Jim here... Here's a compilation of vids from my little Flip camera, all taken over our weekend roadtrip to Washington, D.C. It's not all strictly raw-food related, but does include some raw tips. First up, you'll see our rawsomely packed food coolers. Between using ice and frozen fruits, everything kept cool just fine.
Early in the video, Wendi shares a handy tip for keeping your smoothies cool on the road. If you're going to drink your smoothies right away, you might have little concern for keeping a drink cold. However, we had eaten breakfast already and knew we wouldn't want to get into our smoothies for another hour or so after leaving. Frozen berries to the rescue! (Just make sure to hunt down a large glass bottle with an opening large enough to pour frozen berries into.)
Later in the vid is some footage from my trip to Senbeb Cafe, one of the puzzlingly few destinations for raw foods in Washington, D.C., where KDcat and I hung out with raw couples Blaqberry & Jer and Wysteria & Ryan. We had fun sampling the rich, gourmet raw foods (super-sweet kale salad, walnut-olive burgers w/ flax crackers, a funky/chunky tahini-based slaw-like concoction with soaked wild rice, and of course raw raspberry cheesecake).
(By the way, why is it that there are so few raw restaurants in D.C. Surely a city of that size could sustain several more! Any D.C.-based raw entrepreneurs out there? I smell opportunity!)
It was a fun evening of hanging with friends, getting to know new raw friends, having the obligatory (but always fascinating) raw foodie conversation on colloidal gold and marine phytoplankton, and basically just hanging out for hours. I did briefly meet Senbeb's manager, and wanted to do an interview with him for the blog. However, it was a particularly busy night in the community there and he seemed way too busy at the time. Another time, I'm sure! (Wendi actually interviewed him once, but the sound quality didn't work out on that video.)
Also included is some bonus footage of a fascinating iPhone app called the Ocarina (really mind-blowing, magical stuff!) as well as some silly footage of Julia (aka The Jooge) making a new puppy friend (if by friend you mean a smaller dog that might be fun to attack).
As prepared as we were, I think we probably could have prepared even more for the return trip during which Wendi and I both became rather tired and even struggled a bit to wake up a few times. Wendi improvised a salad in the car at one point, which helped her. I was still feeling a little weighted down from having eaten so many rich dishes. But... we made it and, as with any trip or outing, if you arrive home exhausted and in a good mood, you got the job done right!
Original Comments
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On June 29, 2009, wrote:
What a great video! We all watched it, smiling and laughing the whole way through. (Do you have your iphone yet )
~ Melissa
On June 29, 2009, wrote:
What a nice video - thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed it ~
Thanks for the tip about frozen berries in your smoothies. I've really got to make a fruit smoothie - I've been raw for a year and have only made green smoothies.
We've got similar water bottles by aquasana and have 2 wonderful sleeves for them. One is called the AquaKoozy (no affiliation here - just a fan), I see Amazon carries it (we bought ours locally). The other sleeve is called Earth Tote available on their site.
It looks like a good time was had by all ~
Debbie *�*
On June 30, 2009, wrote:
Hi Jim and Wendi!
Darn, I wish I would have known you were coming to DC as I would have met up with you guys also! Okay, next time please send me an email and I will definitely join you for some eats! You are so right about the shortage of true raw food outlets - Senbeb Cafe and Java Green are it, and luckily they both have good food. So glad you guys had a great time - thanks for sharing it...
Hugs, Tina
On June 30, 2009, wrote:
No iPhone for me just yet. Once we're on the road, we'll have no choice but to buy cell phones. Not sure what our set-up will be, though. We'll definitely need internet service, and I think right now the leading contender for that solution for us would be the MiFi device, which is like a portable hotspot. I think that's a Verizon product. So, if we get that, I'm not sure whether we'll also benefit from getting Verizon phones... Time will tell! But, yeah, the iPhone 3GS models are REALLY fun to play with!
On June 30, 2009, wrote:
Yes, we've seen those bottle carriers here, too. I'm not sure what the brand name is for them around here. I saw some just the other day for $20, but passed on them, figuring they'd surely be cheaper somewhere else. But, sooner or later, I'm sure we'll invest in carriers -- especially once we're on the road and even more mobile with our food (always running around doing seminars, etc.)
Oh, yes... great times. Wendi posted another video today!
-Jim
On June 30, 2009, wrote:
Oh, I should have posted something on the blog! I did post some notes on Twitter and Give It To Me Raw. (LOL, sometimes I foget the most obvious place of all!) Anyway, DC is a place we'll always visit, as we have so many great friends there! Honestly, DC is just aching for a great raw restaurant. I think it could easily have its own Pure Food & Wine-style raw restaurant, if anyone is bold enough to invest in one there.