Nothing could shake my joy at the anticipation of seeing Lisa, Jennifer, Marjorie or Debra, and no disaster, natural or unnatural could keep me away from my precious Gabriel. But I am getting weary. So road worn am I! Tired of boarding buses and getting off of buses, tired of sleeping sitting up and waking up every hour or so, tired of the distinctive growl of diesel engines and the feel of turning wheels. I don’t want to listen to strangers’ stories anymore, linger in bus depots anymore, or eat road food anymore. At this point I feel that if I ever have to pull another suitcase again it will be too soon. After having crossed the two deserts, the Continental Divide, the Colorado and Mississippi Rivers, and 3 times zones, I am ready to cry Uncle to this frenetic traveling.
But hey: I commissioned this Merry Go Round, I have to ride it till the end. And the end is about a month away at this point. We’re not even in Memphis yet, and I still have the Florida Panhandle and the Eastern Seaboard to go.
Aren’t you as tired of riding as I am? Let’s take a break from the bus riding and talk about food, shall we?
West of the Mississippi I was a very organized and enthusiastic traveler. The first month of this vagabond extravaganza I planned my meals. Whether the bus provided meal breaks or not, I did not want to be subjected to fast food so I bought food to take on the bus with me. As road fatigue mounted, so my indifference grew. My attention to provisions waned east of the Mississippi. Road food became the norm. I barely made sure I had snacks before boarding. I got reacquainted with munchies you can buy in convenience stores, like Combos and Chex Mix, and Rice Crispies treats with coffee. Yes, I copped the occasional cup of coffee on the road. Sometimes it was nice to have a hot beverage, especially at 4:30AM, when you know you’re not going to sleep anymore and the temperature on the bus hovers around 68 Fahrenheit. (more on that later)
It would not be fair to make a quality distinction based on my enthusiasm for travel. Obviously the food was better west of the Mississippi because I planned my selections, and worse east of Big Muddy because I was catching as catch can. So I won’t make any geographical distinctions, OK? I’ll just talk about the food I ate, and whether it was pleasing, satisfying, merely sustaining or downright nauseating. Matter of fact, we can make a game of it: you figure out where I was when I ate what I describe to you.
Feel free to email me at teamkrejados@gmail.com and let me know your answers. I’ll let you know if you’re right. We’ll just call this an interactive blog entry!
Whataburger Patty Melt meal: The location for this one is a given. There is only one state that has Whataburger. As for the food, it was hot and tasty going down, especially the fries. I had not had a patty melt in over a year and, even though I know I should have gone for the grilled chicken meal I opted for a sandwich where the grease soaked through not only the bread but the wax paper wrapper. This was a true gut bomb. I felt miserable for two days after eating it: bloated and vaguely nauseous. But MAN! They have good fries!
Greyhound bus station diner hot dog: Not bad, as far as hot dogs go. This was another iconic American food I had not eaten since forever, because even when I lived Stateside I did not eat hot dogs. This was a half-pound dog, served lukewarm in a cold bun. Condiments available upon request, for a dime a packet. You know what size packet. I ate it with Chex mix I had picked up in some convenience store and drank water. You can buy a hot dog combo, but seeing as the sausage itself was overpriced - $3! I was not going to pay even more for a few chips and a fountain drink.
Arby’s Market Fresh Sandwich: again, an expensive indulgence. The sandwich alone was $5.55! Fries and a drink would have put the grand total over $7. Way too much for a fast food restaurant meal. Nevertheless the sandwich was good and fresh, and made with whole grain bread. Other than the price giving me indigestion, it was a satisfying meal.
Farmer Boys Chicken Club Sandwich: The location for this one is kind of a giveaway too, because their franchises are limited to a certain geographical region. Their sandwiches however, are out of this world. Seriously: this sandwich made for some of the best food I had on the road. It travels well, being as it is wrapped not only in wax paper but aluminum foil and a paper bag lined with napkins. If I could have had their sandwiches for every meal break on this road trip I would have. Cost is moderate for the value at $6 for a footlong sandwich that made for two meals, because there is so much goodness packed within the homestyle bread.
Subway: their turkey club did not travel nearly as well as Farmer Boys’ sandwich did, even though I had them put only minimal dressing on it. The bread ended up soggy and over a third of the sandwich was inedible by the time I was ready to eat it. Not because of the dressing but because the veggies were waterlogged. At $6.49, that represented a waste of nearly $3 on this meal. For what I could eat of it, it was sustaining but not satisfying or stupendous.
Which wich? This restaurant had the coolest theme. You pick a brown bag, printed with sandwich selections: bread, meat, cheese, toppings, dressing. Put a check in the box to indicate your selection. Again I opted for a turkey club with nearly all of the veggies and a light vinaigrette dressing on the side, on whole grain bread. It cost about what a Subway sandwich does and, unfortunately, tasted about as bland. It was sustaining but not satisfying.
McDonalds’ Egg McMuffin Breakfast: Believe it or not, this was one of the better meals I ate on the road. We pulled into the parking lot somewhere near 5:30 in the morning. The restaurant was not even open for business yet. All of the food was fresh and hot and the coffee was rich, especially with the half’n’half that McDonald’s automatically provides. The hash browns were crispy and golden brown. It did not give me indigestion or make me sick. I think everyone knows what this costs.
Greyhound bus depot diner chicken fingers meal. Consisting of 5 large chunks of deep fried chicken breast meat and fries, this meal was one of the more generous, portion-wise. However, it was expensive at nearly $7. The crinkle-cut fries were golden brown but not quite crispy, and they turned cold much too fast in the overly air-conditioned terminal. The chicken was well cooked: crispy outside, juicy and tender inside. After satisfying my need for crunch I started peeling the batter off and ate just the succulent meat. It was too much for one meal but it would not travel well, so I felt compelled to eat it all. I left most of the french fries and chicken batter behind, regretting the waste of money that caused. Again it was sustaining but not exactly satisfying.
Are you wondering if I ate any ‘healthy food’ on the road? Yes, I had one so-called healthy meal on the road. It wasn’t really healthy, though. It was…
Panda Express: this is the only Chinese food I ate the entire time I was in the States. What a statement! It is true though: other than the beef noodle dish I cooked for Darrell and the fried rice for Jennifer, this was my only brush with oriental food. I gobbled it up, relishing the feel of chopsticks and the taste of steamed rice. The taste of the sweet ‘n’ sour pork, steamed veggies and egg roll was, well… not exactly disappointing. More like ‘expected’. I did not expect this Chinese food to taste like the Chinese food I had grown used to in China. It did make me sick though. Homesick for good Chinese cooking.
During my time in the States, the best food I had was at my loved ones’ houses. More on that in the next entry.
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