Labor Day Feativities

September 5, 2011 by kris | 4 Comments

Happy Labor Day to everyone in the states and a Happy Monday to everyone else! 

No labor day festivities for me…

Does an awesome early morning workout and an almond butter (justin’s nut butter packets are so convenient!) + banana whole-wheat bagel count?

Other than that I’ve spent all of today in the car.

We’re making our way back to Texas after a couple days in Rhode Island/Massachusetts.

So far we’ve driven through Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and and made a slight dent into Ohio.

That’s not the exact route we took, but pretty close. We stopped in White Plains, NY and somehow got re-routed. Our navigator has a mind of its own…

We’re now sitting at a Bob Evan’s somewhere near Akron, Ohio.

I’m a Bob Evans first timer and am actually surprised at the healthier options they offer.

Spinach and tomato omelette with a side of broccoli.

Next up! Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Then we enter into Texas!

I’ve been switching off driving with my dad and hopefully between the two of us, we’ll be able to drive non-stop, except for gas, food, & restroom breaks, and make it to our destination by tomorrow early afternoon.

We made a stop in Connecticut at Trader Joes to pick up some snacks for the road. Some dried fruits and cat cookies made their way into my shopping cart, along with a couple – ok, ok – a lot(!) of other items.

Like these dark chocolate covered edamame:

And these chocolate cat cookies:

I’ve also decided these are a sleepy drivers best friend.

They have a nice firm chew to them and they keep me alert! 

Especially during these intense rain showers we’ve been driving through.

Let’s see if I can set a new record for most hours I’ve driven at once. Current record: 7 hrs, on a trip to California.

What’s the longest you’ve ever driven?

Running around RI

September 3, 2011 by kris | 4 Comments

We finally made it to Rhode Island yesterday!

Estimated arrival time: 1pm
ACTUAL arrival time 6pm

The traffic from New York to Rhode Island was horrendous. Particularly New York. I’m not really sure how people commute from Pennsylvania or
New Jersey to New York. I’d be so irritated by the traffic.

The first thing we did once we arrived in RI was high tail it to the nearest Bed Bath and Beyond to finish shopping for my sisters dorm stuff.

I was kinda hoping to high tail it to the gym after having endlessly sat in the car 3 straight days and doing nothing but snacking, but no such luck.

Btw, these dried peach slices from trader joes are ahhmaze-balls. Seriously.

And so is their vacuum-fried pineapple chips!

We didn’t finish shopping until 8:30pm and didn’t get to dinner til 9pm.

Was anyone else aware that Providence was such an up and coming foodie city? Because i definitely was not. They actually held their first food and wine festival this year and there are so many fun restaurants in this little vibrant town.

We had dinner at the highly recommended restaurant Gracie’s, a super cute restaurant that specializes in new american food.

They cook mainly locally sourced foods and even have their own roof top garden where they grow their own fruits and veggies.

Finishing dinner at 10:30pm meant no gym time for me, but I did jump rope for a couple minutes in my hotel room thanks to the ultra high ceilings.

A jump rope is something I always pack with me whenever I go out of town. So functional and so portable.

This morning I did a quick run outside. I can’t get over how nice the weather is here! I was actually cold during the beginning of my run around 6:30am, but by the end it just felt amazing out.

I ran around the capital a couple times since it is right across the street from our hotel. I love the hills here!

Running is such a great way to explore a new city! Then I went indoors to do some weights at the gym.

Breakfast was quick and easy – an egg white whole wheat bagel from Panera Bread down the street.

Then we were off to move my sister into her dorm room. I still remember the day I moved into my dorm room and how excited I was. I’m glad my dorm room days are behind me – no more communal bathrooms for me, thank you

After walking up and down the stairs to her room many times, we worked up quite the appetite and headed to lunch. We ended up at a pita place where I had a dolma pita pocket – lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños, hummhs, tzitziki, tahini, pickles, herbs, and stuffed grape leaves.

I’m hoping to explore Providence a bit more and I’d love to see Newport – I hear it’s beautiful!

Favorite road-trip snacks? – I like to keep it on the healthier side and usually bring easy and portable finger foods like dried fruits and baked chips or crackers

Tennessee to Pennsylvania

September 1, 2011 by kris | 3 Comments

We ended up driving all the way to Knoxville, TN last night arriving at our hotel a little past 5am.

This morning, er rather early afternoon, we had lunch at a cute little restaurant named Cafe 8. It was located in downtown Knoxville in an area full of restaurants.

I ordered the first thing that caught my eye on the menu – a veggie burger with avocado, arugula, and red peppers, with a side of fruit.

My sister, a total southern girl, was in fried food heaven with her plate of chicken and waffles and side of mac and cheese.

I love how small town downtowns always have such a fun and historic vibe to them. Plus they’re really clean looking.

After lunch we continued on our way towards Rhode Island.

A couple hours later we were out of Tennessee and in Virginia! My attempt to take a photo of the ‘Welcome to Virginia’ sign was not so successful…

I spotted the sign, but what I captured on my camera didn’t seem to be the same thing haha.

At least I now know that ‘commercial vehicles, except buses, are prohibited in left lane’ in Virginia. Useful information, I tell ya!

Oh, and apparently radar detectors are prohibited there too.

I drove through the majority of Virginia, which is very pretty and green with many rolling hills.

A nice change from flat Texas.

At one point I drove into a stop and go traffic jam that set us back about 30 mins.

But other than that it was smooth sailing. It’s been fun getting to drive by a lot of the towns I learned about in all my past US history classes like Lexington and Salem, Virginia. I was always intrigued by the Salem witchcraft trials!

Around 8 pm we stopped for dinner at Cracker Barrel in Harrisonburg.

I didn’t realize Cracker Barrel was so popular towards the east. I can’t even tell you how many we’ve passed since yesterday.

I ordered the country vegetable plate – green beans, corn, apples, and carrots – with cornbread and biscuits. [Gotta get my veggies in somehow!...Even if they're canned. blech!]

I kinda wish I had gone the breakfast for dinner route. Someone sitting nearby was eating pancakes and I had some food envy

But I got over that after perusing the ‘country store’ that is attached to the restaurant.

All their candy is so old school and brings back some fun memories.

Like cracker jacks!

As a kid my parents used to buy me these all the time and I remember I would just dig for the prize inside and ignore the popcorn. Apparently I loved temporary tattoos and plastic rings

We’re now back on the road should be passing through West Virginia, Maryland and then crossing over into Pennsylvania shortly!

Were you particularly fond of any candies or snacks as a child? Do you still eat them?

everyday oats

taking on life one meal at a time

Tag Archives: road trip

Labor Day Feativities

Running around RI

Tennessee to Pennsylvania