Thursday, June 2, 2011

Road Trip Eats + My Love Affair With McDonald's

I'm not sure what is causing me to write this post...I didn't just go on a road trip or anything.

Maybe it's the Texan in me (adopted...lived there 7 years), but to me there's almost nothing more fun than hopping in the car and driving ridiculous distances.  This love is incompatible with my need to run and feeble attempts to eat healthy.

HOWEVER....it is SUPER compatible with my love for McDonald's Ice Cream Cones!!!

Late night indulgence from trip last year -------->

Sorry for nearly flashing you guys in this picture...it was Vegas...ok?

I digress.....

My road trip eating usually goes in three sections...



Part 1 - Ecstasy
The idea of eating all this fast food sounds like an amazing fantasy.  I survey the truck stop to see where I should eat first.
Inevitably, I land on McDonald's.

 IT'S SO FREAKING DELICIOUS!!!


Time to get 10 diet cokes, 4 icecream cones, and 20 McNuggets!!!!

Also time to stop to pee every two hours due to insane Diet Coke consumption.
On a side note, Mcdonald's claims their icecream cones contain 150 calories.  I am 100% sure that is a lie.  Nothing this good has 150 calories in it.  





Part 2 - Exploration
Ummm...maybe we should try a different place to eat?  Wendy's anyone?
Is Subway healthy or do they just say so in those commercials? 


Maybe it won't hurt to stop by McDonalds for a cone afterwards...




Part 3 - Stomach Ache
Did I swallow a rock?
I would kill for a cup of fruit or some freaking lentil soup.

Maybe I will spend $6 for one of those way overpriced mini food packs at Starbucks...





Running While Traveling

I also love to run when on road trips, but unless I'm traveling with another OCD runner, it's hard to pull off, given that we have places to get to and stuff.

To me, there is a special joy in exploring a new place on foot, even if it's just for a half hour.

Some of my best run travel memories:
1) Running in Memphis right along the Mississippi at sunset (LOVE Memphis!)
2) The sheer pain of "running" in Vegas in 110 weather when everyone else is drinking up a storm.
3) Driving out to Olympic National Park in Western Washington and running on the trails while the rest of the tourists looked at me like I was crazy.

Neon Blonde Runner just wrote a cool post about her running with a local running club while traveling.

Do you run when you're traveling?  


What is your travel food weakness?  (for me it is the cone ALL THE WAY!!) 


This Blog Entry Made Me Hungry.  

14 comments:

  1. MCD's ice cream cones FOR SURE. And Wendy's frosty's. I will also take DQ Blizzards... Do you see a trend? ;)

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  2. OK you are SO RIGHT about the McDonald's ice cream cones, love them. I think they are technically "ice milk", that's what my parents told me when I was a kid at least. Don't know if that's changed.

    When we were driving from Santa Fe to Durango, Colorado, there were no McDonalds, so I made my parents stop at a delicious soft serve place to get my soft serve fix. The vanilla cone was better than Micky D's, but the old standard takes a close 2nd.

    Oh gosh, you just made my heart warm by mentioning me, thanks guurl!

    Ok and glad you like the water jumping photo. Don't tell anyone, but I landed on the rock, no water was involved.

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  3. I enjoy running when I travel too! I usually eat crap on roadtrips, which is one of my favorite parts!! :)

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  4. I love those twist cones! They're so cheap too. Don't try to tell me they're not 150 calories. I refuse to believe anything different.
    I love road tripping and eating snacks in the car--so fun for me for some bizarre reason!
    :)

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  5. Oh I love McDonalds icecream cones and the egg mcmuffins. There I said it. :)

    I love love love road trips and especially running in new places. This post made me crave a vacation so bad!

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  6. I love road trips too...but only about two days of them. For some reason I always want ginger ale on airplanes and Pringles on car trips (the real kind, not fat-free). And ice cream...well, I'll eat ice cream almost any time.

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  7. My usual rood trip food was always french fries, but that was because I was vegan (I stopped a few months ago... health stuff)... so now, it'll probably become something dairy, sweet, and delicious! LOL

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  8. The Texas reference made me oh-so-happy! Native Texan here, but a recent transplant to St. Louis.

    I LOVE road trips, any time to anywhere. I'm always game.

    McD ice cream cones are such a road trip weakness of mine. Oh and banana chips in big packs at convenience stores. Dip the banana chips into ice cream and it's pure heaven.

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  9. haha...okay, i LUV this post/blog/your writing style cuz ya, i can relate to it all. first off, okay ice cream in every way shape of form is both awesome but hello, there is a daily quota that must be met, so wat better way than via mcd's drive thru?

    second, traveling with a non-OCD runner is hell for me. i have a really heinous story that was the entire trip with my aunt road-tripping in CO. it may have come to blows, but darn straight i'm getting my run in! :)

    also, sooo many of my fav/hilarious running memories come when done under the worst possible conditions. at a certain point you have to laugh and say to yourself, 'is the freaking for real?!?!'

    ahhh, looking forward to reading more of ur blog and oh, my top travel food weakness....just one? i'll stick with the ice cream theme and go with dairy queen choc-chip cookie dough blizzard! :)

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  10. Apparently I'm the only person reading this blog that is disgusted by fast food (that includes Subway- I hate the fake bread baking smell!). I haven't eaten at McDonald's since I was in 3rd grade and that was only because some evil childhood friend of mine's parents took us there and I can still remember the horribleness. I'm okay being on my high horse about avoiding McDonald's. And I hate road trips over 1.5hrs- I get super car sick :(

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  11. I can SO totally relate to the mcDs thing.....haha i get a large diet coke and am the annoying gal in the back saying, "uh, does anyone else have to go?"

    :)

    I definitely run while travelling. Most recently I ran in Ocean Park, Maine along the ocean!

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  12. I ALWAYS run while travelling. If I'm with someone who isn't into it, I'll usually wake up real early and do it before the day starts.

    I have so many food weaknesses...any kind of chocolate, nachos with salsa and guacamole, BBQ kettle chips, and pretty much any candy (especially wine gums, gummy bears, swedish berries, and sour patch kids)!

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  13. I believe the proper term is conos ;) Chik-fil-a is my go to when faced with situations like small town crawfish boils in Louisiana. Other than that, I pretty much love McD's conos, and try to sample them all over the world. A great snack with a clean restroom. Plus, they are made with fat free milk :)

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  14. Love McDonald's ice cream cone and Wendy's chocolate Frosty through the straw - no other way.
    I almost always will have a doughnut on a road trip with my boyfriend - just one.

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