Road Trip!

Have you been looking for a store where you can buy canned Hungarian goulash, stock up on alligator jerky, browse thousands of types of hot sauce, take home a couple durian fruits, and pick up a 50 lb bag of peanuts? Looking for an obscure cheese or microbrew (or maybe, you're keeping it real with some Genesee)? Would you also like to be entertained by assorted animatronic figures including Lucky the Leprechaun, a talking ear of corn, and a Campbell's soup can on a swing? Then you probably should give up on your plans to get stuff done around the house, jump in the car and head to Fairfield, Ohio to check out the mega-grocery store that is Jungle Jims.

The Jungle Jim's empire started as a produce stand, and is now a nationally-known grocery store, events center, and mall complex. Apparently, there's a monorail, too. It's 6 1/2 acres of random food fun--along with a giant produce, meat, and cheese section, there's condiments from every country. (Need a giant bottle of Maggi seasoning--good old MSG? What about some Tasty Joy? What the hell is Tasty Joy?)

Perhaps you would like some cheese, shaped and wrapped in wax to look like assorted objects? If you're lucky, you might even see the head honcho, Jungle Jim himself--he's been known to wander the store dressed like a wizard or British explorer. Jungle Jim's also offers cooking demos and beer and wine tastings, so really, you could make an event of the whole thing...

...which we did, in a way. H.S.'s sister (pictured above), sis's husband, and yours truly took the scenic route 42 down to the Jungle, passing through London, Xenia, Cedarville, Lebanon, and Mason, Ohio. It was a great way to check out a part of Ohio that you would otherwise miss if you took the freeway, plus we found these:


...three random train cars, parked on a lot on a side street in Cedarville. Of course we got out and explored:

This is what we found on the insides...

Aren't road trips the best?



Comments

Unknown said…
Do the bottles of Genny Ice come shaped as ice cream cones as well?
August 24, 2010 at 6:46 AM
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