mmm-yoso!!!, food blog. Kirk is working some heavy overtime hours while Ed(from Yuma) is busy planning a Thanksgiving feast, so Cathy is writing about food and things today.
It is only a few days before Thanksgiving. I read that 43.9 million people will drive more than 50 miles from home for the holiday (defined as between Wednesday and Sunday this week). In light of that, I think it's a good time for this conclusion post of our Summer of 2016 Road Trip from San Diego to Detroit and back.
We left home and took the exit to Ann Arbor, where The Mister and I met decades ago. Pizza Bob's was a favorite place for us. We enjoyed the unique Chipati, invented when we were students. 
West on the 94, we stopped in Jackson to drive through a former Hot 'n Now building which is currently a nice, local owned coffee shop, Jackson Coffee Company. No indoor seating, no wifi, just coffee (they roast their own), beverage concoctions, some sandwiches and hot pretzels.
Chicagoland is about five hours from Detroit. An easy drive.
Kirk wrote about Buona Beef, a Chicago area Italian Beef joint which some people like and other people avoid. A simple sandwich here is sort of like an Arby's roast beef and is tasty on the fresh French roll.
Buona Beef Restaurant 1170 N Arlington Heights Road Itasca, IL 60143 Website
Kirk did enjoy his dog from Gene and Jude's back in 2010 and not much has changed (the price has gone up 61¢). It's good.
Gene & Jude's Red Hot Stand 2720 River Rd River Grove, IL 60171 website
After a while, we were in the Quad Cities area 
and stopped at the Moline, Illinois Maid Rite location.
As a side note, all restaurants and businesses in the Midwest have a small vestibule area-a double doorway where you can step inside and stomp snow off your boots, shake off/take off your coat or close your umbrella before walking inside a main building. Even Costcos have vestibules. 
We sat at the counter at this location, because we could.
The 'traditional' toppings for this lightly seasoned loose meat burger are mustard, onion and pickle. Ketchup is available, but it's for the fries. The burgers are all served with a small teaspoon as your only cutlery…so you can scoop up any meat that falls out when you lift the soft bun. Maid Rite is a true midwest tradition.
Maid-Rite Quad Cities website
We stopped for fuel and looked for a place to eat in Richfield, Utah.
The signage on Main Street brought us in.
Clean, simple, family run and very good. 
Light bites and ice cream, unphotographed. This was a great find.
Ideal Dairy 490 S Main Street Richfield, UT 84701 (435) 896-5061
There were unplanned/non-food stops along the way.
A tourist trap.
The original Pony Express station, in the middle of a park in a residential neighborhood. 
The birthplace of President Gerald Ford.
Themed rest areas (this one was windmills-old and new blades).
A giant Golden Spike…but this one is in Omaha, Nebraska. It is where President Abraham Lincoln declared the joining of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads *should*occur, but it didn't happen here (Promontory, Utah is the 'official' location). This is where the largest train yard in the USA is, so if you are in North Platte, Nebraska, stop here.
If you are driving across the USA this holiday season (or anytime), do enjoy our wonderfully organized highway system as well as the National Park System signage and stop to enjoy the local people and places. Safe travels!