Oh, my gosh! When Dave and I did the book tour for my roller derby memoir 'Rollergirl,' we drove all over the midwest — and there were Culver's at just about every highway exit. We stopped for fried cheese curds along the way, got back on the highway and ate all of them, then got off at the next exit to get ANOTHER order. Best. Day. Ever.
On that trip, one of the rollergirls in Ohio gave us homemade buckeyes. Delicious. —Mel
What a fun trip! We love Culvers, too. Though... the next time you are in WI, be sure to make a stop at a local gas station or even one of those big shops advertising CHEESE and opt for some fresh cheese curds. These are found in a plastic bag (not fried) and they are best if they were packed the same day - the workers will know or they will be marked! (Usually they aren't put in the refrigerated section until after a day.) They are squeaky and delicious. My husband is from Michigan and didn't know about these until he met me. Now he can't eat them unless they are super fresh (or if they are a couple of days old, he'll put them in the microwave for a few seconds.) Even my MN friends didn't know about these when I met them in college and when I moved here to MN. My parents are coming for a visit next weekend. Now I know what I'm going to have them pick up on the way!
My family would road trip from Pennsylvania to South Carolina, and we’d always stop at Waffle House once we’d get far enough south. It was always such a treat since we don’t have them where we live. After our delicious breakfast-at-any-time-of-day, I’d get a sweet tea refill to go to have for the rest of the drive.
This is going to sound ridiculous, but if I have access to a grocery store before heading out I make water cracker sandwiches with smoked salmon and avocado - soooo good. If only a rest stop I like getting a banana with a pack of nuts and some chocolate and eating them together.
For me, a road trip usually includes some kind of gummy candy. It's chewy and long-lasting, doesn't make a mess or melt, and somehow feels "healthier" than my typical off-road chocolate 😂.
I’m a New Yorker so road trips always begin with a bagel and cream cheese. I also like trail mix with lots of nuts, chocolate and peanut butter chips, raisins, and pretzels (ok, not healthy but tasty). And I would never turn down a peppermint Ritter Sport. To drink - black coffee and lots of water.
100% yes to starting with a bagel and cream cheese. What kind of bagel? Plain or flavored schmear? I need to know these things. (I'm everything bagel with scallion or lox schmear, depending on mood.)
Are you eating the raisins and pretzels together in one perfect bite? Because I'm into that idea. Salty-sweet for the win. —Mel
My bagel choice depends on my mood. I love pumpernickel with a schmear of strawberry cream cheese in summer, but a schmear of scallion in winter. And always a schmear, never a smear.
There's a truck stop the next town over along the freeway from the town I live in that is known for their cinnamon rolls. It's been tradition to always make it our last stop on the way home on a road trip. It's sticky sweet and the perfect punctuation to a long stretch of road, especially in the middle of the night even though they aren't as fresh and have to be reheated in the truck stop's microwave - somehow they're all the more enjoyable for it.
We just returned from a road trip last night. We were in RI so I had to get Cheez Doodles which are very hard to find where we live and which are far superior to Cheetos.
I like Cheetos fine, but Cheez Doodles are better. They just are. Made by Wise and not as widely available but so, so good! This is a hill I will die on.
If my son and I are travelling together, we must have sour cream and onion pringles, peach rings and I get a diet cherry Coke and he gets some gross blue drink. I don't think the flavor matters as much as the blue does.
If I'm by myself, it's smoked almonds. And a sparkling water of some sort.
No, we never have these snacks otherwise. They are car snacks. This makes perfect sense to us, somehow.
If we are headed to the beach (Alabama Gulf Coast), we have a favorite stop to get boiled peanuts. We time our departure to make sure he's open. Boiled peanuts are the messiest food in the world to eat while driving, so we make sure we have an extra cup for the shells and a roll of paper towels in the car.
Hands down regular flavor Pringles and a bag of pull and peel cherry Twizzlers! Those got me through LONG days of driving between Wisconsin and Colorado this month!
I am not a responsible Twizzlers consumer, so I could never have them on a road trip. 😞 I would talk myself into getting a giant bag every time I stopped, and finishing each one before the next stop! 😆
I love Chex Mix and Combos. I'm always looking for Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale and Diet Squirt on the road because they don't sell them in our market area.
Protein bars for long road trips. I buy the mini version Clif bars, especially for travelling overseas. We often miss lunch because we are too busy hiking or museum hopping during daylight hours. Drinks... Water and/or coffee. Roadside stop is always ICE CREAM! 😂
Hubby likes carrot sticks, and apples. I have a guilty pleasure of getting spicy sausage at gas stations, the hotter the better. We sometimes get Smartfood, but popcorn is messy, so we try to limit that. 🤣 And our go-to breakfast is Starbucks. They have real food for everyone, great healthy choices and of course some not as healthy. I love the egg bites, hubby loves the sausage sandwich.
Combos all the way. I never buy them except every so often on road trips and they bring instant nostalgia for driving from NY to FL when I was growing up. Truly garbage comfort snack!
Aug 20·edited Aug 20Liked by Mel Joulwan & Dave Humphreys
I make the Dallas to Houston drive a lot (grandkids!). Buc-ee's in Madisonville is my half-way-there stop and has homemade potato chips that I happily binge on (yes, multiple bags!) - both going down and coming home. I can't help myself! And Dave, Ritter Sport is my favorite chocolate, too! Dark chocolate with hazelnuts, the best!
You would love the chocolate in Czech Republic — almost all of it has hazelnuts or hazelnut flavor... it's all very Nutella adjacent!
When we lived in Austin, we would stop at the Czech Stop on the way to Dallas and another little gas station on the way to Houston for kolaches. Just the best way to mark the trip. —Mel
Czech Stop in West, Texas - Yes! It's a bit of a destination now, but I elbow my way in when traveling to my sister's house in Copperas Cove. I don't think they would let me in the door if I didn't have a box of kolaches with me!
If I'm roadtripping from MN to visit family at home in WI, we stop for FRESH cheese curds!
Oh, my gosh! When Dave and I did the book tour for my roller derby memoir 'Rollergirl,' we drove all over the midwest — and there were Culver's at just about every highway exit. We stopped for fried cheese curds along the way, got back on the highway and ate all of them, then got off at the next exit to get ANOTHER order. Best. Day. Ever.
On that trip, one of the rollergirls in Ohio gave us homemade buckeyes. Delicious. —Mel
What a fun trip! We love Culvers, too. Though... the next time you are in WI, be sure to make a stop at a local gas station or even one of those big shops advertising CHEESE and opt for some fresh cheese curds. These are found in a plastic bag (not fried) and they are best if they were packed the same day - the workers will know or they will be marked! (Usually they aren't put in the refrigerated section until after a day.) They are squeaky and delicious. My husband is from Michigan and didn't know about these until he met me. Now he can't eat them unless they are super fresh (or if they are a couple of days old, he'll put them in the microwave for a few seconds.) Even my MN friends didn't know about these when I met them in college and when I moved here to MN. My parents are coming for a visit next weekend. Now I know what I'm going to have them pick up on the way!
Nothing like fresh cheese curd.
I will add cheese curds to our MN trip list!
My family would road trip from Pennsylvania to South Carolina, and we’d always stop at Waffle House once we’d get far enough south. It was always such a treat since we don’t have them where we live. After our delicious breakfast-at-any-time-of-day, I’d get a sweet tea refill to go to have for the rest of the drive.
We did some damage at Waffle House when we lived in Austin and California. Post-concert? Nothing better. —Mel
I love Waffle House and my family grudgingly tolerates this.
Your family needs to embrace the love of Waffle House and try the pecan waffle.
I live in SC and we took our Canadian family to a WaHo. They did not understand the hype.
This is going to sound ridiculous, but if I have access to a grocery store before heading out I make water cracker sandwiches with smoked salmon and avocado - soooo good. If only a rest stop I like getting a banana with a pack of nuts and some chocolate and eating them together.
I love all of this. —Mel
I would totally eat that smoked salmon combo at home as well!
Plain M&Ms that have been left on the sunny dashboard until the chocolate melts
The specificity of this is like poetry. 11/10, no notes. —Mel
For me, a road trip usually includes some kind of gummy candy. It's chewy and long-lasting, doesn't make a mess or melt, and somehow feels "healthier" than my typical off-road chocolate 😂.
I’m a New Yorker so road trips always begin with a bagel and cream cheese. I also like trail mix with lots of nuts, chocolate and peanut butter chips, raisins, and pretzels (ok, not healthy but tasty). And I would never turn down a peppermint Ritter Sport. To drink - black coffee and lots of water.
100% yes to starting with a bagel and cream cheese. What kind of bagel? Plain or flavored schmear? I need to know these things. (I'm everything bagel with scallion or lox schmear, depending on mood.)
Are you eating the raisins and pretzels together in one perfect bite? Because I'm into that idea. Salty-sweet for the win. —Mel
My bagel choice depends on my mood. I love pumpernickel with a schmear of strawberry cream cheese in summer, but a schmear of scallion in winter. And always a schmear, never a smear.
Oh yeah. That all sounds good. I may have to update my road trip go-tos....
There's a truck stop the next town over along the freeway from the town I live in that is known for their cinnamon rolls. It's been tradition to always make it our last stop on the way home on a road trip. It's sticky sweet and the perfect punctuation to a long stretch of road, especially in the middle of the night even though they aren't as fresh and have to be reheated in the truck stop's microwave - somehow they're all the more enjoyable for it.
I love that you have a preferred way to eat them. Gorgeous. —Mel
Cinnamon rolls sounds like a wonderful road trip staple! What a lovely tradition.
We just returned from a road trip last night. We were in RI so I had to get Cheez Doodles which are very hard to find where we live and which are far superior to Cheetos.
Whoa. Strong position! Dave got woozy when he read this because he is a Cheetos fan. ;-) —Mel
I like Cheetos fine, but Cheez Doodles are better. They just are. Made by Wise and not as widely available but so, so good! This is a hill I will die on.
Why, yes, yes we do. Thank you for asking.
If my son and I are travelling together, we must have sour cream and onion pringles, peach rings and I get a diet cherry Coke and he gets some gross blue drink. I don't think the flavor matters as much as the blue does.
If I'm by myself, it's smoked almonds. And a sparkling water of some sort.
No, we never have these snacks otherwise. They are car snacks. This makes perfect sense to us, somehow.
If we are headed to the beach (Alabama Gulf Coast), we have a favorite stop to get boiled peanuts. We time our departure to make sure he's open. Boiled peanuts are the messiest food in the world to eat while driving, so we make sure we have an extra cup for the shells and a roll of paper towels in the car.
Oh, yeah, there are definitely 'car snacks' versus regular snacks. I feel this so much.
I've never had boiled peanuts (I know! So wrong.) but now I really want them. —Mel
We don’t get peach rings otherwise except for when we are road trips… and they are really good!
Hands down regular flavor Pringles and a bag of pull and peel cherry Twizzlers! Those got me through LONG days of driving between Wisconsin and Colorado this month!
Twizzlers are my go-to at the movies with buttered popcorn. They're hard to find here, so when I do, I'm very excited. —Mel
I am not a responsible Twizzlers consumer, so I could never have them on a road trip. 😞 I would talk myself into getting a giant bag every time I stopped, and finishing each one before the next stop! 😆
Yes! When I travel alone these are my choices!!
Let's go on a road trip together! We are obviously compatible - ha!
Obviously travel soul sisters so let’s go! ☺️
I love Chex Mix and Combos. I'm always looking for Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale and Diet Squirt on the road because they don't sell them in our market area.
Combos! I forgot about Combos. Man, I haven't had those in ages. They are the ultimate junk food. Well-played. —Mel
Protein bars for long road trips. I buy the mini version Clif bars, especially for travelling overseas. We often miss lunch because we are too busy hiking or museum hopping during daylight hours. Drinks... Water and/or coffee. Roadside stop is always ICE CREAM! 😂
Either plain M&M's or Kookaburra Red Licorce! Usually both.
Hubby likes carrot sticks, and apples. I have a guilty pleasure of getting spicy sausage at gas stations, the hotter the better. We sometimes get Smartfood, but popcorn is messy, so we try to limit that. 🤣 And our go-to breakfast is Starbucks. They have real food for everyone, great healthy choices and of course some not as healthy. I love the egg bites, hubby loves the sausage sandwich.
Combos all the way. I never buy them except every so often on road trips and they bring instant nostalgia for driving from NY to FL when I was growing up. Truly garbage comfort snack!
Exactly!! They are so gross I could never finish a whole bag. The best junk food is the junk food you just can't eat any more of. 😆
Combos are SO garbage-y and so good. 100% yes to that. —Mel
I make the Dallas to Houston drive a lot (grandkids!). Buc-ee's in Madisonville is my half-way-there stop and has homemade potato chips that I happily binge on (yes, multiple bags!) - both going down and coming home. I can't help myself! And Dave, Ritter Sport is my favorite chocolate, too! Dark chocolate with hazelnuts, the best!
You would love the chocolate in Czech Republic — almost all of it has hazelnuts or hazelnut flavor... it's all very Nutella adjacent!
When we lived in Austin, we would stop at the Czech Stop on the way to Dallas and another little gas station on the way to Houston for kolaches. Just the best way to mark the trip. —Mel
Czech Stop in West, Texas - Yes! It's a bit of a destination now, but I elbow my way in when traveling to my sister's house in Copperas Cove. I don't think they would let me in the door if I didn't have a box of kolaches with me!