Cranky Gerd: Road Trip with GERD: Stop 2, Wilmington, NC

Tofu scramble with hash brown and veg bacon/sausage at Nick's. Fantastic!

DINNER -- ANOTHER LESSON

Wilmington, North Carolina marked the low-point and a high-point of our dining experience on the road. The drive to Wilmington was leisurely -- too leisurely. We arrived at our hotel as the sun was setting. By the time we unloaded our bags and freshened up, it was dark outside, and late. I had scribbled down a few places to eat, but by then they were closed, or the menu in-person was in fact not vegetarian-friendly. After wandering around for 20 minutes, we decided to just head back to the hotel to see if we could get some light fare there, or a delivery suggestion. Everyone was getting cranky and concerned about eating too late (already our destiny).

When the concierge pointed to a shelf of crackers, soda, candy, and other snacks as the only option, we asked for the delivery menu. It was for an Italian restaurant; everything looked heavy, rich, and overbearing for 9:00 PM. Our party was disgusted, more sleepy than hungry, and we returned to our rooms with a plan of last resort: make dinner from our travel snacks. Hot oatmeal (unsweetened, organic), applesauce, and a few crackers from the concierge served as dinner, and we were determined to not repeat this mistake. Dinner by 6 PM from now on!

p.s. If only I had known about this blog entry on From A to Vegan before the trip: Southern Vegan Gastronomy Tour: Wilmington, NC

BREAKFAST -- PERFECTION AGAIN

We made up for our motley dinner with one of the best breakfast spots we found on the road: Nick's Diner. Our entire party was thrilled by this "fifties" themed diner that has a separate vegetarian and vegan menu, and tasty food with reasonable portions. In our euphoria, we ordered too many things and had to get a take-out box for the leftovers (veggie sausage, a blueberry pancake) -- which we ate an hour later after a long walk touring Blue Velvet sites.

I ordered the Tofu Scramble, seen above, which is served with shredded potatoes and a choice of veggie bacon or sausage. I got the bacon with a side of vegetarian sausage. Everything was fantastic, and my GERD was managed well, probably due to my portion control, slow eating, and the familiar type of food.

"HEY, YOU WANT TO GO FOR A RIDE?"

Blue Velvet is one of my favorite movies of all time. So, when I learned we could incorporate a visit to Wilmington -- site of the movie's filming -- I was thrilled. After breakfast, I convinced my travel party to roam the streets with me to look at significant sites related to the film: Arlene's, the "Pabst Blue Ribbon" bar, Dorothy Vallen's apartment building, Dennis Hopper's old apartment building hallway.