Where-you-from-buddy restaurants

"I had nothing to lose but the chains, and I hoped to find down the country roads Ma in her beanery and Pap over his barbecue pit, both still serving slow food from the same place they did thirty years ago. Where-you-from-buddy restaurants."

- William Least Heat Moon, 'Blue Highways'

My great friend Lizzie recently bought me 'Blue Highways: A Journey into America' by William Least Heat Moon. In the late '70's, Least Heat Moon got bored with his life and travelled round America in his van, following back roads and seeking near-forgotten boondocks. On the old highway maps of America, these back roads were marked in blue, hence the title. It's a great travel book, to my eye a quirkly blend of John Steinbeck and Jack Kerouac if that makes sense. Anyway, this paragraph really grabbed me by the throat. This is exactly the kinda thing I'm looking for in America! I like to think me and Least Heat Moon would have got on well. The places that get forgotten about in the shadows of the cities, the people with the real stories to tell. That's  the America I'm going to find.

Unrelated, but not worth another blog post for are some more photos I've taken this week - another early morning walk, this time in the unseasonal sun. I hope you enjoy."