Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Traveling down into the nobs and back through a jungle


After 3 months of Ohio living...


...Max was excited to learn about an upcoming weekend trip to Kentucky (his mom was excited too).


Of course, he wasn't too thrilled about the 6.5+ hour drive.

But Max made the best of it by sleeping through most of it (especially the bad weather conditions through Columbus)...


...waking up only twice to eat...


...and asking us (with his eyes) when we would arrive so that he could get out of that seat!

When we finally did, he was delighted to see the sites...


...meet his great-great aunt and some family friends...

...and get to see his other Kentucky relatives again for some regular catching up.

Meanwhile, yours truly took advantage of the trip to Kentucky...


...and got some bourbon from where Max's great-great aunt used to be employed...

...but I'll crack it open after the diet.

Speaking of the diet, it was a little difficult to be on one while traveling.  I did bring my own lunch on the way down plus bits of food for snacking and breakfast, but there were times when I just had to bite the bullet and get things that weren't so diet-friendly.

As we headed back north, we ended up going to Wendy's...


...and I got this Baja Chili Salad.

This might not have been the best diet option (there were two other salads available), but I didn't add the optional dressing and tortilla strips, making it only 540 calories.

Not too bad really, considering it was a salad at a fast food restaurant - and a really filling meal!

By the way - my current weight loss is 8-9 pounds!

As we passed through Cincinnati...


...we stopped to check out (and grocery shop) at the new Jungle Jim's location off of I-275.

Founded by Lorain native Jim Bonaminio, Jungle Jim's International Market is a foodie's dream come true...

 
 ...I mean, look at this smile!


 Once you pass the theatre...


 ...and the award winning restrooms (not joking!)...


...you can load your shopping cart with either items you've never seen...


 ...or tasted.

The store is huge (HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE) and it can be a jarring experience at times.  

After venturing through the sections divided by country, we coasted through aisles with basic grocery store fare...


 ...only to turn a corner into the seafood section...

...and then see more sections around corners for candy, cheese, deli meats, baked goods, wine...

...and so much more!

We were in the store for 45 minutes and it was a fast shopping trip.  We would have actually been there longer if Max wasn't hungry and didn't start breaking down.

Poor babe!  I should have brought in a bottle.

Fortunately, I was able to get some key products...

 

...including this great roaster pepper and eggplant spread...


 ...some in-house products...


...and even some salmon roe...

 

 ...because it makes my egg white and hummus breakfast taste even better!






1 comment:

  1. Jungle Jim's is such an experience! I went to college in Dayton and visited JJ's a few times. I can't wait to see what you do with the kangaroo!

    Congrats on the success of your diet!

    ReplyDelete