Road Kings
Williams, 1986Quoted from Danni_NZ:For those who probably don't wonder why I am not usually wearing my handy dandy glasses...
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Has anyone else with glasses just had one of the arms... Just kind of come off? No more pinball for me now. I can't see
Yes, i have had that happen. 
Quoted from Drewblood419:good thing you guys are headed to Darin's tomorrow he's an Ophthalmologist. And it looks like I'll be able to make it over there after all for a bit tomorrow night Although we might stand a chance playing against you without your glasses
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY I'll come out of retirement and play with my one armed glasses. Challenge accepted 
Quoted from o-din:I could have built a bogan house of bottles like that one at Knotts if I'd saved all mine. So how were the rides at Dollywood? I'll get there someday.
Odin my old buddy, you could have built a whole SUBURB of houses from all your empty Jack bottles. 
The rides were good! Really pretty park, very similar to the Silver Dollar City over in Branson where we went last time (DW used to be a SDC before it became DW)
- thunderhead was a good wooden coaster
- soaring eagle was a hang out the side coaster similar to the one we rode at Magic Mountain, but the seats didn't rotate on this one
- there were a couple of other coasters too
Unfortunately the new wooden coaster, which is the first ever wooden launch coaster, isn't open yet. It should be open soon, it is a little behind schedule. Looks pretty sweet, what we saw of it. Check out the track angle ....
rd
Quoted from Danni_NZ:Funny you say that as before I even posted that photo we were in Walmart and guess what we got...
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Not even kidding
Dad can fix anything.
rd
Ha, that's awesome. In retrospect though, i should have suggested jb kwik. It's not tough enough for an engine block like jb weld but still pretty tough and sets up in a few hours as opposed to the ridiculous amount of time that jb weld takes.
Quoted from Drewblood419:good thing you guys are headed to Darin's tomorrow he's an Ophthalmologist. And it looks like I'll be able to make it over there after all for a bit tomorrow night Although we might stand a chance playing against you without your glasses
I don't have the tools at home to fix glasses. Is the material actually broken or did the little screw come out? If the material is broken I'd recommend the glue solution. If just a screw I'd go to a glasses shop and have them fix them. Worst case scenario is going to LensCrafters in a mall and getting a quick exam and 1-hour glasses made. That would probably be pretty expensive ($300-400 maybe more depending on the frames and the prescription).
Anyhow, looking forward to seeing you tonight. Got ribs, fries, baked beans, coleslaw and blackberry cobbler on the menu.
Maybe we'll even save you a rib or two, Andy, for when you make it over later.
Quoted from nman:Now bonus points if you can find a Huddle House to eat at
The Waffle House cartel has nearly run them out of a lot of areas.
From a very recent visit to Huddle House #791 in New Haven (Ft. Wayne) Indiana.
Then again, Waffle House was not that big in Indiana. Some will recall when they were named "Waffle 'n Steak" to get around a legal issue up until about ten years ago.
Anyone remember Toddle House? I remember eating at one in Bloomsburg, PA in the mid '80's.
Quoted from flynnibus:VW rental? Don't see those that often. Call your rental place and if there is a one nearby they could allow you to swap.
I rent them all the time. My preferred nameplate at National. I try to have a Beetle reserved and waiting for me on my advance notice trips. I get Passats & Jettas the majority of the time though.
Good news, the JB weld seems to have cured the glasses situation and Danni can see again.
Off for a look around Gatlinburg shortly, and then off to catch up with the Knoxville Krew a little bit later!
rd
We've always wanted to go to Cooters Place, run by Ben Jones who was Cooter in the Dukes of Hazzard tv show. It was my favorite show when I was a kid, and I still drive like the Duke Boys today, 30 years later.
While we were there, a voice says "are you RotorDave?" ... It was an Australian pinballer! Darren and Jaquie and their kids from near Sydney, who ironically are doing a near identical trip to our one (without PAPA and IFPA)
How weird is that! Two Pinballers from 10,000 miles away meet in Gatlinburg in Cooters Place. You wouldn't read about it.
There was a sign next to the General Lee that demanded "no sliding on the roof". The guy said that rednecks used to come in and slide across the roof. Yeeeeeehaaawwwwww!!
rd
Quoted from rotordave:How weird is that! Two Pinballers from 10,000 miles away
Dave in the States we call that a stalker......watch yourself!!!!
Quoted from MrBally:From a very recent visit to Huddle House #791 in New Haven (Ft. Wayne) Indiana.
You gonna go to Huddle House for the first time, you gotta order some fried chicken livers and gizzards.
If you get bored with Gatlinburg, checkout Helen, GA. It's a little bit of a drive but not too bad. Kinda modeled after an Alpine Village. We sometimes rent a cabin in the area. You can go tubing, play some Bingo, drink some beer, and eat German food.
Tonight we went to Darin (VolunteerPin) and Amy's house near Knoxville. We were joined by fellow Pinsiders Drewblood (Andy) and Tim.
Amy put on an amazing spread of gluten free ribs (both sauced and rubbed), fries, coleslaw and blackberry cobbler. I bought the gluten free beer! (Remember I had a whole case of the stuff!)
Darin has a sweet collection of pins, we played pins, drank beer and the ladies beat their gums for hours! Good times for all!!
Southern hospitality is real people, and it was on display tonight in Knoxville. Cheers guys.
rd
Quoted from rotordave:Tonight we went to Darin (VolunteerPin) and Amy's house near Knoxville. We were joined by Drewblood (Andy) and Tim.
Amy put on an amazing spread of gluten free ribs (both sauced and rubbed), fries, coleslaw and blackberry cobbler. I bought the gluten free beer! (Remember I had a whole case of the stuff!)
Darin has a sweet collection of pins, we played pins, drank beer and the ladies beat their gums for hours! Good times for all!!
Southern hospitality is real people, and it was on display tonight in Knoxville. Cheers guys.
rd
Amen to that Dave -special thanks to Amy and Darin for hosting. We had a super time. You've got a special family and Danni is a pleasure and super polite young lady - not to mention an exceptional pinball player! The ladies had as much fun as we did! One of my highlights of the evening is watching Fiona perform the indoor version of the high kick - well done!
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RD, we had an absolute blast with you and your family last night! I hope to see you again sometime...maybe in Australia...err I mean New Zealand! We'll bring the sheep. Remember, it was $31 per sheep as the agreed up on price. 
Amy will fit right in I'm sure with her outstanding accent.
Had a great time last night, wish I could have stayed longer but my daughter refused to go to bed until I got home. Dave did you load up on leftover ribs for the ride to Nashville today?
Quoted from MrBally:From a very recent visit to Huddle House #791 in New Haven (Ft. Wayne) Indiana.
Then again, Waffle House was not that big in Indiana. Some will recall when they were named "Waffle 'n Steak" to get around a legal issue up until about ten years ago.
Anyone remember Toddle House? I remember eating at one in Bloomsburg, PA in the mid '80's.HH_(resized).jpg
I remember a bunch of Waffle Houses in Southern Indiana. When I was a kid 20 years ago, Bedford had one. Bloomington had a fairly popular one near the square for a long while. There is still one near the junction of 465 and 37 by Indy.
I think we might have left a few of those gluten free beers in the fridge too...should have grabbed those and some ribs. Would of made a heck of a breakfast this morning.
Seriously though, I'd grab that Cracker Barrel right by your hotel this morning. Good stuff and lots of it.
Quoted from blue95:Did you check out the Wigspere in Knoxville?
I'd never heard of that ... It's a thing! With a Simpsons reference.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunsphere
We will look around the city this morning, go check it out.
rd
Quoted from VolunteerPin:Amy will fit right in I'm sure with her outstanding accent
"How ya going maaaaate?"
She was nailing it.
rd
It's been a fantastic read this thread. Cheers rd !! I so wish i could go stateside and check out some of the places myself. Any of you guys coming over to Skippy land are always welcome to drop in for some Mancave Pin/Arcade entertainment and perhaps a drop or 2 of some home brew Bourbon
P.S i'm an easy beat at pinball so you'll look like bloody pro's Thanks once again rd, it's lovely to see a thread without bugger all bullshit, or in other words >> All filler and no thriller.
Got a pretty good score last night on WOZ. Except it burnt my retinas out and then I had to have a break. I believe that going from 'Lights Out' mode to 'Muchikin' mode (or the actual real name of it) is a terrible idea.
A couple more pics from yesterday at Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Rod Run.
We went to a Moonshine tasting, the first one was 100 proof which I think would run my old race car. Whhoooooo boy. The lesser proof ones were quite nice though.
Check out the ute done as a "zombie response vehicle"
rd
Quoted from Danni_NZ:Got a pretty good score last night on WOZ. Except it burnt my retinas out and then I had to have a break. I believe that going from 'Lights Out' mode to 'Muchikin' mode (or the actual real name of it) is a terrible idea.
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Danni, you were an absolute pleasure and must have had a magical touch on the WOZ which hasn't been working great lately with some intermittent electrical issues. So glad it was playable for you!
Quoted from LOTR_breath:Who'd a thunk it? Rotor Dave is only 3 hours from Birmingham!
True! And we actually thought about driving down there today too. But we chickened out ....
Today we drove to Nashville. The central city area was pretty quiet, except for the river end of Broadway, where there is an interesting mix of bars, Cowboys, drunk people, and cowboy boot shops (!!)
I presume this area was once pretty dead, the buildings are old warehouses and factories, but they have re-used the old buildings to good effect with rooftop bars, and the place is pretty jumping. We were there in the late afternoon, one guy flaked out in the middle of the road and 5 fire engines (including a huge ladder truck) came to stand him back up again. Some other dude with a pink shirt and cowboy boots was stumbling around so much we followed him to see him fall over .. But amazingly he didn't and stumbled into another bar for more booze.
rd
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A while ago, we watched the movie MUD, and the lead character said "here's $5, go down the Piggly Wiggly and get me some Beanee Weenies"!
Of course, we needed to know what these things were! So we researched and discovered that the Piggly Wiggly is a southern supermarket chain and Bernie weenies are baked beans. So of course, the whole reason to come to the south is to go to a Pigggggly Wigggggly and get some Beeeeeenie Weeeeenies!!
So today we did!!
rd
Quoted from rotordave:Had some good BBQ tonight at a place called Bennetts Pit BBQ on the parkway in Pigeon Forge. Nice smokey meats and nice local beer called ... I shit you not ... Yee Hawww!
There is a a huge Hot Rod rally here in Pigeon Forge this weekend, all the hotels are sold out and there are 100s of classic cars and rods cruising the parkway. Guys are sitting on the kurb on deck chairs watching them. We went out for a few hours and checked them out. Some stunning cars out there. I want an El Camino or a 60s truck like this red one. It was sweeeeeeet.
rd
i was going to say that you should go to Bennetts - Glad to see it's still going - I loved their Hickory smoked meats. I was there for the F100 Supernationals back in 98 and there were 2 other hot rod shows in town - awesome to see some great cars cruising the main st.I'm envious....
Quoted from Danni_NZ:Some lovely delicacies from the Pigly Wigly...
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Do locals actually eat this stuff or is it just sold as a joke type thing to pass-throughs?
The South is weird
Quoted from WaddleJrJr:Do locals actually eat this stuff or is it just sold as a joke type thing to pass-throughs?
The South is weird
Yeah, you think it'd be hard to gnaw on pigs feet with no teeth ....
Jokes, just jokes!
Only half the people have no teeth.
Jokes, more jokes!!
rd
Quoted from Danni_NZ:Some lovely delicacies from the Pigly Wigly...
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I'm partial to cow brains myself. They taste like fried mushrooms.
We butcher everything here ourselves. It makes for some tasty get-togethers.
Love the bar on wheels!. If you guys haven't has your fix of bbq yet check out Jacks's. Jack Cawthon is a legend in the bbq scene and has a few locations in Nashville
Quoted from WaddleJrJr:Do locals actually eat this stuff or is it just sold as a joke type thing to pass-throughs?
The South is weird
I've never had pigs feet in a jar but pork hocks are freaking amazing! I used to joke with my mom that I should have been born in the south. I love football, bourbon, bbq, wrastlin and nascar
Hilarious to me that the pigs feet say "semi-boneless". 
Some folks do eat that stuff. I've lived in the south my whole life and have no desire to try any of that weird stuff. Although I have tried fried alligator and it is amazing! 
Quoted from rotordave:Yeah, you think it'd be hard to gnaw on pigs feet with no teeth ....
Jokes, just jokes!
Only half the people have no teeth.
Jokes, more jokes!!
rd
Be careful. Some of the Pinside citizens of Alabama feel a civic duty to defend their brethren states. You may soon be accused of being a douchebag. Isn't that right BoozeMarlin? Or is RotorDave too cool for that? Sorry to muddy the thread. Think I've had one too many gluten free beers.
Quoted from mcluvin:Be careful. Some of the Pinside citizens of Alabama feel a civic duty to defend their brethren states.
It's pretty cool down here. Everyone is ultra polite, they open the doors for "ya all" and say hello to you in the street.
Everyone wants to know where we are from, and to their credit every single one has known where New Zealand is. "Oh I'd loooooove to go to new zeeeeeeland and auuuuuustralia one dayyyyyy". Whereas a lot of people in other northern states are like "is that in Europe??"
The roads and infrastructure seem to be a lot better down here, some places we've been up north I've been worried the whole car would disappear down the potholes, they were so bad.
Come down for a visit!
rd
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Pukekohe
Cessnock
Knoxville, TN
