What you see in Red is the distance that Brett and I have traveled on our road trip. We arrived in Salt Lake City today, so I thought I would give you a summary of the trip so far.
It all began on Monday July 26 in Madison with me, Brett, and a Garmin code named “nimrag” as our guide. Brett had his coffee as well.
We drove for a couple hours through Wisconsin on the way to Iowa. In college we would drive to meets at the University of Iowa, so this part of the drive was pretty familiar.
Upon crossing the Mississippi River we entered Iowa. Our first stop was Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. To find out what I ate in Iowa City, you will need to wait a few weeks. After lunch we continued on through Iowa and into Nebraska.
Nebraska was a new state to me! I want to visit and eat a meal in each of the 50 states, so this was crossing another off the list. In Nebraska our destination was Lincoln, home of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers and future Big 10 member!
In a few weeks, I will show you the awesome food I discovered in Lincoln. Day two began with Brett getting his coffee. Upon leaving Lincoln we continued our trek through Nebraska. Brett and I discovered that Nebraska has a lot of corn.
As we headed through western Nebraska there was still a lot of corn, but we also saw terrain looking like this.
We learned a few things about Nebraska. There is a lot of corn, and there is no cell service in the majority of the state’s western end. As we continued to Fort Collins, CO, we entered Wyoming.
The first thing we saw in Wyoming was a 30 ft tall Our Lady of Peace shrine. This would not be the only statue we would encounter in Wyoming. Not to long after entering Wyoming, we headed south into Colorado.
In Colorado we ran into the Badger Bus!
The Badger Bus is in Wisconsin and is what we would take to swim meets in college. What it was doing outside of Fort Collins, Brett and I have no idea. Our second day concluded with eating at several places in Fort Collins. Fort Collins is home to Colorado State Rams. I was incredibly impressed in Fort Collins and can not wait to visit again. In a few weeks what I ate will start appearing on the blog.
5 restaurants later it was time to leave Fort Collins and head to Salt Lake City. But of course not until Brett got his coffee.
Leaving Fort Collins, we headed towards Laramie,WY. The majority of day 3’s drive would go through the whole state of Wyoming. I had never eaten in Wyoming, so the goal of the day was to fix that. O, and also make it to Salt Lake City.
Just outside of Laramie, we came across another statue at a rest stop.
Perched on top of a 30ft tall granite pedestal was a 13.5 ft tall bronze head of our countries 16th President. Brett and I had heard about this statue when researching oddities, so we could not turn down the opportunity to see it. It is right off I-80 just a few miles from Laramie. After visiting the statue, it was off to Laramie and dine on the University of Wyoming’s campus.
You will have to wait a few weeks to discover what I ate on this campus, but I promise it will be worth it. After leaving Laramie we continued on our way to Salt Lake City.
Laramie was not the only food stop we made in Wyoming, we also stopped at the Little America rest stop. Why you ask? Well their marketing worked. After seeing billboards for 200 miles we had to check out their clean restrooms and 50 cent soft serve.
Was it worth it? Yes it was. I highly recommend you do the same if traveling across I-80 in Wyoming. After our soft serve stop we continued through Wyoming and into Utah.
We ended the day by arriving in Salt Lake City. In Salt Lake City we did two things. 1. check out the University of Utah campus for dinner and 2. find the high school that the High School Musical movies were filmed at. Brett was pretty excited about finding East High, while I was excited to Find Utah’s campus. Lucky for us they were on the same road!
So far we have traveled 1,422 miles since Monday. It is now Wednesday. Tomorrow (Thursday) we continue our adventure to Las Vegas, NV. Then we will head to Santa Barbara, CA and finally to Pasadena.
Upon arriving in Pasadena, I will head up to the Bay area and see what food I can find in Berkeley. Thank you everyone for your suggestions so far! I really appreciate your input. If you have any suggestions for Santa Barbara or Berkeley I would love to hear them.
By the way Mom and Dad, I thought it would be easier to show you the trip so far as opposed to tell you.
I am so impressed with your mileage so far, Taylor… I barely made it VA to Colorado in under a week! And that was without the coma-inducing meals…
Looks like a great tour through the western states so far. I’m looking forward to the food photos from the various places along the way. Making a college tour through the southeast anytime? I could give you some great tips for Gainesville, Florida – home of the Florida Gators!
TaraTakesCake says
i am so excited you are coming to berkeley! I have lived in the bay area for years and am now a grad student at the berkeley campus. please allow me to give some recommendations of my personal favorites (they include some oakland stops too, but they are worth it)
Dim sum – Joy Luck on 8th St. in Oakland, it is extremely cheap and incredibly delicious
Fried Chicken Sandwich – Bakesale Betty’s in Oakland. This is quite famous and well worth a trip. Also get the lemon ice drink.
Pizza – Cheeseboard Collective on Shattuck, several blocks north of University and roughly across from Chez Panise. They serve one type of pizza only every day and it is always vegetarian and delicious. For some less gourmet but very, very “Berkeley”, go to Blondie’s Pizza on Telegraph. They have had a rivalry with Fat Slice, across the street, for decades. But trust me, they are way better.
In terms of where student’s eat. There is an area on Durrant just east of Telegraph that is known as the Asian Ghetto of the south side of campus. It has every kind of Asian food imaginable, plus 2 great falafel places, a donut place, and Gypsy’s — amazing, super cheap Italian.
Breakfast – Bette’s Ocean View Diner, I think it is on 4th st. They are always crowded but it is worth the wait. Try the Huevos Rancheros.
Indian – Vik’s Chaat Corner is very famous, I have yet to make it over there but I have heard nothing but rave reviews. I believe it is on 4th St, south of University.
Hot Dogs – Top Dog is an institution here. Go to the one on Durrant, I believe it is near Bowdich. They are delicious.
Dont forget to explore College Ave. near Ashby…there are lots of great places down there and it is extremely fun to walk around.
In terms of other things that might interest you, there is an area called Albany Bulb — it is a bulb shaped area of land that jutts out into the bay in North/West Berkeley. As….unpleasant as this might sound, it is a former landfill which has been transformed by artists. It is a mecca for “found art” type stuff and beautiful structures which you might enjoy photographing. It is now used primarily as a dog park, but I always take visitors there when they have a few days in town — views of the bay are spectacular as well.
If you need a tour guide or more suggestions, let me know!! I love your blog and your amazing photos.
Jacquie says
I’m not sure if you are driving back the same way you came, but if you do, you have to stop and eat in a little town called Sinclar in Wyoming. It’s about 10 miles east of Rawlins. There is a (very) small mexican restaurant called Su Casa. They have the best green chile I’ve ever had. Their salsa is one of a kind. Get a stuffed sopapilla or a burrito smothered w/ green chile. For dessert, try the cherry or apple topped ice cream served with cinnamon sugar tortilla chips. I live in Laramie & drive and hour & a half just to eat there.
You could also go to the historic Wolf Hotel in Saratoga, Wyoming. They have very good prime rib, but the deep fried mushrooms are why I love it. While in Saratoga, stop at the public hot pools for a long soak. They’re free & oh so relaxing if you’ve been stuck in a car all day.
I hope the people of Laramie (& the rest of Wyoming) treated you well. It was pretty cool looking at your blog & seeing photos of things I see everyday & don’t notice.
Oh & while you’re in California, Nevada, or Utah, try to find an In n Out Burger. The. Bestl Burger. Ever!
Ms Wells says
Ha! This is awesome! Looks like a lot of fun. I can’t wait to see/hear about Iowa City. Its my alma mater and I know a lot of good places there!
Alesha says
w00t w00t! Pasadena!! Check out Colorado Blvd and the Norton Simon Muesum!! Oh, and if you’re up for something exotic check out a place called Luigi Ortega’s!!!! It’s on Colorado Blvd and Bonnie (across the street from my school, Pasadena City College) ? Welcome to California!!!
Andy Melton says
We traveled I-80 a few weeks ago on our way back from the East Coast and saw the Little America billboards. I am glad you took photos because we didn’t stop. We were in a hurry to make it to Laramie where we stayed overnight.
Heather says
If its not to late.. check out Tonys pizza in ventura.. ( just north of SB). I Used to eat here everyday when i was in college!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tonys-pizzaria-ventura
Heather says
OOps im sorry its south of SB. =) your road trip looks like to much fun!
Also a really cool place in SF is Emmys spaghetti shack.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/emmys-spaghetti-shack-san-francisco
Tricia says
Just found your blog and I love all your gorgeous pictures and your stance on cupcakes. My water polo team goes from Denver to Salt Lake City every fall and our stop for 50 cent cones is always a FIASCO! SO glad its allure wasn’t lost on you, hope fully you didn’t have to go see the “24 hour mechanic”…