friend
/frend/
Noun
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Verb
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I'm a little shocked to see that the action of making someone as your friend only counts with a social networking Web site. I have several friends that are not associated with a social networking Web site...does this mean that we aren't friends? I'm confused. I guess that means my husband, brother, and a few best friends no longer count as friends of mine because they are not on social networking. Crap.
This last weekend James McMillan and I traveled to to the North Pole for my cousin Adam's wedding. We had an amazing time and packed as much as possible into the trip. Unfortunately, I was unable to see everyone, but there was not a moment awake that we didn't spend catching up with family and 'friends'.
While I don't have a new recipe to share with you, I do have some tips for traveling with food. Over the years I have grown disgusted by the food at an airport. It is overpriced and always a little cold. There often isn't a way around it, especially when you're traveling during meal times. I am very aware that what I'm going to tell you will provoke lots of judging, but judge away. We beat the system and it tasted delicious.
Our Airport Food
1. Turkey, sliced provolone, sliced avocado, sliced tomatoes, banana peppers. We prepared the food the night before and placed them in small tupper ware containers. As long as the items are not liquid or gel then they are allowed. Yes, TSA scanned our backpack three separate times, but in the end we were allowed to take the food.
2. Preservative free bread taken out of the bag and placed into a tupperware container. Yes, this isn't paleo, but I don't care.
3. Organic granola bars made with coconut butter. James found these gems at Randalls and they're bangin'.
Now, our reasoning behind taking our lunch on the plane was purely because we prefer it and I wanted to experiment with the rules and regulations. It was a small hassle but in the end we enjoyed our turkey sandwiches way more than the crap airport food. We haven't gone off the deep paleo deep end, we just like our food better. Of course this didn't help us on the way home, so we begrudgingly ate pizza and burritos. All in all, I would do it again.
Once we arrived in Cleveland we picked up the rental car and explored for a while. I really should be a vacation planner. We ended up renting a full size car for a total of $48. This is insanely good deal and made our vacation SO much better. I really hate relying on others to take me across the tri-state region everytime I come home. It's definitely not fair for either party. Anyway, we rocked the KIA Sportage in style and grace.
Our first destination was my friend, Bonnie's house. I haven't seen these girls since Nashville in June, so our reunion was obviously overdue. Bonnie took us to this amazing Mod Mexican place in downtown Cleveland. I was VERY weary of taking a native Texan for Mexican food in Cleveland, Ohio but was pleasantly surprised by the food and environment. James loved his duck confit and I really enjoyed my braised pork. If you're ever in the Cleveland area, you should go here. It's amazing and thankfully they didn't try to compete with traditional Mexican or Tex Mex. Oh, their cucumber margarita was super awesome as well.
James and I woke up for our flight at 4 am on Friday and didn't make it to bed until 2 am on Saturday. The reason this is important is so that you understand the insanity of making a WOD at Ctown Crossfit on Saturday morning at 9 am. I arranged for us to drop in for a class a week ago, not thinking we would actually make it. After waking up to snow on the ground, we pulled ourselves together and made it to the gym ten minutes late. If you arrive ten minutes late at our box, you're required to do 30 burpees. This is a totally fine consequence, but only if you weren't out until 2 am with your besties. Anyway, the stupid 25 mile an hour speed limit and old school drawbridge made us late. Thankfully, they were nice and didn't make us do burpees. I probably would have vomited everywhere. Sorry, but it's true.
The McMillan performance was despicable, but the point wasn't to set a PR. The purpose was to sweat out the beverages that we consumed the night before and it worked. At one point I recall stopping mid kipping pull up and laughing at James. We were both ridiculous but we still were able to finish before most of the people at the gym. (It's only fair to mention that their top athletes were at a competition in Erie that morning). Thankfully, the plan worked. We both made it to the wedding without any sign of the night before. Ali: 1 Cleveland: 0. I win.
My friend Lisa and I.
Kyle and I at Creekside. I love going to a place where the bartender knows you by name and asks how the family is doing. Good 'ol small towns.
Kyle took this great picture of James. It pretty much sums up the remainder of Saturday night. My only regret is that I don't have a picture of James slapping the dance floor while he was dropping it like it was hot.
Sunday morning James and I woke up to a homemade breakfast made by...CHAD. Yes, my brother Chad actually woke up early and made us breakfast. Perhaps I should take back some of the mean things I've said about him. Nah, not yet.
After breakfast we took the Sportage to see Kyle and Anna in Findlay, Ohio. It took around four hours to drive there, but the drive was easy and there was zero traffic. We got to see their new house and play with the puppies. They took us to a really good dinner at a local Italian restaurant that has a stellar gluten-free menu. It was nice to see them and catch up. The best part about having such a great family is that you don't have to see each other all the time to remain close. Thankfully, I get to see Kyle next weekend in Austin! This made the good-byes much easier.
All-in-all we had a great trip. We didn't eat paleo at all, but we did enjoy some delicious food. I'm not sure the next time I'll venture to the North Pole again, but I can guarantee one thing. It will snow and I will eat buffalo wings with cheap beer.
