48 hours, 3200 kilometers & we’re still talking!

Loading the van.

Picture this.
One van. Three adults. Two children under 6. One boxador dog. And 3200 kilometers in 48 hours.

Believe it or not – it was great. Okay, there were a few testy moments, but all in all the kids were incredible and the trip was uneventful. We rolled into Ottawa last night at about 10 PM.

The hardest thing about the trip was the food. We ate at an assortment of greasy spoons in the middle of nowhere. I probably ate more saturated and trans fats in 48 hours than I normally eat in six months!

In one small town where we gassed up (both the van and us as it turned out!), we asked where to eat. They pointed to a little place down the road and said, “That’s it. That’s the only restaurant in town.” (It was a very small town)

An older woman was sitting outside on a picnic table having a smoke. “Chef’s having a break?” my husband asked. She nodded yes. “So, is the food homemade?” he inquired. “Yup…pretty much. Except the fries. They’re frozen.” she drawled. “What’s good?” we asked. She recommended the sloppy Joe, served with potato salad. It sounded okay so we ordered three, and hot dogs for the kids.

Judging by the food and the three women working at the place (overweight chain smokers), healthy lifestyle choices are not at the top of their radar screens. The food was prepared with a LOT of salt, sugar, and fat. A few hours later it felt like a glutenous, gooey mass sitting in my stomach.

One greasy spoon along the way

But it was a road trip. What can you do but go with the flow? In retrospect, I wish we’d packed a cooler full of fruits and cut up veggies and other healthy food.

I have to say that the service and the friendliness in these little places was delightful. It almost made up for the bad food.

And best of all, despite the intensity of driving that far in that short a period of time, we’re all still talking!