Nashville, TN: The Food Truck Festival

Ben: Ahhhh the Nashville Food Truck Festival, what a horrible experience for someone like me. For some reason, the popularity of food trucks has risen in the past few years, but I think it's all hype. I thought the purpose of a food truck was to provide very tasty, unhealthy, and cheap food. Sure, my only experience of food trucks was at state fairs and such (and I guess their prices were kind of high there too, but that's because it's at the fair and to be fair, it's not always fair at the fair.)

However, I do think that this food truck festival just left a bad taste in my mouth, because it was a step into a new world: A world of communism. That's right, communism. Where everything costs the same amount. Everything was five dollars or more. If ice cream was five dollars over there, then ice cream was five dollars over here. Where was the invisible hand to lower the competitors' prices? Not here.

Also, it's important to note that a lot of these "food trucks" were just big corporations who wanted to get into the action of food trucking. These well-known establishments even hiked up their own regular in-store prices to meet the communist standards of nothing under five dollars.

So, here's my advice: Keep on trucking, past the Nashville Food Truck Festival.

Cassidy: This is a prime example of what we like to call a "drama queen." 

Ben: No, I explained this already, queens are for monarchies, and this was a communist regime.

Cassidy: I swear that I don't work for the Coca-Cola company. But hey, COKE, if you need a girl who shamelessly promotes your products in every single picture, I'm your lady. 

Ben: Also, that is a grilled cheese from The Grilled Cheeserie - a very popular food truck in Nashville with over-priced grilled cheeses. I wanted one so bad but I couldn't pull myself to spend five dollars on a single grilled cheese. (Especially when you can go to the grocery store and make your own gourmet grilled cheese for way less. I won't go into details but the trick is low heat, high quality bread, real butter, and a nice thick-cut sharp cheddar cheese.)
Cassidy: But honestly, The Grilled Cheeserie makes a great grilled cheese. I suggest adding chicken to your grilled cheese if it's available.

Ben: So, after pouting for a couple hours, I decided to do some spelunking and I caved in and bought a "sliders" from some random food truck. Before I continue I want to state that this place made excellent "sliders," they were actually pretty delicious. Okay, so that's the last good thing I'm going to say about this food truck festival.

I'm walking around complaining to Cassidy about prices and searching trash cans for my coke rewards bottle caps, when I see a sign on a food truck that says, "SLIDERS $4.00!" Finally, a restaurant that understands what I'm all about. So I ordered the "All American" which is basically just a plain cheeseburger with homemade pickle slices on it. I pay with my card, select the "no tip" option, and wait for my "sliderS". That uppercase "S" was no typo on my part, the only typo present that day was the "s" at the end of "$4.00 sliders", for there was no "s" when I was handed my tray of, count them, one slider! This was like the horse cookie incident all over again, how did I find myself in the position of paying four whole dollars for a single "sliders?" Who would have thought that just "s" would have caused such an in-justice?

(I also bought a bag of chips for a dollar fifty (which I think should be illegal) however, I was able to justify them out to only being fifty cents because I saved a dollar not buying a stupid five dollar grilled cheese. Their drinks were a dollar, but they were non-refillable cans, so I knew I had to continue searching for a better value.)

Cassidy: Ben, being the dramatic never-wanting-to-pay-for-little-cheeseburgers person he is, wanted to throw this little 'burg away. He actually wanted to throw it in the trash because it was one single slider instead of multiple ones. I'm very anti ever throwing away food, so I started to get really, really angry about this. So, I threatened to eat the burger. I was so close to eating the entire burger in one bite so he could not throw the poor thing away. I finally talked him out of it, and I still got to take a bite. It was extremely, extremely good. Tasty as heck. 

Ben: I don't have a problem with paying four dollars for a fancy cheese burger*, but that's when it's a full sized burger, not a dinky little "sliders." This is an artist's rendition of the size of the "$4.00 sliders". Next to the little nugget burger is a Tardigrade. (A.K.A Water Bear. A.K.A Moss Piglet) It is the smallest known animal in the world. The Moss Piglets are also one of the few organisms that can survive the harsh conditions of outer space. They are a pretty extreme species, you should look them up.

Cassidy: I wish there were little tiny cheeseburgers floating all around me. 

Ben: The fun starts here. After being disappointed at the food festival, I knew that we could always fall back on the good ole' farmers' market. 

Cassidy: Instrument-wielding vegetables triumph over everything.

Ben: We got a Mennonite Grown Big Beef right here!
Cassidy: That's my actual name.

Ben: The farmers' market is a wonderful place. I've lived next to it for the past three years, but it took a girlfriend to allow me to step out of my dorm room and explore great places like these that are less than a mile away from where I live.

Cassidy: D'awwwwwwwwwwwwww. 

Ben: Anyways... The Nashville Farmers' Market is one of my favorite spots in Nashville. It has great produce, a delicious food court with a lot of great restaurants (that don't expect you to tip and that don't charge you five whole dollars for a small moss piglet burger), and it's right next to the bicentennial park. I'll go more into my secret love for the farmers' market in another post.

*I actually do have a lot of problems with spending four whole dollars on a single cheese burger no matter what size it is.

Bell Buckle, TN

Cassidy: Welcome to Bell Buckle, a.k.a my favorite town in the south (a close rival with Elkton, KY). Bell Buckle is basically my dream location, filled with fried biscuits and a toy store that I once purchased a display of Bill & Ted trading cards at for eight bucks. If you know me, you've probably heard me brag about the aforementioned toy joint: Alley 13. This town has glass bottled cokes, ice cream, chicken tenders, a furniture store with a PUG IN IT, and quite a few antique shops. PLUS, EVERYBODY WHO LIVES HERE IS EXTREMELY NICE. Bell Buckle is teensie tiny, but I will one day reside there in a house that is in walking distance from everything I'll ever need in life. Do you love Moon Pies? If you answered no to this question, leave my blog right now. If you answered yes, then Bell Buckle also hosts the annual RC-MOON PIE FESTIVAL! Caps lock because I'm obsessed.

Ben: A) I don't like Moon Pies. B) *Scroll down to the picture of Cassidy drinking soda. Cassidy said it was a small town. It was. I had to shoot all the photos with a 300mm lens. 

Cassidy: Phillips General Store is a must-do if you are going to go to Bell Buckle. 

Ben: Be careful. Within this building is a bathroom in which I casually walked in on an old man who forgot to lock the door. "Uuuauuggguuhhgguuhh," he moaned. 

Ben: *For a girl who is "obsessed" with RC-Moon Pie Festivals, I see neither a Moon Pie nor a RC Cola in her hands. In fact, I see a COCA-COLA bottle in Miss Cassidy Graves' hands. Do you trust her as the mayor of Bell Buckle? (Paid for by the National Coalition of Lunar Themed Snacks and Two-Lettered Sodas)

 Ben: These horse cookies were tasty, but be warned, they're not $1. The signs were confusing. I ended up having to spend not one, but TWO dollars. Prepare to be a big spender when it comes to buying horse cookies in Bell Buckle.

Cassidy: Actually, there was a sign RIGHT NEXT TO THE HORSE COOKIES that said they were two dollars. Ben likes to not read signs and then claim that he had to spend more money than he did. Let's not forget the great hamburger slider fiasco of 2014.

Ben: They don't know about that yet.

Cassidy: Oh, but they will. 

Cassidy: It's a universal truth that everything is better when fried. The restaurant in Bell Buckle serves up fried biscuits that come with apple butter, powdered sugar, and honey. 

Ben: I wouldn't call these biscuits, actually. Biscuits are something else. 

Cassidy: Hush.

 Cassidy: POWDERED SUGAR ALL DAY, EVERY DAY.

Ben: Ordered this puppy off the kid's menu. Good amount of food for a decent price. Get a good deal: Tell em' Ben Neal sent you.

Ben: And on the other side of the tracks.... Cassidy gambled all of her money away. No, literally on the other side of the train tracks.

Cassidy: Ben will not spend 87 cents on a large ICEE, but he once spent three dollars on one of these quarter coin machine thingies. Ben is addicted to gambling and we need to stage an intervention.

Ben: 89 cents was the ICEE. And the total comes to 97 cents. You get three cents change, which is pointless. You might as well throw those three pennies in the trash can. So it ends up being a full dollar. You could've bought a cheeseburger from McDonald's with that. Or you could just deny that urge one hundred times and save $100. Send that money to me using SnapCash. My SnapChat name is "ICEEYouSavedOneHundredDollarsOnICEES."

Cassidy: I bet everyone within a 100 mile radius could hear the gigantic sigh I just let out. 

Gallatin, TN: The Corn Crib

Cassidy: Ah, this post is long overdue. I feel like procrastinating is always the best answer whenever you hit a point of writer's block. Ben just told me that he doesn't remember this day at all. I remember perfectly, because he was pissed off about having to spend five dollars. One of my favorite things about living on this Earth is that there are cool things on almost every inch of it. Really. Go one town over and tell me if you don't find at least one thing in it that is pretty rad. Gallatin is an example of my belief in the whole every-town-is-a-cool-town theory.

Ben: First things first: Pizza. One of the first things I noticed coming into this town was this awesome place called The Pizza Machine (now moved to a new location). It looked really cool on the inside; it reminded me of a peanut related board-game that I used to play where you try not to get caught by the deranged half-man, half-machine chef who captures you and turns you into peanut butter. Anyways, I did not get any pizza in there because I am really cheap and we were going to Cici's Pizza Buffet later that night. RIP.

Ben: This is a pizza lamp. End of sentence. 

Ben: These are raisins below a lamp. End of sentence.

Cassidy: We saw these dudes at a great place called The Marketplace at Amberleaf.

Ben: Despite my joke, I actually want to say more about these raisins men. I enjoy their aesthetic. 

Cassidy: Middle age is all the rage.

Ben: Ah, the essentials of film. An empty film reel, a small popcorn bucket, and...

Ben: A big ticket pillow.

Cassidy: We've been trying to think of how to caption this photo, and Ben said that he doesn't know what to say about selfies. Welcome to 2014. 

Cassidy: Swooning.

Cassidy: I'm glad that you all are finally getting to see my house. This is it, everyone. 

Cassidy: Welcome to my crib. My corn crib.

Ben: This is my best friend, Joseph Pope.

Ben: Me and Joseph - 

Cassidy: Do you want me to write "Joseph and I?" 

Ben: No. Me and Joseph have been friends for fifteen years. 

Hartsville, TN - Antiques, Crafts, and Nuclear Power Plants

Cassidy: While driving to The Strawberry Patch barn sale in Hartsville, TN, the only thing I could think about was The Secret of Red Gate Farm (the Nancy Drew book). Maybe it's just the fact that I really want to be Nancy Drew and I find reasons to liken myself to her, but the drive to the SP seemed a lot like Nancy's drive to Red Gate Farm. Except it wasn't really like it at all, since it didn't storm and I didn't get stuck in the mud (and there was no mystery to solve). 

Ben: ...... Yeah.
Cassidy: My family and I are extremely into antiques and crafts, so barn sales are right up my alley. After hearing my mom rave about The Strawberry Patch the last time it happened, I really wanted to go check it out for the September event. There were lots of great vendors, and I snagged a pajama party suitcase while there. I also convinced my mom to buy a carnival chalkware figure that has red hair and a "C" written on her shirt (no pics, sadly).  

Here's a photo of the main barn, filled with different antique/craft vendors and a space for live music.

I got these sunglasses for a whopping DOLLAR at the DOLLAR TREE. CAPS LOCK BECAUSE I LOVE THE DOLLAR TREE. 

 Ben yawns at the lack of aliens. 

 

Caressing my dollar sunglasses. My big pink button says "MIDDLE AGE IS ALL THE RAGE" if you're wondering.

Why am I not living in this camper? That's what I want to know. Plus, it had an awesome interior. There were two other campers at this barn sale that were equally as adorable. 

Ben wants to note that he got these glasses for free at the movie theater he worked at, in spite of my dollar glasses. 

My two favorite words: Free refills.

Is that Matthew McConaughey? No, it's just Ben. 

My dream vehicle. It was the right color and everything.

On the left is me calmly taking a picture with a Volkswagen bus. On the right is how I feel on the inside. 

I can't describe to you how stoked I was to find this pajama party suitcase. PAJAMA. PARTY. SUITCASE. 

Notice something weird in the background? We did too. There's an abandoned site for what was going to be a nuclear power plant right next to where the barn sale was happening. This giant, creepy cooling tower makes for a bizarre background image to the gorgeous farmland we were on. Turns out, there are some weird rumors about this place (just check out what this website says: WEIRD ABANDONED POWER PLANT STORY). Although you can't get close to the property, we managed to get some pictures of the cooling tower.

Oh, yeah, that's not a cooling tower. We couldn't really get any more pictures of it since it's all blocked off. This is just Fluffy from Sesame Street, who for some reason really scares Ben. Ben says that he was traumatized as a child by this faceless trunk making it's loud elephant scream.