Maid-Rite drive-ins have been feeding the Midwest since 1926. That’s a lot of sandwiches.

The restaurant chain is headquartered in Iowa, but has additional locations in Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. Carry out beer is not available in all stores, but it should be.

There’s nothing better than good food on a family road trip. While the bigger chains are convenient and often necessary, it’s always nice to try someplace local. What are some of the regional favorites in your area?

This post is part of Uptake’s Tuesday Roadside Attractions Series. If you have a photo of an odd, funny or interesting roadside attraction that you would like to see featured here please submit it via the link in the sidebar with subject line: Roadside.

A wheel from one of the wagons our descendants traveled in to their homestead in Wyoming in the 1800's.

I’m sure you’ve seen the “Ask Friends Who Know” query box on Uptake’s main page. I thought I’d share with you my experience with using this feature. Yes! Not only do I WORK for Uptake, I’m also a customer!

My husband’s father passed away in early December, which prompted a last-minute road trip to Wyoming from our home in Arizona. Concerned about snowfall and road closures, I posted the following question in the “Ask Friends” query box at 9:22 a.m. on December 21st:

“What is the best winter driving route from Phoenix to Cheyenne? We’re trying to avoid treacherous routes and road closures!”

At 10:14 a.m. on the same day (less than an hour later!) I received this response from John Johnson:

“This time of year its best to avoid the mountains if it all possible. With this in mind, from Phoenix I would take Highway 89 North to Salt Lake City, then merge onto Northbound Interstate 15 towards Beaver.

Take exit 298 and merge onto Interstate 215 West (Belt Route), from there take exit 20A and merge onto Utah 201 East.

Continue on until you see the signs to merge onto Interstate 80 East. Take exit 358 (W. Lincolnway) off Interstate 80 and this will put you in downtown Cheyenne.”

We followed John’s recommended route EXACTLY and had precisely ZERO issues. We drove straight through to Salt Lake City (nearly 12 hours!) and stayed overnight at the Little America Hotel, which was just lovely. Then we drove the remaining way to our relative’s home in Wyoming.

John’s advice gave us considerable peace of mind in a trying time, and for that we were grateful. I had faith and confidence in his recommendations because of my faith and confidence in the Uptake community.

So. My advice to you all is to take advantage of that lovely feature the next time you find yourself traveling!

Photo credit: Tiffany Joyce

Ausable Chasm in the Winter

This Christmas break my family hopped in our Toyota Prius and road-tripped to the Lake Champlain region of the Adirondacks.  Although the ski conditions near our home in Massachusetts were just awful due to the unseasonably warm weather we’ve been experiencing, the conditions were great in the Adirondacks.

To start, we traveled to Plattsburgh by way of Vermont, taking the Grand Isle to Plattsburgh ferry.  It was incredibly easy to take the ferry, which runs every few minutes twenty-four hours a day, and saved us lots of time.  Once we arrived in Plattsburgh, it was just a short drive to the Comfort Inn and Suites, where we were staying for our trip. Read More »

This year I have made plenty of resolutions. There’s the typical diet, the much needed time with the family, and building upon that, a strong desire to start camping again. Somehow we stopped doing it, and then years passed.

Regular readers of Uptake’s Vacation Blog (thank you!) will soon be able to follow the (mis)adventures of my family as we start camping (the kids have never been) and we leave the video games behind. Hilarity should ensue.

I hope you’ll join us (here, not camping, my car only seats four and the dogs)!

This post is part of Uptake’s Tuesday Roadside Attractions Series. If you have a photo of an odd, funny or interesting roadside attraction that you would like to see featured here please submit it via the link in the sidebar with subject line: Roadside.