I apologize for the lack of recipes lately. We’ve packed up pretty much the entire kitchen except for a few essentials. I might cook a recipe or two during the next couple weeks, but don’t hold me to it. I hope you understand. I’ll leave you with pictures as much as possible though, so there’s at least something to look at until things settle down.
We are doing a road trip across the country to our final destination in a couple weeks. While 85% of people are wondering, ‘have you lost your mind?!’ a few of you totally understand. I mean, I think it’s a little crazy too, but Chris and I are a little crazy to begin with. In fact, even as I joked about doing it, he was the one who seriously suggested the trek. And while it seems insane to drive 5+ days after packing, having movers ship our stuff, clean out our apartment and tie up loose ends, what people might not understand is, we’re naturally travelers to begin with. We want to see what the country looks like, from one end to the next. With our whiny little cats in the backseat. And how many other chances will we get, to drive across the entire country? Might as well do it now. Or wait until we’re 60 and try to convince my husband to purchase an RV and become nomads until we die. He’ll never go for that.
Of course, a lot of people warned us about unforeseen obstacles as we trek (flat tires, etc.) There are a lot of unforeseen obstacles in life, in general. If we chose to fly, they might decide to put our cats in the luggage area of the plane. We might be delayed at some airport for days. Who knows. We’re not doing this JUST to save money (even though the money will come in handy…), we’re doing this because we like this sort of thing. Life should be an adventure, you know?
I think we pretty much settled on a general route too. The stops throughout the country are as follows:
Soupbelly US Tour
Rochester, New York –>
Gary, Indiana –>
*Chicago, Illinois–>
Lincoln, Nebraska –>
Denver, Colorado –>
Las Vegas, Nevada –>
San Diego, California
*We’re only passing through Chicago, not stopping there to avoid the morning commute traffic.
So, if any of you guys live in those areas, and/or know any interesting things to see, let me know.
Aren’t you excited?!
I’m almost more excited about our trek than the actual move to San Diego. I told you we were a little crazy.
Plus, you’ll get to come with us when I document what we see. A friend suggested I check if there’s any cool diners to eat at, like they do on that Food Network show, Diners, Dives and Drive-ins.
Are you picturing the Griswald’s trip to Wallyworld like I am?
First of all, you do not need to apologize.We understand, do not worry.
Second, I finally got around to posting the eggplant spread recipe that I told you about, and here it is:
http://catalinakolker.blogspot.com/2009/10/aubergine-dip.html
Hope you are going to have a good time Candy and good luck !
What a wonderful trip! I wish I could travel (and eat) with you guys. And I wish I lived somewhere along the trek to meet you in person. Alas I don’t, so I’ll just keep reading your entries and live vicariously through you. Have a great time, I’m sure you’ll love both the journey and the move to San Diego!
Sounds like a great trip. I admire you for knowing what you want and going for it. Hope you have a wonderful time.
I did a solo road trip from the Midwest to Upstate New York for the job I have now. I tried to plan stops in cities where a restaurant was recommended. That didn’t work out. Sometimes I just wanted to keep driving. But I ended up going off the Interstate to stop in Vermillion, Ohio because the name sounded so pretty. I ate lunch at Granny Joe’s ice creamatorium on Liberty Avenue. I had a really good pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries. I’d browse through http://www.roadfood.com because the creators for the site have traveled everywhere in the country.
Ok, places in Denver:
Ted’s Montana Grill (a chain restaurant with a few locations around town, but still good)–famous for their bison burgers. I took a few out-of-town friends there, and they’ve always enjoyed it.
http://www.tedsmontanagrill.com/
For shits & giggles: Casa Bonita, as featured on South Park the cartoon. Yes, it’s real. A kids themed restaurant complete with cliff divers into a real diving pool, a mariachi band, fake gorillas, arcades, a shootout and more. Be prepared to scoff, scorn & have a rollickin’ good time. You have to pay for a meal for entrance, so pay for the cheapest one on the menu. The food’s disgusting, but the place is hilarious.
http://www.casabonitadenver.com/
Enjoy the road trip. Keep writing. :)
Hey Candy can u give me a heads up on what colorado’s like? i really want to travel and its on my list of places to go! Tell me what u think about it! Congrats on the move, i think a fresh start and a warmer climate is exactly what u need! Lots of luck!
Sean
xoxx
Now you can switch to being a foodie critic blog for those 5+days! i’m sure you’ll take alot of pics to share with us :)! But the only thing i think you guys should reconsider is the Chicago ride-thru. Chicago has some great eats. Like Chef Rick Bayless’s restaurant Frontera Grill or Topolabampo or the legendary Superdawg drive-in, or the Chi-town pizza?!?!
You guys sure about JUST driving through,lol??
Have a wonderful trip :)
Catalina – Thanks for sending your link to me! I commented on your blog :)
Chiara – Thank you! Yes, Florida is a little off our path, but I made Chris promise to take me to Disneyworld one day so we have to go sometime. I’m reliving my childhood :P
Jen – Thank you very much.
Hummingbird – I didn’t know such a site existed for road food. This will be great, thanks so much. Sometimes I take a detour on a road trip because the name of a town sounds so nice too. I stopped at one called Winding Creek, but it didn’t have anything :P And I also stopped at a town called Intercourse, PA, but just for a quickie. OK BAD JOKE.
Angela – Thank you for the info!! I will check out those sites. I’m sure Chris will be interested in anything featured on South Park. I now picture mariachi bands and fake gorillas in Colorado.
Sean – Colorado’s one of my main interests as well. I’ve been to Indiana, and Chicago, and Vegas already. But there’s something about Colorado…I like vastness and nature and all that stuff. So I’m pretty excited about seeing it as well. I’ll make sure to take lots of pictures for you :)
Joanna – Gary, Indiana and Chicago are so close together. We might stay at one or the other. I was just worried about hitting morning traffic there. But if all the timing’s right…I would love to do Chicago. There’s so much food to try there. I’ll google those restaurants you mentioned too :)
How exciting that you’re going to make a trip out of it!! I absolutely agree there is no better way to do it than drive and I know you’ll have a great time. If we ever get stationed in CA I know we’ll do the same.
Safe travels!
wow you had a lot of fun eh?? hehe.. pictures look amazing!! vat a beautiful place