We’ve got snow

I guess Winter has officially arrived, outside the windows there is white stuff everywhere. Kind of weird since there was no snow when we left Fort Collins and now there is. Makes me feel like I’ve been gone longer than 11 days.

The morning after we got back in to town Mike got up at sun rise and snapped these pictures.



The sunrise from our balcony



The road in front of our house



A closeup of snow



You can actually see the individual snowflakes

I can’t help but notice how this snow is different from the white stuff in Chicagoland. It’s very fluffy, dry and shimmers like diamonds. And what is also weird for me is that sky is blue and the sun is shining even though there is snow on the ground. Seems like in the Midwest most winter days are overcast.

The shots below I took around the neighborhood while taking a walk.



Snow shimmering in the sun

Don't need to go far to catch a hike, plenty of unofficial trails behind the house

And even more official walking and bicycling paths near by, this path goes past our house

Tree branches covered in snow

Interstates, cheap gas and the white stuff

Before we headed out on this Thanksgiving trip I wrote that over the 11 days we would be driving through 11 states. We actually drove through 12 states: Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming.

This trip was no exception, we travel as “economically” as possible which means no motels if we can help it. Usually we camp but on this trip we didn’t want to waste any time, so we slept in the truck. We ended up spending two nights sleeping in the truck, one night in Texas and one night in Arkansas. But we’re no fools, we make sure we sleep in places where it’s safe, many of the rest stops have 24 hour security which is nice. It was cold overnight so I was glad to have my zero degree sleeping bag.



Twisties on I-25 near the Colorado - New Mexico state line

We were really glad that the gas prices came down just in time for our trip. The gas prices were about $1.60 per gallon in most states. $1.46 was the cheapest gas that we saw on this trip. That sure beats $3.50+ per gallon we had to pay when we moved from Illinois to Colorado and made three trips from IL to CO. And still cheaper then the $4.00 per gallon that we paid this past summer on our bikes.



Welcome to Texas



This was in Texas, I've never seen so many birds



A cloudy day in Dallas, TX

One of the reasons why we wanted to do this long drive over Thanksgiving instead of Christmas was to hopefully avoid any bad weather. It so happened that we would end up driving into the first big snowfall of the season in Chicago and Fort Collins.



Bienvenue en Louisiane



Rain clouds and fall colors in Louisiana






The Atchafalaya Basin along I-10 in Louisiana



The Mississippi rest stop at the Louisiana border was the nicest one along I-55, they even served free soda to all the visitors

The weather had been good until we were leaving Louisiana. The drizzle turned in to rain further north and by the time we reached southern Illinois the rain was turning into snow. There was a lot of snow in Chicagoland, about 3 inches or so.



Rain in Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri



Illinois state line



The rain turns to snow in Illinois



Wet snow falling in Illinois



I'm not dressed for this weather



Snow in Chicagoland

It had stopped snowing by the time we were ready hit the road and get back to Colorado but our departure was delayed because the doors to the truck were frozen shut. A little warm water and we were on our way. We passed many vehicles in the ditches. We decided to drive straight through the 1000 miles, so we left at 12:30AM in order to be back home before sunset.

The high temperature was only in the teens through out Iowa and Nebraska, in the 20‘s in Colorado. We made it back to Colorado in 15 hours. It seemed like we were on the road for weeks and we were glad to be back in Colorado.




About 10 degrees but sunny in Nebraska, our truck and trailer loaded with more of our stuff that needed to come with us to Colorado



Snow in Wyoming, the passing lane was iced over at times



In Wyoming but almost home - look at all the snow clouds ahead



Some snow falling in Colorado



Fort Collins received lots of snow while we were gone



Our driveway full of snow

Lecompte 'Pie Capital' of Louisiana

The day before Thanksgiving we were driving through Louisiana on I-49. As we got closer to Natchitoches (pronounced NACK-uh-tush) which was also the location the movie “Steel Magnolias” was filmed, I remembered that years ago I stayed in this town while on a motorcycle trip. I did a short ride through town back then and really enjoyed the cobble stone roads through town and the wrought-iron balconies that reminded me of New Orleans. Or should that be the other way around since Natchitoches was founded in 1714, a few years before New Orleans. Natchitoches is famous of Meat Pies, but I didn’t know that when I was there years ago and since have thought I missed out on something special.

As we got closer to Natchitoches we realized that we had no clue where to get the famous meat pies was and we didn’t have time to get off the interstate and drive in the town hoping for a sign or billboard directing us to the meat pie place. We figured that going out of the way would waste too much time and the odds on finding the place was slim. So the meat pies would have to wait for another trip, but when that trip does come at least next time I know where to go. 622 Second Street at Lasyone's Meat Pie Kitchen. Famous for like their fried meat pies, dirty rice, hushpuppies the size of tennis balls, and Cane River cream pie, named for the stream that meanders through town.



As you enter the town of Lecompte, you see this sign with a single slice of pie on it



Lea's Lunch Room in Lecompte, Louisiana

Continuing south on I-49, now really getting hungry since it was way past lunch time already, Mike remembered another place right off the interstate that he hasn't been to in years; Lea’s Lunch room in Lecompte located on US Highway 71. Since 2001 the town of Lecompte has been named as the “Pie Capital” of Louisiana and it‘s all because of Lea‘s scrumptious pies. The restaurant is so famous for its homemade pies that it was even featured on "The Tonight Show " in 1989 and the owner Lea Johnson was interviewed by Johnny Carson.



Free samples of chocolate crème pie arrived with our drinks

Lea’s Lunch Room was established in 1928, lots of history here. As we sat down we noticed a huge line of people waiting for their pies. We just came here to have some lunch but since tomorrow was Thanksgiving we decide to also buy a pie. In 45 minutes the next batch of pecan pies were coming out of oven. Mike placed an order for a pecan pie and then we ordered lunch as we watched people coming in and waited in line to get their pies.



Mike ordered friend chicken with cabbage and blacked eyed peas, I had the beans and rice plate



Coconut crème banana crème pies

We didn’t do any research prior to going to Lea's so we didn’t know that other then pies, Lea’s was also famous for their ham sandwiches. Mike ordered the fried chicken plate and I got the beans and rice. Unfortunately, I have to report that neither of us thought our food was all that wonderful and cheap it was not. Don’t get me wrong, the food wasn’t bad, I just think that Mike’s beans and rice is better. We had to wait a bit longer for our pecan pie to come out of the over, so while we were waiting we ordered a slice of pie each. Mike had the coconut crème and I had banana crème. We also got samplers of the chocolate crème pie, I liked this one better then the banana I ordered.



Our pecan pie, notice the stack of empty pie boxes waiting for their pies on the table in the back

All in all a great experience, and I still can’t believe how many pies they sold just in the short time we ate our lunch, I’m guessing at 60 or 80, maybe more, some people were walking out with three or more.

We ate the pecan pie from Lea’s the next day at thanksgiving, it was delicious. But at $20+ each, not cheap but worth every penny.

So much food, so little time

That title pretty much sums up our Thanksgiving trip to Louisiana and Illinois. With no bikes and no riding on this trip, this post is a “food report“. Louisiana is known for great food, so is Chicago. And of course Thanksgiving day was spent eating turkey, stuffing, yams (what we call sweet potatoes in the north), green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and much more. But Thanksgiving was only one day of the eleven days on the road.

The other days were a mix of fast food and good food. The fast food was eaten while driving. We don’t stop much while driving, we eat many meals in motion, or stop briefly to eat. I guess you could say we just want to get where we’re going.



On the way to Chicago finishing Mike's brother's amazing carrot cake with cream cheese frosting - we need this recipe for sure

The fast food places we at ate on this trip were McDonalds - not because be like McDonald’s food but because they are everywhere. Also Dairy Queen, Sonic, Taco Bell and one of my favorite fast food places - Jack in the Box. I only get to eat at Jack in the Box a few times a year, there aren’t any restaurants in Northern Illinois, and the ones in Colorado are around Denver.

I was bummed to find out they have discontinued the Blueberry French Toast Sticks, those were so good. They still have the regular French Toast Sticks, so I will survive I guess, not as good as the blueberry ones but still pretty good. And they are served all day so that’s nice.



A fresh donut for breakfast somewhere in Texas

Besides the fast food, which we like because it’s fast and cheap - we only eat fast food when traveling - we also had lots of great food on this trip starting with really good Mexican food outside of Fort Worth, Texas with Mike’s friend Heather and her husband David. We ate at Esparza’s Mexican restaurant in Grapevine, TX which they like a lot - “Famous for Tex Mex - Notorious for Margaritas“ is their slogan. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera to dinner so no food pictures for this one. Imagine a large plate with three beef and mushroom enchiladas accompanied by rice and refried beans. I definitely recommend this place, the food was great. After two days in the truck, including sleeping in the truck the night before it was also nice to have a real bed to sleep in. Thanks Heather and David!

The following day we got in to Louisiana and stopped in at Lea’s Lunch Room in Lecompte - pie capital of Louisiana. I will cover this in a separate post since Lea’s is a famous place with lots of history.

In Lafayette we ate at Sonja’s Cajun Deli, still owned by the same lady when Mike lived in Lafayette but back then when he used to eat there it was called Comeaux’s. The restaurant known for their “lunch plates” is located in what used to be a gas station, the pumps are still there but there is no gasoline being sold. Inside there is a kitchen and a few tables, although most people take their food to go. I had a shrimp po’boy and Mike had crawfish etouffee. There were a few more places that we wanted to eat at on this trip but since it was the holidays many of the small family restaurants were closed.



Crawfish etouffee lunch plate at Sonja’s Cajun Deli in Lafayette, LA



Shrimp po’boy at Sonja’s Cajun Deli

The following day we were ready for lunch again, we stopped in at Louisiana Po’boys. Mike has never been there before and he was surprised that he knew the owner. The food was great, we both had shrimp po’boys. The po’boy was a lot better then the one I had the day before at Sonja’s Cajun Deli. What makes a good po’boy is the bread, and the bread was much better here. No trip to Lafayette would be complete without eating some of Meche’s donuts. And on this trip I even had a daiquiri. In Louisiana you can get a daiquiri at a drive-through since the passengers of a vehicle can drink. The daiquiri was awesome, just like the ones on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. And there was more good food in Opelousas, where we stayed one night with Mike’s friend Chris and his wife Karrie. When we stayed there last year around Christmas time Karrie made some awesome bread pudding, we liked it so much that she made it again. Yummy!



Shrimp po’boy at Louisiana Po'boys in Lafayette



Inside Louisiana Po'boys - this is a nice place



A huge mosquito outside of Louisiana Po'boys - the mosquito is the ’unofficial‘ Louisiana state bird, just like in Alaska and Minnesota



Daiquiris place in Lafayette

After so much great food we headed to Chicago and no trip to the “Windy City” would be complete without some Chicago stuffed pizza. We ordered a Giordano’s pizza - it’s one of my favorites - with sausage, mushrooms and onions. Also a stop at Portillo’s is in order for a Chicago style hot dog. And probably unknown to most but I highly recommend it for authentic Mexican food is Rosticeria los Fernandez in Elmhurst. The chicken tacos and guacamole are just scrumptious. When we lived there we would buy the guacamole from them weekly, it’s made fresh daily with lots of cilantro and onions.



Giordano’s stuffed Chicago style pizza available all over Chicagoland



My mouth waters just looking at this picture - this was my slice



Portillo’s Chicago hot dog available all over Chicagoland



Chicken taco and guacamole from Rosticeria los Fernandez in Elmhurst, IL

Food, food and more food. Besides all the food we ate, we also got some food to bring back with us in coolers. In Louisiana we stopped at the grocery store to get some Boudin (pronounced boudan - the "n" at the end is almost silent) and Andouille sausage, some Pork Tasso that Mike will add to his rice and beans and Mike wanted to try a few different brands of roux (pronounced ru) for making his Gumbo. We also picked up some Abida beer from Louisiana and Shiner from Texas. Mike says bringing beer from other states to Colorado is like “bringing sand to the beech”. It’s true, Colorado is the “napa valley” of beer, thre is more micro breweries here then in other state and the beer is so good. But I also enjoy beers from other places, so we got three six packs to take with.



Unloading Boudin and Andouille Sausage from the cooler full of Chicago snow, cools better than ice and it's free



Jars of roux and Mike's favorite mayo

Last year we discovered this amazing beer brewed in Mississippi called Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan. We only bought a six pack and it turned out to be one of the best beers I’ve ever had. We couldn’t find any on this trip and we stopped twice in Mississippi looking for it. This year we came home with Abita Pecan Harvest, Abita Purple Haze and Shiner Munich Helles Lager special 99 year anniversary special brew. Last year we brought home the Abita Amber and Abita Turbo Dog and the delicious Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan Ale. I think binging three six packs back with us is now a yearly tradition.



Abita Purple Haze, Abita Pecan Harvest and Shiner Munich Helles Lager

We were going to get more food in Chicagoland to bring with us, stuff we can’t get in Colorado, but we ran out of room. I did bring back with me some of mom’s home cooking, like her Polish cabbage, some goat and sheep cheeses (I love cheese and for whatever reason cheese in Colorado seems very expensive). Also brought back some Polish pork liver pate, Polish cookies, Kabanosy a type of Polish sausage and two frozen Gino’s East stuffed Pizzas. We moved to Colorado with 4 of these frozen pizzas, we only had one left when we left on this trip, they are quite good. We’re still looking for authentic Chicago style pizza here in Colorado but I doubt will find anything that tastes like a Giono‘s East, Lou Malnati's, Giordano’s or Connie’s.

As much as I miss some of the regional foods from other places - not having them here makes these dishes taste even better after not having them for a while.