Blue Lollipop Road

August 1, 2010 In Wisconsin

get up and out in madison

I just finished up an 11 mile bike ride with a couple of friends on the Capital City Bike Trail. This is after going for a run around lunch time. (I’ve got to do something to burn off all this great food I’m eating on the road!) The city of Madison and surrounding towns have more parks than I’ve ever seen in my life and so many bike trails it’d take months to hit them all. It’s so green, lush and corn-field covered here it’s like being in the movies. The exact replica of my summers growing up in Vermont, just a few less mountains. This is the haven for Locavores, the fit and the want to be outside adventurers. If you can hack some cold winter temps and a bit of snow, like a mid-sized city and are an active person- I’m not sure you’d be able to find a better place than Madison to live in the states. I’m super excited I have good pals here so now I have an excuse to come back again to visit soon!

August 1, 2010 In De-lish, People, Photos, Wisconsin

meet jack

Here’s another ditty! My second road person named Jack!

Jack works at a place called Ian’s Pizza. I wandered into Ian’s randomly during a late afternoon last week. I was greeted by the friendliest chatty young guys you could hope for as a first time customer walking into a place. This isn’t the typical pizza joint that the staff half mumbles hello and chucks your pepperoni slice at you. These guys were great sales people, knowledgeable about all the ingredients and aware of everything/everyone that was there. I chose a slice covered with pesto and fresh tomatoes and they informed me that the pesto was made from fresh basil that came from a farm in northern Wisconsin. They offered to make any kind of slice I wanted or add any additional toppings on my slice but I stuck with my initial choice and it was fabulous. On my way out the door I spotted this guys t-shirt that said “Get your mac on” and then realized one of their pizzas was actually mac n’ cheese pizza. Whoa. I introduced myself and asked what his name was and if I could take his picture to post here and he happily agreed. He then grabbed a slice of the mac n’ cheese to pose with:

I paid another visit to Ian’s (different location) late night a day later with some friends. Even though my second time round the place was swamped with stumbling wasted college kids and the line was 20 deep, the staff showed no signs of annoyance or frustration. They were again smiley, helpful, efficient and cranked out the hot slices accommodating every customer perfectly with exactly what they wanted. I grabbed a few slices so we could try the bbq chicken, the mac n’ cheese, and another pesto tomato. All delicious.

I’m a huge fan of Ian’s. Not just because of the yummy pie, but because of the fantastic, friendly service and overall vibe of it. The staff all clearly love their jobs and they sell a quality, fresh product. It’s a pleasure for a foodie like me who’s on the road, eating food in all kinds of places, to watch a well-oiled machine of kick-ass food and service. I’ve found you usually only get one or the other, not often both. Ian’s covers it.

Go Ian’s and thanks to Jack and Tyler at the State Street location. Keep smiling and doing what you’re doing!

July 31, 2010 In De-lish, Photos, Wisconsin

cheese head

Some long time friends of mine moved to Madison abut a year ago. A perfect stop on the way to Alaska to see their new home and catch up. Another friend from back in VA happened also to be visiting this weekend, and yet another in the group of our old pals is in town for work so it’s a big ol’ reunion of fun. We all went to The Old Fashioned in Capital Square for lunch yesterday. The place was packed and staff was friendly. This is where we ordered fried cheese curds for an app. (Yeah, I know. I have blown any kind of balance in my diet during my stay in Wisconsin. Talk about an all-out cheese fest. I’m glad I can still strap on my running shoes and pound the pavement from anywhere for free.) Here’s my sandwich:

Grilled cheese with cheddar, swiss, hickory smoked red peppers, cukes and tomatoes. This was one of the best fancy grilled cheese sandwiches I have ever had. The fresh local veggies stuffed in there put it in that category. It’s such a spoil to have fresh produce included in what you order in a restaurant. The melty cheese and butter help too of course. As if I wasn’t full enough after that sammy, I had to grab one of their enormous chocolate chip cookies to go. I couldn’t resist! They had plates and plates of these coming out fresh all over the bar area on plates for self-serve. When the bartender said; “That’s one American dollar please!- and help yourself!” I wanted to kiss him. It was delicious. The chocolate chips were still warm and melty as we gobbled it up.

I highly recommend this spot if you’re up for lunch out when you visit Madison. The prices are more than reasonable and every last thing coming out of the kitchen looked delicious. The kind of lunch stuffing that you need a nap after. Good food, full belly and catching up with old friends sure makes for a spectacular Friday afternoon!

July 31, 2010 In Wisconsin

to market to market

I’m off to the biggest farmer’s market in the country around Madison’s Capital Square. What a green and gorgeous place this is. There are more parks and bike paths in this midwest city than you can imagine. There’s certainly no excuse not to get out and be active here. Being from VT I love it. It feels like a slice of home in the summertime with farms abound, miles and miles of corn fields and kids playing outside with grass stained knees.

Off to scour the market. I’ve got some photos of Wisconsin characters I will upload and share later…

July 30, 2010 In Donations and Sponsorships

yippee, skippy, wahoo!

Imagine my surprise to get this email from my first perfect stranger/Paypal donation since being on the road:

Hi Diane, I noticed you and the BLR-mobile outside the coffee cafe in downtown Cleveland on Monday. Not having known your story, I looked up Blue Lollipop Road when I returned to my desk a little later. I would have liked to introduce myself, but by then you had hit the highway (apparently to Chicago – lucky you!). Some other day, perhaps. In any event, I’m happy to send some gas money to help your adventure farther along – Good Luck! Bill P.

SO AWESOME!

Thank you so much Bill! This means a lot to me and will totally help with the many miles ahead. I hope you will stay in touch and keep following my journey. Your gas donation timing tonight was the perfect boost I needed after I found myself stressing while looking again at maps and distance I still have to go.

Alaska or bust! YEAH!

July 30, 2010 In Random babble, Wisconsin

lets get ready to rumbaaaaaaaallll!!!

Hello Madison Wisconsin!

Even though I was excited about my arrival here and seeing old friends, I ended up sitting at their kitchen table last night looking at maps and mileage to Alaska again feeling like someone just kicked me in the gut and told me there was no such thing as Santa Claus. I still have 2,900 miles and 75 hours driving from here to get to Alaska. Holyfegginsh*t.

Being the last U.S state I will be in before hitting up Canada, The Wisconsin state motto of “Forward” is just what I needed to read this morning after staring blankly at my computer screen last night and the sleepless night that followed. Seeing/knowing and actually doing are oh so different. If I’ve never had this lesson before- oh am I getting one now. I can’t quit. I won’t quit, but I will run out of money either before I get there or as soon as I cross the state line. This is going to make for some crazy good stories. I’ve planned and thought and contacted, but as we all know in life- 90% of “plans” usually get thrown out the window. This last HUGE leg of my trip is likely going to come with me throwing an eff-bomb or 50, some tears, exhaustion, confusion, doubt, loneliness, frustration and all those other words and things that happen when we attempt to reach a goal. (But the wahoo! parts too of course.) I can’t lie, I’m freaking out a little. Ok maybe a lot- but I’ll be damned if my happy ass isn’t standing on the Frontier State line by my 32nd birthday.

Here’s to screw it, just do it and owning all the rewards and consequences along the way. (Am I some kinds of bad-ass? Probably not, but I’m going to try to be anyway.)

“Forward” it is.

July 29, 2010 In Ohio

cool cleveland

The other day I beat feet from Upstate, NY to Chicago. It was a perfect sunny day like a lot have been on my trip so far and I zipped along with no problems at all. I stopped off in Cleveland for a couple hours to wander the city. I have to say I was surprised at how great the vibe was. The city was bustling and downtown is filled with stadiums, parks, restaurants and more. Talk about the place for a sports lover! The Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame is right in the city center too. I had to get a quick shot of the peacock guitar (I wonder why:):

I thought this giant FREE stamp was cool at Willard Park nearby too:

I’m not sure what this area was with sidewalk cafe’s and people milling around, but it looked like it’d be the hopping place on a weekend night or after catching a game so I snapped a photo as I drove by. (I’m getting good at that when I can’t find parking!):

I can’t remember who introduced me to Cool Cleveland a while back, or if I have written about this site before- but here it is (maybe again.) I emailed back and forth with the guy that started the site about a year or so ago after someone sent me the link. This is the place to find out what’s happening in this great Ohio city. Apparently the site started by accident like a lot of these community events sites; Someone sends emails to friends about what’s going on around town/puts up blog posts about social events, people start following and boom- all access entertainment site is born. It’s an excellent resource for finding something fun to do if you live or are visiting there.

This time around my visit wasn’t very long, but I can say I think It’d be a blast to go back for a long weekend and take advantage of the variety of places to play in the city of Progress and Prosperity. I’ll be back Cleveland!

July 29, 2010 In News articles/Links

laugh a little, smile a little

I love it when friends and followers send me links to cool stuff I can post about here. My friend Julie sent me a link to The Levity Project this week. Watch this video when you’re having a bad day and see if it doesn’t make you feel better. Not all of life is butterflies and rainbows, but boy does it feel good to choose to be as happy as possible and share a laugh with a stranger.

Thanks Julie!

July 29, 2010 In Random babble

paying the strong mojo forward

A young woman named Crystal called me this morning. Crystal used to work for me 5 years ago. We’ve kept in touch over the years and seen each other a few times. She’s the sweetest, smartest, petite little hard-worker I could’ve ever had as an employee. She came from a very humble country upbringing and has made great things happen for herself. It’s been fun for me to watch her grow up (My, I sound like an old lady.) We hadn’t spoken on the phone in months so I was happily surprised by her voice on the phone; “Di! I just got out of a final job interview and I used you as a reference! It went great!” I asked her some details about the job and we chatted for a few minutes about other life stuff catching up. She then went back to talking about the interview:

“So the lady that interviewed me asked me who my favorite manager from all my jobs was and I told her you! Remember that time after you hired me, you sat me down after a couple weeks to talk? You told me that you thought I was a perfect fit and a hard worker, but that I needed to try to put myself out there more, have more confidence in myself and speak up/not be so shy. At the end of our talk I told you thank you and I will try. Then I tried and became awesome!” (The end line was delivered with Crystals adorable giggle. You’ve gotta love that closing line of “I became awesome!” Too cute…)

I didn’t tell Crystal that I don’t remember that conversation but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that she wants to excitedly call me to share news of a new job. She knows that I will always care and be excited for her. The timing of the call from Crystal couldn’t be more perfect after my post about strong mojo and Traci yesterday. It’s a perfect example why if any of us are ever in the position to mentor young people, it’s a huge honor. If we take the gifts we’re given that help us to “become awesome” we then have the responsibility to pay them forward to the next generation. Traci helped me learn confidence, I passed it to Crystal, and now she’s going to be working with high school kids in Philly supporting them to do community service work. Someday 10 years down the road she will get a call from a young woman she cared enough about to pay attention to, and that person will excitedly tell her about a fabulous job they just got because she had the confidence to go for thanks to Crystal.

Full circle. I absolutely love it.

This day helps me to remember even the tiniest things don’t go unnoticed. Thanks Crystal. You just made my week. Keep being your awesome self and I can’t wait for the next phone call.

July 29, 2010 In Uncategorized

Snail mail address

I’ve had a few people ask how I can get snail mail when I’m on the road. I have posted about this before and it’s also in my “About” page above, but here it is again:

7173 Brooking Way
Mechanicsville, VA 23111

I have someone managing my mail during my travels so nothing will be lost. Anything that’s not junk mail will be passed onto me at different drop points on my trip.

Happy snail mailing!