I have had one, and only one visit to a Waffle House, an East Coast / Old south breakfast joint franchise. It wasn't just a waffle, it was a 3am in the morning "zen like" experience. I was with some friends at a conference at a YL camp in Georgia, roundabout where the classic movie "Deliverance" was filmed. There were many highlights to the trip...the Tate Mansion tour where I smelled ghosts and our tour guide who assured us that there was "God fearin' Klan" still in these parts. But the highlight was the Waffle House!

The waitress was missing some teef, and making passes at each one of us...offering us "xtre butter 'n such." The other customers displayed the best of americana...the dude sitting at the counter with enough crack showing to be noticed by cars passing by, yet none of the locals seemed to notice. The old lady wolfing down a waffle over in the corner with a Camel hanging out her mouth...not removing it to take another bite or chew, that was skill!

Waffles at 3am...why? Because the Waffle House is open 24/7 in many locations and when people want waffles, they gotta have them and the Waffle House is ready to provide. You can have your "moons over myhammy" but I will forever feel that I have been to the mountain top when it comes to waffles. Savory, buttery, cooked right in front of you and "real Americans" --black, white, hicks, meth heads, and ordained ministers all sharing a common appreciation for waffles. It was almost like church. Surely, were there a Waffle House in Samaria, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jesus and the Disciples would have been there. Mixing it up with real folks eatin' waffles.

Am I going a little crazy...yea, but if you don't understand...you probably haven't been to a Waffle House.

Today, having discovered that WH does not open itself to independent franchises, I am going out on my own!  Waffle Busses!  A whole fleet of them, covering the I-5 Corridor from Vancouver to Bellingham.