Sitting in the desert south of Why, Arizona we decided to cook a big meal. We got shrimp from Mexico out of the freezer, salsa from Mexico from a cabinet, canned food from Canada from the pantry and Slap Your Mama, a Cajun seasoning from the spice rack. Some of the labels were French and some were Spanish and we couldn't read them but knew what was inside from pictures on the outside.

That made us realize how lucky we are to travel in three countries and sample their best food offerings. Recently in Mexico we had the best, largest and sweetest shrimp we have ever eaten, plus some great clams and scallops. Oh yes, we ate a lot of Mexican food too.

Last summer in the Canadian Maritimes we had the pleasure of eating moose, caribou, poutine, Jiggs dinner, brewis, capelin and of course lobster, mussels and some delicious fish.

No matter where we travel we always eat in local restaurants and skip franchises. From central California to Washington I think I sampled clam chowder in at least twenty restaurants and never got tired of eating it. Along the Columbia River in Washington we tasted the best cherries in the world and next summer when we return we'll buy several pounds. Idaho turned us on to smoked salmon and in the Cajun country of Louisiana we had heartburn daily but kept eating and enjoying their spicy foods.

We usually eat very little fried food but at a buffet in Mississippi everything on the food bar was fried - frog legs, tomatoes, pickles, clams, potatoes, chicken and much more. The food was not greasy and we ate enough for six people.

In Michigan we sampled pasties and became Fudges. In Indiana we ate with an Amish family, food prepared on a wood stove, and learned about their lifestyle during dessert and coffee.

Maine has the best lobster (sorry Canada) and we recommend eating soft shell lobster if available. After eating barbecue all over the country we decided we like Texas B-B-Q best. Most restaurants cut or pull the pork or beef to the customers preference and serve the sauces on the side.

In Iowa I ordered stuffed pork chops in a pork producers restaurant and each chop was about twelve ounces with cornbread stuffing inside. It was a struggle but I ate every bite. Along the Carolina coast we were treated to Calabash seafood and further south we ate Brunswick stew and Low Country Boil, poor man's stew.

At many places we have taste-tested drinks and the wine is best in the Sierra foothills in California. We have two favorites for beer, Abita Springs Brewery in Louisiana and Schell's Brewery in New Ulm, Minnesota.

One of our favorites was a farmer's table on a gravel back road in Nebraska. On the table was fresh corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers and some other items. There was a bucket with a sign that said "Leave a quarter for each item" so every day we stopped, selected a few items, dropped quarters in the bucket and drove away. We never saw the farmer and the bucket always had a lot of quarters in it.

I would list some more things like the time we stopped at Blue Bunny Ice Cream in Iowa, but I'm getting so hungry writing this article I'm going to quit and fix something to eat.