January 4th and 5th- The Struggle on the Road

When I look back on this bet at the end of the year I think that the past two days will have been the most difficult days of the bet. I didn't anticipate how difficult it would be to find places to eat on the road. We left my hometown area around 1 pm yesterday. I stopped at Wawa and got a hot dog and a pretzel for my first meal of the day. The traffic was terrible for most of the early part of the trip. Around 6 or so I stopped for gas because I saw a sign for a 7-11 but I couldn't find the 7-11. Jody got wendy's and I had to settle for a bag of doritos and a pack of crackers from some crappy little gas station. Around 7:30 I found a 7-11 and had a hot dog and a monterrey chicken taquito. 

We stopped driving around 11 and got a room at a Comfort Suites in Lumberton, North Carolina. Raj detailed the story in my last blogs comment section but I'll rehash it here. The only places open were the Huddle House and McDonald's. Jody got some food from Huddle House and I was fortunate enough to discover a Walmart right down the street. Our hotel had a microwave in it so I got a Kashi Sweet and Sour Chicken meal and a Kashi Chicken Rustico hot pocket. I also got some Milano cookies which are my favorite. 

In the morning, I woke up just in time to get downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. I had a waffle and a bagel with orange juice around 9 am. We got back on the road and were moving pretty nicely. Around 2:30 we stopped in Brunswick, Georgia to let the baby eat, get some gas and find some food for us. While the baby was eating I checked out a place called Mulligans Bar and Grill. Unfortunately for us, it was a strip club! We saw a place called Beef O'bradys in the Comfort Inn so we went there to check it out. Turns out there are 265 locations so that was a no go. There was an italian restaurant across the street so we drove over there but it was closed. I gave up on eating so we drove down the street to a Wendy's so Jody could eat. In that short trip down the street, there was lots of construction going on and I managed to hit a giant bump in the road. When we pulled in to Wendy's a guy pointed out that my back left tire was completely flat. I just got brand new tires a week before we left for the trip. I pulled in to a gas station to try and fill it up with air and I could hear the air coming out of the tire. Luckily there was a tire place right around the corner so we pulled in there. 

After a short delay, a gentleman named Dewayne came out and told me to back up into a spot. He put the jack under the car and hoisted the car into the air while we were still in the car! That is service right there. Somehow the entire sidewall of the tire blew out and I would need a new tire. They didn't have any tires there but Dewayne said he would make a call. A few minutes later he was talking to a customer out front and then came back over to my car. He told me that that guy was going to go pick up a tire for us. We got out of the car and waited inside for a bit and about 15 minutes and $120 later we were back on the road and I still hadn't eaten yet. At about 7 I finally found a gas station convenience store and got a chicken sandwhich and fries. At about 9:30 we made it to our final destination where I had some homemade chili and cornbread. 

The next week should be much easier because Jody's Aunt will be cooking most of my meals. I have to say that it was a bit upsetting to pass a lot of fast food places that I can't normally eat and not be able to stop. A little piece of me died with every Steak n Shake I passed.