Deep Fried No-No's and Other Adventures

Aaaaaaaahh,,,home from our big trip to Indiana. It was really really great. We spent time with family, went to the Harvest Homecoming (I went three times!), ate lots of good Indiana food, and I even got to sneak away and get a pedicure (thanks to my Aunt Kathy for the gift card and my mom for babysitting). My feet are happy and my belly is full. The HH isn't quite the Great State Fair of Texas, but it's a pretty good substitute. There was no fried butter or fried beer, but there were plenty of other fried choices:

And I tried the Ho-Ho's.

My friends, I am going to do you a favor right now and tell you that deep fried Ho-Ho's are not good. At all. Don't try them. Even if you are like me and love Ho-Ho's, just forget about it. Oh, how I loved Ho-Ho's as a kid. It was my Hostess snack of choice. I don't think they taste as good now (maybe they have changed the recipe?), plus there are no foil wrappers or baseball cards included in the packaging like we had in the 70s (where have you gone, Bake McBride?!) Anyway, the deep-fried ones are terrible. They might have been better if the batter was crispy, lending a nice crunch to offset the gooey middle. But it was as if the Ho-Ho was just sorta wrapped in a flavorless doughy doughnut. Bleh. Live and learn.

Oh well, here are some other things I ate in Indiana on various occasions:

1. Giant Pork Tenderloin (YUM!)

2. An apple dumpling (a la mode) from the Presbyterian Church booth (not as good as last year, but not bad either)

3. Chicken and Dumplings from the Redman's Club (Best Thing Going)

4. Chili dog and Chocolate malt from Zesto (a staple)

Needless to say, it wasn't the healthiest week. But it was fun.

The drive was very pretty, and Daphne and my Mom were well-behaved for the most part. You can't totally tell from the picture, but we had some spectacular fall color in W.VA and Western Maryland. I was really going to make fun of West Virginia based on a cross-section of its population we met at the Panera Bread restaurant in Charleston, but now I'm not because I was pulled over in that great state for doing 67 in a 55 construction zone and was let go with only a warning! Probably because of my excellent driving record. Or because the cop saw how freaked out Daphne was by the whole thing and felt sorry for me. (She was worried I was going to jail, and was ready to talk to the officer on my behalf - "Can I tell the police man you don't know what you're doing?") Other than that, the road trip itself was pretty uneventful.

By the way, are truckers no longer allowed to honk on the highway? Poor Daphne pumped her arm up and down for almost an hour and got nary a TOOT in return. She was pretty disappointed.

OK...if you want to see 41 pictures from our trip (other things besides just food), you can go here.

PS. THE RANGERS ARE GOING TO THE ALCS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And speaking of baseball, I'll end with a real treat: A 1975(?) Hostess Bake McBride:

Get yours now on ebay.