Couple reaches goal of visiting all 645 Cracker Barrels in the United States


Forty years ago, Ray and Wilma Yoder thought it would be fun to visit every Cracker Barrel restaurant in the United States. On Monday, Ray's 81st birthday, they reached their goal as they sat down to eat at their 645th Cracker Barrel in Tualatin, Oregon.
Cracker Barrel surprised the couple of 60 years with a paid trip to their newest location in Oregon, flying them out from their 40-acre farm in Goshen, Indiana. The Yoders were greeted by cheering employees, their own aprons, and lots of hugs, with Ray digging into a blueberry pancake with blueberry syrup and Wilma some eggs and hash browns. "It was quite special," Ray told KOIN 6. "These little farm kids aren't used to all this hype."
The Yoders love traveling together, and usually drive their RV to the different Cracker Barrels. Ray said he really enjoyed this trip — "I like you guys out here on the West Coast," he told KOIN 6, "you're all right, super" — and that's a good thing, because next year, the Yoders will have to come back to Oregon for the grand opening of a new Cracker Barrel in Beaverton. Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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