Unchained in America

We just returned from a chain free vacation in Williamsburg and Jamestown! We were wondering if we could travel and do it chain free for a number of reasons. One – travel can be hard to do chain free when your on the road. Two – we were traveling with two other people – our friends Kathy and Janice. Both knew we are spending the year chain free and they were game to go along with our plan. Except for an unfortunate incident in a Starbucks on the way up (totally my fault) we managed the whole vacation to be chain free!

Here’s how we did it. Lodging was easy as we stayed with Kathy’s in-laws in Williamsburg. (We would have opted for a B&B if we hadn’t had that option).

We spent all our free time at museums – Williamsburg and Jamestown and so our shopping was done at their many wonderful museum shops.

Restaurants were plentiful and our hosts took us each evening to splendid locally owned establishments. Our first night we ate overlooking the water in Yorktown at a wonderful restaurant called River Walk Landing. I had a delicious seafood meal that was my best meal of the trip! There was a super looking yarn store next door that was unfortunately closed and lots of other neat shops in the area.

Next night was Italian at Giuseppe’s Italian Cafe near where we were staying. It’s a nice little family spot with good Italian food. Our final night was at the Country Club where we were staying . Sorry, no link for this!

On the way home though we made quite the find. Sometimes when you get off the exit looking for coffee at anyplace but Starbucks, you make amazing discoveries. We found a place just north of Roanoke, Virginia called Blue Collar Joe’s. Wow! First of all its in a retrofitted gas station. They not only serve great organic coffee that is locally roasted, but they have the MOST INCREDIBLE DONUTS! They are all homemade there by the staff in the most exotic, interesting flavors you can imagine. We went a bit wild since we were stopping that night at Dan’s brother’s and figured this could be our hostess gift.

Out we came with Carmel Apple Pie, Botetourt Bog, Cinnamon Toast, Blueberry Pancake Breakfast, S’More and on and on. Besides the scrumptious donuts and great coffee though, was the super conversation we had with the owner Dan Knight.

Dan loves to rescue dogs and we talked about our dogs – our Faith and his five rescue dogs. After getting our fill of dog talk, donuts, coffee, and supporting non-chains we left happy and fulfilled. This is exactly what we love about shopping in non-chains. Getting to meet and talk with people like Dan who are making a living doing what they love.   So, please look for those great finds at the end of the exit ramp. They may be a bit further down the road, but they are oh so worth it.

Oh – about the unfortunate Starbucks incident. On the way up to Williamsburg it was 3:30 p.m. and I was getting one of my crashing “I must have coffee or I am going to die” headaches. There wasn’t a non-chain in site. and I made the executive decision that I just couldn’t get a migraine. So I gave in and felt bad for doing it. Really, really bad. I hope I don’t do it again.

I’ve gone for 3 months now without using a chain, but now that “chain” has been broken. And all for some makeup! For as long as I can remember I’ve used Almay for my eye makeup because my eyes are so sensitive. I’ve tried other brands but my eyes itch and swell.

So, when my Almay mascara dried up I worried, but gamely tried something new. I went to my favorite clothing boutique in town, Orange Blossom, where Pat Fuller the owner also sells a wonderful line of cosmetics called Aloette. I figured I’d try the mascara, which was certainly the most expensive I’d ever purchased! Nope – eyes swelled and itched. But I do love their other products. I purchased the Aloepure Basic Skin Care Value Package with cleansers, Moisturizers, and Scrubs and love them.

So, next I thought I’d try buying mascara at Green Life, the healthfood store in Chattanooga. After consulting with the clerk I chose Larenim mascara that is supposed to be for people with sensitive eyes. Nope. Eyes swelled and itched, but it took a bit longer this time.

So, yesterday I broke down and went into the CVS and bought my old standby Almay mascara that none of my privately owned drug stores carry. I felt awful doing it and I’m sure some of you are wondering why I just don’t go without.

Sorry, just not an option. With my red hair and blue eyes, my eye lashes are a pale white. I look dead without mascara and washed out without makeup in general. I just feel naked if I’m not wearing it. So, the eyes have it and I have found my first failure in the Unchained In America story – mascara.

Which means Perkits. Weird name for our only non-chain store and it sells soft serve yogurt. Perkits used to be a big chain, but the chain went out of business and the owner only kept the original store here in Cleveland.

I really miss the soft serve ice cream stands that every town has in the Northeast. No idea why they aren’t popular in the South where its so bloody HOT! You would think they would crave ice cream down here, but there’s hardly an ice cream store to be had. I’ve asked why, and no one seems to know except they say they make their own. Go figure. What a pain. And it tastes nothing like the wonderful custard ice cream we would get at the Wind Chill in Ticonderoga!

Perkets doesn’t have a website so I can’t send you there to check it out. It’s on Keith Street in the Plaza with Cooke’s where we do our grocery shopping. Check it out.

One of the first things people ask us when we tell them we are going for a year without chains is “How will you grocery shop?” Here in Cleveland (that’s Tennessee) we are fortunate to have a family-owned grocery store, health food store, and upscale organic market. And if we go to the next town, Chattanooga, we have a very large health food store. So with all four options we are set. And it pretty much takes all four to get our grocery shopping done.

To keep costs down we buy our non-perishables that aren’t organic at Cooke’s. Owned by the same family since the 1940s, the store is small but we can generally get what we need there. For our produce and meat we prefer to go to the same family’s newer venture, Season’s Harvest Market. The items are bit pricey, but the produce is fresher, often organic and the meat variety is great and I trust it to be fresher. We can also get some fairly exotic things there. For a wide selection of organic I often pop into the health food store in town, Abundant Living. Run by a nice couple, they have a great selection of health products as well. And if were in Chattanooga we always stop at Greenlife which is a huge organic store with a great selection.

Today I bought the makings for this evening’s dinner – Rachel Ray’s White Bean Stew featured in February’s Every Day With Rachel Ray issue. True to form, most of the veggies and meat came from Seasons Harvest, the organic canned beans and chicken broth came from Greenlife, and the onions and organic tomato puree from Cooke’s! The soup came out great by the way.

If you have local markets in your town support them! They are struggling against the Walmarts and chain supermarkets. There used to be a corner market in every neighborhood where the owners knew your name and cared about the community. Cooke’s is still following that model in Cleveland giving back and supporting local charities in a big way! The chains only give lip service to donating to local charities. So, support your local supermarket if you can!

Taco Mamacita, on the Northshore of Chattanooga, was a new find for us. Located around the corner from our favorite organic grocery store, Greenlife, Taco Mamacita is a different kind of Mexican restaurant. Everything is made fresh on the spot and our food didn’t have the usual heaviness you often find in Mexican food.

I had the Peruvian Chicken, a wonderfully broiled chicken with a great flavor. With it came two sides and I chose the beans and the greens. The beans were definately homemade and weren’t mushy. Yum! The greens were a little too spicy for me – they were in a Chipolte sauce. But for those who like spicy they were well flavored.

Dan had a chicken Jamacian Jerk Taco (not all the menu is Mexican!), beef enchiladas, and the beans. All were great. We plan on going back for dinner and lunch for sure. Check it out if you’re in Chattanooga.