A Gluten Free Move

I'm moving! From Nashville, which I love, love, love, back to my home state of Wisconsin, which holds deep joy for me. It's odd to be leaving a place I love so much and to be moving to another place I love. I'm both happy and sad at the same time. It's very bittersweet.

Tomorrow the movers come, and the day after that Daryl and I drive north. Normally I would have a backpack full of almonds and fruit leather, some peanut butter and gf crackers, and a big bag of carrot sticks. Normally I would get a little bit panicked watching the movers put our pots and pans into boxes and then into a truck. "What will I use to cook now?! How will I GET FOOD?!?!" But not this time.

This time we have a plan. I'm thankful every day for Google and the gluten free blogosphere. Through you--friends, strangers, strangers-who-become-friends--I find ways to make living gluten free also nearly pain free. You find me food. You suggest restaurants. You have ideas for where to stop and what to munch on. I am thankful for you!

The plan is as follows:

Step #1: Get in the car with our suitcases and our two cats, who will immediately begin wailing and probably not stop until we hit Wisconsin a day later...

Step #2: Stop at Fiddlecakes Bakery, our favorite yummy gluten-free bakery and sandwich shop in Nashville. You can (and should!) find them here. We'll be picking up breakfast and lunch, and I already have my favorites picked out: a hot chai latte and a muffin (ANY gluten free variety will do because they are just all so freaking good!) for breakfast, and a turkey sandwich with vegan mayo (not because I'm a vegan, but because this is what they offer and it's tasty stuff), cheese, lettuce, and tomato. Plus Kettle chips, because I can't say no. And maybe a cupcake. It's goodbye Fiddlecakes, after all. It's a bit too far to commute from Wisconsin... :(

Step #3: Drive eight hours to Bloomington, Illinois. Drop our suitcases and our wailing cats off at the pet-friendly hotel. Revel in the silence of our now cat-free car.

Step #4: Split a dinner at Biaggi's Italian. Gluten free pizza and pasta. Haven't tried it yet, and it's a chain (which is never my first choice, really) but it's supposed to be amazing AND they offer you bread to dip in Parmesan and olive oil before the meal comes. Yummy yum yum.

Usually on the road I'm lucky if I can snag a Wendy's baked potato or some string cheese from the gas station. Not this time, baby. I'm planning ahead. Thank goodness for the Internet and all of you gluten free bloggers!

Anyone know of any tasty gf restaurants in the Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago area? Any ideas for a good breakfast between Bloomington and Chicago? I'm moving to a rural town, but it's between the three, and I'm planning some pilgrimages...

GFJF is heading north! Woot!