Jul 16, 2015

Grabbing a slice of hillbilly hog heaven

If you are one of my faithful followers, you may recall my very first blog post which explained my inspirations for this endeavor and also the profound influence my grandmother had on my thirst for travels, great and small.  Whenever I take a road trip anywhere, I sometimes think of her.  But I especially think of her whenever I make the drive between my current home in Springfield, Ill., and what I consider my “true home” in Louisiana.  My grandmother never met an interstate she liked.  In fact, she insisted on taking the two lanes.  After all, you only get to know people and the towns they’re from if you see them up close and personal.

All of this is a rather long-winded explanation of – once I learned the April and I would be driving northbound on U.S. Highway 51 through Tennessee, Kentucky and Southern Illinois on our road trip earlier this year – why I had to make a pilgrimage to a place from my past travels with my grandmother: the Harper’s Country Hams Company Store near Clinton, Ky.  

No, we didn't come for the jumbo quail.
Honestly, you really can’t miss this sign up on the ridge where the Harper’s Hams complex is located. 

I think she may have overdressed for this adventure.

A commoner dines at Baumgartner’s Cheese Store and Tavern, Monroe, Wis.

I wasn’t sure a place existed that could be the perfect representation of Wisconsin life, but then I traveled through Monroe, Wis., one week...