Preparing for a Road Trip

[Gloria]

We're going on our first road trip since my Dx and I'm a little nervous. I'm not so concerned about urgent stops on the way, but more about how to eat away from home.

I'm planning similar to how I used to prepare for a trip when we went RVing.

I'll have a food suitcase which will contain rice cakes, GF cereal, soup broth, potatoes, potato chips, sunflower butter, Ener-G egg replacer, canned chicken, pre-cooked rice, canned tomatoes, tuna, GF pasta, fruit cups and fruit juice and my recipe box.

My cooler will contain homemade hamburger buns and bread, mayonnaise, mustard, catsup, Ghee, margarine, jelly, pre-cooked bacon, packaged chicken sausage, hamburger patties, chocolate, waffles, almond milk in 8 oz. plastic containers, soda pop (for DH), relish, and steak sauce.

I have one suitcase which will contain two electric burner plates, a small microwave and a toaster oven. I'm packing dishes, storage bowls and cooking, baking and eating utensils along with cleaning items.

In addition, I've looked up the chain restaurants along the route where I've safely eaten which offer GF menus . I am planning on preparing my own breakfast and lunch, but eating dinners out. Hopefully that will placate DH.

We're leaving Sunday morning and hopefully returning Saturday, if all goes well.

If you can think of anything I've forgotten, please let me know. Maybe I should mark all the rest stops on the map.

Gloria

[starfire]

Marking the rest stops might not be a bad idea. Sometimes they seem very few and far between.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!!

Love, Shirley

[Gas Bag]

I hope you have an awesome time and you certainly are packing well, food wise, kudos.

Fast food resturants are always great places for potty stops, they are everywhere. LOL we can't eat there but they make great places to poop!

Cheers! Deb

[mbeezie]

Gloria,

You seem well prepared- have a fabulous time!

Mary Beth

[JLH]

Enjoy your trip, Gloria. I hope you have a wonderful time. You sound very well prepared. I wish I could eat all that......

We'll miss you around here.

[Courtney]

Hope you have a great time, Gloria! You seem very well prepared.

Courtney

[tex]

Good luck Gloria - happy trails.

Tex

[RUBYREDDOG]

Wow, If careful planning is the key to success.....I'm sure you will have a wonderful time. Don't forget the Emodium. Just in case..

Hotrod

[no-more-muffins]

Wow Gloria, sounds like you are ready to go! Have a great trip!

[kscolorado]

Gloria...could you help me pack when I go to Wisconsin next month?...hee hee. You are very organized! Have Fun!

[ant]

Dear Gloria

What I great list!! I will try and copy it when go on a trip. Best ant

[Gloria]

I thought I'd give a report while I'm on my road trip so others might learn from my experience.

Packing went well. I ended up taking two coolers and asked DH to pack the items on the cooler list this morning. That was mistake number 1. He left the sandwich I made for lunch in the refrigerator because it "wasn't on the list." He packed his gluten hamburger buns instead of my GF ones. I use those buns when I eat at Arbys and get hamburgers in restaurants. I'll have to use my GF bread instead, but I don't have a whole loaf of it and I'm not sure how long it will stay fresh. I keep all our bread in the freezer at home.

Breakfast went OK. We stopped at McDonald's for DH. I ate buckwheat cereal with blueberries and almond milk which I had packed this morning. I drank a little bit of Minute Maid light and took my pills. My MC is behaving nicely and Norman visited again this morning.

There's always a pot luck at the family reunion I attended. I was going to eat my sandwich, but since it was in the refrigerator at home, I ate rice cake with sunflower and jelly. That prompted some questions from my cousins. I also ate some strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe and almond milk. We had to dig through our food suitcases and coolers to get everything together and put it back again, but it was OK.

We wanted to eat at Olive Garden tonight (they have a GF menu), but couldn't find a restaurant. We ended up at Outback steakhouse where I had a hamburger and baked potato with ghee and my homemade mayonnaise. Of course, when we left the restaurant, we saw that Olive Garden was just one block further down. Note to myself: get a GPS for next trip!

Our motel has a nice size refrigerator and microwave. I couldn't fit my bread in the freezer, so I hope it keeps in the refrigerator. I put two freezer packs in the freezer for tomorrow's trip and took all of the food out of the coolers and put it in the refrigerator. I washed the Rubbermaid drink containers and other dirty dishes in the dishpan I brought. I'll open a new container of Almond Dream milk and fill all the containers tomorrow.

Overall opinion - traveling with a special diet is a lot more work than it was before MC, but so far it is doable. I wish I had printed maps for the restaurants, but I don't have a firm itinerary. When I see the RVs on the road, I tell DH that we should be travelling with one of them - it would be a lot easier. Every time there is a mishap, I tell myself that this trip is a learning experience and that's why we're taking it.

Gloria

[tex]

Other than the initial packing glitches - so far, so good.

Now that you've got things going your way, I hope everything keeps working smoothly.

Tex

[Gas Bag]

Hi Gloria, it sounds like so far so good. Except for your husband's packing. And I am so thrilled for you that Norman decided to go along on the trip.

[MaggieRedwings]

HI Gloria,

Will echo that so far so good you have heard. I would never trust Frank to do my packing but then again, he has to eat my GF bread, etc. if he really wants some bread. It is a lot of work and having an RV would make it better and boy do I want one but definitely not in my budget - no matter how cheap the stickers are getting. LOL

Wish you continued luck and a safe trip.

Love, Maggie