Hotty Toddy? What The Mess????

So today was a really nice day. And I'm surprised by that. Not that I'm in the habit of negative thinking, but a day of riding in the car and then riding bicycles isn't my idea of a good time. David suggested yesterday that we (me, him, and Raelynn) spend the day riding bikes at Sardis Lake. He sweetened the deal by saying we'd eat breakfast in Winona and then go to the Cracker Barrel in Batesville for lunch. Well, it worked. I hate to say that I'm a sucker for Cracker Barrel. But more about that later.


We left bright and early this morning and got on the road at a decent time. We made it to Winona in pretty good time and David decided to stop for breakfast at Waffle House. Yummy! We used to have a Waffle House here in Starkville, but like many eating establishments, it left, I think, in part due to bad service and management. Anyway, I got two eggs over medium, toast, sausage, and their famous hashbrowns that have everything on includeing the kitchen sink. I'm not kidding....I'm not sure of all the ingredients, but I know it did include: onions, green peppers, tomatoes, ham, cheese, jalapenos, chili, and white sausage gravy. You may think this sounds pretty gross, but for someone like me, it's joy on a plate.


We got back on the road and headed to Enid Lake. David had suggested that we check out the three lakes in the area: Enid Lake, Grenada Lake, and Sardis Lake. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice Enid Lake was. We rode our bikes around the dam and on the lower side where the spillway was. We stopped a couple of times to look at different stuff. The weather started cool that morning, but the temperature got up to seventy and it was breezy out. The wind was a little hard to ride through when it was pushing against us, but it was still pretty pleasant.


After Enid Lake, we drove over to Batesville for lunch. Cracker Barrel. Enough said. I don't know who thought of this place, but they were a genius. Good food, great atmosphere, and shopping to pass the time while you wait for a table. We were able to get right in without waiting so that was good. For lunch I had a meatloaf sandwich on sourdough bread with mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles. I also had a side of coleslaw and a side salad with buttermilk ranch dressing. Yummy. After we ate, we browsed the shop a little bit. I found a great gift for my mom for mother's day and David found something for his dad's birthday. I also found a great necklace and earring combination. I topped the shopping trip with the purchase of four peanut butter buckeyes. (Which I shared.)


After lunch we stopped by Sardis Lake. It looked sort of like Enid Lake, only bigger, older, and more crowded. We chose not to ride on the dam since it had traffic and it was really windy. Instead we took the bikes down to the lower lake. We rode around there awhile and stopped a few times. After a bit, we decided to head out to Oxford. Being that I live in Starkville, Ole Miss is our top rival. I've heard that the campus and city of Oxford were beautiful. I've never been there. We weren't too far away so we went.


David had visited the campus before and we rode around looking at stuff and found that we rode in circles a lot. MSU has a complicated road system and Ole Miss is no different there. They do have about 100 more stop signs than we do. Anyway, the campus was real pretty but it felt like everything was smushed together, so I think that MSU is nicer.


On our way back to the historic section of Oxford, we stopped at a dive called Phillip's Grocery that had a sign advertising the best hamburger in the country. It had lots of atmosphere and Raelynn enjoyed walking around the restaurant looking at all the stuff on the walls and everything. I had a cheeseburger plate with their seasoned fries. Raelynn had a burger too but she doesn't eat french fries so we got fried pickles instead. They were very yummy. (I don't think it was the best burger in the country though....) While we were there, I noticed that one of the waitresses had on a shirt that said "Hotty Toddy" on the back. I know that this is part of the fight song or something for Ole Miss but no one has been able to tell me what it means. I asked the waitress and she said she didn't know what it meant. It just was something they said when playing a team. She said she thought that it referred to a "Hot Toddy" which is a hot cocktail. Why would the name of a drink be a part of a fight song? Are the Ole Miss Rebels a bunch of drunks? I don't get it. After that, we drove through the historic section of Oxford and looked at the beautiful houses. So gorgeous. We went to the downtown area of Oxford and we walked around the town square. It was very pretty. It has a New Orleans feel to it. Lots of brick buildings with balconies and details in the iron. There were lots of restaurants and up scale boutiques. Again, very nice. A little too nice. The town was pretty, but I had the feeling it was sort of snotty and stuck up. Oxford looks like a place that thin, rich people live. I am neither, which is why I probably didn't feel comfortable there.


So after that we made our way home. Nothing exciting there, which is good. That would have meant that we broke down or something. I spent a little time reading my new People magazine that had two interesting articles: one on Sandra Bullock and her cheating husband Jesse James and one on Miley Cyrus and how she's moving past playing Hannah Montana. Both of these sadden me. One: I've always been a fan of Sandra Bullock. It's too bad that her tattooed husband had to go and mess around with that crazy looking woman. I mean....come on....you're going to have explain to me why he would ditch his gorgeous and successful wife for that freak show. I don't get it. The other story....well.....I'm almost ashamed to admit that I like the Hannah Montana show and I purchased the Hannah Montana movie. I'm glad she's branching out, but it's going to be hard to imagine her as anything else. It's like Daniel Radcliffe and Harry Potter or Robert Pattison and Edward Cullen. Don't mess with a good thing.


Anyway, we made it home and I'm tired. It's been a long and full day. One I'm sure I'll remember for a long time. And if you can shed any light on this "Hotty Toddy" thing....I'd appreciate it. That's the only thing missing from an otherwise perfect day.