Real Kato Blog: Small Town, USA: Part 2

The rest of the story.

Saturday evening, I ate dinner with Amy's family. Except for one of Amy's brothers, this was the first time I'd met all of them. They were all as polite and charming as could be.

Afterwards, Amy and I went out drinking with some of her old friends. We started out at a place called Basin Creek, and then went to crash a poker party at another guy's house. Now, Amy has a good friend whom we'll call "P". "P" is apparently not a seasoned drinker like some of us. So after two glasses of wine, four beers, and two vodka tonics, "P" turned into the Exorcist baby and puked all over the backyard. (Hence the moniker "P", short for "Pukey McPukerson".)

Now, "P" was spending the night at her parents' house that night. Not wanting to bring her home in that condition, we took her to the Elk Inn instead, to spend the night. The Elk Inn boasts that it's "Famous Since 1983". Amy says that was its slogan back in 1983, when it first opened. Hmm.

It must have looked for all the world like Amy and I were dragging a dead body into the room, except that the dead body would stop every now and then to puke a little bit more. "P" made very good friends with Mr. Toilet that night; in fact, she almost slept in his lap. When we dragged her off the toilet and into bed, her new best friend was Mr. Trash Can. Oh, how she loved Mr. Trash Can.

But by morning, all was well, and we left the Elk Inn without incident. They might have to throw away the towels we used, though.

Sunday, Amy and I went for a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It was a very pretty day. Amy's got some kind of weather mojo... we seem to always encounter perfect weather when we travel together.

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, there are several "Gaps". That apparently refers to gaps in the mountain chain through which one can pass, not youth-oriented clothing stores. Each gap has a name, and we across one called Aho Gap.

I can imagine the conversation that went into naming this:

JOHN: What should we call this gap?
LISA: Maybe we should name it after Gary, my brother-in-law.
JOHN: What, "Gary Gap"? That sucks. And why would you want to name it after your brother-in-law, anyway?
LISA: I was thinking more along the lines of "Asshole Gap".
JOHN: Ha ha! But come on, we can't call it "Asshole Gap".
LISA: Well, how about "Aho Gap"?

Permalink 1 Comment

Posted by Ken in: funnyhaha, life, travel

Comments

Comment #1 from Phil (Guest)
2006 Jun 6 - 12:33 am : #

Found on the Blue Ridge Parkway Web:

"Aho Gap : Aho was actually named by a committee. When a name was in the process of being chosen, there was always a conflict with whatever was suggested, so the committee decided that the next word spoken, no matter what it was, would be the name of the new community. After a long silence, BB Dougherty (father of ASU) stood up, stretched, and said, "Aho.""

I assume that the "ASU" is Appalachian State University.

And the "P" name is hilarious. Any pix? (from before the name change, I hope.)

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