Goodbye, New York.
Today we cleaned our apartment, got an oil change, ran errands, packed our car with luggage and 2 cats, did a final walk-thru in our apartment before handing over the keys, then drove to Cleveland, Ohio.
30 minutes into our road trip, we had to pull over because one of our cats couldn’t hold it together. Let’s just say there was some disinfecting afterwards. And some cursing. A torn fingernail. Scratching and biting. Whining. Crying. I actually daydreamed of hitchhiking to a nearby airport and just flying to San Diego from that point on.
My husband would forgive me, one day.
We debated on keeping the cats in their separate carriers in the car, or letting them have free reign in the backseat. We learned that with our cats, they are quite claustrophobic. Once we let them out, no more accidents, no more whining, no more crying. I wouldn’t have to jump out of the car and hitchhike. There was hope.
*Note to self – Cats like freedom.
In fact, Monkey was becoming a really annoying backseat driver.
Before we knew it, we were in Ohio. 3 states in a few hours, not bad for a first day, eh?
We covered the seats with plastic. Then draped blankets and towels over everything.
Cleveland at 4pm.
After dropping our kitties off at our hotel, we went out to the nearest restaurant in site. I can’t even tell you what this place was called. But it was good.
Why is it that we eat heavy, carb-laden dishes when we’re on the road?
These were fried zucchini appetizers with marinara sauce.
Chris ordered a sirloin steak, topped with fried onions, skewered grilled mushrooms, with a side of french fries and grilled squash. It was really, really good. I tried all of it. Maybe, like, half of it.
I ordered the chicken parm with mashed potatoes and grilled squash. It was also pretty good. Hit the spot. It was also the biggest piece of chicken I’ve ever seen in my life.
Look at the mashed potatoes though. I’ve never seen mashed potatoes look like this. They were mashed with butter (lots of butter), pan fried, then topped with fried green onions. SOOOOO GOOD.
I’m gonna go lay down in my hotel room now.
Tomorrow – Day Two – Iowa.
We’ll keep you updated.
Have a safe trip you guys! Can’t wait for more updates :)
Oh yeah, i wanted to ask, do you guys have a set day that you have to be in San Diego by?
Have a great trip! I’ll be interested to see where you go in Davenport, Iowa!
I love the road trip updates…fun! Thanks for taking the time to share. :o)
Peaches looks amazing… even in a cage! Have fun guys, can’t wait to read the updates!
Dinner looks carb-a-licious. I’ve made mashed potatoes with only butter for years and the taste is worth looking forward to a bypass if that’s in my future. A friend’s fiance wasn’t a fan of mashed potatoes… until he tried buttered mash. I love the idea of adding fried onions, too.
Happy dining and traveling!
Monkey’s backseat driving pic would be a funny LOLcat: OMG UR going 2 getz us killz!!! Hope the drive is going smoothly!
Monkey is beautiful! I’d be so afraid of one of them getting loose. We once tried taking one of our cats on vacation with us. She started out being held in my lap, but yowled and clawed to get down. I let her down on the floor, and she promptly went over to the driver’s side and took a dump behind Doug’s clutch foot. Um… can you believe it? that was the last time we traveled with Phoebe.
I hope to see lots more pics of the cats!
Joan – we are trying to get there on Nov. 18th. So far, we’re on track. Hopefully the weather stays this great.
Hummingbird – Thanks! I’ll let you know what happened in Davenport!
April – Thank you :)
Chiara – Don’t let the good looks fool you. She tried the ‘I’m so sad’ approach while Monkey tried the ‘whine until I get out of this cage’ approach. Both were free in less than an hour.
Eva – I almost want to make those potatoes for Thanksgiving, but I’m afraid of how much butter I will need. After I throw a stick of butter onto the turkey…it might be too much :P
Irish Pirate – Monkey was so annoying. After we realized he just wanted to look over Chris’s shoulder, and not actually climb into the front seat, we gave up and let him look. I think he just wanted to make sure we were still us, and hadn’t turned into mutant monsters yet.
Chey – Monkey took a dump in his cage 30 minutes after the road trip. I couldn’t believe it. It’s like…seriously??? Already?!?! After that he was completely fine. I think the cage really got to him. Though…on the second day, he refused to come OUT of his cage and slept in there the whole day. Doesn’t make sense. But thanks for the imagery of your cat taking a dump behind Doug’s foot. I guess I’m glad that didn’t happen to us :P