Roadside mayhem or peaceful respite? The decision is yours.

An Arizona road trip last weekend gave me pause to think about all the families this summer who will no doubt be spending hour after hour and mile after mile in the family auto, making their way to some summer destination. For many of us it’s the West Coast, for others perhaps trips to the White Mountains or Rocky Point. For some the journey may take days or weeks, even.

Whatever the case may be, most road trips, from the tall to the small, include road food of some sort. As I made my way last weekend to southern Arizona, and the weekend before to the northern portion of the state, I noticed the parking lots of fast food joints along the way were overflowing with vehicles. Children were spilling out of cars and trucks, while travel‑weary parents faced yet another vacation crowd–all in the name of sustenance.

Call me crazy, but I do believe the last thing I’d like to encounter after six hours on the road is a fast food joint teeming with cranky fellow travelers. It got me thinking about my own eating habits on the road, and in my customary way, I wondered why the rest of the world doesn’t do things like I do.

I wonder why someone would choose to spend more than $20 at McDonald’s for a family of four. I wonder why that comparably expensive option is so appealing to travelers, when the resulting respite offers little nutrition, lots of fat and calories, and virtually nothing in the way of a relaxing or memorable dining experience.

I compare this option to my own preference when it comes to roadside dining. Truthfully, my preference is to find an obscure eatery that offers intrigue in the form of kitsch, regional authenticity, charm or ice cream. But second to that, I prefer a 10‑minute trip to the market for some supplies and a bag of ice for the cooler. A mere 10 bucks at Trader Joe’s goes a long way in the lunch and snack department: a hunk of cheese, a loaf of bread, a few veggies, some hummus and apples. And all this can be enjoyed leisurely at a roadside picnic area. I have to believe the time spent gathering a mini‑feast like this could never take longer than braving chaotic lines at the McDonald’s junction.

A woman called the office last week to say that Lupita does too much complaining. Another e‑mailed to write that I am dead‑on when it comes to customer‑service complaints. In this column I explore the relationships between humans and food, and frankly, I think some of these relationships are downright dysfunctional. People spend all year saving and planning for a summer vacation, they scrimp for those summer weekend getaways to the cool country, and then they reward their taste buds with the overwhelming sensation of sodium, their bodies with trans fats and their souls with a sterile and completely loco dining environment. Is this what a vacation is all about?

Do I really need to explain the joy of biting into a crisp, tart apple while seated at the base of an Alligator Juniper? Is it so hard to understand the beauty of sharp cheddar and pears in the pines? A fine piece of chocolate and a handful of nuts creekside?

Travel, in whatever form, to whichever destination, is an opportunity to free the mind and soul of convention, to explore, to relax. But too often the emphasis is placed so heavily on the destination that we forget to enjoy the journey. Packing and preparation can be stressful. Time constraints and crowds can distract us from our enjoyment, if we allow it. Why not let the moments when we nourish our bodies be as delightful and peaceful as possible? Why not forego the mainstream and opt for an outdoor space where we can taste our food and take in some natural beauty.

Vacations are precious and there are precious too few of them to go around in a lifetime. Do we want to spend our midday meals amongst a crowd as members of an already largely overfed and overstressed populous? Do we want to simply swallow our food or savor it as we do those moments away from work? It’s your vacation. You decide.

Contact Lupita at foodamericana@msn.com.