now, the last time I went in there, I got a 20 ounce tea, and it was the same price, the sandwich wasn't as big either. NOT impressed.  This time, a true large sandwich with meat enough it was falling off (just the way I like it baby!), and a big 32 ounce tea, with a good serving of fries.  I chatted with them for a few minutes, paid for my food and sat to wait.  It did take a couple minutes to get my order in, but they got fairly busy after I made my order, and they had an unfortunate mishap with a couple orders.  Normally I wouldn't bring this up, or if I did, I'd say it was a bad thing.  But they handled the oopsies very well and efficiently. I honestly think they mishaps may have been due to having to learn new technology, which hey, anyone working in a company has experienced that before, so I can blow that off.

I got my food. Simple fare, nothing gussied up about it. BIG pork sandwich, fries, sweet tea.   They put the bbq sauce on it already.  They only have once sauce, and that's what they used.  There was ketchup on the table for fries or other things you may desire ketchup for.  I like a good saucy sandwich, this was I'll say okay on the sauce. It had good taste, and I expect if I would have asked for extra sauce, I'm sure they would have given me some with no worries.
Now. The pork was your typical southern smoked pulled pork. Decent flavor, but something a really awesome sauce would make it explode in your mouth. The sauce was pretty good, but not as explosive as I'd hoped. Again though, simple is good. Too many choices sometimes, and you're spending more time wondering than eating, and I was very hungry this day.

So I devoured my food, licked my fingers, got a refill at no charge (BONUS!! Yes folks some places I've visited will charge you for a refill on your tea. Not these guys though!), said my thanks and was on my way.

The results:
The Bads: I like a small cozy place, but it gets a little cramped during lunch hour. Certainly not a place to bring a big group unless you plan on sitting outside. That being said I wonder if they'd be able to handle say, a group of 20 efficiently. The taste was good but I felt it could be a little better, but I certainly ate the heck out of that sandwich, so by no means was it bad!  You could possibly stand to have a variety of sauce for those who like to mix things up a little. Perhaps extend your business hours some? I come through that area between 3 and 4 sometimes and it makes me sad to not smell the smoke and crave good eating...
The Goods:Location was great. Customer service was great. Price is still about the same, but I didn't feel cheated this time due to better quantity. Taste was much better than last time I feel. They have a pretty good sized menu, even though I stuck with bbq, so variety can definitely be good.
Again. Simple. Cozy. GOOD food.  Much improvement! 
All in all I'll give it 4 out of 5 hammers on this one. Really good stuff, and I'll definitely come back.  If you're in Leeds and want to try good food, stop in to Old Smokey Bar-B-Que at 7323 Parkway Drive. They're easy enough to find. Tell em Hammer sent ya.
Until next time,
Thank you drive through!

Review: Motel 6 Chattanooga

So I found myself having to go to Chattanooga for a memorial service and decided I should look for a room and stay overnight instead of driving up, attending, and driving home.  The wife and I decided to make a weekend over it.
Having done many travels, and needed a room, I've become fond of Motel 6. So I looked online for one close by.  Found one. Kinda close.  Motel 6 East, down town Chattanooga. right off 24, and about 15 minutes (supposedly) away from where I needed to be.  I made the reservation online.
This would be at I-24 West at US 11/Broad Street, Exit #178, 2440 Williams Street in Chattanooga.

Amenities include:

Free Local Calls Free Morning Coffee Free Expanded Cable Kids Stay Free Pet Allowed (View Policy)      Additional:   Accessible (more info) Airport Nearby Elevator Restaurant Nearby Wireless Internet (WiFi)           "Special Amenities"- Free Wi-Fi in all guest roomsSuites Interior corridors Selected rooms offer microwave/microfridge units. A nominal fee may apply; please inquire. Hot tub available in selected rooms

So I made the reservation online, and it was relatively painless for my first time doing this.  Total for 2 adults, one queen size non smoking room came to $41.95.  At this point I see the "*NOT including taxes of: 17.25% upon check-in (subject to change)" notice...but I needed the room so I figured I'd deal with that when I got there.  Printed me pages and out the door we went!  After approximately 3 hours on the road, we got there. Walked in and had to wait for someone to come to the counter, as the lady was down the hall in the laundry room. No big deal. Nice younger Middle Eastern lady who was friendly. Total came to just under $49.00 and we were in room 112. Just down the hall.   So we get our cards and head on to the room.  As we open the door, the fragrance was a bit over powering. I'm not sure what it was, but it's one of the middle eastern perfumes you normally smell if you go in to a 7-11 (I'm not trying to be mean or anything here it's just that's the only place I smell this fragrance...)  The smell hits the wife pretty quickly, but it somewhat dissipates as we inhabit the room.
So as we start to unpack, we notice this room literally the bare essentials.  A counter for placing belongings, a small cabinet/closet that's about 7 feet tall, with an angled top where an old model 25 inch TV sets on top for our viewing pleasure of the "Free Expanded Cable". From that corner another counter top about 3 feet tall by roughly 6 feet long runs along the window sill and is over the standard air/heating unit. Not bad usage of the space, but this isn't fairly braced, of where I'm sure people will commonly sit.
The bed itself was a queen size bed. No headboard. Just mirrors on the wall, and the two fluorescent lights directly above it, WITH THE LIGHT SWITCHES BEHIND THE PILLOWS.  I capitalize this because it's literally RIGHT THERE!  I see immediately that this will be a problem...
Mounted shelving/countertops on either side of the bed for night stands. Complete with bible and phone book.  Not too bad.

So, I step in to the bathroom, notice 2 of the standard "complimentary" bars of Motel 6 soap. One on the bathroom counter, one on the bath tub. That's it. No Shampoo/Conditioner. No hairdryer. No Iron to iron your dress clothes.  Towels, rags and floor towel for wiping your feet.  The light switch consists of a plate with 2 switches and an electrical outlet, in which the place is cracked. I discovered later as I unplugged my phone charger that the place was rather loose and the plate and socket will indeed come out if you're not careful. Yeah, no electrical hazard there...Oh, and the second light switch didn't work. Could have just been a blown bulb or it may have operated something down the hall. I'll never know.

Anyway, we unpack our few belongings, and I step out to grab my drink from the truck and ask for a couple extra pillows. Within 5 minutes, Housekeeping has knocked on the door with 2 pillows for us. Thank you, very fast and courteous.
We unwind for a little while, do some reading, check emails on our phones using our data plans since of the 5 Motel 6 Wi-Fi connections, we couldn't connect to any...at this point, I recalled reading something somewhere about it costing 3 dollars a day for Wi-fi (and yes, it was pertaining to another Motel 6 location, I looked at but at this point I didn't recall...). I also want to note at this time that the even numbers (example: our room was #112) are on the right side, which faces the main busy street. So, we were succumbed to listening to traffic running up the street all day and night. If you're a light sleeper I strongly advise asking for an odd numbered room to avoid this.  Also we had a pretty creepy noise from the wind whipping around the building going on.
Later, we decided to go visit the down town area and the Chattanooga Choo-Choo for a bit before on to the memorial service. Conveniently we were only about 5 minutes from our destination, so it didn't take long to get there.

After the memorial service and dinner, we retired back to our room. Pulling in to the parking lot it was a bit fuller, so evidently they'd done some business while we were out.  (On a side note, this doesn't seem like a really safe and secure location of town, so be sure not to leave any valuables in your vehicle as they have signs in the parking lot saying guests are responsible for their own vehicles.) We follow another couple in, which smelled very strongly of a pot smell, and only added to the rough smells of the hotel. I noticed at that point, a very nice, large, flat screen TV mounted on the wall directly across from the front desk, and a very portly man sitting behind the counter watching. Meanwhile, the ancient 25 inch TV sits on top of the angled closet looking like it's going to fall at some point...I really hope this thing was secured.

As we're getting ready to crash for the evening, my wife needs Kleenex.  None in the room. She calls room service and asks if they have any. No.  Don't most rooms have at least some generic Kleenex in them?? Anyway, no go there...

We've unwound and relaxed a bit, now time for bed.  We drift off to sleep, me finally with having to fight the sounds of traffic on the street outside, and the occasional voices. At some point during the night, my wife, and myself in rolling over managed to turn the lights on no less than 3 times (remember me complaining earlier about the light switches being mounted at the head of the bed??) in which caused a very rude awakening with the lights being beamed directly down on us...yeah, not so fun.

I wake up rather early in the morning, in which I do every morning...yeah that part sucks sometimes...but I decide I'm going to take a shower while the wife sleeps. Fortunately I always pack extra toiletries so I can make sure I have enough soap and shampoo.  I get in the shower, notice that the shower head is actually taller than me, THANK GOD!! That's one thing I hate about a lot of hotels is that the shower head is usually just about my chin or chest level. Apparently I'm a giant among hotel stayers...but back to the story.  I look at the shower head and notice it could REALLY use a good cleaning. In the process I notice it's also a bit loose. I turn the water on and let it warm up, pull the shower plug and step back so I don't get that icy cold blast of water. Almost instantly it's good hot water! And very nice water pressure.  I enjoy a nice long hot shower, and I will say at this point there were no temperature changes from searing hot to icy cold and back again. A good solid temperature all the way through, and great water pressure!  One of the nicer showers I've taken in a hotel!  Top marks for that!

I get out and dry off, and get dressed. I turned on the TV, if anything just to have a little background noise while packing and all. I didn't do a lot of channel surfing but I didn't find anything local to check news or weather in the 10 or so channels I looked at. So I turned it back off. I wake the wife, she dresses and we pack up our belongings and check out. I've had my 'complimentary coffee', which was lukewarm, although a decent flavor, and now I'm starving. At this point I'd even welcome a continental breakfast of breads and cold cereal, but nothing there.  Nobody there to see us off. Just drop the card in the basket and out you go.  Off to find food.

So, all in all, this is a tough one to rate for me.  If I were there to actually visit the down town attractions, I'd say this place was a very convenient stop for me and could be worth the cost of stay. But we weren't. I also note that the price seemed to be a bit higher for the particular weekend I stayed than another weekend I looked at so I could gather info from the site...maybe something was happening in town that weekend I wasn't aware of? Maybe the cost goes up if you reserve the same day? I don't know.  I didn't feel like this was a very safe place, mainly due to the neighborhood. I really enjoyed the shower, and the bed was pretty comfortable, albeit the issue with the light switches in a BAD location. I didn't really have enough interaction with the staff to say if they were friendly or not, although I will say they certainly didn't go out of their way to talk to us or be courteous. There is a machine in their 'vending area' that sells toiletries, but you'll pay about 200% more for the little tiny bottles than you would if you just swing by a store on the way.

All in all, I'm going to say this gets 2.5 out of 5 hammers. I'm really torn because the shower was so good...but the rest just brings it down.
 I don't know that I'd recommend this particular Motel 6 to anyone unless you're literally pulling in to crash and leave as soon as you wake up...definitely not one of the better Motel 6 hotels...and I most likely won't go back to this one.

Till next time,
Thank you drive through.

At What Point...

I live in the South. The DEEP South.  Middle of Alabama.  Here, it's a whole different world. Here, the religion is SEC Football.  If you don't eat it, sleep it, breathe it, something's wrong with you.  Well, something's wrong with me.  Something's wrong with my wife, even worse. She can't even stand to see a football game on the TV.  I can watch it, but I don't buy in to all the fanaticism that comes with it. 
I don't yearn to go out to my local sports pub and scream at the giant 2000 inch TV's with 500 other people. I don't gather with my Bama friends or Tiger friends to watch "the big game".  I'm perfectly content with letting the game go by.  I may on occasion put it on one of the games I'd like to see the outcome of and watch here and there, or drop by a friend's house and watch with them. That's about the extent of my "fandom" of football.
I tease and pick with my friends who are big time fans, quoting "mama" from the movie "Waterboy" with Adam Sandler calling it 'that foozball'.  Even been known a time or two to utter "that foozball is the devil".  Just my way of having a bit of fun. Fortunately my friends know me well enough that they don't take offense. Most of them even get a laugh or join in.  Truth is, yes, I do know a bit about football. I played a little in Jr. High School. I moved to a bigger school and didn't make the cut, but I wound up being the photographer for a while for the school and got to go to a lot of the games for that reason.  But I'm still not a wild raging fan.

Which brings me to my main point. The Iron Bowl. What the south deems should be a National Holiday where nobody does nothing but sit and watch the Gridiron with their friends and nothing else.  Paul "Bear" Bryant should have been some holy man and revered as such. Nick Saban is the proverbial saviour of the Alabama fans.  He's a good coach. I'd say a great coach. I don't study football so I can't give you quotes on stats and all that jive, but having 2 National trophies in 3 years, and coaching a team that pretty much leveled anyone that stepped on the field with them for the past 3 years, yeah, I'd say he's a great coach.

Last night, November 30, 2013 was the Iron Bowl. Alabama Crimson Tide vs. The Auburn Tigers, War Eagle. Most people I knew thought The Tide would destroy Auburn. Last year the Auburn coach was fired due to lack of performance in his team, and everyone know it would spell the downfall for Auburn this year. The typical bashing comments like "oh, this will be a rebuilding year for them" and "well they won't do much because they have to get to know each other this year" were tossed out like mad. With a record so far for 2013 of 11 wins, 1 loss, even though there were a few very near defeats, I'd say they rebuilt fast and hard.  The last couple games (including the Iron Bowl) a fantastic last minute play that won the game for them.  Call it luck, call it talent, call it whatever. A win in the books is a win. Period.
Gus Malzahn, the current head coach for Auburn, has done a great job, and I think he definitely deserves credit.  He did what seems no other coach has been able to do, and that's defeat the great Saban.

Here comes our trouble.  I think the Tide has become too over confident. They got too cocky. They've rolled over almost everyone and they came in thinking the Iron Bowl was going to be a breeze.  There's discord among the players, the fans, the coach, the students in worrying that Saban is going to move to Texas. There's disconcert in that Mrs. Saban says they're not getting proper respect. They're under appreciated. People are leaving the games before the end of the game. The seats are being filled like they're supposed to.  Well, that's because Alabama has become that good.  If I know by the 3rd quarter that Alabama is going to beat the opposing team by 35 points, then yeah, I'm going to go ahead and head home to beat the crowds.  If I knew Alabama was going to beat Chattanooga 49-0, then why would I want to drive down from Chattanooga to Tuscaloosa to watch it? Meh, I'll just hear about it tomorrow. Why pay such a crazy price for a ticket when I'm pretty sure I know the outcome already and it's not in my team's favor? 
So yeah. Bama got drama. Auburn has been doing well all season, but keeping quiet and being humble from my perspective. 

Last nights meeting was epic in my opinion.  Both teams had some GREAT plays. Both teams had some mess ups. THE. BETTER. TEAM. WON.  Period.  I loathe to hear excuses of "well we just weren't at our best last night" and "well we should have been better..."  If you're not at your best, why are you on the field?  Accept that you guys did what you could with humility, and work harder next time.  There's no shame in defeat. If we never lost, we'd never learn. No. Nobody likes losing. But last night, when it literally came down to 1 second, I'd say Bama has nothing to be ashamed of.  In all honesty, maybe Saban should feel a bit bad because he fought that one second so hard and made the call to kick a field goal instead of letting AJ try one last pass and go in to 5th Quarter.  That the final is in, the game is over, look to next game now.

Now I've been on Facebook last night and this morning. Bama fans refusing to acknowledge the victory to the better team of the night. Refusing to admit an SEC team OTHER than Bama won and is going forward. Reports of DEATH THREATS via Twitter and other social media to Cade Foster, the Alabama placekicker.  Really folks? This is what your fanaticism has wrought? And people wonder why I despise the sport so much.  Families divided. Families split over the rivalry. FIGHTS ensue. Fans destroying things (See: Harvey Updike, Toomer's). Fans that teabag other fans when opportunity arises. If you don't know about that or know what teabagging is, I leave it up to you to find out. 
Really? This is how we act when our team wins? This is how much worse we REACT when our team loses?

At what point to we stop and look at ourselves and see what we've become people? I for one, who has a passion for many things, and a deep passion for a few things which I hold dear hope that I would never react to my passions like some of the things mentioned above. And if I do, please hold me to it.
I saw a picture of Bear Bryant with a quote that says: "It’s awfully important to win with humility. It’s also important to lose. I hate to lose worse than anyone, but if you never lose you won’t know how to act. If you lose with humility, then you can come back."

I think that's one of the reasons he was one of the greatest coaches in history, and a great man overall.

For my friends who love SEC football, or football in general. Know this isn't a cut at any of you. Just an observance of behaviour. I love all my friends regardless of their opinions and decisions, and I hope they are the same with me.

Thank you drive through.

Food Review: Uncle Sam's BBQ Bessemer Alabama

Well I'm back on the road again with my job. Traveling through Bessemer today around 11:30 am and wondering what I was going to do for lunch. I was thinking hitting some place in Trussville after my next stop.  I came around the corner and the smell of smokey meat hit me and convinced me to have lunch right there, right now. The smell of Heaven was coming from a place called Uncle Sam's BBQ. I've passed it a few times and wondered, but today there was no passing this place, so I wheeled in.

I walked in the door, unsure of exactly what to do. So I followed the guy that walked in just before me as he walked up to the counter area and a lady handed him a menu. I walked up and a nice lady did the same for me.  She stood there by me, greeted me and asked if I knew what I'd like.  Having been my first time in the place, and still mesmerized by the smoked meat smell, and seeing all that lovely meat in the open pit..just...mmmm...
The inside seemed to be nice and clean, paper towels and basic condiments on the table. TV's in 2 corners. One was on news and the other was on Sports I think...that part really didn't matter to me, as how I don't care for TV's in a restaurant anyway. 

So I looked at the deals. Lunch deal. Any meat, that's pork, beef, or chicken, and your choice of 3 sides between beans, fries, slaw, or potato salad. All for a decent price of $4.75  Not bad I thought. SO I chose pork, beans and fries, not worrying about the third as I'm not overly fond of slaw or most potato salads due to my dislike of onions.  Then I noticed said combo did not include a drink, so I would have to order my sweet tea separately.  Remember this, it comes in to play later.   Anyway, So the lady took my order and asked my name, and said it'd be ready in just a minute. Meanwhile another server walked by me with a plate of food identical to what I ordered and my stomach got very excited!

So I sat in a chair and started to watch the TV and in just moments a lady called my name. I turned to see who and where, and she was at the register with a bag and motioning towards me.  I got up and went to the counter and she started to ring me up. I told her I'd like to dine in but I was fine with the food in the to go box. She got kind of snippy with me and said no, and took my food and marched back towards the kitchen area. In a very heated tone, said "he wants to eat here, not to go!" She actually said this to a few different people, and I replied "hey no problem, I'm okay with it like this..." to which I was ignored.  She came back over to me and told me they'd fix it and asked where I would like to sit. I pointed to the chair I was in and she got my tea and started walking that way. I asked if I could still pay my ticket and she told me to just wait until I was finished.  So I obliged and took my seat.

Just a few minutes and my plate was in front of me. It smelled wonderful!
So I got my food, and I started prepping everything. Good healthy sized pork sandwich...fries and baked beans. I went to move my sandwich and noticed the bottom bun was super soggy. Almost so soggy that I couldn't pick it up...okay, so I've had messy bbq before...no big deal...the lady asked if I'd like some more sauce. I looked at my sandwich and it almost looked like there was no sauce on it, so I said sure, thanks!

Now, I LOVE me some bbq. And I LOVE a great BBQ sauce. But when I go to pour the sauce on my food, and it's more liquid than my sweet tea? That's not good. I'm a firm believer that your BBQ sauce should stick to your meat, not run right through it like you're rinsing it off...

So, to my disappointment the sauce was very runny. It did have good taste, I will say that. The pork, finely chopped was a bit dry and chewy.  The fries were good, and the beans, although not my style, were good.  Taste wise, I'll definitely say my meal was worth the $4.75. Don't think that's good praise though. A McDonald's Quarter Pounder meal is less than 5 bucks, AND YOU GET A DRINK FOR THAT. Value of the portion, definitely good.   
So I went to pay for my $4.75 combo plate, and the cashier announces the total was $7.15.   So, for a 20 ounce tea, I paid almost 2 bucks for. That's where they kill you. Oh, and they didn't seem real keen on giving me a refill while I was sitting there eating my meal...

So overall, I'm going to have to give Uncle Sam's 2 out of 5 hammers.  I must say this is one of the bigger disappointments I've had...the smell was so overwhelming and so promising...only to be let down by runny sauce, bland chewy BBQ, and limited choice of sides, although very good portions.  I don't know that I'll be returning to this establishment any time soon.  Here's hoping you do better guys.

Stay tuned, you never know where Hammer's gonna pop up next!
Until next time,
Thank you drive through.