Road Trip 2012: Chicago to Savannah

I've been dying to take a trip like this with my kids, the kind of vacation that isn't marred by over-thinking and over-planning.

I've found lately that too much planning leads to too many expectations that are too easily crushed by, well, life. This from the woman used to planning daily itineraries, down to food packing lists for meals and what each of us will wear each day.

Not this time. Throwing caution and hyper-planning to the wind, we loosely plotted our route from Chicago to Savannah, packed light and hit the road.

That was just the right choice.

We knew we wanted to get a big bunch of driving out of the way Friday, so we drove until we felt ourselves tiring out.

When I was a kid, I'd drive cross country with my dad and grandparents. They'd choose motels by the brand, signs that announced vacancies and, of course, price. Oh, and when it was hot and the drive a long one, the motels had to have a pool.

We pretty much did the same thing this week, only we started looking about an hour or so from our destination thanks to the miracle of the iPhone. And just like when I was a kid, pools were required.

We stayed three nights on our way to our final destination: Tybee Island.

Lincoln birthplace memorial.

Night No. 1 landed us in Elizabethtown, KY. Because we didn't plan to go there, I didn't research the area. It wasn't until we checked in and scanned the brochures on the tourism rack that we realized we were just a short drive from Abraham Lincoln's birthplace. After a comfortable night's stay, a phenomenal included breakfast and a lot of swimming (plus diving for Lincoln pennies no less), we headed there first thing in the morning. The kids were excited to learn more about their country's great leader and his humble Kentucky beginnings.

Hatch Show Print shop. Playing with Hatch cat.

On Night No. 2, we found ourselves in Smyrna, TN. We were aiming for somewhere near Nashville, which was completely sold out of hotel rooms going for less than $260 a night. I wish we'd been a bit more discriminating. We actually stayed in the same hotel chain as the night before. But what a difference local management makes. Even so, our day in Nashville was fantastic. We happened to be there on a particularly hot day...figuratively and literally. Turns out Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney were headlining as part of the Brothers of Sun tour. That meant that an already bustling downtown was packed with music lovers ready to get their country on. And it meant we had to pay $20 event parking just to walk around in the 95-degree heat. The kids were hot and grumpy. Sim and I loved every minute. The street musicians were on every corner and they were all really good. We especially enjoyed hanging out a bit in Hatch Show Print shop, watching the poster artists working up prints, and playing with the Hatch cats. When the kids were about to lose it, we ducked into Mike's for some pretty great homemade ice cream. All grumpiness melted away with a few tastes of frozen treats and the promise of a pool at our next stop.

Pardon me...Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

By Night No. 3, we shifted hotel chains, paid closer attention to Trip Advisor's reviews (turns out they're pretty on the money) and went a bit more upscale (even though we were actually paying less) to rest comfortably in McDonough, Ga. It was a lovely end to a full day of driving and exploring Chattanooga, where Sim and his family visited when we was a child. Besides checking out the famed Choo Choo, highlights in Chattanooga included our lunch at The Terminal Brewhouse, a hip brew pub that locally sources much of its food. Despite the heat, we walked across the impressive pedestrian only Walnut Street Bridge spanning the Tennessee River. Then we cooled off by playing in the splash pad fountain at Coolidge Park and enjoying homemade treats at Clumpies Ice Cream Co. I also treated myself to a Pure SodaWorks original - strawberry jalapeno soda (thanks Matt).

Those three days could have been our vacation and I think I would have been more than satisfied...though not rested. So I'm glad we have the rest of the week to hang loose just outside of Savannah on Tybee Island (Night Nos. 4-7).

Already soaked, so why not?

Despite being welcomed to the city with torrential rains from Tropical Storm Debby, we had a great, though soaking wet, first day in Savannah. Killing time before we could check into our beach house that will be our home this week, we took a last-minute recommendation from a friend and ate at the Cotton Exchange along River Street. The food was so, so. But the location was perfect. Looking to escape a particularly heavy downpour, we ducked into Savannah Candy Kitchen to watch taffy, candy apples and pralines being made and taste tested.

I'm not sure I could have planned a better four first days. And I'm glad I spent my time enjoying the road trip instead of worrying about the details.

The Good Food Revolution

Finally had a chance to take a breather this weekend and get caught up on my TV stories. I'd been eager to watch Will Allen on the Colbert Report. I'm always happy to see the urban farming movement get a wider audience.

The interview -- jumping off Allen's new book, "The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People & Communities" -- was respectful and funny.

I also learned a few new things, namely that Growing Power now has an impressive 17 regional training centers now. I was also delighted to hear that Allen's vertical farm project is still on track.

And he repeated something key to all urban farming initiatives when Colbert pressed him about neighbors surely upset over sharing densely populated blocks with goats. Do goats cause any trouble for your neighbors?" Colbert asked, seemingly incredulous that goats could break loose and start eating up flower gardens and whatever's drying on the clothesline.

"One of the first things you have to do in this work is engage your community so what you're doing is looked at as an asset," Allen said.

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Grilled Lemon Chicken with Olives, Oregano, Tomatoes & Feta

I've been making versions of this sauteed chicken with tomatoes, olives & feta for years.

But with just a couple slight changes to the original recipe, this is now a house favorite.

Instead of sauteing the chicken, this time I threw it on the grill. And instead of regular red grape tomatoes, I used a mix of yellow and red cherry tomatoes, which really added a nice balance of sweet & tangy with the olives, lemon juice/garlic dressing and fresh oregano.

Here's the recipe:

6 boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/3 inch thickness. [I'm not sure mine were this thin, but they were thin enough that they cooked in about 3-5 minutes per side.]

Marinade/Dressing Base
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh or good quality lemon juice
6 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano [Best fresh from the garden!]
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Mix, reserve three tablespoons for topping, then pour the rest over the chicken and marinate for 3-6 hours. 

Olive/Tomato Topping
3 tablespoons prepped dressing
30 Kalamata olives cut lengthwise into slivers [This is the most time consuming part of this recipe, but worth every slice.]
16 tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup crumbled feta
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
Salt & pepper


Gently toss all ingredients. Grill chicken on medium/high heat for 3-5 minutes per side or saute on your stove top. Top with olive/tomato mixture.

Serve with summer salad and toasted baguette slices.

VFG Kitchen Note: The topping was so popular, I'll be sure to double it next time to serve with extra toasted baguettes. Or we may skip the chicken and serve the topping as an appetizer this summer.

Test of Endurance - for Parents, Teachers & Kids Looking for Softer Landings

This past weekend, my friends and my children's teachers and other dedicated souls, ran a 197-mile relay over 36 hours from Madison to Chicago.

The Ragnar Relay is an intense test of training and endurance. These runners -- parents and teachers from the Irving school community -- ran in shifts, through the night, through the weekend.

And they did this -- volunteered their time, called on friends and family for donations, and committed to weeks of training -- all to advance an effort to replace 80,000 square feet of 50-year-old blacktop with a multi-use green space to benefit the school and the wider community as part of the Irving Schoolyard Project.

Sure there are side benefits of achieving a physical goal and improving cardiovascular health. But make no mistake that the money they raise will go to something tangible for the school.

Last year's relay runners funded the purchase and installation of solar panels for the school. Check out the video. My future farmkids are among the sun's bands and rays. The sweet voices are 5th graders performing at the school's holiday concert.



As I started thinking about what these devoted runners endured to raise an impressive $11,000, I thought about what our kids endure each day on the blacktop.

There are no soft landings.

Our head injury rate is sky high compared to all other elementary schools in our district.

And our community is without adequate green space to gather and cheer on our shared soccer and baseball teams.

We can -- and will -- keep holding bake sales, yard sales and run relays to help get the funds needed to transform our space. Parents have been working on this for more than a decade already.

So at some point, sooner than later, my hope is that the school district will pick up the baton and start running with this project and recognize what the parents, teachers, students and alumni already know, that this massive asphalt-covered space is more than a playground. It's the gateway to southeast Oak Park. And it's the center of our community.