ISO hotel room recipe ideas.

[freefallin1309]

We went to the Tomb of the Unknown, here's one of the pics as they changed:

And Iwo Jima Memorial:

Many more, but these two were real close to each other.

 

[magnoliasouth]

Man this is fantastic! You all are just so sweet and kind. I am really wishing I had found this site sooner.

... you might want to put Columbus-Belmont State Park.. Lots and lots and lots of history, too. Not Revolutionary, but Civil War era stuff. Paducah, KY, which is where I go for shopping, dining and entertainment. The whole downtown area, near the floodwall (with murals), is beautifully restored. There are even horse-drawn carriage rides on Saturday nights.

Come on down!!!

It sounds just lovely! I love anything history, as freefallin1309 says just below, anything old is fun.

...never stayed very long anywhere except DC. Take some time there, there is a lot to see and you wont do it in a day. We took nearly a full day to walk through Arlington National Cemetery and Iwo Jima Monument, there's just that much to it (bring your walkin' shoes for that hike too!) Don't drive in DC either, take the Metro rail ... driving in DC is for either the locals or the insane. I'm a huge history buff too, American and World, and the older the better for me when it comes to locations, older and full of historical importance. I haven't been to Boston to NYC yet, but I will. The others you mentioned you'll love just because of their age and significance, I do envy you as well. I want to go to Maine as well!

You have said just what Clay has said. Sadly, he has been to most of these places before so this is a ditto trip for him. He's ex-navy and didn't marry for the first time until he was in his thirties, so he traveled all over the world... a lot. He said that when he was in DC he started walking "the mall" (the monuments, etc.) at 8:00 am and didn't finish until 8:00 pm. That's a LONG time for just the mall area.

If we get a hotel near a station, or if we can find one, we'll certainly take the rail. It sounds very much like Atlanta. The traffic in Atlanta is so bad that I would rather stick needles in my eyeballs than sit in it. I used to commute to work there and I only lived 15 miles from work, but the drive was one hour.

I wonder if we can order a DC rail map online? Hmmm.

I lived in DC for 30 years and I wholly endorse freefallin1309's suggestion of using DC's Metro system. It goes EVERYWHERE there.

One site you really shouldn't miss is the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Bring tissues. It's a life-changing experience and one you will never forget.

Right, right, right, right! I completely forgot about that and I'm adding that to the list.

As I mentioned earlier, my ex was Army and one of our friends who was stationed in Alaska with us actually did that! I've always wanted to see it. Anyway, his name is Greg and he said that he could often hear sniffing.

We went to the Tomb of the Unknown, here's one of the pics as they changed ... And Iwo Jima Memorial... Many more, but these two were real close to each other.

Beautiful photos! It really will be amazing.

We've also decided that we're going to go through more states. Since we're coming from Maine, we decided to drive the entire coast down. Well, not to Miami but to Jacksonville, Florida. We had planned on going to Asheville, NC, but decided to put that off to another trip since it's so far west. That's a place that, surprisingly, I've been to and he hasn't!

Again, thanks to all of you, and as always I'm still open for suggestions too.

 

[GrillingFool]

If you are driving the coast thru NC, be sure to check out the attractions of The Outer Banks. Visit Kitty Hawk, see where the historic Wright first flight was. There is an excellent restored Civil War? era fort and some great public aquariums.
Oh yeah, you can tour the battleship North Carolina in Wilmington too.

 

[Katie H]

If you are driving the coast thru NC, be sure to check out the attractions of The Outer Banks. Visit Kitty Hawk, see where the historic Wright first flight was. There is an excellent restored Civil War? era fort and some great public aquariums.
Oh yeah, you can tour the battleship North Carolina in Wilmington too.

Absolutely, GrillingFool. Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills is great. Actually, anything in the Outer Banks area is awesome. Buck and I used to camp on the beach on Ocrakoke Island. What a fantastic vacation!!!!!!

Ain't America great!!!!

 

[Constance]

My father's family is from Maine and all my life I have wanted to visit there. Everyone in my family, I mean EVERYONE, has been there except for me. We're going to a family reunion on the 4th in Maine and I cannot tell you how excited I am.

My maternal grandfather's family was from Maine, and my great-grandfather was a German sailer, who jumped ship in Novia Scotia to avoid transcription into the German army, and eventually immigrated to Maine. (The family got mad when I said he was a draft dodger and an illegal immigrant!)
I was fortunate to take that trip with my parents when I was 14 (we saw Niagra falls, too...it was beautiful and wet!.) It was a trip I will never forget. We came back to southern Il by way of Quebec City and Montreal. They had just opened the St. Lawrence Seaway, and there were sailers there from all over the world.
My mother and I walked the promenade in front of the Chateau Frontenac (I think Dad was somewhere having a beer), where it is quite windy, and the wind blew my skirt up. A group of French sailers whistled, and my mother helped me smooth my skirt down, much to their disappointment.
Not many people in Quebec spoke English then, but my mother thought her high school French would get us by. Not so. We did just fine, even though we didn't always get what we thought we were ordering in the restaurants.
Canada had different money of course, and I remember this one filling station in the middle of nowhere where NO ONE spoke English. Dad held up a bill, probably a ten, and they got busy washing the windshield and filling the tank.



Have you all thought about stopping for lunch at some of the state parks along the way, and grilling yourself a good meal?

 

[snack_pack85]

Hotel Room Quesadillas

I saw this in a mens magazine once (no, not that kind of mens magazine). Make several quesadillas using either chicken, steak, black beans etc, cheese, and of course tortillas. Wrap in foil. Keep the quesadillas in the fridge till ready to eat.

Here's where it gets fun!

Preheat your hotel room iron (if you dont have one in the room they usually have one available for use if you call down to the lobby). Run the iron over the wrapped quesadilla till warm and the cheese is melted.
Here's a video from College Cooking that can should help.

QUESADILLA - COLLEGE FOOD from LEIGH , JESSE SALAI, and KATIE TURNER

 

[magnoliasouth]

If you are driving the coast thru NC, be sure to check out the attractions of The Outer Banks. Visit Kitty Hawk, see where the historic Wright first flight was. There is an excellent restored Civil War? era fort and some great public aquariums.
Oh yeah, you can tour the battleship North Carolina in Wilmington too.

Right! Those sound like fun. We were talking the other day about possibly Kitty Hawk. I didn't even know about the others! One thing I was thinking about is Roanoke. I've not yet looked to see if there is a museum or anything. I've always found the Roanoke history to be fascinating. It's one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in history!

My maternal grandfather's family...

Oh my gawd!!! That was an amazing story. I loved the skirt and illegal alien parts too! What fun it sounds like you had!

I've never been to French Canada but did travel through all of Western Canada. The first time I bought anything in Canada, and you have to understand that I'm a southern woman and had never ever been anywhere north, I was buying something like a candy bar. He rang it up and told me how much it was. It was something like "a dollar twenty-five." I told him I was new to Canadian money and wasn't sure how much to give him. It didn't click that he said "a dollar twenty-five." I guess I was expecting somethign else entirely.

He looked at me like I was an idiot and picked out a dollar and twenty-five cents out of my hand! Gawd I wanted to just disappear into nothingness. Needless to say, I didn't have any further trouble with the money after that.

Have you all thought about stopping for lunch at some of the state parks along the way, and grilling yourself a good meal?

Yes, actually. Together with the meal on the engine thing, we ought to be eating very well. We'll be stopping at a number of rest stops along the way too.

I saw this in a mens magazine once (no, not that kind of mens magazine).

Make several quesadillas using either chicken, steak, black beans etc, cheese, and of course tortillas. Wrap in foil. Keep the quesadillas in the fridge till ready to eat. Preheat your hotel room iron (if you dont have one in the room they usually have one available for use if you call down to the lobby). Run the iron over the wrapped quesadilla till warm and the cheese is melted.
Here's a video from College Cooking that can should help.

QUESADILLA - COLLEGE FOOD from LEIGH , JESSE SALAI, and KATIE TURNER

OMG! I love that! I've often wondered if I could do stuff like that. I guess so.

Isn't the internet amazing? Just think of all these really fabulous ideas that none of us would have ever known had it not been for the world wide web.

I'm forty-one years old and I've come to realize that we all lived in absolute naïveté. We had to spend hours at the library just to come up with microwave cooking recipes! Isn't this something?

Again, much thanks to all and I'm still open to all the ideas.

Oh! I almost forgot. Clay said the engine cooking was fine! I'm so proud of him.

 

[powerplantop]

Check out extended stay hotels

One thing to think of is extended stay hotels. Economy brands include Value Place, Extended Stay America, Candle Wood, Studio6 and a few others. They have basic kitchens, no oven but a cook top, fridge and microwave. Depending upon the location they can be as cheap as a basic hotel. I would recommend bringing a few of your own pans. They provide them but they are low quality.

I have picked them up on Priceline for as low as $25 a night. I use Better Bidding to do research before bidding.

 

[blissful]

There are softsided rolling coolers available out there. I bought one and used it for traveling in the grand canyon, eating at the car or parks most days. Another good reason for one, is like me, if you live away from the ocean and want to bring home frozen solid fresh seafood, seafood shops will freeze it for you and you pick it up the day you leave, then it stays frozen until you get home (by plane). I'm thinking Alaska, and the East Coast trips. I totally love having good seafood in my freezer brought back from the coast.
One time we traveled southern California, bought a percolating coffee pot, and cooked rice and shrimp in it for dinner. We didnt' have a cooler, but we'd picked up a styrofoam cooler at a Kmart and that got us through the week. At the end of that trip we gave the extra groceries and cooler and coffee pot to some people we knew there.
When we were in the grand canyon area last year, we picked up a few casserole pans at the goodwill/st vinnies, some second hand shop. They are so inexpensive they can be given away on the last day. I think we used the casserole one night to make mac and cheese.
To save yourself some money and space, get these things before you go, a small jar of mayo w/pickles for sandwiches, a small jar of dish soap, a few spices in baggies, salt and pepper, and a few sizes of zip lock bags for when you've prepared something (veggies, fruit, leftovers), so you have a place to store food. You'll need 2 mugs, a set of silverware each, a bowl and paper plates. A dishcloth for washing dishes, some tylenol, just in case, and don't forget your vitamins.
(if you wait until you arrive on vacation before you consider the above items, you'll have a big grocery bag of items in big bottles and boxes, that will take up a bunch of space (and money) and you won't use it up while you are there)
After you buy water a few times, rinse the bottles out and fill them up at night, especially if you are hiking a lot and use a lot of water.
I also bring coffee grounds, and make a coffee concentrate, add some chocolate (dark) and some milk, for the mornings. You'll need a container for the coffee grounds and water, to let it cold steep, a gallon of water is a great inexpensive container you can pick up when you arrive.

 

[msmofet]

my family and i have gone on many road trips to fla and across the country and we got into trouble cooking in the rooms the first time. except for using the microwave provided in the room that is. we then started taking a small hibachi grill with us and found a park to BBQ.

 

[magnoliasouth]

... I have picked them up on Priceline for as low as $25 a night. I use Better Bidding to do research before bidding.

Yowzah! I have never even heard of Better Bidding before. I just took a quick look at it and found it very interesting indeed! I planned my mother's trip to Las Vegas, she is there right now and just called me with her Vegas Update only moments ago, and I sure wish I had known about that one before. For us on this particular trip though, I'm not sure how well it will work. We have a generalized plan with a list of things we wish to do in a prioritized order. We're just going to take it day by day and see where everything leads us. If we decide to spend an extra day in one place, then we will need to eliminate a visit to another place, so we can't be locked in to any particular location.

That said, it would be nice to have a list of cheap hotels/motels in several certain areas. I just wouldn't be able to make an actual reservation is all.

Still though, I am VERY interested in that site for further use. We travel often to places such as Atlanta and New Orleans.

There are...

Wow! There are so many tips in that post that I had to trim it up for this one! You have a lot of excellent ideas. I do have one question though about something you said:

You'll need a container for the coffee grounds and water, to let it cold steep

I am very interested in what this means. Are you talking about making iced coffee? Or are you suggesting making a coffee in sort of a "sun tea" style?

...we got into trouble cooking in the rooms the first time. except for using the microwave provided in the room that is.

Really? How were you cooking in the room? I suppose I can see their side of it. Any further cooking does somewhat increase the potential for fires. Although a crock pot has less potential for a fire than a microwave.

How did they find out you were cooking in the room? We likely won't be in any one room more than one night at a time, so the maids won't have a chance to report any odd cooking equipment, if that's what happened to you.

Personally, I would probably write that up as a review at someplace like TripAdvisor. Just to warn other potential "road chefs," if for no other reason.

 

[blissful]

Thanks MagnoliaSouth!
Check out this thread.
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f9/traveling-coffee-48298.html

And I remembered later, bring a nice knife for cutting up veggies (to munch and on salads and...), wrap it in foil, so it doesn't cut through your cooler or containers.

 

[powerplantop]

Yowzah! I have never even heard of Better Bidding before. I just took a quick look at it and found it very interesting indeed!

I have the same user name over there. If you need help let me know. You can also look at my history and see some of the great deals that I have gotten.

That said, it would be nice to have a list of cheap hotels/motels in several certain areas. I just wouldn't be able to make an actual reservation is all.

Will you be taking a laptop? I have used mine to find hotels before. Find a wifi hot spot log on and search. I have even bid for a room on Priceline while eating some place that had free wifi.

 

[chefkathleen]

Wow Mags! You really got a plethora of advise and idea! That's really great.

 

[magnoliasouth]

Will you be taking a laptop? I have used mine to find hotels before. Find a wifi hot spot log on and search. I have even bid for a room on Priceline while eating some place that had free wifi.

First, thank you for letting me know your username. I'll be checking soon. I am always either magnoliasouth or magnoliasoutherly wherever I'm at. Don't you wish we could literally trademark our names so it would never be taken? lol!

As for the laptop, we've talked about taking it. My vote was for yes, but Clay isn't sure he wants to take it. We actually have three laptops (plus 3 desktops) in the house, so we're not hurting for any type of computer! It's just that we're checking out of each hotel every day. We wouldn't want to leave the laptop in the car in the summer heat, but we definitely don't want to lug it around everywhere we go either. It's kind of a catch-22.

I will have my family here though, so if we need to find something in a place that we hadn't planned to be then I can call them and get them to look it up for us.

chefkathleen: I know! I'm just too excited. Before I go, I'm going to print all of this too.

 

[jordybb]

Crack pot would be great for you
it will help you cooking when you are enjoying ...
spices in the zip lock would add to the variety and taste

 

[chefkathleen]

Are you back yet Mags? We want a report!! LOL