Road Trip To The East Coast: Part I (Columbus, Pittsburgh, Gettysburg)

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MEET THE KROCKS: We are a married couple who started on a life-changing whole food, plant-based weight loss journey in June 2018. To date, we have lost over 290 pounds combined and we aren’t done yet! Read Our Story

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Travel has always been a big part of our relationship. We’ve been lucky enough to go on quite a few trips, but this time we planned something a bit different. We set out on a ten day road trip heading towards the east coast from our hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. We decided to take you along, so check out the vlog here to watch all of the footage!

One quick note before we get started. NONE of this is sponsored. We paid for everything on this trip with our own money and we are giving our honest opinions based on our experience!

We started out late (as usual). Our only major stop on the first day was at a Love’s Travel Stop to get some gas and use the microwave to heat up the chili we brought from home (it was Brian’s Super Tasty Vegan Chili in case you are wondering). After about six hours of driving, we arrived at our hotel in Columbus, OH just after 3AM (aka Rob Thomas time).

North Market | Columbus, OH

The next morning we got up and drove straight to North Market in downtown Columbus. I have family in Columbus, so we always try to stop and see them whenever possible! They introduced us to this market several years back, and we absolutely LOVE it. It is a great place with so many different food options.

There are also several shops in the market, including this great spice shop. They sell every kind of spice imaginable and carry a ton of salt-free blends!

We always stop by Green Olive Company as well. Yes, they sell oil – ignore that and check out their amazing selection of flavored balsamic vinegars! Best of all, you can sample as many varieties as you like before deciding what to purchase. Brian loves this stuff.

In the past we have eaten at Flavors of India, which has an entire section of their case devoted to vegan options. Yes, I am sure many of the dishes have oil, too much sodium, etc. but they definitely have some of the healthiest options you’ll find at a market like this.

Another place with fewer vegan options is Firdous Express, which features fast casual Mediterranean dishes. I really enjoy their roasted eggplant, which is served over rice. I like to get it with a side of hummus and pita bread. One note – they do like to add EXTRA oil on top of the hummus, so be sure to ask them not to do that! OOPS!

Little Eater is a “produce inspired” restaurant featuring dishes that change with the seasons. Usually about half of their options at any given time are vegan. We REALLY enjoyed their delicata squash dish featuring a fall spice blend, pomegranate seeds, mint, crimson & green lentils and a citrus sumac vinaigrette. I challenged Brian to try and replicate that one… it was super tasty!

We also tried three salads: beet, green/yellow bean & farro and tomato couscous. They were all pretty good, although I still don’t like beets. Little Eater also had a vegan corn chowder made with almond milk, so I couldn’t pass that up. Unfortunately, they added extra oil to the top when serving it (OOPS). I wasn’t expecting it, but I really need to work on asking them not to add oil just in case! The soup was kind of underwhelming to be honest.

After we finished lunch, I couldn’t resist checking out Jeni’s to see what vegan flavors they were serving up. I know, I know. This is DEFINITELY not “on plan” or whole food, plant-based. But it was soo delicious! Dessert is my weakness.

We went with the Roasted Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam and Texas Sheet Cake flavors. I’m still dreaming about this one.

On To Pittsburgh, PA

After saying goodbye to my family at the market, it was back on the road! We had a three hour drive to Pittsburgh, PA to meet a VERY special mystery guest.

Many of you have probably already seen the photos online. We had the privilege of eating dinner with Brittany from one of our favorite YouTube channels, The Jaroudi Family! Her husband Marc also joined us and let me tell you… we had an ABSOLUTE blast. I think we were with them for around three hours, starting with dinner at a really good vegan cafe called B52.

B52 is definitely more on the “vegan junk food” side, but it was a delicious meal and the company was even better. We ordered labneh (made with fermented cashews), buffalo cauliflower, eggplant with cashew cheese and a seitan shawarma wrap. Oh yeah not pictured was the peanut butter cookie I got for the road… oops!

Everything at B52 was really tasty, and after a great meal we took a nice walk with Brittany and her husband. It was so great to meet them in person and have such an instant connection with them. We can’t wait to make it back to Pittsburgh sometime soon and hang with them again!

The next morning we hit up the breakfast in our hotel and filmed ourselves being goofy while eating fruit and oatmeal. 🙂

Up Next: Gettysburg, PA

When we started planning this trip, Brian had one request: that we stop in Gettysburg along the way. He is a huge history buff, and it has been on his bucket list to visit Gettysburg since he was a young boy.

We got started around 7am and let me tell you – the drive through the mountains from the outskirts of Pittsburgh to Gettysburg was gorgeous. There was a nice fog rolling over the mountains as we drove, the trees were just starting to turn colors, and it was a beautiful sight.

We spent the day in Gettysburg checking out the museum, seeing the movie/cyclorama at the visitor’s center, and taking a bus tour of the battlefield. We ended the day at the cemetery where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address.

Being in Gettysburg was a very moving experience. Brian had a moment as he gazed across the battlefield from Little Round Top, captured in the photo below. I would try to share it with you, but honestly I think it’s best in his own words, so watch the video to hear him talk about it.

TO BE CONTINUED…
Check back soon for Part II of our Road Trip Travel Vlog!