Griswald Family Vacation

I just had the opportunity to go on a “Griswald” like family vacation.  We loaded up the mini-van and our 2 year old son and headed East to New Jersey!! I had it all planned out we would hit up a few of my favorite foodie show(Man V Food, Diners, Drive ins & Dives, The best thing I ever ate) stops and make it a fun adventure. Little did I know that once we got on the highway these pinned stops were actually 60-70 miles off the highway and would take us out of our way completely. So we just watched out for signs and anything that was close. A cooler full of drinks and snacks would satisfy our cravings in between stops. I am happy to say that we did get to make one TV show stop and that was at Quaker Steak & Lube- if you ever get a chance you NEED to go there!! The decor is awesome, expecially if you like cars-fast cars- and my son and husband definately did. The menu was decent, everything had a car referenced name like gear shifters for mozz sticks. However, this was a stop from Man V Food and that means there was a challenge!! My husband was up for it. The Triple Atomic Wing Challenge. 500,000 scoville !! They make you sign a waiver. So I took his before pic, his waiver signing pic, and then when the wings arrived I took a video cuz a picture couldn’t capture the precise moment that the heat hits you. I sat there impressed as he ate his first wing licking his fingers and repeating “MMMMM those are tasty” but in the back of my mind, I was wondering where was the nearest hospital? Will he be able to finish the drive? Is our vacation over? Anxiety kicked in as his eyes teared up, the “mmmm tasty” smile turned into a gasp of “oh that’s HOT!” His words slurred as he tried to pretend like it was just an afterburn and said what I made out as “that’s an endorphine rush”. They even served jalapenos on the side to COOL down your mouth!! I was so nervous that this would ruin our vacation that I immediately stopped the challenge and told him let’s just bring the rest of the wings to our cousins in Jersey- he hesitantly agreed, but I sensed alot of relief in his hesitation. The rest of the way-3 hours to be exact- he was burping up lava. As I enjoyed the scenery and sang with our toddler, my husband was breathing fire. I like spicey…..but not that spicey. As we arrived at our destination, we unveiled the wings to my family members. Happened to be that my one cousin is a big spicey guy and now it became a contest for the rest of the vacation. Fresh cayennes, jarred peppers, hot pepper sauces… you name it!! Now that we are home, my husband has wiped the dust off some of his favorite hot sauces and is continuing his journey through what I call food hell!! I can probably assume that his entire system has been cleaned out and scarred at the same time, but to each his own…..I will enjoy my hot peppers at an 1800 scoville level!!