Appreciation

Since being on the road for a very short amount of time, I have come to appreciate many people more than I ever did before.

1.    People in the food industry

a.     It is not easy making mass amounts of food, making sure everything is clean, wearing gloves all day in 100+ degree heat, and making people happy!  It definitely can be exhausting, but every food vendor we have met at the festivals has been a delight.  They probably don’t ever eat the food they are selling because they got sick of it months ago, but they sure do their best to make sure their customers are happy.  On that note, I still love bananas and smoothies and I eat them outside of work hours!

2.    ALL people working at hotels

a.     People that work in hotels are sent from God.  They make so many things about our life easier, especially after a long day giving out samples.  From asking them daily if we have received packages, to leaving random kitchen supplies soaking in our bathtub that they have to clean around, to asking the restaurant to let us use their dishwashers to clean some blenders…they are ALWAYS so accommodating.  People are crazy and needy (ourselves included), but the staff at the many hotels where we have stayed are always so friendly!  I suppose it could be that our truck is always a great first impression when we check in and we are always telling people to “Peel the Love.”  Truly, we would be lost without friendly hotel staff dealing with questions such as “Do you have electrical outlets in the light poles outside?” or “Do you have a hose we can borrow to wash our 26’ truck?” or “Can we use your restaurant to wash our dishes?”  You get the point.  Typically they do not know the answers, but they are always helpful in getting an answer for us!...And yes, from time to time we provide them with a smoothie leftover from an event.

3.    Truck drivers

a.     Back in the day, in my pre-trucker years, I used to get annoyed with large trucks that slightly drifted over the line.  I also thought some big rig drivers were crazy with how quickly they were driving or how close they were cutting it when changing lanes in front of someone.  Now, all those feelings are gone.  I am only in a 26 foot truck, so I can only imagine what it must be like in an 18-wheeler, but it is tough driving those trucks!  Especially when you are used to a car.  

Our food truck is about the width of a driving lane, so any slight drift puts you over the line and we are trying our best!  Likewise, people always cut trucks off and pass at inopportune times when you need to get over.  Clearly smaller cars feel the need to get in front of what they perceive as your tremendous, slow and lumbering behind, but I have learned that patience is a virtue when it comes to trucks.  As for the changing of lanes?  The side mirrors make it quite clear when you are cutting someone off; however, a trucker I spoke to in Seattle made a good point.

“You’re a big rig now and everyone else is a little rig.  You want to get over?  Just throw on that blinker and F* ‘em.  You are BIG and you will win every time.”

Now that is the trucker attitude.  Thanks Aaron from Oregon!

4.    My AMAZING Husband

a.     Don’t get me wrong.  I appreciated Lucas before we left on this trip, but that appreciation has sky rocketed since Memorial Day.  He keeps me sane, he keeps things in perspective, and he can make everything fun and far more entertaining than anyone I have ever met.  Before we left and when we decided to take this job many people asked, “You are going to work together all summer?  What will that do to your relationship?”  We even looked at eachother and thought, “Can we handle doing this together all summer?  Will we kill eachother?”

The other day at Panera, the cashier asked us if we were "twinning"  I guess that is a thing now.

The reality is that this job has done nothing but made our relationship stronger and made me realize how much I do appreciate Lucas for everything he is.  We are having a blast, and I am pretty sure if I had to be on this adventure with anyone else, I would have killed them by now…or they would have killed me.  The Carmalts are going strong, having so much fun in the process and can not wait to tell this story for years to come.  What a great way to spend a second year of marriage!!

Other things I appreciate:

• Dishwashers
• Air Conditioned Cars (and the "zip" of a car accelerating)
• Parking Luke's Honda Fit
• 15 gallon gas tanks (versus 50)
• Food processors
• Rearview Mirrors
• Home cooked food
• Choosing an outfit in the morning
• Driving on any road I choose (see GPS pic)

Peeling the Love (for Lucas and So Many People)