armed with food provisions and inspiration

the open road took us through florida and into alabama for an overnight at florala state park.   a very small campground, the park surrounds a lake and campers set up along the edge.  

the site with the best view happened to be occupied by an interesting couple who have been living at the campground for the past two months.  they were very helpful in getting our fire started and shared their success behind camping for the past two months:  a 12 person tent for 2 with a 32 in screen television, DVD player, microwave and freezer.  outside of the tent was a slender rectangle tent with a shower and toilet.  they were a wealth of knowledge about the area, specifically the campground and the happenings around it.  they informed us that the dollar store sells beer, bringing beer from another state on Sunday would result in a find AND they'll take your beer, and lastly, that often times one could see the planes flying up from "pepsi-cola".  pretty sure she meant pensacola...we were grateful for their help with the fire!

 
with the fire roaring, it was time to get cooking.  keeping it simple, we made a soup with cauliflower and sorrel, from the audobon community market, and finished off some quinoa casserole leftovers. after enjoying the candlelit meal and cleaning up, it was time to get some rest for a quick stop in new orleans the following day.





who needs a fast food drive-thru or convenient store?  it is so much more efficient and delicious to travel with a few basic ingredients!  utilizing some of the treats tony sent us with, our breakfast on-the-go consisted of tupelo honey peanut butter from the audobon community market and big wheel plant city strawberry preserves on fresh german multi-grain bread.  absolutely delicious, healthy, and mindful of the environment!












here's another one of our  in-car snacks:  crackers, hummus (made from scratch and brought from home), with some womanchego from the ct farmer's market





using an app called "localscope", we were able to find a quaint coffee shop in the outskirts of mobile, al and made a much needed coffee stop.  the latte was okay...it's hard being spoiled by amber at the green!

the decision to stop in new orleans for lunch was a last minute one and after some input we decided to start at acme oyster house (another "place to see before you die").  

we started with 1/2 a dozen oysters on the half shell...

and finished with the char-grilled, as recommended by the server.  we washed it down with the local abita amber. 

after the snack, we took the dog on a walk through louis armstrong park near the french quarter.

the next stop was the napoleon house bar and cafe.  the pims cup was perfections and the muffaletta outstanding!  the waiters are traditionally clad with tuxedo shirts and ties and are pleasantly accommodating.

in search of an internet connection to do some blog posting, we checked in with every cafe we could, only to find that there was no access anywhere!  thoroughly disappointed by the lack of wi-fi in the new orleans cafe scene we walked to cafe du monde in hopes of a beignet.  the line juice bar long and we were itching to hit the road, so we decided to wait until we make another trip back!


with the sun setting, we maneuvered our way out of the city in hopes of making it to texas...