I had this idea to pick up wine from local wineries on our trip and we found one not too far from our hotel. After driving our rig through the windy roads of the Pennsylvania countryside, we arrived at Bee Kind Winery at 10 a.m. After a quick wine tasting (Clint did not partake), we left with six bottles of Bone Dry Red Wine and some delicious beef jerky. If you ever find yourself in Clearfield, PA definitely make the trip out here.

On our way out, a woman said to Clint, “I see a giant moving truck with a panda head and a case of wine. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on.” Clint responded (with a honey stick in his mouth), “you’re never going to figure this one out.” I’m pretty sure he freaked her out.

Back on the road – we’re driving through the gorgeous hills, looking at the bluffs and rivers and we see a sign for Punxsutawney. With one glance we decide we have to check out Gobblers Knob – better late than never, right? We find ourselves navigating our truck through windy hills for the second time that day for about a half hour and as we enter the town of Punxsutawney we’re greeted by about 317 statues of groundhogs. They’re EVERYWHERE. In every color imaginable. It’s awesome. We arrive at Gobblers Knob and take so many amazing pictures:

We make it to Cleveland, drove around downtown, got lost and made our way to the awesome neighborhood of Tremont (this is where the house from A Christmas Story is located). We stopped at a coffee shop to recharge (ourselves and our phones), visited some of the local shops and picked up some cupcakes from Cookies & Cakes.

We had dinner at Lolita – a restaurant I discovered while watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate and had a really great, much-needed, healthy dinner. It was one of the best meals we had in a while and after two days on the road we were ready for some seriously good food. The next time you’re in Cleveland go there.

We spent the night outside of Cleveland so we could have a shorter drive to Chicago the next day, so we took off for Freemont, OH and stayed in a dumpy Comfort Inn (that’s what we get for not staying at a Holiday Inn Express). Tomorrow –we’re off to Chicago to spend the night with our friends. We’re going to check out a Mexican sandwich place we’ve been wanting to try and then heading to Lincoln Square to listen to our friend’s band, The Congregation, play at Martyrs. We’ll be going to sleep extra early tonight.

Then, in typical New York fashion, we went to pull out of the parking spot and couldn’t drive forward on our narrow one-way street because the Laundromat across the street had a visit from seven fire trucks and a semi. Needless to say, we couldn’t get through.

Since there was no room to turn around we had to drive backwards down the street to get out. With the help of three guys we moved the cones blocking the street (the entire block was closed because of the Laundromat) and maneuvered onto 1^st Avenue. It was one of those NYC experiences that make you feel so good  - like all of the starts are aligned – and it made us a little sad to be leaving.

Fast forward five minutes, we’re driving through SoHo on our way out of the city and just as we realized we were driving in a bus lane – with everyone else – a cop pulled us over and gave us a ticket. Awesome. But. appropriate That’s how our time in NYC has been – we’ll have an amazing NYC-experience and most often it’s followed by a kick in the butt from the city. A reminder not to get too comfortable, I think.

We pulled out, thanking NYC for robbing our bank accounts one last time and headed into Jersey then on to Pennsylvania. So, that’s day one of the trip. Check back tomorrow for some more pics as we are on our way into Cleveland in the morning.

Check it out – we think it looks pretty awesome! Do you have any tricks up your sleeve for t-shirt repair?

On one of our first cold nights in New York a couple of weeks ago, just before we received our Minnesota Burrito shirt, we decided to put my mom’s tator tot hotdish recipe to the test. I’ve always loved hotdish – it reminds me of cozy winter nights with my family – wearing sweats, watching movies and, of course, eating. Some people (cough, Clint, cough) are skeptics so I set out on a mission to change his mind.

I less than one hour, this delicious meal that you see above was ready to be devoured. And devoured we did – sure it’s not super healthy and maybe it doesn’t use the best, most fresh ingredients, but MAN is it good comfort food on a cold night. It brought back a flood of memories and I think I may have turned Clint into a believer, too. Maybe.

Want to try it out yourself? Here’s the recipe – let us know what you think!

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 large (19 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (32 oz) package frozen tator tots

10% of every shirt you purchase helps Minnesota Computers for Schools provide technology access for lifelong learning. The organization trains Stillwater Correctional Facility inmates to refurbish computers donated by local businesses. The computers are then shipped to K-12 schools across the state for a nominal fee.

The original artwork for this shirt was created by Jordan Anderson and is printed on a 90% cotton / 10% polyester heather gray American Apparel unisex v-neck cut using only eco-friendly inks. This shirt is also available in unisex crew neck.

*V-neck shirts are in unisex so girls should consider ordering one size smaller than usual. If you are unsure of what size to get please see this size chart.

10% of every shirt you purchase helps Minnesota Computers for Schools provide technology access for lifelong learning. The organization trains Stillwater Correctional Facility inmates to refurbish computers donated by local businesses. The computers are then shipped to K-12 schools across the state for a nominal fee.

The original artwork for this shirt was created by Michael Erickson and is printed using only eco-friendly inks. Minnesota Burrito comes on a super soft American Apparel indigo tri-blend unisex v-neck. This shirt is also available in truffle poly/cotton t-shirt crew neck cut.

*V-neck shirts are in unisex sizes so girls should consider ordering one size smaller than usual. If you are unsure of what size to get please see this size chart.

10% of every shirt you purchase helps Minnesota Computers for Schools provide technology access for lifelong learning. The organization trains Stillwater Correctional Facility inmates to refurbish computers donated by local businesses. The computers are then shipped to K-12 schools across the state for a nominal fee.

The original artwork for this shirt was created by Sean Tubridy and is printed using only eco-friendly inks.uried comes on a super soft American Apparel indigo tri-blend unisex v-neck. The shirt is also available in a navy 100% cotton crew neck unisex cut.

*V-neck shirts are in unisex sizes so girls should consider ordering one size smaller than usual. If you are unsure of what size to get please see this size chart.

10% of every shirt you purchase helps Minnesota Computers for Schools provide technology access for lifelong learning. The organization trains Stillwater Correctional Facility inmates to refurbish computers donated by local businesses. The computers are then shipped to K-12 schools across the state for a nominal fee.

The original artwork for this shirt was created by Natalie Walstein and is printed on a 100% cotton navy and purple American Apparel v-neck cuts using only eco-friendly inks. The shirt is also available navy unisex crew neck cut.

*V-neck shirts are in unisex so girls should consider ordering one size smaller than usual. If you are unsure of what size to get please see this size chart.

That’s just one of the reasons we love working with Growing Home so much. The organization not only provides a holistic job training program for people who are changing their lives, but they work at the policy level to ensure that fresh, organic food is available to underserved communities. The organization touches so many causes that are important to use – job creation, eco-friendly, local agriculture and community development.

As we begin to think about our possible 2012 nonprofit partners we want to know – what causes are important to you?

I’m starting a new series on my personal blog called “Recipes from my Mom’s Minnesota Kitchen.” I’ve been living away from Minnesota for almost 4 years now and with each passing month I feel my home state pulling me back in.

In the meantime, cooking some old family recipes is a great way for me to feel closer to my family and the Minneapolis/St. Paul community that I love so much. And since the food is so delicious, I want to share it with you. First up in the series: rhubarb torte.

My mom used to make this with fresh rhubarb from the garden when we were at our cabin and it was always such treat. But before this was my mom’s recipe, it was my grandma’s. My grandparents used to have the most amazing garden and amongst all of the delicious fruits and vegetables was rhubarb. To me, this recipe tastes like long summer days, sunburnt cheeks and a cool lake breeze. Enjoy.

You’ll notice strawberries in the pictures below – I ran out of rhubarb and used about one cup of strawberries as a substitute.

Rhubarb Torte

Crust:

1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1-1/4 cup flour
1 egg yolk
1 T. milk

Filling:
3 cups chopped rhubarb
2 eggs + egg white
1 cup sugar
1 cup heated milk
dash of salt

Cream the shortening, sugar and egg yolk. Mix well, stir in the flour and milk, blend well. Pat into an 8×8 pan, building up the sides evenly.

Combine the egg left from the crust with the two eggs and beat well. Stir in sugar, salt and heated milk. Mix well, pour over rhubarb which has been layered in crust lined pan. It should look something like this:

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!