Subway - Everywhere

​GOOD TO KNOW: http://www.subway.com/en-us
Specialties: sandwiches
Gluten-free: salads, gluten-free bread at some locations
Reservations: no
Other: take out, delivery and dine in
Note: gluten-free items are housed separate from other sandwich items

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you use them to make a purchase, I'll earn a bit of money from the sale to save for my next gluten-free adventure.

Passes closed? Buy a sandwich and go around them.

Sometimes the shortest distance between two points isn't an option so you just gotta buckle up, turn on the SiriusXM 80s channel and take the long route. Let me preface this post with, there is no limit to my Marianas Trench fandom. I’m not in the demographic of a typical Trencher but the Canadian alt rock band from Vancouver won me over November 2015 and I have shamelessly followed them ever since. I've got the resources, a willing travel partner, an ingrained need to travel, and most importantly, they make me happy. Marianas Trench was wrapping up more than a year of touring and promotion for their latest album with one final lap through Canada. So Shawn, being an awesome spouse, bought tickets for back-to-back mid-November shows in B.C.. Long story short, due to a band member illness, the tour was postponed to February, aka Snowmageddon 2017.
 
And here the adventure begins . . .

Expectation vs. Reality

PLANNED concert weekend schedule:
Thursday - leave work at noon, drive to Seattle (6 hours), visit and stay with family
Friday - leisurely drive to Canada (1.5 hours), check out Abbotsford, grab a bite before 7 p.m. concert
Saturday - Ferry to Victoria, touristy stuff
Sunday - More touristy stuff, concert # 2
Monday - Ferry, border crossing, drive home, bask in post-mini break happiness
 
ACTUAL concert weekend schedule:
Wednesday - weather alerts, highway closures, maintain positive attitude
Thursday - work until noon, all three routes to Seattle still closed, go around the mountain passes via Portland (12 hours)
Friday - head north to Canadian border, Twitter alert -  band stuck in northern B.C., Friday concert postponed until Monday, feel sad but glad it's nothing tragic, reroute to Vancouver, enjoy Gastown District
Saturday - Ferry to Victoria, touristy stuff, request refund for Abbotsford concert tickets :(
Sunday - More touristy stuff, concert # 2, fall in love all over again
Monday - 8 a.m. leave hotel, drive, drive, drive, vacillate between disappointment at having to miss the rescheduled rescheduled Abbotsford concert and rehashing one of the best MTrench shows I have been to, 7:45 p.m. arrive home, unpack, fall into bed exhausted

Subway and Expedia - The Real Road Trip Heroes 

The real lifesavers on this rescheduled, rerouted road trip were Subway for including gluten-free bread as a choice and being located in every strip mall, and Expedia for waiving the hotel cancellation fee in Abbotsford and having an awesome mobile app to find a perfect hotel in our Vancouver neighborhood of choice. Mini break day one was punctuated with miles of driving and not one but two meals at Subway. On our way out of town, we made a quick stop at the downtown Pullman Subway for a quick lunch. I frequently order delivery from this particular Subway because they have gluten-free bread, change gloves between orders and are very conscientious about keeping the gluten-free meats and veggies separate from the common bins. Nearly all the ingredients are gluten-free but not all stores offer a gluten-free bread choice. If GF bread isn't an option, you won't go hungry cause they do make a mean chopped salad with your choice of fixings.
 
Fast forward six hours and 300 miles. My butt is sore, my back hurts and the hunger I felt 75 miles prior has morphed into raging hangry. Ask Shawn, it was ugly. After a couple especially snotty comments he hit the first promising exit which happened to have a strip mall and, big surprise, a Subway. Not really what I had in mind but for the safety of others I stomped my way up to the counter and ordered another GF sandwich. I'm not sure if it was actually less delicious than the earlier sandwich or if my foul mood tainted a perfectly good meal but I recall feeling like that particular sandwich artist did not make my sandwich with love. Culinary genius or not, it did stabilize my blood sugar and allow Shawn to live to see another day and drive another three hours.
 
Exhausted and road weary, we capped off our day with a glass of wine and went to bed looking forward to a little R & R and the long awaited Marianas Trench concert the following night. Little did we know, Snowmageddon 2017 was also wreaking havoc in Canada and that we would miss the Abbotsford show anyway.

Read about gluten-free road snacks here. ​