I took a leap of faith. I quit my full time job to pursue traveling. I love what I do as a medical imaging professional and I feel that caring for others is a path I’ve had a calling to do, but I love travel. From the time I was a child my military father would move us around the country and my mother would take me as her travel buddy exploring each new city as well as far flung places. The seed was planted and staying in any one place too long just didn’t sit right. I always thought the only traveling professionals were nurses until 8 years ago when I met another allied health traveler. The timing wasn’t right, but it allowed me to dream of a future where I could combine my career of choice and my passion for travel. Being paid to intensively explore a new area of America every 3 months with as much time as I wanted to take off between assignments was a dream. And thus, I accepted a contract position in southern Oregon. Just about as far as one can get from Florida. I opted to take a weeklong solo road trip across America to get there.
Starting at home we took some time to play to tourist in St. Augustine, Fl. We camped at Anastasia state park, walked the beach, enjoyed some donuts, visited the Alligator Farm, Ripley’s believe it or not, the oldest school house, the old jail and the oldest store, and a few other things. I’ll save that for another blog post.
Early Sunday morning I did the last minute packing and set out for St. Louis. A nearly 13 hour drive along a route I had done many times before. I saw deer grazing along the interstate, watched the sun rise over a Coca Cola factory in Tifton and stopped at a Buc-ees in Macon.
I arrived to my friends house in time for a lovely walk around her neighborhood and then we set of for dinner at a 1920s era restored soda fountain aptly named Fountain on Locust. We’ve been here for dessert before, but I’d never tried their food. I ordered the two cups of soup and side salad special. That nights soup of the day was an amazing curry mulligatawny and my other choice was a white chicken chili with the Stutz special salad. Everything here is made in house and I don’t think you could be disappointed by any of it.
The atmosphere here feels indulgent. Old varnished wooden booths, richly colored walls, ornate lighting and era style music piped in just add to the experience.
Unquestionably, you need to order dessert here. Whether that dessert is alcoholic in the form of a multi-page choice of cocktails or ice cream you can’t go wrong. They are, however, famous for their late night delight. A fantastical sundae meant for sharing. A house made slice of pineapple upside down cake topped with butter pecan, coconut and butter pecan ice creams, drizzled with a bourbon sauce, whipped cream and brûléed bananas.
If you just can’t decide… well, I don’t blame you, but you can order the gambler. They make sure there isn’t anything you’ll either hate or be allergic to and the bartender whips you up a surprise sundae.
I was exhausted and passed out despite the sugar rush. Luckily for me, my friends are also early risers and we set off across town to The Shake for a few laughs over the menu, a chance to scribble on the walls and eat some gut bustlingly, filling breakfast choices.
I had “Ma, the meatloaf “ a bacon wrapped chunk of meatloaf atop crispy hash browns topped with two sunny side up eggs and gravy. It was spicy, savory and a delight. My friends ordered the “make your own dang quesadilla” (a breakfast version they do, in fact, make for you), as well as “why the French hate us”; a sausage hot dog placed in a croissant and topped with scrambled eggs, cheese and sausage gravy. We split the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Belgian waffle.
Fully satisfied I hugged my friends goodbye and drove to my next destination to see another friend. My goal was an easy 7 hour drive to Lincoln, Nebraska home of the Cornhuskers. Since I didn’t want to arrive before they finished work I built in a pit stop in Kansas City, Mo.
Here, I was able to take in the WWI memorial and the money museum. The museum is located at the federal reserve. It requires reservations, but it is free and includes parking. It’s a short walk from the memorial. It was a cute little space that had displays of old coins and cash and gives you the chance to watch employees of the reserve count and pack thousands of dollars in cash at a time. You even get to walk out with a bag of (shredded) money for free.
As it was lunch time I followed a few great reviews and drove to Joe’s Kansas City BBQ for a meal. You can’t stop in a city at lunch and not grab a bite of an iconic cuisine.
I wasn’t altogether hungry so I ordered a brisket sandwich with a side of mac ‘n cheese. Everything was delicious! I waited in line for nearly an hour on a weekday at noon, but I’d do it again. The bread for the sandwich was very fresh, the sauce was tasty and the smell of smoked meats filled the air. While the Mac ‘n cheese side was expensive it was one of the best, creamiest Mac ‘n cheese dishes I’ve ever had. If I ever stop by again I would prioritize this dish. If you come here get yourself some.
As I was leaving I saw the local farmers market arena and stopped to take a photo of the murals.
On the road once again, I had a few hours until my next destination. It went relatively quickly listening to podcasts. I arrived late in the afternoon and caught up with my friends. They took me to the old rail yard area that has been converted to bars, restaurants and shops all centrally located near the college football stadium. I’d begged my friends to take me for a steak dinner which they obliged, but first took me on a lovely tour showing off their great city.
While I’m sure my experience was not typical, I was extremely disappointed by the service and quality of our steak dinner. I feel terrible my friends had to experience such a poor meal when we’d all had such high hopes. Once I’d finally gotten the steak properly cooked, and had a steak knife brought out it was ok. I don’t think I’d go back unless it was for whisky. They have a stellar selection.
After dinner we drove to the campus for dessert at the Dairy Store. An ice cream parlor run by college students. He showed off the building he went to school and they pointed out where they’d taken their daughter for a photo shoot as an infant. By the way, the tractor test toffee was pretty darn tasty. If I ever went back earlier in the day, they also sell coffee and they’re missing a chance to sell affogato, but I’m sure they’d be willing to make one if requested.
Early the next morning, I took a walk in the neighborhood full of charming homes with beautiful lawns. When everyone was up and ready to go we headed to breakfast.
Good Evans is adorable. It’s an insta-worthy breakfast and lunch place for sure. The decision was a tough one, but I was in need of something erring in the side of healthy so I went for the steel cut oats and sourdough bread.
Once again I was packed into my car and on the road with miles of corn fields and rolling hills between me and my next destination. This time I was planning to spend two nights with my brother in Estes Park, Co. my parents drove down to see me as well. We cooked dinner at home and my mom made cannolis for desert. You couldn’t beat the view!
Waking in the morning we savored a cup of coffee on the back porch wrapped up in sweats. 44 degrees in the summer is pretty chilly for me.
Once the sun came out I changed to shorts and we went into town to enjoy a canoe ride on Lake Estes.
My niece works at the Marina so she was able to join me on the canoe. My parents opted to go shopping for that nights dinner instead.
We had a make your own fajita bar and I went for a bowl. My sister in law is from Texas so when she does Mexican food she does all the fixings and some adult lemonade to savor right along with it.
I hugged out my goodbyes and took off down the road just after sunrise. I had a long day ahead but wanted to drive with the sun as there are so many animals that an accident is much likelier in the dark. In fact, big horn sheep were grazing on the side of the road as I made my way down.
Driving west across Wyoming I came across various snow fences and it made me remember my high school years in North Dakota. I realized how removed I am from a way of life where I worry about blowing winds closing the interstate with drifts of snow.
I drove past buttes at the Flaming River gorge as I made my way into Utah.
The scenery began to change from white and green plains to red rocks as I crawled ever closer to the border.
About an hour and half west of Salt Lake City lie the Bonneville Salt Flats. Here you can surround yourself with miles and miles of salt caked to the ground. Not only does the dazzling white crust feel like another planet, the mountains in the background add to the atmosphere. It’s wild driving on a pure white salt road for miles. Arriving a day before the annual speedway races, there were quite a few racers already setting up camp, yet I was able to find a place all to myself.
In photographs the mountains seem so minute. There really is no way to give scale to this much salt. My car was crusted, my feet were caked and the black carpets of my car were all covered in salt. It was 104 degrees in the desert even with rain clouds starting to move in. I’d definitely need a car wash now.
My final destination for the evening was Elko, NV. You could see the silhouette of mountains looming but the smoke from forest fires hundreds of miles away kept them from being defined shapes. I checked into my room and walked down the street to Wingers and ordered a half Cobb salad and ate about half of that. This thing was loaded to the brim with goodies! A quarter of an avocado, half a grilled chicken breast, a whole egg, loads of bacon bits and cheese. It was amazing. I was more tired than hungry and didn’t manage a photo. I gulped a bunch of water and headed to bed.
My original plan had me waking early as usual with a several hour pit stop in Lassen Volcanic national park, but the park was closed due to the Dixie wildfire so I relaxed in bed for a bit longer. Breakfast was included at my hotel so I ate a decent enough meal to ensure I wouldn’t have a need to stop for lunch if that became iffy. Who knows what is closed when wildfires abound.
I started seeing sides of the road all the way up the nearby hills with charred trees and scorched grasses. These were old, but the smell of fires clung to the air.
Further up near the top of the hill passing through the Lassen national forest the smoke got intense blotting out the sun and firefighters had roads roped off.
It felt truly eerie. I said a silent prayer for all those affected by the fires and the people fighting them. I can’t imagine what they’re feeling. As I came off of the mountain the sky had regained some of its blue color and the sun started to shine again. Dropping into Redding, Ca the smoke is still around, but it’s comparatively less intense. I happened to drive right past a wonderful $10 car wash with attendants that use brushes to hand scrub your car before sending it through the wash and finish by hand drying it with a chamois. I didn’t even have to wait in line, although, there was one when I finished. I unloaded my things at the hotel and stopped at Trader Joe’s for some frozen Indian food I could microwave back at the room. If you haven’t tried it, the channa masala is wonderful with their fresh naan. One thing did catch my eye and I had to grab it.
A very tangy, sweet crunch of popcorn. I’m a sucker for key lime and this version is so good.
After spending the evening stretching out in my hotel room I fell asleep early and woke up to the last leg of my trip. A drive through Northern California up I-5 through Ashford, Oregon; a town known for their Shakespearean festival, and Medford on my way to the coast. My final destination was a small coastal town a few miles from the California border. I took in as many sites of this gorgeous coastline as time allowed, but I had to meet my landlord and take care of a few items to be ready to start my new contract here in southern Oregon.
I’ll have plenty of time to explore the beaches and river in my new “home”. I hope you’ll join me on some more adventures in the PNW.
Eating Around 