A Weekly Drive

It was a Thursday evening , and I had the night off. I called Laurie to see if we were going on out weekly drive and meal. It wouldn't get dark until a bit later. It was a day before I got paid, but I had budgeted for it this week. We usually brought our cameras. Tonight we headed out at about 6pm. It would be a late dinner but Stevens Restaurant was open till nine. We seemed to always miss the sunset but the country side was calming, and the conversation brought peace to me. That night when we arrived at Stevens there was two or three empty tables. We even got to choose which of the two rooms we ate in. We sat in the front room.

It is like walking into a community, but not a snobby one. Nobody stared at us in wonder. The staff are very friendly and helpful. When you go and pay you are treated like a friend verses a customer. The owner, a middle age man, always seems to recognize Laurie. It is a Greek family restaurant on North Carolina Highway 150. In Winston Salem NC. I have never been there for breakfast, but they have a great variety of foods for dinner . They have daily dinner specials for under 11 dollars. But I usually get one of my favorites: Greek style spaghetti (spaghetti with feta cheese), Veggie pita, Greek Combination. Some times I also got the Popcorn Shrimp and Catfish. That night I had brought twenty dollars with me so I could even get desert. Laurie always got a traditional Greek platter- Chicken Souvlaki. That night we talked about my job and her non profits. She headed two mental health programs in North Carolina. I just cut up fruit and vegetables at Lowes food. We both had our own work stress to discuss.

Even though the restaurant was crowded, we could still hear each other without shouting. When we go there we honestly have a conversation. The staff doesn't rush you out to make room for more customers. It is very relaxing. That night we engaged in happy chatter. We also talked about some of the properties we had photographed on our drive. She knew this part of the country better than I did. She could navigate how to get anywhere in the area. We often went to a spot on the Dan river, in Danbury, on highway 89, that had a sand shore line. The sand had come up from the oceans during a North Carolina storm. It was one of my favorite places. Even though now the sand would probably be replaced with the native dirt.

That night the meal came reasonably quickly. Not so fast that we couldn't relax and not so long that we were starving to death. When we left, we split the check. She paid charge and I used my twenty dollars. A full meal , and I even had enough to leave a reasonable tip. Often you go to restaurants where everybody is drinking ,and you can't hear you and your party's conversation. Those same dining establishments rush their customers in and out. I feel that if you pay to go out with friends, you want to both enjoy their company, and have time to actually talk. And of course you want: the food to taste good, and to leave with a full belly. If you are ever in Winston Salem, Stevens is easy enough to find , and is open 6 am to 9pm Monday thru Saturday . On Sunday it is open 7am to 2pm. And while you are out that way you could go for a drive out in the country towards Madison or Danbury. Of course you would need to go before the time changes. Otherwise it would get dark to early.