Chasing the Sun

Well, I slept for I don't know how long, and I almost feel human again. At this point all of my feline friends have forgiven me but one. Scrappy is holding on to her anger for awhile longer. She has decided to take up permanent residence under the hotel/motel bed. Everyone else slept with me last night, so I guess for the most part all is well. We rented a KIA mini-van type of vehicle for the trip, so I brought as few worldly possessions as I could, and hoped for the best. I still can't believe how calm they were for the trip. The first day or so they were so scared, they just didn't know what to think, but I was scared that the second day they might get a little would up and restless, which they did, but they still didn't cause any problems. Animals are really just the best.
The drive was beautiful. I have traveled between Erie and Seattle several times by Greyhound, and it's such a beautiful trip if you have the time. I enjoy seeing parts of the country that normally I would never see, or even think about. I also like stopping and seeing what vibe little towns have, and what the people are like. We obviously did not make too many stops because kitties, but we did make some stops. Eating healthy vegan food on the road is almost impossible in some areas. I was going to pack a cooler with some sandwiches, wraps, etc. but I wanted to take up as little space as possible. While I usually don't eat Subway because of weird things in their bread, but when you are on a road trip in very vegan hostile towns, Subway is like a glowing gift handed down by the vegan angels. I ate several veggie delights, and I hope to not have to look at a Subway again for awhile. I also ate lots of mixed nuts, and Hummus and cracker type stuff. In Minnesota, (or Wisconsin) we stopped at a Trader Joe's, and it was the first time in almost four years I had been to one! I almost cried. I was home. I got some tofu spring rolls which hit the spot. They wrapped baked tofu, the most delicious rice noodle ever, and various greens and herbs, including mint(yum) in rice paper, and serve it with the most delicious peanut sauce. Those hit the spot. I also got some kind of spinach salad with edamame and garbanzo beans, red quinoa, shredded carrots, dried cranberries, and the most delicious carrot ginger dressing. I forget the name of the salad, but man it hit the spot as I am very green deprived. The only other Trader Joe's I've been to is in Seattle, so I'm no expert on Joe, but this store was less vegan friendly than the Joe's in Ballard WA. The spinach salad I chose was one of only two options for salads with no animal products. They also did not have any vegan sandwiches, wraps, or even veggie sushi rolls, which I used to buy often in Seattle. I was quite surprised. It really shows you how much work we have to try to spread the vegan message. There are parts of America where it's almost scary how important meat and cheese is. In Wisconsin, they sell bags of cheese curds in gas stations. Cheese, beef, and in some parts buffalo(!) seem to be the only food choices. We have come far, but we have a long way to go.
I don't remember where we were, but it was somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I neede more cat food, (yes, they actually ate on the trip) so we had to stop at a Wal-Mart! I almost cried/gagged. I loathe everything about anything to do with Wal-Mart. I got lost in the store, could find anyone to help me, it was scary. I don't like being in a store that I could die in and not be found for a week. We drove through lots of small towns, and it seems the smaller the town, the bigger the Wal-Mart. It's very strange. I felt like I needed a shower after leaving. The employees were all dead in the eyes, as if Wal-Mart had sucked out their soul, and put them to work.
It is the 4th, and America and all that. I'm not the most patriotic person, but I will say this. I saw beautiful stretches of land with nothing but grass, some beautiful wildflowers, and trees. I saw some beautiful rivers and lakes, and some gorgeous sunsets and sunrises. And there were so many sights we didn't even get to see. Nature is so beautiful and amazing, and I love seeing so much open space with no humans around to ruin things. I had forgotten how beautiful fields of wildflowers are! It was like a song or something.
I'm off to do some hotel/motel yoga, as sitting in a car with very few stretch brakes for almost 48 or maybe more than 48 hours has made me feel a bit creaky and out of whack. Happy holiday weekend!