I guess I better mention Krispy Kreme at some point

Before a review, a story.

I got a text from my mother a couple of months ago, mid May I believe, that saddened me. She informed me that the Russel Stover Outlet in South Carolina that we often stopped at on road trips between Florida and the Northeast would be closing.

This was big news for our family.

I can't remember the last road trip I took with my mom were we DIDN'T stop at a Russel Stover store. At most major events, we had boxes of chocolates to share with relatives. Camping at Platte River State Park for my aunts' 40th and 50th birthdays? Giggling like 10 year olds with my aunts and cousins and throwing candy around the cabin while wearing the Russel Stover hats. Hanging out in the hotel after my brother's wedding in 2010? Eating chocolates and playing rummy. Heading into Omaha last October for my great aunt and uncle's 60th wedding anniversary? Gotta stop outside Kansas City for chocolates! BLT's can wait!

I know this is a donut blog, but I have to sometimes try to explain my insane family. And besides the Russel Stover obsession, we may have had a Krispy Kreme obsession. Not as hard core as RS, but it was there.

My parents, sister and I once took an impromptu road trip to South Carolina from Florida to try to see my bother while he was on tour with his band. This was in the age before cell phones and we had no way of contacting him to make sure they were still playing there (or even where they were playing) and to let him know we'd be there. You can probably guess how this ended, us hanging out in an internet cafe trying to find someone online who knew anything about the tour and then returning to the hotel defeated that we never found him. Turns out the show got cancelled and they weren't even in town that night.

But! The trip was not a total waste, because of course there was a Krispy Kreme practically across the street from our hotel to stop at in the morning. There is a Krispy Kreme in the greater Orlando area, but it's in Winter Park and we don't make it out there all that often. So it became a thing for a couple of years that any road trip we took had to include at least one Russel Stover stop and one Krispy Kreme stop. Sometimes we stopped at the same Krispy Kreme (NW corner of DC on the outer loop, open 24 hrs). Sometimes we had to call someone at a computer to find one for us (neither my parents nor I have a smart phone. The two oldest siblings have graduated to smart phones, but my next oldest sister and I are still holding out. For who knows what, but we're holding out!)

We still stop at a Krispy Kreme if we see one on our travels, but we haven't made any last minute calls for people to help us find one. You just can't ignore the "Hot Donuts" sign when you're on the road.