Are We There Yet?

Hi Everyone and Happy Spring Break!

We are making the 18 hour trek home from Copper Mountain, Colorado to Pearland, Texas.  My son, Jacob just said he wanted to go home and sleep in his own bed, in his own room, in the dark!  This is huge, as he hasn’t slept in his bed for probably 6 weeks.  Around the beginning of the year, he discovered the Michael Jackson Thriller CD.  He played it over and over, blaring Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.  My husband Brett had the idea that he would show Jacob the Thriller video.  Well… that sent Jacob in full blown there are monsters in my room mode.  Every night has been the same routine.  “Jacob, do you want to sleep in your bed tonight?”  “No, I am scawed (scared) of the monsters”.  “Okay, buddy you can sleep with your sisters.” 

Now, on to traveling and finding a place to eat lunch.  As much as I try to plan, I always seem to get off of my lovely anti-cancer meal plan when I am traveling.  Eating out is always a process ending up in frustration.  My friend has recommended we eat lunch at The Church in Castle Rock south of Denver, but their website is down and I can’t see their menu or attire (we are still in ski town wear).  I am working the ipad and phone scrambling to find a healthy place to eat.  Yelp is of no help.  I can’t locate anything and lo and behold we are in the drive through line at Chickfila!  My kids are happy and I am frustrated as I order my plain side salad and fruit cup.  Don’t get me wrong, I am able to find healthy options at CFA, I was just hoping to find a cute and casual organic, fresh bistro with some Colorado culture! 

So after CFA, I’m back on the internet looking for ways to locate healthy restaurants while traveling.  I get some help from my new favorite book Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr.  I had originally purchased this book for Brett, but after sitting on his desk for 3 weeks, I decided I would read it on our road trip.  I haven’t been able to put it down!  Kris, an actress and photographer was diagnosed with a rare form a liver cancer when she was thirty-one.  A dozen lesions on her liver, ten tumors in her lungs- all inoperable with no cure, she was diagnosed with epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE).   After learning of her cancer she states “friends dumped me, colleagues stepped back as if I had some contagious plague, and the ‘so sorry to hear you’re dying’ sympathy cards started pouring in.”  She took charge of her diagnosis by becoming what she calls CEO of Save My Ass Technologies, Inc.  She changed her diet and lifestyle and seven years later still has cancer, but it is stable.  She is hilarious!  If you don’t mind her cursing and constantly talking about entry and exit (eating and pooping), this is a must read for YOU!  For anyone who wants to take charge of their health, she offers insight, research, and hope. 

I find Healthyhighways.com and order their guidebook for $14.95.  The Healthy Highways Guidebook appears to be my answer to eating out frustrations.  This book contains 2,800 vegetarian and healthy eateries and natural food stores in the U.S.  I also discover Happycow.net.  I guess the cow is happy because he isn’t on the grill?  This really neat site has an interactive global directory of vegetarian restaurants and health food stores.  I purchase their app called Veg Out for $2.99.  Wow! I love this app.  There are so many healthy options in Houston that I was unaware of.  Eating out might just be fun again. 

After hours of searching the web it’s dinner time and we are driving through Dumas, TX.  Veg Out found no recommendations in Dumas and so far, our dinner options are Sonic, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, KFC and Albert’s Restaurant.  I wonder about the rates of diabetes in this town and hope the Dumasians are at home cooking.  We keep driving to Amarillo hoping to find something mamma approved.  Veg Out has located a restaurant called The 806.  This place sounds great; however it’s also a bar with live music.  It doesn’t appear to be ideal place for our family of 5 to stop and eat.  I get on trip advisor and find the #3 restaurant in Amarillo is a place called Blue Sky.  What the heck, surely it’s decent if it’s #3.  Meanwhile we are passing up Arby’s, McDonald’s, KFC, Long John Silver and Taco Bell.  Right across this strip of fast food establishments is a CVS Pharmacy.  I get it- eat some fast food then drive across the street for tums, laxatives and insulin strips!  We end up driving opposite of Blue Sky and have to settle for Cracker Barrel.  Yes, I said Cracker Barrel- the kids are thrilled!  Ugh, I’m frustrated again. 

We are settled in at Candlewood Suites in Wichita Falls for the night, sleep my child sleep.

Morning chaos- get everyone up and out the door for the last leg of our trip.  Our breakfast options are slim at the suites.  We are driving, looking for the nearest Starbucks, which ends up being in Decatur.  $30 later, we have a bag full of protein plates, oatmeal, green tea, organic apple juice, Horizon milk, a spinach and egg -white wrap and a couple of breakfast sandwiches.  Starbucks has some healthy options for everyone.  They sell raw snacks, fruit cups, bananas, herbal teas and nuts.  Most of the food is manufactured in Seattle.  I know it’s not good that it travels so far or that there are some ingredients that I don’t recognize.  But, it is the better choice for us this morning.

We have made it to Houston!  We had an uneventful family road trip home, thank you God.  I’m already thinking about my grocery list and ingredients to try out some of Kris Carr’s juices and meal recipes.  I think Brett is on board, as I have been reading this book to him to and from Colorado.  Thank you Best Husband!  My goal this week is to get our entry and exits back on trackJ

Be Well,