Whenever we took my Mom and Dad on driving vacations, we chose hotels that provided free breakfast. We were all early risers and this helped us to get on the road early vs using valuable travel time finding a place to eat, and then facing the possibility of a long wait at a restaurant. It was also more economical.

In 2000, on our very first trip with Mom and Dad, to Las Vegas and then California, and at the very first “breakfast included” hotel” Dad tried the waffles. He didn’t have the scrambled eggs, the bacon, the sausages, or any of the other typical fare. I made him a waffle in one of those machines that are always there. He loved it, and, along with an orange, that’s what Dad had for breakfast for every single morning meal from that day until about a week before he passed. That’s over 20 years of waffles! Mom didn’t have a waffle maker, but bought Eggo frozen waffles by the case.

Our first night on our way home from Texas this year, we stayed in Junction, TX. Junction is in Texas Hill country, about an hour northeast east of Fredericksburg, TX (Fredericksburg is on my Texas bucket list).

When I checked out the morning breakfast fare, I saw that the waffle iron was in the shape of the state of Texas, so decided this would be appropriate for our last morning in the state until we return in the fall. I seldom choose the waffles – more often opting for some watery prefab scrambled eggs, a muffin or toast, fresh fruit, and yogurt.

I was pleasantly surprised with the great taste of the freshly made waffle, and with how filling it was with only a glass of orange juice as a side. I now understood Dad’s obsession and decided that I’d have a waffle in memory of him at every breakfast on the way home. I was even eyeing up the Eggo waffles when we went for groceries yesterday.

Photo Note: I took two photos of my Texas waffle – one with regular focus and one in portrait mode, which I chose for my feature photo. All I did in post processing was resizing for both photos. Which one do you prefer?

Regular Focus

“Waffles are just awesome bread.”

John Green