Alex and I have been going to Mammoth together now for nearly 8 years - but he's been heading up to Mammoth to camp and fish with his family since he was just 5 or 6. It's always been kind of a magical place for him, full of childhood memories with his brother and parents, and when we started dating he started taking me up for summer trips, too. I immediately fell in love with the whole lakes region - it reminded me of the perfect combination of Maine and California. The warm, lush summers and occasionally bitter cold winters, four full seasons, tons of wildlife - it really is the best of both worlds!

We started heading up every summer to camp around Lake Mary, bringing the dog, a tent, and all our gear with us, spending our days hiking and paddling through the lakes. I event spent my 25th birthday celebrating in Mammoth! There's always plenty to do for an outdoorsy couple like us, and if the weather is good - and since were in California, it usually is - we can also rent bikes or take trail runs with the pup. It's the perfect summer vacation. And the best part? It's pretty freaking rad in the winter, too. We'd been going up for a few years together before we finally decided to make the drive up in winter to ski and play in the snow. The first trip up we made in the winter time, we headed out almost immediately for a hike in the snow near Tamarack Lodge and got engaged (!!!). Yup, Alex proposed in the snow! We'd made so many trips up at this point that it had kind of become our special place - and after that sweet memory, we loved it even more. This year we wanted to head up on a different kind of trip...because Alex was turning 30! Instead of just camping for the week or skiing for the weekend, we hit up Mammoth Lakes Tourism to see what kind of other fun activities we could have fun with. They helped us fill our weekend with fun adventures and they recommended some great eats and scenic views along the way! Also they are SUPER nice - if you have questions or need great cross country ski trail recs, give 'em a call.

We rented a car for this trip so that we could make our way to a few fun pit stops on the way up and could more easily keep all of the winter gear we were dragging up with us contained. We got a pretty early start and packed the car full of snacks and gear, including our skis, snowshoes, and poles. Alex had spent his bachelor party a year earlier in Mammoth and had made a stop with the boys at a place called Fossil Falls. Full of cool glacial rock formations and great photo ops, he had told me all about it afterwards and I made it the first official stopping point on our way up the 395 North. We pulled over at Fossil Falls about 2 hours into our trip, took a quick pee break and then traipsed around the rock formations, enjoying the views and taking photos. I even crawled up into a crow pose on top of a small rock formation and totally freaked my husband out. So much fun!

​We jumped back on the road for another hour or two before arriving at the Manzanar National Historic Site, the concentration camps where 110,000 Japanese Americans were held during WWII. Alex had been through the tour before but not in years and I never had, so we took the time to stop and do both the walking and driving tours of the area. It was hard to read some of the stories, but important. It was incredible to see how the people inside survived and made their spaces habitable. The cranes in the photo above are from the memorial at Manzanar - they had hundreds, maybe thousands, of paper cranes in chains lined along the memorial.

We made one more stop on the way up to Mammoth, in the city of Bishop. Alex needed to renew his license and we knew the line would be super short, so we swung in and we back in the car within 10 minutes. We headed over to our favorite little juice bar in Bishop, Eastside Juice, and got ourselves some simple but super satisfying acai bowls to well our hunger until we got all the way up to the mountain. They totally hit the spot, so we got back into the car, bumped our Always Sunny playlist and made the final hour-ish drive up to Mammoth from there. We climbed another 3,000 ft of elevation in the last part of the drive and my ears were popping like crazy!  

We drove into and through the cozy little downtown of Mammoth Lakes and right up onto the mountain as soon as we arrived. We knew the road up the not-skiable side of the mountain was still open, if only up to Tamarack Lodge, and Alex insisted on testing out the AWD to see if we could find some ice. As we neared the lodge, Alex lit up - there was ice, if only a bit. Growing up in Maine, I learned very early on about safe ice and skating on ponds - and I promise, this one was safe. The ice formations were beautiful, but the ice was nice and thick on the side of the lake we were on. Alex threw the car into park, grabbed his skates from the back seat and ran down onto the ice. He's only skated a handful of frozen ponds in his life, and they still light him up! He threw his skates on and started taking laps, and I ran up to the car and grabbed his pocket stick and puck to fool around with. When I got back to the ice, some small kids had also made their way onto the ice. We skated around, playing with the puck and impressing the smaller kids for about a half an hour, as we the sun set. The kids cleared out and we had the lake all to ourselves. Such a perfect first afternoon in Mammoth! 

After skating we headed back down the mountain to Mammoth Lakes proper, the downtown region at the base of the mountain where all the restaurants and ski shops are located. This area is just down the hill from Mammoth Village, the shops and restaurants located closest to the lodge and base of the mountain. We were staying at the Sierra Nevada Resort and Spa, a lovely little 4-star spot right off the main road in the center of town, so we parked and lugged our gear into the beautiful, classic old ski lodge entryway to check in. The thing about Mammoth - and this check in was no exclusion - is that everyone is SO NICE. Maybe it's because it's a small town, maybe it's because they know almost everyone who comes and goes, but either way - just wonderful, friendly people everywhere you go. After checking in and falling in love with our old-ski style room, we bundled up and walked about a quarter mile to the Garden of Eat'n Cafe for a vegetarian curry dinner. A super small place but super cozy, we were one of only two couples in for dinner that evening. We each got the curry plates with lots of water on the side (extra hydration is totally necessary is higher elevations!) and then walked over to the one real grocery store in the lakes, Von's, to grab some kombucha before heading back to our room for the night. 

The next morning we were up early so I could get over to the Yoga Lab studio in the Village to teach a yoga sculpt class at 8 am. It was so much fun - but I hadn't counted on the elevation in the workout and was totally exhausted midway through. Luckily I only had a few students, so I was able to sneak back and grab all kinds of water breaks! Even though we'd just gotten a killer workout in, Alex and I had agreed to go skiing after class, so he scooped me up and we grabbed a quick round of vegan breakfast burritos from Stellar Brew, our favorite place natural food on-the-go in the Lakes region. We ate, threw on all our gear, and made out way up to the mountain. It's not a long drive up from the Village, just a few miles really, but you'll need to find parking and walk or shuttle to the lodge and lifts. Not hard, just a heads up if you're dragging your gear - wait for the shuttle to your lot and you won't have to hoof it. 

Lucky for us the weather was beautiful, sunny, and in the mid-50's. Crazy great weather for the first week in January, though admittedly at this point the mountain still hadn't gotten it's heaviest dumps of snow. It's much less green up there this month than it was last month - just in time to celebrate the Winter Olympics! We ended up ditching a few layers pretty early on in the day - we were literally skiing in sweatshirts in January. It was amazing! Pictured below is the view from the top of one of the east side lifts.

We're big fans of glade skiing and while the lack of snow prevented us from getting too deep in the woods to explore, we were able to find some cool off-the-trail paths while we were our way back and forth across the mountain. We have a real love for chair 12 and started there, on the east (and far less busy) side of the mountain, before working our way to the left side of the mountain, nearer the main lodge. We stopped at about 12:30 for some lunch and unfortunately had forgotten to bring much more than a granola bar between us. Luckily we found a salad bar and veggie burger on the menu at the lodge, plus a couple of kombucha's, and we split them slope side, watching people take on the unbound terrain park. 

We skied for the rest of the afternoon until the chairs closed at 4 pm - which was good, because it started getting pretty windy and far colder around that same time. We went back to our place at the Sierra Nevada Inn, showered and relaxed for a few hours before heading to Petra's Bistro in the Village to meet Mammoth Tourism rep Miles Weaver for dinner. Miles not only works with the board to greet and hang with visitors like us, but is the head of photography for Mammoth Mountain, which means he's in charge of all photo operations on the mountain, and even handles his own special action and event photography. It was an incredible meal - one of the better ones I've had in a long time - and Miles was great company! 

Our 2nd full day in Mammoth was also Alex's 30th birthday, so we decided to celebrate with a hike up to Mono Lake, our favorite spot to visit in the summer months. The problem? You had to hike to the base of the hiking trail itself - about 2 miles - in the windy cold; once you arrived at the hiking trail, the snow deepened so that even our snow shoes couldn't keep us afloat. We had been trying to get up to the trail, above the snow line and up to Mono Lakes in hopes that it was frozen and we could use the skates we'd brought on a nearly untouched ice surface. Obviously, we did't get that far. We had to give up a little up the trail and head back, but after the hike up we were exhausted anyway - and secretly I was kind of glad we didn't need to hike another 2 miles uphill in the snow and wind. We headed back down the railway to Tamarack Lodge, stopping at the spot where we got engaged 3 years ago to snap a few photos, smooch and reminisce on being married for 6ish months already.

We headed back to our room at the Inn for a quick lunch and knew we still needed to find some ice for Alex's birthday. He wanted to skate so badly - and it seemed like it should be cold enough! We had hope. So we tracked down some locals and asked for the best spots to look for skateable ice. We got some solid recommendations, but only a couple within about an hour's distance. June Lake was the first and closest we'd heard about, and wasn't far from Mammoth Lakes village - about a 30 minute drive north. We hopped in the car with our skates and followed the signs up to the June Lake Loop, a road that follows a series of small lakes ponds around the Southern Rim of the Mono Lake Basin.

When we got to the lake we could immediately tell it wasn't frozen - the wind was literally blowing small waves across the surface of the lake! But since we'd driven that far, we decided to get out and explore. We ditched the skates and parked the car at the top of the narrow gravel road (road is generous - see the rocky path below) leading down to June Lake and near the June Lake Marina. It was gorgeous with or without the ice, and we so enjoyed walking along the rocky beach line and snapping pics of the brush-covered marsh. As we pulled back out onto the roadway we realized we were just a few miles south of the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, and decided to continue our trek up to see the famous 'salt glaciers'.

Guys - I was BLOWN AWAY. Just when I thought I'd seen all the beautiful places, we stumbled upon this gem of a place. It's other worldly, like a movie set depicting some alien planet; I couldn't get over first how beautiful it was and second, the unique the mix of terrains, fauna and salt formations that made of the preserve. We walked around for about a half hour with our jaws in the sand, in total admiration of the stillness and tranquility of the super cool place we had found. There was only one other family walking around and after we exchanged photos, we quickly separated and had the place to ourselves. The walked along the preserve as the sun was setting, which added even more magic to the visit. We snapped tons of photos and hung out until almost dark, then headed back to the car and back into Mammoth Lakes. We were getting hungry at this point but since we hadn't found ice - and I had promised Alex we'd skate for his birthday - we decided to make a quick visit to the always frozen Mammoth Ice Rink right in the heart of downtown Mammoth Lakes. It was a cute spot, full of families and kids skating on a well lit but rarely resurfaced rink, and me and my hockey-playing husband had no trouble skating laps around the crowd. We skated for about 45 minutes, until my legs were too tired to keep going and Alex was ready to find some birthday dinner. 

Again we traded our skates for snow boots and this time headed just up the road from the rink to the Mammoth Brewing Company for dinner. Alex had also visited this place during his bachelor party weekend at the mountain 6 months earlier, so we decided to head over for a few drinks and delicious greasy bar food to celebrate my dude turning the big 3-0. Lucky for me they had house brewed root beer on tap, so I sipped one while we waited to order food at the in-brewery food spot, The Eatery. We ended up ordering a host of deep fried things, but most notably the tots. Oh mannn they were great! Giant, puffy, fried potato puffs with some kind of spicy seasoning, a crispy outer layer and a bunch of dipping sauces. It was reallllly good. Almost got a second order, good. Almost. Afterwards we headed back for an early night to bed. We had connected online with a local photographer and agreed to meet her at sunrise for a photo shoot.

There was one last thing I had really wanted to do this visit to Mammoth, and that was find and enjoy some of the local hot springs. When I mentioned this to the photographer, she agreed to show us a local spot that morning, so I was stoked for the session. We got up super early and bundled up in the dark - it was only 13 degrees out, though warmer than we had expected before the sun rose. We met our photographer, Jade [Jade Woo Photography] at a secret spot and had an incredible time watching the sun come up as we shot romantic photos in the brush. We made our way to Wild WIlly's Hot Springs after finding a few local ones totally packed (even at sunrise!) and stopped down to our suits for some gorgeous in-water shots that are super steamy and just for us. We also got a ton of gorgeous, totally bundled up photos, too! Jade really wowed us with the quality of these shots - we cannot wait to work with her again the next time we're up there. And the hot springs were AMAZING! One of the coolest things I've ever seen/ done. Ever. Hands down. Hot Creek is located nearby and while too hot for swimming these days, it does feed all these smaller nearby hot springs year round. It was so fun being in hot tub-temperature water while icicles formed in my hair and on Alex's beard. After over an hour soaking in the mineral-rich springs, we layered back up and headed back to the hotel for warm showers and to pack up. We checked out and headed back toward home that afternoon, making one last Eastside Juice pitstop in Bishop before we left town. 

Mammoth - the mountain, the lakes, the village - has become such a special place to us. We talk about the someday that we'll bring our kids there, and how lucky we are to both love spending so much time there. Between the winter skiing, snowshoeing, and skating and the summer biking, hiking and camping - there's literally something for everyone. Even if your kind of activity is just grabbing a beer and hanging out until après ski! Get yourself up there and enjoy some the crazy natural beauty, it's literally everywhere you look. Swing by the VisitMammoth.com for upcoming events, travel info, snow conditions + to plan your next trip!

*DISCLOSURE: We partnered with Mammoth Lakes Tourism to create this post. They comped our room and helped arrange our activities for the weekend as well. Regardless, we LOVE Mammoth and would've spent the time there anyway. It's the greatest place on earth.*

If you've been following along, you know that Alex, our pup Maddie, and I just made the drive back across country to relocate to Long Beach, California. Along the way we stopped in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Mt. Vernon, Asheville, NC, Nashville, Dallas, El Paso, and Phoenix. And we had a blast! Unfortunately, we seemed to hit most of our major destinations at night, so lots of photos came out far too dark to be enjoyable. We sifted through them and picked out our favorites, most of which are from Mt. Vernon, which was where we stopped the longest.
If you haven't been following along, catch up on the details in past posts here. 
When we left the East Coast there was still plenty of snow, as you can see in this first picture. We woke up in DC to a light dusting- nothing compared to what we left behind in Maine! You also may notice an adorable little pitty head snoozin' in the backseat...thats Maddie, our 4 year old, freakishly adorable pitbull. She was great on the drive, and spent most of the afternoons having puppy dreams in the backseat.

And here's Mt. Vernon! George Washington's home and life project. It took 30 years to expand the house from its modest beginnings to the grand home it is today, and we were lucky enough to catch a tour with a great tour guide. The property is owned, operated, and upkept by the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association, who we thank for keeping the house from ruin and allowing tours on the beautiful property. 

The view from the side entrance to the grand gardens, which unfortunately were pretty dead this time of year. All of the buildings were beautiful- and I was constantly surprised at the architectural details around the property.

Posing in the foreground of Alex's shot of the front of Mt. Vernon. On the backside flows the Potomac River (yep, the famous one from the painting on the shore), to the left side is the gardens, and to the right are orchards and livestock.

And views from the whole property, including some sheep that still reside in the barn, and the beautiful brick carriage house.

After Mt. Vernon we drove clear through to Tennessee and visited the Grand Ole Opry the next morning. It was a surprisingly large complex with a hotel, aquarium, and movie theatre on the property. We aren't much for country music, but I love all things historic, so it was great to check out. Plus, giant guitars were EVERYWHERE! After Tennessee we spent a night in Dallas and a night in Tucson before driving home. I wish I had more pictures of the last half of our trip, but by then we were sick of being in the car we made a serious effort to drive as many hours as we could. The one constant on our trip? Our ADORABLE pup. She was so great, and it was fun having her as a traveling companion. Now that we've arrived, we're spending lots of time unpacking, organizing, and making trips to Target. I'll update you with pictures of our place as soon as all the cardboard boxes leave the floor. We're just so happy to be back, and to be welcomed by such warm weather. Alex begins work Monday, and I have an interview with a vegan organization next week. Wish me luck! 

Its road trip time once again! Alex and I are leaving in less than an hour for California. Well, technically we plan on sleeping somewhere between New York City and Washington DC on the first night, but our final destination is Long Beach. Alex has gotten a new, more awesome job coaching hockey again, which makes him happy. I have an interview with a well-known vegan company after we arrive, so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they love me (and I love it)! Our route this trip will be pretty southern, due to all the wonky weather we've been getting over here on the East Coast later. To give you a better idea, here's a map of our route:

We're stopping at The Holy Donut in Portland (my FAVORITE place to get vegan donuts!) on our way out this morning, as a final, delicious farewell to my home state. Then we're headed to a string of semi-major cities to see some sights! Our stopping points are something like: Salem, Mass., Philadelphia, Mt. Vernon, Asheville, Nashville, Little Rock, and Dallas, before arriving in Long Beach. 
Since we're taking our pup, we always stay at hotels that allow pets (or truck stops!).We've had a lot of luck with Red Roof Inns, Marriots, and Best Westerns. It also helps to make sure your animal companion has lots of access to water, plenty of pee breaks, and a couple of toys or chewies to keep them entertained in the back seat. Our dog loves being in the car, but is struggling a little with the move. She can tell we'll be changing something major soon, so to help, we purchased and have been using a 'Thunder Shirt' with great success. Its' basically a very soft cotton shirt with velcro so your pup can have the same experience as a swaddled baby- all the comfort of being hugged and a little extra warmth! She's been really loving it, so I'd recommend checking it out if you've got a nervous nelly, too.

As a vegan, eating on the road can be a challenge, especially in states you're unfamiliar with. For instance, the first time we drove through Texas I thought "ON NO! Land of Steers. How will I EAT?!" But they has some surprisingly veg-friendly restaurants! The trick these days is tp make your smart phone do all the work for you. A couple great apps we use to find vegan fare on the go are:

Happy Cow
(Find places based on distance, veg-friendliness, and reviews!)

Vegan Xpress
(Perfect for finding vegan friendly options at fast food restaurants!)

WTF Vegan Food
(As in: will travel for, and this girl has found the best of the best nearly everywhere.)

VegGuide
(Similar to HC, works to find places nearest your location.)

Roaming Hunger
(Alex and I LOVE food truck fare, and this app helps us find it in any major city!)

If you've been hanging out with us for a while, you might know that about a year ago, we moved to Maine from California. We've had a great time here-but the West Coast beckons! To see our posts from last time, check out these links: 

Packing for a Vegan Roadtrip

Road Trip: Days 1 & 2! (CA-MO)

Road Trip: Days 3 & 4! (MO-ME)

And on that note, we're off!! The car is packed, the room is empty, and now...we're going, going back, back to Cali, Cali! Okay, maybe lame, but I'm EXCITED! For the road trip, for warm weather, and to see all the people I've missed so dearly again. Until next time, with love.

Days 3 & 4 of our trip involved much less traveling than days 1 & 2. We had arrived in Gettysburg late the night before, pre-booking a dog friendly hotel to rest up at. After a full night of rest in a real bed we got up, showered, and headed into beautiful downtown Gettysburg.
We walked down main street and perused gift shops and antique stores, buying a Robert E. Lee slingshot (best purchase of the day!) and an actual bullet left on the field from the war. Very cool.

After that, we did the Gettysburg auto tour, which essentially leads you through the battlefields, major monuments, and major places of action in the war. Plus its dog-friendly, so Maddie got to join us!
[We were able to get out and park the car at every major stop, and I got a lot of pictures. But they're historic places, and I wanted to share them all with you, so I picked a bunch of my favorites to frame up for this post. Sorry if its lengthy!]
The pictures above are of a cannon's mouth and a surviving farmhouse from the war, still showing the hole in the brick where a cannonball flew through.

More artillery reproductions on the left. The right is at the Gettysburg National Cemetery, where unknown soldiers were buried. Sadly, there were dozens of unknowns in the graves we passed by.

Behold: Joshua Chamberlain! Maine's own hero. He was a Maine professor who taught at Bowdoin College and even acted as our 32nd Governor! Outside of Maine, he's also known for having volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army. It was cool seeing a statue of someone familiar! It was also cool seeing that someone left flowers for him.

There were several other monuments dedicated specifically to soldiers from Maine...so naturally I got my picture taken with one!
Below, the massive Pennsylvania Monument honoring any person who gave any services to the war, be it soldiers, woman on the front at home, or families who lost soldiers in the fields.
A spiral staircase leads to the top, which offers a viewing deck looking over all of Gettysburg. The ceiling, at right, is beautiful and striking even from outside the monument.

After a long day of driving through Gettysburg, we headed for Pennsylvania Dutch country. We stopped in Intercourse and Bird in Hand, both relatively accessible Amish communities located in South East Pennsylvania. Unfortunately for us photo-hungry bloggers, the Amish generally don't like having their pictures taken. I respected that, so theres not much to show you from there. But it was beautiful, and totally worth the visit!  Funny how bizarre it was seeing such modestly dressed women and families riding around using a horse and buggy. It was neat though, seeing such a small pocket of diversity in small-town America.

Our last stop before home was in Bryn Mawr. We only stopped because we were getting hungry and knew there wouldn't be much in the way of vegan food between there and our final destination. 
We'd heard of the college before, but didn't realize until later that Bryn Mawr is one of the wealthiest communities in the US. No wonder we liked it so much!
Bryn Mawr is home to Vgë Cafe (pronounced vee-gee), a 100% vegan, kosher restaurant in downtown. They offer plenty of gluten-free options, like that delicious mac and cheese  in the first picture. It was super cheezy and better than any vegan mac and cheese I've ever concocted. The lentil soup was killer, too, and seriously hit the spot after a lot of cold, in-the-car sandwiches. We also ordered a Sea Salad wrap, their version of a tuna, and a falafel wrap. The falafel was alright but the tuna mock-up was really good!
Also note-worthy at Vgë, a soft-serve vegan ice cream bar, and a fountain soda machine that dispensed only healthy sodas made with organic cane sugar. They serve the food using all reusable and compostable materials. It was a vegan paradise!
We left Bryn Mawr after dark and arrived in Maine pretty late on Day 4.

And the next morning when we woke up...we were home!
We're staying in the little cabin below for the summer, while we build a little eco-friendly cabin of our own on some land several miles through the woods.
As you can see, Alex and Maddie are thriving here. She loves having a 30 acre field at her disposal and Alex loves tiring her out in the field.
We have a little woodstove inside and a lofted bed, plus a small dresser, dining table, and futon. Its modest but comfortable, and we're happy to be here.

Follow our trip!
Road Trip: Days 1 & 2!
Packing for a Vegan Roadtrip

This was the last picture I took as we crossed over the California state line into Nevada.
We knew we had to get In 'n' Out just one more time before we left for the East Coast. 
While the fries are vegan friendly, not much else is, so we hadn't been in quite a while. In fact, we had even resorted to making our own vegan version of the Double-Double.
But these fries? Slathered in ketchup, they were worth every damn bite.
I loved them.
And it was a fantastic sending off, really. We drove through Arizona to the Grand Canyon, arriving just before Sunset. We made PB&J sammies, grabbed our water bottles and our puppy and headed out along the South Rim of the canyon.

As you can see, Maddie loved the view. Or maybe was terrified of it. Luckily, there was a fence either way.
Some of our Grand Canyon pictures are just before the sun set, and the brighter, more orange ones were taken right as the sun was setting. 

The view was spectacular. You feel very, very small looking over such an expanse. And frankly, its amazing that ALL of that rock was carved down by the lone Colorado River.
To quote Wikipedia, if we may: 

Nearly two billion years of the Earth's geological history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted. While the specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon are the subject of debate by geologists, recent evidence suggests the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago. Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration.

I definitely couldn't have explained that any better myself.
The canyon is so massive, and so breathtaking. We were truly luckily to have made it for sunset. When we left California we thought we might arrive just after dark and miss everything; luckily, parts of Arizona, including the Grand Canyon, don't use Daylight Savings Time, so we were an hour ahead and made it just in time to pack a picnic and watch the sun go down.
Thank you for that, Arizona.

Alex and I got plenty of good pictures of each other and Maddie. 
She was being a very well behaved little lady- which made taking tons of pictures way easier on us.
As the sun set, the temperature dropped pretty quickly, so after about an hour of exploring, we piled back into the car. We drove clear 'till 3 am, where we crashed at a truck stop in New Mexico for the night.

The next morning we got an early start, driving through the Texas panhandle to Oklahoma. We slept at another truck stop curled up in the front seats with Maddie at our feet, this time in Missouri.
The picture above is Maddie first thing the next morning. Cutest!

She loved when we stopped in Texas for lunch; there was a huge abandoned lot next to the rest stop that she got to run around in and explore. 
There was also an old saloon-like building with a rusty car and jukebox out front, and a surviving inlaid design in the concrete that told us nothing. But it was a great photo-op!

Waking up on day 3 in Missouri was nice. We were pretty restless, and hadn't slept well the night before. Plus, we were starting to get on each others nerves a bit; a break from the car, walkin' around St. Louis was just what we needed.
[Also, I had a head injury about 10 days before this destination, and Alex had to remove 2 staples from my head this same morning. Without being gruesome, he handled it like a champ. I love him.]

I had never been to St. Louis, or spent any time in the midwest. The accents are fantastic and St. Louis seems very much like a small Boston to me. I liked it a lot!
The most fantastic thing to see if you're visiting is the Gateway to the West, The St. Louis Arch. At 630 feet, it is the tallest man-made monument in the US. You can take a tram to the very top, but we had a 60 pound pitbull with us, and for some reason they frowned upon us all boarding together.

We ate clif bars in the park under the arch, overlooking the Mississippi River, before exploring the city for about an hour. We piled back in the car, and headed east for Illinois.

Related:
Packing for a Vegan Roadtrip!
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Follow Our Trip to Maine!

This week we made the big move to Maine! We've been cleaning the house and packing our things, having yard sales and going away parties, but my favorite part by far: packing food for the trip. As vegans, we know food can be hard to find on the road. Most fast food restaurants are out of the question and sometimes thats all you'll see for hours. And gas stations and truck stops don't usually stock the vegan-friendliest faire. Plus, those little pre-packaged snacks add up pretty quickly both for your wallet and your waistline. 
Its cheap and easy to pack foods at home before the trip- even for vegans!

On our last day in California, we planned ahead by stopping at a Farmer's Market and picking up some fruits and vegetables for the trip. We also had a wonderful farewell dinner with Alex's family in the park. We ate vegan jamaican cuisine and brick-oven pizza while the sun set. It was fantastic.

Its usually best to get any fresh fruit or veggies you can just before the trip (the fresher, the better!) or plan on buying what you can at farmer's markets and farm stands along the way. Our route took us through the southern and midwestern parts of the country, but being that its still early April, we didn't find any farm stands until we hit Pennsylvania.
We pre-packed about 1 pound of fresh strawberries, 2 pounds of sugar snap peas, some celery from our friend's garden, and a couple of citrus fruits and apples.

We packed some fresh beet-apple-celery juice, courtesy of our friends John and Michelle, to drink on driving days 1 &2. It ended up being just the pick me up we needed after sleeping a truck stop after the first night of driving.
The celery they gave us was the best for dipping into almond and peanut butter on the drive. A perfect protein-packed snack that you can eat easily while driving-just make sure your co-pilot does the dipping for you!
We also used up some of the last of our baking ingredients whipping up a batch of hemp butter protein bars and of course, homemade chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious on the road- and better than anything we could've bought at a convenience store!
Remember to bring plastic bags for food and saving any little souvenirs along the road. We used more plastic bags and more wet wipes than I would've imagined, they were so handy!

Almond butter and jelly roll-ups on gluten-free tortillas became my main road meal. I love the classic PB&J flavor, but can't handle as much wheat anymore. The tortillas were a prefect substitution! I tried the Food for Life brand and really enjoyed them. 
Also in the car we had a small cooler and reusable bag full of the food in the first picture up top. We had treats like oreos, cracker jacks, and sweet tarts (all vegan friendly!) left over from our Easter baskets so we threw those in with our protein & granola bars, peanut butter, jelly, coconut bacon, granola, chips, and anything else we could scrounge from the cabinets. Anything pretty healthy, nutritive, and easily accesible is important on a road trip. A car is a limited space, and we found that having too many items that needed preparing filled the car very quickly with trash and were hard to eat while driving.
Also important- bring some tunes or fun articles to read, it makes the trip go by way more quickly. Especially a 3,500 mile trip. A friend burned us the ENTIRE Beatles collection-over 18 hours of music- and it was really fun listening through most of it together!
Most importantly though, make sure you have a good co-pilot to keep you company. Driving that far can be exhausting and stressful, and by day 3 you will want to kill each other, but try and remember how awesome they are.

Ah, our last picture in California. 

Well, we've taught you how to pack food, but what about when you just need to eat out? PB&J can get kind of boring, and we get that. Here are some of our favorite resources for finding vegan food on the road:
Happy Cow
(they even have an app!)
WTF Vegan Food
(as in: will travel for)
VegGuide
(similar to HC)

We definitely found more food closer to the coasts than middle America- but that was fine with us because we planned on mostly eating food we'd brought anyway.
Updates on the road trip itself coming soon!
Follow our trip!