Road Trip! ...so snap in to a slim jim

So obviously I lied - I did not blog last week, but I'm back now.  Anyway, I have a variety blog topics on deck, so expect regular blogging at least for a while.  I have noticed though that many of my last posts (and today's) are about food.  When I started to write this blog, I meant to write about trying new things, which includes food, but I never meant it to be all about food.  But, as I find myself trying to shift careers, I also find myself with a lack of funds to buy new things to try.  I have to eat though, so trying new recipes and new brands is something I can still do and write about.  So sorry if you hate food - eventually I will be in a better financial place so I can spend my money willy nilly on all sorts of gadgets. 

So not too long ago I went with two of my sisters and Ryan on a ride from Philadelphia to East Hampton to hang out for a weekend.  Although it's only about 200 miles, it can take a long time and sometimes feels like a real road trip full with rest stops. We stopped at some random gas station (actually, we pulled into one, decided it didn't have a big enough food mart building and then went to another). For some reason, when you are riding in a car for a long time, you allow yourself to eat things you wouldn't usually eat.  Why do we do this? Because driving/traveling can be so stressful? Perhaps the amazing assortment of junk food available and the many signs advertising them are to much to resist? Maybe we just think it doesn't count when you are cruising at 70mph. I don't know why, but regular eating rules are off when you're in the car for a long trip.

When is the last time that you ate combos, slim jims, corn nuts, pork rinds, bugles, big league chew or a slurpee in your regular life (not including when you are drunk)? Gas stations stock all sorts of snacks that you don't usually see at the grocery store or deli, so not only are you ready to eat whatever you want, you see all sorts of exciting snacks, including NEW snacks! And, don't forget about plethora of fast food.

My sisters and I are at times, what you could call food enablers.  Trying to decide between combos or bugles - 'let's get both.' I used to ride with one of my sisters from Philadelphia to East Hampton pretty often, and we ALWAYS stopped at this one Burger King really early in the morning. This is totally weird because I would never go to Burger King (or basically any fast food place) except on those trips. We would get those tater tot like things, eat them quickly, feel ill and then miss the entrance to the NJ Turnpike. Those tater tots that I think they call hash browns are maybe the greasiest thing in the world. So bad, you only eat them on road trips.

This is what my sisters, Ryan and I bought on our recent trip to East Hampton and back: Hot Buffalo Bugles, Big League Chew (grape and watermelon), peanuts, almonds, Jalepeno Cheddar Combos, Werthers, and I think there might have been more, but I can't remember. Now, we didn't eat all of it (I never got any of the watermelon Big League Chew that I picked).  Oh yeah, I ate chicken nuggets and french fries for lunch on our way back. Nothing was especially good btw in case you were looking for some suggestions on car snacks.

Here are my favorite road trip eats: Popeyes spicy chicken strips, Chile Picante Corn Nuts, Nantucket Nector Half and Half (unless there is green box iced tea to be had - aka bonic tonic or hampton dairy iced tea), Gummy Lifesavers and Starbursts. Thankfully for my health's sake, I don't go on many road trips and don't often eat like that when I am, but that is probably because Ryan is a rest stop minimalist. I should note though, that there is one rule that won't even be broken for a road trip.  It's not a rule for me because they do not tempt me, but it is one of the two rules I have for Ryan (not that I really like to impose rules on others, and it's not like anything would happen if he broke this rule) - NO HOSTESS FRUIT PIES!!! They are so bad for you. One of those little things has about 500 calories, about 70g of carbs, over 20g of fat (some of which is from lard) and a zillion preservations. I'm no health nut, but these things have no redeeming qualities. So, NO hostess fruit pies, well at least while I'm in the car.