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Twizzlers.....The Ultimate Road Food


July 6, 2013

Summer Road Trip 2013_Day 16...I Think

Me and Paul in N.C.
Other than the chance to connect with my friend Paul in North Carolina...it was just a basic travel day. Bessie2 and I are headed back to Florida; sometimes the kindest thing I can do for myself is to admit my limitations. I’m there.

Thank you Paul for lunch, the escort South....and the Chocolate Chip Cookies (Smile).

This blog is about Twizzlers...and all other Road Food.

My earliest memories are of travel...with my grandparents. My Dad recently reminded me that I inherited my ‘wanderlust,’ and desire for an early start when traveling, from my grandparents. They took me along on weekend trips and long distance travel whenever they could; and what I remember most is the food....yes, the scenery and the locations were wonderful as well, but there’s something about ‘Road Food’ that galvanizes the travel memories.

If packing a picnic lunch was an Olympic Sport, my Grandma Fisher would have been a Gold Medalist.  She had an enormous wicker hamper - forget basket - this was a hamper that she filled to capacity with ‘Road Food.’ The night before we left, Grandma fried a chicken (yes, a whole chicken, that she cut up and fried extra crispy outside and juicy inside...she taught the Colonel how to do chicken), made a giant bowl of potato salad, baked a cherry pie (fruit picked from the tree in the side yard - crust from scratch) and that wasn’t ‘enough,’ she had carrots and celery sticks, and a bag of made-from-scratch chocolate chip cookies. 

Car travel with my grandparents was during the ’60’s; an idyllic time in our history for travelers....no real interstates, a leisurely pace, and roadside picnic areas. A wide spot in the road with a picnic table placed under a shady tree...maybe a primitive water spigot nearby for a refreshing drink. My Grandma would spread a checkered tablecloth on the picnic table, Grandpa would lug the hamper from the trunk - there was one of those metal Coca-Cola coolers full of ice and ‘pop.’ She piled the plastic plates high with the picnic fare - no paper plates, they were the plastic ones that fastened to the lid of the hamper along with the plasticware. If you went hungry around my Grandma, then it was your own fault. Sitting in the shade, listening to the bees buzz....sipping ‘pop,’ (grape Nehi was my favorite) and crunching into a juicy chicken leg with a side of potato salad..............mmmmmm.....mmmmmm.....mmmmmm....yummy.

My Grandma used to take me on the train - leaving from the station downtown Indianapolis - to see my Uncle in Texas. It was a three day ride to Dallas/Ft. Worth; and Grandma still brought her hamper of food...a little bit smaller, but the same contents. The hamper would last us two days, then we would eat our breakfast in the dining car the third day. What an exotic treat that was!! While gloved porters who served me toast and scrambled eggs...while the train was moving!

When I started traveling with my girls, I adopted a tradition of ‘Road Food’ with them, just as my Grandma did with me. Although there was no fried chicken involved; I never got the ‘fried chicken gene’ from my Grandma unfortunately.  Our ‘Road Food’ usually consisted of forbidden food...snack foods and junk food I wouldn’t allow them to eat at home. Our hamper was filled with peanut butter sandwiches, Pringles, Pop-Tarts, M & M’s, and made from scratch chocolate chip cookies ( I DID manage to get the cookie gene)...and of course, ‘pop.’ Our favorite tradition was donuts; I never allowed donuts in the house, so when we hit the road for a trip, we stopped for donuts for breakfast. I remember my youngest daughter relating our trip to South Padre Island Texas...’ we went to see the Sea Turtles, we camped on the beach, and we got to eat donuts!’ It was a big deal.

Strawberry Only Please
Although I’m on a motorcycle, I still have my favorite ‘Road Food’ and that is Twizzlers; strawberry...Not chocolate, not cherry, certainly not apple...strawberry. I would hate to add up how many pounds of Twizzlers I have consumed while rolling down the road on Bessie 1 and 2. I take the luscious, ‘twizzles’ of fruity licorice out of the package and place them in my windshield bag, within easy reach. I stick them in my mouth one at a time, sucking on them until its necessary to chew....not only are they ‘no fat,’ the color matches my lip gloss. If its a hundred miles or more, Twizzlers are mandatory; on a multi-day road trip, multiple packages of Twizzlers are mandatory. 

It’s not fried chicken, but its tradition and each Twizzler reminds me of traveling with my  grandparents and my daughters.  

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