Wednesday, June 26, 2013

I'm a travlin' man

This summer has been nothing short of wild for me and my family. If you have been wondering why I haven't posted anything in 2 months, I'll give you a run-down:
  • April 12th we left Rexburg, most likely for the last time. If you ever get a chance to visit Rexburg, find one of the two taco buses in town, and gorge yourself on some of the best Mexican food you'll get north of Flagstaff.
  • By April 22nd we had been to San Francisco and Camp Pendleton (to see my best friend and his family), and were on our way to Phoenix. In Phoenix we stayed with some old friends and made some delicious food (I'll be sharing that recipe sometime soon :). 
  • After a few days we were on the road again, this time making the trek to Lafayette, LA to see my parents. We stayed one night in a dirty, overpriced hotel, but man was it nice to have a bed! 
  • We stayed for a week in Lafayette, where we enjoyed a whole new world of food. Believe it or not, I had my first gyro at a festival in downtown Lafayette, and I was sold! We tried a few patently Cajun foods, including boudin (a unique, uh..., sausagey thing) and a fried chicken kabob. Yup, you heard right, they made a chicken kabob, dipped it in batter, and fried it all the way to heaven (did I mention we bought it at a gas station?). Aubrie has declared that chicken to be the absolute best she has ever had. 
  • While in Lafayette we also had the chance to visit the Tabasco factory, where I had my first-ever bite of spicy ice cream. I suppose it is poetic that such an even occurred deep in the South...

  • After Lafayette we headed to Birmingham for the wedding of my brother, the Marine, to my now-sister-in-law, the TV news producer. 
  • The last leg of our journey took us through Nauvoo, IL, a teeny-tiny town with huge importance to my family and religion. I actually got to see a plot of land that one of my ancestors owned! Through a bit of serendipity, I happened to run in to a buddy from college. That has proven to be one of the most important events to have occurred this summer (more details on that, later).
We finally arrived in Houghton, MI nearly a month after our journey began. Interesting fact: the McDonalds up here puts salt and pepper on their burgers. I don't know if this is a new, company-wide policy, but let me say that it makes a world of difference! Up here in the UP they have a unique dish I haven't seen anywhere else, though I am told they have a version of it in Montana: The Pasty (short a, not long a ;). I hope to try my hand at making one, and to take you along the ride with me!