Gut Wagons .....

That's what we called them in the old days, because pretty much it made your gut hurt if you ate there.  Usually filled with week old sandwiches and cans of warm soda, they would come around at lunch time and park next to the office building.

If you were REAL adventuresome, you could try one of the Mexican food wagons.  Way back when, there was no such thing as Health Department inspections, nor would you really have any idea what kind of meat you were eating on that taco.

Nowadays, it's a whole different story.  Food trucks are the rage.  Especially since the Food Truck Races have been on TV, showing the amazing food real chefs can cook in teeny tiny spaces.

THIS is the Tucson Food Truck Roundup.  I happened upon them on Facebook, liking them so I could get notifications of when and where they would set up.  I was hoping to find some of the same amazing food.  When I found out they were going to be in a park near me, I held off on dinner.

Although a little difficult to find in this crazy narrow-streeted neighborhood, I finally found a parking spot half up on a curb.  I was lucky.  It was to become so crowded people were parking in the middle of the street.  Surrounding this little park were lots of trees and the trucks.  People set up tables, chairs and blankets.  I brought nothing.

I checked out every one before deciding on dinner.  This is the wood fired pizza truck menu, THE most popular.  The Cowgirl sounded perfect.  Trouble was, there was a line 25 feet long, meaning it was about an hour's wait ... in 100 degree heat .... with no chair.

I finally settled on a Cubano sandwich from Gigi's Peruvian Fusion.  Kind of like Tex-Mex, everything was just a mix up of flavors.  With only two people in front of me, I figured I had it made.

As I turned around to walk away, my timing couldn't have been better.  There were at least 20 people in line behind me.  Pretty much everything on the menu was $10 and included french fries.

I was not overly excited about the presentation.  With no place to sit and becoming overheated, I hot footed it to my Jeep where I sat in lovely air conditioning with the engine running.  In spite of it's looks, it really was pretty tasty.  Pulled pork, cheese, pickles and real cuban bread stacked on some pretty good fries.  Not the gourmet meal I was hoping for, but it was good nonetheless.

What I REALLY wanted was something from PinUp Pastries.  Voted number one in Tucson, she had some amazing treats.  Get there early if you want some Jack Daniels cheesecake or to-die-for cupcakes.  She opened early at 4:30 and by 5:30 she was sold out.

The Baskin Robbins trailer was not there, but another soft serve ice cream truck with the most fabulous looking turtle sundae was.  I was stuffed, so I passed.  I'm having ice cream and cupcakes for dinner at their next meeting.  They set up here once a month ... perfect splurge timing.

Next time I'll bring a chair and six bottles of water.  By the time I left, the entire park was full of kids playing games and people enjoying the outdoors.  If you can find a food truck roundup near you, it's worth checking out.

Yesterday was a day of miscellaneous repairs and mishaps.  Just another normal day!!  By the way, if you are interested in some funny writing, Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame has a mother ... yup really ... that sent him some text messages he posted on his Facebook page.  She was always talking about his "little Facebook friends".  

After Mike posted those messages, people suggested she write a book.  And so she did in about two weeks.  Instantly, she had her OWN Facebook page called About My Mother and 67,000 "little Facebook friends".

It's full of funny stories about growing up a horse fanatic with a mother who ruled the roost and put on airs.  20,000 copies sold out in less than a week.  She was totally shocked (at 80 years old) and is now writing another book while Mike figures out how to get 20,000 more books printed.  

Check out her Facebook page About My Mother ... she posts funny stories all the time ... like when she left "Old Blue" (her purse) in the shopping cart at Walmart, causing her husband to check out every trash can around.  People thought he was homeless and looking for food.  She was terribly embarrassed.  Great stories!!