Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Guests and a Drive in the Country

Laurie and I have been living here in East Tennessee for about 3 ½ years now… We have invited many friends and relatives to pay us a visit.  We like to show off this wonderful area…and demonstrate why we chose this locale for our retirement.   The good news is that many family members have made the trip…as have a growing number of old friends from my working days!

 
Just before Thanksgiving, John and his wife Meriel, (and their little dog Harry), came on down from Maryland to spend a couple of nights with us.  John and I worked together at Venture Stores back in the late 1970’s.  We had always kept in touch with each other and in the early 1990’s he’d stopped by for a visit while Laurie and I were living in Chicago…
 
 
I hadn’t seen John’s better half, Meriel, since the late 1970’s.  Laurie and Meriel had never met prior to this visit…  After the first few minutes, it was like old home week!  We exchanged many stories about each other's families and we caught up on what has been happening with a number of other folks from our Venture Stores experience.
 
 
I have thousands of photos from over the years… By way of proof, here is a photo of Meriel and John at a party from around 1977…0nly 45 years ago!!
 
 
Our first time visitors always get a tour of the area… One of the prettiest stops along the way is Bald River Falls in the Cherokee National Forest near Tellico Plains Tennessee.  In the summer time, more adventurous souls go for a swim at the base of the falls…
 
 
Here are John, Harry and Meriel at the falls…

More about Harry… He’s 14 years old, deaf as a post and he’s very well behaved.   Despite his sweet nature, when our cat J.D. saw Harry, there was no convincing J.D. that this was a nice little doggy!  He decided that this was The Scary One from Hell…and he stayed in hiding for the duration of the visit.  Laurie even had to go upstairs, pick up J.D., and bring him down for visits to his litter box, water and a bit of food. (This was despite the fact that Harry was living in the Laundry Room)
When John, Meriel and Harry headed home, Laurie had to spray the laundry room to help mask the dog scent and then put a gate blocking the stairs in order to force J.D. to accept the fact that Harry was actually gone.  All we can figure is that J.D. had some very bad experiences with a dog or dogs prior to taking over our home…
 
Here we are…two former coworkers posing at the falls.  Sorry for the glare…it was caused by my severe lack of hair! 

(Several other Venture Store ‘graduates’ in Loss Prevention and Store Operations have been invited to pay us a visit here in East Tennessee…as have coworkers from Household Merchandising and Montgomery Ward.  Ya'll come on down!)
 
When visiting Bald River Falls and Tellico Plains…we usually go to Tellico Grains Bakery for goodies and a great sandwich, but they’re not open on Sundays. (http://tellico-grains-bakery.com/directions.html) On our last drive over this way, we’d stopped at the Tellico Beach Drive-In and although the experience was positive, I didn’t want to do that again so soon… (Check out our Tellico Beach experience at http://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2012/10/tellico-beach-local-tradition.html)   I’d been researching the area restaurants and I wanted to try something new.

Tellico Kats Delicatessen and General Store is just up the road from Tellico Beach.  The on-line reviews and comments I’d read about this restaurant and store were very upbeat and positive...more than enough to justify it as our luncheon stop.  
 
In season, this porch provides an open air dining experience right on the Tellico River.  As it was, the day was a bit cool and the plastic covering was needed in order to dine in comfort.   

There was one problem… The power had gone out just prior to our arrival at Tellico Kats!
 
Fortunately the Broccoli Cheese Soup was still hot and it was a hit with our little group!  However, without power the Hot Panini Sandwiches were unfortunately off the menu…
 
 
John went with the Vegetarian on Rye Bread. ($5.95) It consisted of lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, banana peppers and Italian dressing.   John and Meriel gave it thumbs up!

Other cold sandwiches include Chicken Salad ($5.95); Tuna Salad ($5.50); a BLT ($4.95); Peanut Butter and Honey ($3.95); Club Sub ($6.95); Italian ($6.50); Southwestern ($6.50); Kat’s Special Turkey ($6.95), and; the Beefeater ($6.95)  You might have noticed that the prices are right…!
 
I had the Italian on sourdough. ($6.95) My version included Italian spiced ham, salami, provolone cheese, Italian dressing, lettuce and tomato. (The original version also includes onions and banana peppers)

If the hot Panini sandwiches had been available, we could have chosen between the American ($6.95); Italian ($6.95); New Yorker ($6.95); Southwestern ($6.95); Tuna Melt ($6.95), and; an Adult Grilled Cheese. (3 cheeses = $6.25; plus bacon or Black Forest ham = $6.75; plus Tomato $6.95)
The people were nice…friendly and helpful.  The setting was pleasant… The food was satisfying…with plentiful and quality ingredients on the sandwiches…We’ll definitely have to come back sometime to try one of their hot Panini creations.
Tellico Kats on the River is located at 1829 Cherohala Skyway, Tellico Plains, Tennessee.  Phone: 423-253-3411.  To see some great photos and to learn more about Tellico Kats Deli, just go to www.tellicokats.com. 
Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…
Thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

2 comments:

  1. Very nice that you guys got together after so many years. The restaurant sounds like a nice find.

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  2. Looks like you had a terrific visit with your friends. Too bad about your cat having to hide out the whole time. The restaurant looks like a great find. it reminds me of Moonshine Ridge in Wears Valley...one of my favorite hideouts!

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