SP09 BAAAAABYYYYYYY, or Tenessee: The Land of the Hungry Vegan

Earlier this month, we headed down to Tennessee for a low-budget Spring Break adventure. This trip was planned via Google Maps the night before we left, leading to several instances of getting extremely lost. However, that's what a road trip is all about SO hmph! Here are some the highlights with emphasis on the only vegan restaurant we could find near the Mason-Dixon. For realz, I ate Subway lettuce and tomatoes for every meal after the TJ's rations of wraps, fruit, juice boxes & candied ginger (a.k.a. CRACK) ran out.

First we headed for Alton, IL to check out the statue of Robert Wadlow, the Gentleman Giant. Here I am, picking his boogies.

Next, St. Louie, home of VegaDeli. Loved it here! It's location in a strip mall is surprising, I'd expec to see this place in a bigger city. In fact, I wish they would open a location in Chicago because the food was simple, modest, and delicious. Their menu changes daily, a feature that I often miss from non-veg eateries. I ordered a bagel 'wich with a side of raw beet soup. Both unique, both delish. My numero uno food on the top of my "Oh, How I miss Thee" food list is cheese. They put a pretty thick chunk of vegan cheese on the bagel (some of these fake cheezes are damn nasty, but this was way not nasty), balanced with some fresh greens, tomatoes, and other veg that went perfectly with the EVERYTHING bagel. First off, the soup was cold. I was like...wtf, but then I tasted it. The color was appealing right off the bat, but the pure taste and smooth texture blew my mind. Next! Jj ordered a bbq-esque SW that he enjoyed, with a side of gnocchi. We luurve gnocchi and while it didn't come compare to his Noni's, the fresh basil flavor was pretty rockin'. Overall, really cute and worth the stop.

While in the STL, we also stopped at the Laumeier Sculpture Park...AWESOME.

A few long hours later driving behind the Beverly Hillbillies, we finally arrived in Memphis. Actually, to save monies we stayed in West Memphis, AK. It was like 2 minutes away and about 30% less $$$. Anyways, we saw Graceland, an experience to say the least. It was fantastico. The rest of our time was spent listening to the free outdoor blues music and roaming the city. We stopped at Sun Studio and caught their last tour of the day. So lovely.

Next stop, Townsend, TN. Another money-saver, right outside of the Great Smokey Mountains and 15 minutes from the disgustingly touristy Gatlinsburg. I wish we could have stayed the whole week here because it was G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!! We just hiked around the mountains and explored as much as we could in the short time that we were there. J's one wish was that we would see bears, and we did! 3 little black bears, 2 babies and their mom, really amazing.

Tennessee is a great state. Lessons learned:

• Research restaurants before making a trip
• Bring more snacky snacks
• Visiting Graceland causes some of your fellow patrons to become very DISTRESSED
• Drink as many lemons freezey drink things from Sonic as possible!!!!!