Snacks for the Journey

On almost every road trip I've taken, I've had some sort of snack food in the car with me. Most of the time the snacks are just to fill a need until I can stop for food. However, sometimes those snacks have been what kept me going until I hit my next destination without having to stop. On long driving days, I will sometimes just  hit a point where I just don't want to stop, I just want to reach the end destination so  just much on snack food until I get to my destination.

I always have some staples, beef jerky, a mix of nuts and dried fruit, bottles of water, and some form of chip or cracker. Then if I have the time, I make a special stop in Phoenix for my favorite road trip food destination, New Tokyo. This wonderful little store has the perfect little snack foods that are tasty and travel well. I've crossed the roads in California while sipping an Ornamin C Soda, or munched on rice crackers from New Tokyo. Sometimes I've chewed on rice paper candy with my friends as we made our way to the beach or Knottsberry Farm.

On my first epic solo road trip I remember the struggle of finding a parking space while visiting Yosemite. Unable to locate a place to stop and have lunch i opted to go for broke and head on over to San Francisco. Having my snacks helped make a yummy lunch. I remember munching on an apple and beef jerky while admiring the high mountains of the park. It made my trip enjoyable as the stress of finding a parking space and a decent place to eat melted away as I munched on my makeshift lunch. I popped the top to an iced coffee handily stored in my travel cooler and enjoyed the refreshing beverage while shooting photos of an amazing waterfall.

While my trips don't revolve around having food in the car, it certainly has helped in the past when stopping for food was a challenge. Some of my desired go-to snacks have changed, adding in more fruit and veggies and fewer bags of chips, but the constant desire to keep something handy has remained the same. In the future, I know my trips will continue to include a small travel cooler of water and tasty drinks and a small bag of snacks to munch on should the need arise.