Vegan Road Trip, Day 1

Greetings from Idaho Falls! We're headed East to spend the summer in New Jersey before we head overseas to Tel Aviv.  Over the past few weeks we've given away most of our belongings; we loaded what we had left into a Ford Expedition and hit the road earlier this week.  We'll be on the road for a week.  Pups has the whole backseat to himself and is a happy camper.

Pups has his stuff and his spot, he's ready to roll.

AP and I road-trip quite a bit, and we always break the Rule Numero Uno of vegan road-tripping: we never pack food.  I mean, we aren't savages, we bring pretzels and a few Lara Bars for snacking, but we don't drag along a cooler with hummus and snack packs and sandwiches.  We scavenge as we go.  Life's to short to eat pb&j for 5 meals straight.

We started our trip with a late-night haul to Carson City, Nevada.  The next morning we woke up bright and early to hit the road.  We stopped in for breakfast at LA Bakery.

Vegan Baklava OMG!

They have two kinds of vegan cookies each day, and their baklava is vegan!  They also have assorted bagels, wraps, salads and smoothies.  They were very sweet and allowed me to sub hummus for cream cheese on my breakfast sandwich.

Hummus, avocado and tomato on a bagel.

We drove for 10 hours today, so lunch was a pit stop in Elko, Nevada.  There is a large Basque population there, so we ended up at a Basque deli, Ogi.  There were many veganizable options, but it was so hot out that I was craving something light.  I had a California veggie wrap with extra veggies in place of the cheese.  It was just what I wanted, light and fresh.  AP picked up the food while Pups and I explored a park nearby; if I'd have been the one ordering I would have gotten a side of their balsamic dressing for dipping.

Craving veggies?  I never would have guessed it.

An aside shout-out to these focaccia bites that we picked up for snacking on the road- a light crunchy texture with a punch of garlicky flavor.

NOMS

Driving through Idaho, how can you pass up a visit to the potato museum??

Pups doesn't give a crap...

But I'm freaking ecstatic!!!!

We camped out in Twin Falls, Idaho.  Dinner was late, so I picked up Noodles & Company.  Thanks to Cadry's Kitchen for doing vegan reconnaissance for me; I went with the peanut saute while AP got the Japanese pan noodles, both with tofu.

Huge portions, pretty tasty in a pinch.

I've gotta say, Idaho Falls is pretty cute.  There are walking paths along Snake river with some man-made falls and lots of local art.

Huskamoose!

We stayed at the Shilo Inn, and I won't lie, I panicked when we pulled into the parking lot.  It looked like a dump.  I was pleasantly surprised when we entered our room to find it newly remodeled and spacious.  We were in a pet-friendly room on the first floor, so our back patio opened up into a private yard area with access to the walking trails.  I definitely recommend it for anyone passing through town with a Pup or two in tow!

One handsome Pup!