Travel Snacks

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Let’s talk about travel snacks.  I always bring my own – do you?  I usually make my own “trail mix” and bring some chocolate and fruit or cheese in my carry-on to keep me satisfied. I mean, I don’t know about you but airplane food just doesn’t cut it in my book.  I found these DOVE® Fruit snacks, a dark chocolate indulgence, are the perfect addition to my traveling snack bag.

We recently traveled to Texas, which meant a trip to Walmart to stock up on cat food for the pet sitter to feed our very hungry, spoiled cats. You can imagine I was so happy to find DOVE® Fruit to help prevent starvation on our flight. Finding these little bags of dark chocolate covered cranberries, cherries and blueberries just made my day.  Our flight left around 5 p.m., with a very short layover in Atlanta before heading to DFW.  There wasn’t  any time to get dinner so I’d packed snacks for myself and my husband.  I am still in the mood for cranberry anything but I bought 2 bags of every flavor because I’m not a very good sharer.  One of each for my “under the seat” bag and the others in the “overhead” carryon because after we arrived we picked up a rental car and hit the road.  Texas is a big state so I knew we’d need travel snacks for all of our trip!

Here are my other travel necessities.  My current read, lip balm, hand lotion, sunglasses ( in case I feel the need to go “incognito”), socks (in case the airplane is freezing), an emery board for a unexpected snaggy nail, my iPad for movie watching and a light jacket or shawl to cover up with in case I want a nap!  Oh – and tissues.  You’ll always find these items in my travel bag regardless of the manner I am traveling.  Ambition and Desire -The Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte, by Kate Williams is the book I am currently reading

The sweet souls at DOVE® Fruit also have this great social hub where you can find some recipe ideas and serving suggestions and the best part – a coupon off for your own purchase of DOVE® Fruit.  Now let me tell you a little about our trip.  It was a bit CRAZY!

Everything went off without a hitch from GSO to ATL.  In ATL we had a slight hiccup when somehow the plane that was brought to our gate had not been cleaned, which caused a 40 minute delay while they spit shined the cabin.  Ok – no biggie and we were finally off.  You can imagine by now I am craving a bit of chocolate.  I was so happy when we finally got seated that I could pull out my bags of DOVE® Fruit and quench that craving.  I even shared with my hubby.  SO off we go….into the biggest, record breaking snow storm on record in North Texas.

No joke – it broke the record and we were in the big middle of it.  We saw planes being de-iced before take off as we landed.  It felt good to know we were on the ground.  Consequently the next day DFW cancelled over 300 flights – that my friends, is a nightmare!  We made our way over to the rental hub , and after being warned by the agent that roads were already bad, with multiple accidents, we found our rental car, loaded our bags and headed out of the airport to spend the evening with my mom.  This is when our stressful one and a half hour drive, normally a 45 minute drive, put us out on the roads, covered with sleet, with temps falling into the low 20’s, and some of the biggest snowflakes I’ve ever seen falling from the black sky.  There was no sign of any road crews spreading brine or sand or snowplows helping to keep the roads clear.  GREAT!  We made it to my mom’s very late, had a nightcap and hit the sack.

The next morning we woke up to 6″ of beautiful snow and multiple closures around the city and countryside.  Texans, and I know this having been one most of my life, don’t really handle inclement weather too well!  We spent the better part of the morning drinking coffee and wondering how we would proceed with our day.  We had doctor and dentist appointments, a grand opening party to attend and reservations for dinner at my favorite Mexico City style Mexican restaurant- Javier’s.  Luckily as the day progressed the temps went up and up and the frozen mess began to melt.  We were able to make all of our obligations with some juggling from the doc and dentist.  We made the party, a bit later than we’d planned and were feeling more relaxed by the time we joined our friends at Javier’s.  As you can see it all turned out alright – I admit we were feeling frazzled, but thankful we were able to take care of all we’d planned in the DFW area.  Don’t mess with mother nature or Texas!

We decided to start our road trip a bit earlier than planned and after a delicious dinner of Snapper Mojo de Ajo, (my absolute favorite) we hopped into our  rental car and headed south to be sure and get an early and safe start the next morning for our drive to San Antonio.  Can you guess what I pulled out of my bag to snack on?  It was our dessert – DOVE® Fruit.  The chocolate covered cranberries are smothered in deep, dark chocolate and they are delicious.  We snacked and listened to our favorite Pandora stations to help the time pass quickly.  We arrived at our hotel without difficulty, ready to hit the sheets and get some rest from all the craziness we’d experienced in the last 24 hours.

We woke up to dry roads and clear skies. Halleluia!  After grabbing a cup of coffee from our favorite coffee shop, we headed south to San Antonio and the Texas UIL (University Interscholastic League) Girls State Basketball Championships.  We were cheering for a team one that is coached by a long time friend.  They made it worth our while as not only did they win the semi-final game on Friday but they also took home the 4A state championship on Saturday night.  We were excited to be a part of his 8th state championship win!  On the way down to SA we stopped in Lockhart for some Texas BBQ.  After we devoured plates of brisket, ribs and the obligatory potato salad guess what I was craving?  You guessed it – some DOVE® Fruit for my sweet tooth.

We spent a couple of nights with friends on beautiful Lake Austin, got our fill of Tex-Mex, BBQ and Chicken Fried Steak. Texas dinner staples that we miss since our move to North Carolina.  We even fit in a couple of sets of  live local music on Sunday afternoon before we headed back to the airport.  We didn’t have the best weather on our visit to Texas but we got to spend time with our younger daughter, a few friends and my Mom.  Life is best to me when I’m spending it with those I love and chocolate – so I’d say this Texas tour was fabulous!

Back at home now with piles of laundry, cats and dogs in need of lots of belly rubs AND no snow!  I love to travel, but doesn’t it always feel terrific to be “home sweet home”?  I’ve divulged what’s in my travel bag now YOU share with me and my readers – what must you carry when you travel?