#veganladyroadtrip

May 26th, 2015 - filed under: The Food » Food and Health

vegan lady blogger


Well hello! I’m coming to you from the coziest little bed, in the snazziest little trailer this side of the Rio Grande, deep in the heart of Texas.

After 2 epic days of adventure, mishap, late night desert driving, daytime road games, much silliness, tomfoolery, shenanigans, and a hearty helping of vegan eats, me and my lady blogger compatriots have arrived safely in Austin, TX, armed and ready to take the city – and the third annual Vida Vegan Con – by storm. Huzzah!

The three of us – Jackie from Vegan Yack Attack, Joni from Just The Food, and myself – drove from Long Beach to Austin in under 2 days. Not bad! And here’s what it looked like:


coffee and green juice

Starbucks espresso and green juice to go, in Jeremy’s car on the way to meet the girls.


joni in Whole Foods
Of course, we couldn’t just up and leave town. No, we had to stop by Whole Foods (because vegans) on our way out, and what did we find there?? One of Joni’s books – Fusion Food In The Vegan Kitchen – out on display! She’s such a cook book rock star (there’s 9 others, if you’re interested).


pink apple kombucha
Stocked up and ready to hit the road! This Pink Lady Apple kombucha was really great.


gluten free tofu sandwich
And Joni packed a massive cooler full of sammies and snacks for us – like this baked tofu, Chao cheese, and micro greens on gluten-free bread.


vegan sammies for breakfast

Arizona rocks

energy drink
Energy water??


chips and avocado

greens restaurant arizona

thai peanut bowl at greens
For dinner we stopped in Phoenix, at an adorable little spot called Green. I had this tofu and veggie bowl with Thai-inspired peanut sauce.


vegan buffalo bites
Also we shared some buffalo bites, because I’m currently having a major love affair with buffalo.


treats at namis
Afterwards, we popped next door to Nami for vegan drinks and desserts . . .


book exchange namis vegan

tsoynami at namis
Jackie and I split this Peanut Butter & Jelly “T’soynami” – a play on the DQ Blizzard.


From there we drove late into the night . . . no really, LATE into the night. We finally landed in El Paso, around 3 o’clock in the morning.


♥ ♥ ♥



el paso hotel

vegan hotel fridge
Vegans travel prepared.


tofu avocado sandwich
Breakfast of champions.


gas station reflection

truck stop gaming room

bag of vegan candy
Vegan road fuel.


US Border Patrol Texas

west texas

texas rest stop

arrived in Austin
And finally, this evening, we arrived at our wee-but-wonderful trailer – our home for the next week while we’re here in Austin.

♥ ♥ ♥

Oh my goodness you guys, the shower that I just took (after midnight) (my first in 2 days) felt soooo amazing. And now I’m snuggled down in this bed, and I can barely keep my eyes open.

So as I bid you adieu, I must ask:

Austin folks! What must I absolutely see and do while I’m here??

And non-Austin folks! What do you want to see from this trip? Food? Conference? Austin-y or Texas-y type stuff?

I’d love to hear it! Lemme know in the comments below.

Okay, I’m gonna go to sleep now . . .

Cheers!

  • yogadogwalker

    Wow, it looks like you guys are having so much fun! I would love to see food, Austin, everything! I’ve never been, so it’s fun to see what I’m missing!

  • Rachel in Veganland

    This looks like SO MUCH fun! I’m definitely living vicariously through you while you’re there! I was so hoping to be able to attend VVC this year, but unfortunately academia took its toll and I’ll be attending to that over the next week. I most like to see Austin from your eyes–whatever you fancy, things you eat, things you like, funky little quirks about the city. You name it. I’m so stoked to see what the week holds for you! Enjoy it!

  • Meg Travis-Carr

    Oh my goodness, I want to see EVERYTHANG!!! I’m going to be living vicariously through you and Bianca from Vegan Crunk, and I can’t *wait* to see all the vegan goodness! Like other readers, I’ve never been to Austin, so I would love to get a sampling of it all: Texas, Food, Vegan Friends, Discussions…. is that being too greedy? ;D

  • austinite

    Vegan Nom on North Loop. Best tacos in town!

  • http://www.amandaboldenow.com/blog AmandaBold

    Is any of the conference impacted by flooding? So much to do and see in Austin, I hope the water has receded

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Check and check! Already taking a million photos of this awesome, brightly colored and very funky city! And food, of yes, there will be food.
    ;-)

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Aww sorry you had to miss it Rachel! I promise to eat a taco in your honor. <3

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Not too greedy at all! I love to share and I’m happy to share it ALL!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Yes! They’re going to be at the conference – I can’t wait to try them!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal

    Not as far as I know. It was actually really surprising driving into town after seeing all the news reports. It doesn’t seem like much of anything is impacted at all! Could just be the places we’ve been, but it seems pretty business as usual around here.

  • Jo

    I want to see food, conference, and Austin-y stuff!
    I went to Austin for a conference myself a couple years back and made a bunch of my lab mates take the bus for 45 minutes to go get ice cream at Sweet Ritual and it was SO WORTH IT. We also took a pilgrimage to the Whole Foods flagship store, and that was cool, but seriously. Go eat all the ice cream.

  • Ilana

    I really want to talk about your amazing braid though!

  • Olgui

    Pics, pics! I love your pics! :-D

  • http://angieeatspeace.com/ Angie

    That sounds like so much fun!

  • Bianca

    The road trip looks like so much fun!!! It was sooooo awesome seeing you and Joni and Jackie this past weekend!!!

  • Pingback: Tales From The “Taco Cleanse”: Vida Vegan Con & The Great Austin Taco Tour, Part 1 | Bonzai Aphrodite