How to Eat 3 Meals/Day at Gas Stations

This blog should probably be titled, "What Not to Eat." Alas...

Thursday night, Bon Lemon did a fabulous trunk show in Irvine, CA to raise money for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you don't know about this disease, check it out (http://www.cff.org). It is no bueno. The good news is they have increased the life expectancy through science and research, and our trunk show raised money for more research. Maybe someday they will find a cure. I hope so!

Anyway. I digress. I was staying at a friend's parent's house in Irvine, and I decided I needed to leave really early if I was going to beat the LA traffic. So, I awoke at 4:30 AM, gathered my things, let myself out of the quiet, sleepy house, and locked the door behind me. And then, "Crap. Crap. Crap." I left my cell phone in the house! The locked house. The house full of my friend's sleeping family. I tried the back door and the side door. Locked. Then, I contemplated my options.

Option 1: Ring doorbell, wake the whole family up, and retrieve phone. (Friend's mom would not be pleased.) Option 2: Leave without cell phone for 18 hour, solo road trip. (My mom would not be pleased.) Despite my trepidation about driving without a phone, I opted not to wake an entire family up. (My mom will forgive me :) On I went. Without a cell phone. There will be no texting and driving today!

At about 6:15, I had passed the majority of LA, where my risk of traffic was the highest. I pulled off to get some gas and breakfast. Because I didn't have my phone, I couldn't look ahead to find a good place to eat and a gas up. So, I took my chances at a little place I like to call: Chevron.

My first meal of the day consisted of: a hot dog (It is a bit alarming that enough people eat hot dogs at 6:00 AM to warrant having them hot and ready.), a cheddar cheese stick, a Starbucks Double Shot (love those things), and 1/2 of Snickers (they are doing this cool thing now where they give you two smaller bars in the same package. I am aware it is probably unhealthy I know that.) I was hungry, okay.






I drove for another 6 hours. (Did I mention I didn't have a cell phone? And I am in central California? Soooo boring.) I was getting hungry, but I had driven by some pretty nasty examples of factory dairy farms, so the idea of eating any animal products made me want to hurl. I opted for Blue Diamond Wasabi and Soy Almonds, another Starbucks Double Shot, a bottle of Smart Water, and a Naked Juice Green Machine (There are benefits to big business. Now that Pepsi owns Naked Juice, I can be in the middle of nowhere and get a pretty decent juice.) This is an example of what you should purchase when required to eat at a gas station, sans the coffee drink. Nuts, juice, water, and cheese. Those are the ONLY healthy things that exist at a gas station. Trust me, I have tested this theory.






I made it to central Oregon before I was ready for dinner. By this time, I felt like I needed something substantial. I saw a gas station/deli and thought they might have something healthy and quick. I had a pastrami sandwich, chicken enchilada soup, Lays potato chips, and a Wild Cherry Pepsi. Yummy! The best choice of the day. If you can find a quasi local place, GO! They are almost always better than the chains.






After 18 hours, I made it from Orange County to Olympia. Every meal I ate came from a gas station. I drank and ate things I wouldn't otherwise think about ingesting. I was drunk with fatigue. And had probably overdosed on sodium and caffeine. If you are planning to head out on such a road trip, I have a couple of tips.

1. Don't forget a cell phone.
2. Pack a cooler with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.