Experiencing the Horror Movie Hotel
I think it was the spider nest at our first hotel that nearly broke my resolve. My husband and I took off after work, driving from Toronto to the outskirts of Pittsburgh, where we’d be stopping at a hotel for the night.
Have you ever seen one of those horror movies, where the night is dark and the couple pull up to a hotel that just doesn’t look right? Not the country road ivy-covered rotting building type but the black-as-night city with the modern, concrete block, deserted kind of building?
We parked and went in anyway (like all horror movie victims do).
There was a well-lit lobby inside, and the staff were nice enough, but as soon as you left that island of light, there were plastic sheet-covered walls, and painter’s tape, and drywall-dust-covered floors. The plastic sheets wavered as moved past them.
Once we reached the end of the hallway, we were stage whispering to one another, guessing out loud the state of our room. And then I saw the spider’s lair…up there, about a foot across, complete with host spider and guest bug victims. At this point, I nearly lost my “hey, this is an adventure, let’s make the best of it” resolve.
Is it a Foodie Road Trip or a Family Reunion – or Both?
We’d planned what we called a “Fall Family Reunion” with my West-coast family, but it was truly just a thinly-veiled all-adult Mouse-worshiping trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando.
My husband Joe and I would be leaving behind our lazy Saturday routine of leather armchair movie-watching and TV-show binging to fly in from Toronto. Or…would we?
My husband Joe loves cars. LOVES cars. He can tell you trivia about new cars or his favourite muscle cars from the 1970’s until your head has nodded so much you can no longer nod. He identifies, out loud, the make, model and year of cars he sees on the road as he drives. So he did not want to fly. He wanted to drive. Drive all the way to Florida. Miles and miles and miles.
I, on the other hand, dislike long car rides. And when I travel, I want to just get there. The experience of travel is to be in the place I want to explore. And I was thrilled to be visiting the Mouse House. So to keep my stick-shifting, car-loving husband happy, I agreed to a drive in the name of adventure.
How Not to Do a Foodie Road Trip
Drive Straight Through
As soon as our well-meaning neighbour heard about this, his head popped over the fence like Wilson in “Home Improvement,” and he explained to Joe and me that to get to Walt Disney World he’d just drive through overnight. And, he had done the 20-plus hour drive in a minimum of hours with only 1 stop.
No. No, no, no. I was not falling for our friend’s recommendation. It sounded to me like a caffeine-hopped-up bum-numbing endless view of road. This drive would put me over the edge within the first 4 hours, and I’d be reading random store signs and billboards out loud in a sing-song way like the ancient William Hickey in “Forget Paris.”
Setting Up the GPS
Picturing this kicked me into quick action. For a true adventure, preparation was key. Not only was I stocking the car with great tunes but because we were trying to limit data roaming on our phones, I updated our car’s GPS with the most recent US map files.
Now, funny enough, while the GPS was helpful, the update was not very current nor complete. There were times when we’d be on a road but because it wasn’t mapped yet, the GPS showed us “flying” across a field. We had to shut off the voice urging us to turn in the middle of the highway.
How to Do a Foodie Road Trip
While some people look at familiar chain restaurants as comforting, my foodie self craves the unique, the local, the tastiest. Thus, more importantly, I planned for places along our route which had been featured in “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” or were well-recommended on Yelp.
Einstein’s in Pittsburg
The morning after our hotel disaster, we found Einstein’s bagels in Pittsburgh. They make all kinds of delightful bagels, including pretzel bagels, and specialize in a flavoured cream cheese SHMEAR.
Rita’s Ice Custard in Pennsylvania
Later, we stopped at Rita’s for our first taste of an ice custard in Pennsylvania. The real difference between ice custard and ice cream is the egg yolk added to the custard. Choose this or an authentic Italian Ice and it’s well worth the stop.
Butterflies and Peanuts in Virginia
Along the way we stumbled on a tourist office that offered a walk-in butterfly experience and fresh-roasted Virginia peanuts.
13 Gypsies in Jacksonville
I had researched a little tapas place called 13 Gypsies in Jacksonville, Florida which touted itself as “a peasant kitchen”. They make their own bread, sausage, cheeses and pickled vegetables, all served on little tapas plates in the Spanish tradition.
Dish in Charlotte
One of the best restaurants we found was Dish, a home-cooking restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina. From our first fried green tomatoes to the slow-cooked pot roast, collard greens, smashed potatoes with bits of ham hock, to the final banana pudding parfait topped with a giant dollop of whipped cream, we were in heaven.
The Shrimp & Grits Festival on Jekyll Island
The most memorable experience, though? On the border of Georgia, we found a trio of birdlike tourism ladies who excitedly chirped at us about an upcoming shrimp and grits festival on Jekyll Island, sponsored by Southern Living magazine. Now, if you’re at all familiar with Southern Living, or for West-coasters, Sunset magazine, you’ll know its quality. For the Canadians amongst you, envision a mix of House & Home with Canadian Living.
So, I plopped the details into my calendar for the trip back, and boy was it an adventure!
You access Jekyll island across a causeway. Once there, you follow signs directing you to circle the island, then you park on the airport strip. A bus takes you through the local neighbourhoods and by the many trees dripping Spanish moss.
I didn’t waste any time. Near the entrance to the Shrimp & Grits festival I talked to a farmer about his produce and bought his giant hand-picked apple dipped in caramel.
We made our way through the artisan tents, got to the centre where local boys were playing country music on a stage while the locals danced, and 10 booths ringing the area fought for our attention with varying recipes for shrimp and grits. We chose some samples to share and enjoyed them all.
I promised to drive on our way out so Joe could enjoy the beer tent. While I won’t get into details, did you know it’s terrifying to drive across a 2-lane causeway, with water on either side of your road, on a pitch-black night in a thunderstorm?
Traveling is Adventure Full of Movie Quotes
We make a great couple when we travel, because neither one of us are too strict about plans and can take it as it comes. This works in our favour as we have what I like to call “adventures.”
After all, life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.
