Sometimes We Feel Like We're Writing a Food Blog

Many of you may remember how excited we were to have our dear, sweet sister Stephanie join us earlier in the trip, and how sad we were to have her leave. Well, we've got the most amazing news! She's back to join us for her birthday...and our last state, Illinois!

If you're in Chicago, and you're hungry, the place to go is Giordanno's Pizza!

Everyone is well aware of Chicago's infamy as the place to eat deep dish pizza, but deep dish lover or not, Giordanno's stuffed pizzas will have you licking every last cheesy bite right off the plate.

Besides the tall piece of their crunchy crust you save for the end, those toppings that they craft right into the middle of the top and bottom layers of crust will make your mouth water like no pizza or pizza like food has before.

If it isn't the savory smells inside the restaurant that will convince you of their goodness, it'll be the tang of their barbeque bacon chicken stuffed pizza.

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Cannoli for the birthday girl!

We do have to admit that sometimes we feel like we're writing a food blog.

From cantaloupe, to beignets, to coffee, to pizza, we've almost literally eaten our way across America. 

But we've enjoyed every bit of it and are incredibly eager to bring all these recipes home to try ourselves!

""I wake up every morning because I have bills to pay."

"I wake up every morning because I don't wanna miss anything!!"

"I wake up just because I need to work. :)"

During the construction in 1927, architect Edward Bennett collaborated with French sculptor Marcel Loyau and engineer Jacques Lambert to fashion Buckingham fountain.

This magnificent centerpiece of Grant Park would not only be dedicated in honor of Clarence Buckingham, but also come to be known as one of the world's largest working fountains!

If you're brave enough to cross a few lanes of busy street traffic, head down to the path by the water and enjoy some of that gorgeous end of March sunshine!

Up the road a bit and back across the traffic, you'll find yourself in Millennium Park, and standing right next to the Chicago Bean!

Officially named the Cloud Gate by it's sculptor, Anish Kapoor, who was inspired by liquid mercury, this outdoor work of art has become an icon for the city, and a whimsical place for tourists to visit!

All 110 tons of the sculpture were formed to reflect the distinguished Chicago skyline and clouds above for passerby's to walk under and explore their reflection from all sorts of angles...even as though they were walking up and into the sky!

We started our day out with pizza pie, and now we're going to finish it off with dessert pie from Hoosier Mama's Pie company! :)

"I've got work!"

As you might remember from Jeanette's birthday in New Hampshire, every year on our birthdays our Dad gets us flowers! Since Stephanie wasn't going to be home, he couldn't give them to Stephanie on her birthday.

Number one rule of the road trip is that You Can't Split Up The Group.
This made it a little difficult, trying to buy and hide a long stem pink rose for Stephanie as we made our way back to meet up with our Illinois family!
But set inside Jeanette's purse and tucked under the fold of her jacket, we safely transported this beautiful birthday wish with minimal petal loss!

A great big birthday wish to our sweet sister Stephanie!

We're so glad to have you back!

To pizza pie, pizza dessert, and a beautiful birthday,

Love,

The Crew +Stephanie

"Over Minnesota, and Through Wisconsin, to Grandmother's House We Go..."

We've been to De Witt to visit our Grandmother many times, but we realized that we had never actually strolled through the down town.

Just past the park & the Opera house, on the brink of town, the historical society has compiled a riveting series of exhibits to document De Witt's grand history as a part of Iowa!

From bridal gowns to war momentos, grade school memorabilia to old telephones, the historical society has cataloged the beautiful, rich history of their town.

No matter where we go, its always been interesting to see how each state remembers their history. Whether it be a visit to memorials and museums, or just a walk down main street, we've learned so much about the history that we are a part of, and how these roots have helped to plant the foundation in which our nation is built on today.

 
“I get up in the morning to finish my daily routines and make everyone smile at work! :)”


“To find my purpose in the world.”


“Because I have things to do and places to go and people to see and because I am glad to be alive.”


“To do all the activities I like to do: teach, take care of my home and family.”


“I have to get up to go to work at 4:30 a.m.. Glad that I still have a job to go to.”

Thank you so much to our amazing Iowa family! Grandma, it was so incredibly nice to see you and catch up! You were the highlight of our visit and we can't wait to make a trip out to see you again!

To Our Roots,

Love,

The Crew

Sizzlin' Hot, Right off the Engine

For quite a while now, we’ve dreamed the impossible dream. A dream that we had no idea could become a reality. But on this wintry day as we packed up our car once more and started driving to Iowa, we packed a little something extra under the hood, and this dream of ours became a reality.

We cooked food on our engine. Actual, edible, honest to goodness food right smack
dab on top of our hot engine.  The first course was the bacon. As we soared down the highway, we could smell the sizzle of that savory favorite just working it’s magic with our sweet Yoda.

The bacon definitely smelled better than it turned out though...after a couple hours of driving, then pulling into the gas station and unwrapping our layers of aluminum foil, we concluded that it was just too undercooked to eat.  (Note: this picture deceptively displays bacon which looks cooked, trust us it wasn't.)

We didn't give up though.

So onto the engine our canned cinnamon rolls went.

The sweet smell of cinnamon wafted it's way into our car for the next 55 miles as we coasted down I-80 and into the parking lot of the World's Largest Truck Stop!

No sooner had we arrived and explored a bit, we checked on the cinnamon rolls and they were baked!

And unlike our bacon catastrophe, this Pillsbury sweet bread was golden to perfection!

Topped with the icing that had been warming up in the PB&J station in the back window, these turned out to be a delicious mouthwatering snack!

To the scrumptious Kitchen Magic of a Car's Engine,

Love,

The Crew

Just say CHEEEEESE!

Just like with the chocolate shop in Missouri, a sweet start to the day just makes the world a brighter place...especially when you're all not much of morning people to begin with.



The Jelly Belly's Warehouse tour is unique in the sense that you take the entire tour from the comfort of their custom train and get to learn about the entire jelly bean making process from start to finish! Including how new flavors were introduced to the line, like the blue bean they created for Ronald Reagan's Red, White, & Blue Jelly Bean Inauguration gift!

Being one of the last Fridays of Lent, we got some really good sushi for lunch! Having never really tried actual sushi before, Jeanette and Jennifer were in for a treat. Jeanette loved every bit of it---Jennifer thought it was interesting...kind of like eating an aquarium...

After trying all of the Mars Cheese Castle's samples (including the infamous "squeaky" cheese curds), our Wisconsin Family got a block of nine year old aged cheddar, and it came with very specific instructions.

1) Break off a tiny piece, you don't want to try to eat more than your taste buds can handle at once.

2) Stick the piece on the top of your tongue and push it to the roof of your mouth.

3) As it melts, let your senses take you to a beautiful place that only Wisconsin  cheese knows how to get to.

And then you better go check out the cheese isle at the local grocery store.

Be sure to bring an extra cart.

Thank you to our fantastic Wisconsin Family! It was so much fun to spend time going on adventures with you involving coffee, cheese, ice cream, funny & sad movies, and well, some more coffee. You're the greatest! We miss you and King Jorge already!



"I get up in the morning to find and experience the joy I felt every day as a kid."



Racine, Wisconsin is adored by food lovers everywhere for being the home of Kringles (yes, like Santa's street name, Kris Kringle). A light pastry, similar to a Danish, Kringles marvelously compliment your morning cup of coffee...your afternoon cup of coffee...your even---well, you get the picture. Now, all you need is a Kringle! We got a few different e kinds and made our own assorted packs!

To Dear Friends, Lots of Dairy, and Days like These,

Love,

The Crew

A Walk Through Wonderland

 

We have found that the quiet splendor of a tourist town is best seen in their winter time lulls. This is especially true for the Wisconsin Dells, which we enjoyed as we strolled down the river walk beside the famous gorge.

We also found this true for Madison, Wisconsin.
Nestled closely in the midst of four lakes, tourists every year come flocking to this unique destination to relax, explore, and eat!

This adorable hole in the wall eatery offers only one item on their menu, Pelmeni, or Russian dumplings. It only took us one bite to realize why they didn't need to offer anything else.

"I wake up in the morning to experience life's new adventures and meet new people."

"Because I need money to afford the awesome YOLO life I live!"

As you can see, it was quite frosty out by the iced over lake that we saw from the university campus...

...and yet we still couldn't leave Madison without getting some of their ice cream!

Our Wisconsin family introduced us to a parlor full of unique flavors...where we found Zanzibar, a flavor we'd fallen in love with at an ice cream shoppe a long time ago, and hadn't been able to find anywhere else!

Zanzibar ice cream is a rich, playful melody of dark, milk, sweet chocolate that will satisfy your sweet tooth, and yet still manages to leave you addicted!

"Usually because the sun shines in the window."

"Because I can."

Our day didn't end with Madison though.

Thanks to our Alabama Family, we were able to take a tour of the company Epic, whose 'intergalactic headquarters are in Verona, Wisconsin!

 

Now, we know what you're thinking. A company tour, really?

Admiring a collection of cubicles and coffee cups is how you're going to spend your time?

 



But as you can see, that's not true at all for this company!

Every building on each campus in the Intergalactic Headquarters is named for a constellation, and each campus is fit to a theme.

 

 

From Hell...

 

 

...to Heaven...

 

 

...Farmland...

 

 

...to the Ice Caves...

 

 

...and through the galaxy...

...Epic has constructed a creative wonderland for their employees to work...and play in!

"I get up in the morning so I can help people. I love to make things to give away as gifts, donate things, and help them reach their goals."

 

 

To a Wonderful Day in a Wonderland,

Love,

The Crew