Jun 255 min read

St. Paul/Rochester Hills

Updated: Jul 3

Wow it has been an absolutely NUTTY week. We have had quite an exciting few days. Can't wait to share all of it with you!

We got a few days off, so Ryan, Katie and I decided to leave Austin, MN and head to the Twin Cities where there would be lots more to do! We drove in to town in the morning and then headed to The Mall of America - I had no clue what to expect but it was such a blast. Some highlights

-Rollercoasters at Nickelodeon Universe

-Wink World - a totally ridiculous "museum" that consistented of a bunch of mirror rooms set to music. We found this place equally entertaining and stupid and so therefore we can't stop making jokes about it.

-Rick Bronson's comedy club - we got to see the "Funniest Person with a Day Job" semi-finals, it was 2 straight hours of over 15 comedy acts all competing to make it to the top three for the next show. We were pleasently surprised with how talented and funny everyone was - you really never know walking blindly into a comedy club so we felt lucky!

This was the first time the three of us really got to hang out and do something fun that had nothing to do with our jobs, and it was such a fun day.

It really make me feel confident that all of us are going to have a really good time this year. We spent the whole days laughing and chatting and getting to know each other and it was such a blast. We ended up spending 6 hours at the Mall of America lol - and I think if we had gotten there eariler it could've been even longer.

The next day we slept in, and then headed to the Minnesota Museum of Science, which was honestly just like any other science museum in America so I won't bore you with details - but it was fun!

On Thursday we got word that the Nut was ready to be picked and to get driving! We spent all of Wednesday doing office work - something that was unexpected with this job for sure! I heard we had office work days but had no clue how necessary they were - we have to book hotels 7 days a week, so coordinating routes, scheduling cities and media interviews and content creation is all a really complicated puzzle. Also, when we plan the routes for the NUTmobile, we have to add about 2-3 hours to the drive time. We fluctuate speeds and it's important to be safe on the road, which sometimes means slow on the road. Other things that add time: 1. No drive-thrus. The Nut is 11.6 feet tall, which is taller than the clearances for most drive-thrus. SO if we want food, we have to park and go in. 2. Every stop is like a mini-event. Our drive days are considered work days for this reason too. We wear our uniforms while driving so people always know that we are the ones driving the huge peanut when we walk into a gas station. No matter where we stop, people come up to us, and we take pictures, pass out peanuts, and give away stckers! It's kinda the whole gig - our job is to make everyone love their experience with the NUTmobile, no matter how brief.

With all of those additional factors, you can imagine how much longer it takes us to get from point A to point B!

We had it planned to spend Father's day at my parents house - a little mini event to get our feet wet on the way to DC for our first big corporate planned festival. With the Nut ready to go, we realized we were going to have to have 2 extra long drive days if we were going to make it to Rochester Hills in time. Luckily, the honeymoon phase of this crazy job hasn't worn off - and we were all up for the challenge.

We leave St. Paul at 8:30am on Friday morning, and spend the next 2 hours driving to the Nut, then dropping off the rental car before finally reuniting in Marshell for the first time together on the road - and we were finally off!

Long drive days are not for the faint of heart, but the Nut is pretty spacious and the back seat area allows for a good amount of privacy (where I'm writing this). We switch off every few hours, making sure to take stops as needed - at one of which we saw some familiar friends (and competitors).

Okay, I feel like I gotta say, Planters and Oscar Meyer used to both be owned by Kraft Hienz - but Planters was bought by Hormel Foods in 2022 and so therefore the NUTmobile is now part of Hormel too! We get the Weiner Mobile comparison a lot on the road - and we always tell people "They're a bunch of balogna!" Did you know there is actually 6 Weiner Mobiles? - but there's only 1 NUTmobile - which means if you see the NUTmobile out in the wild - it's WAY more rare and special! In all seriousness, though they are kinda our competitors, the "Weens" and the Peanutters always become friends on the road just due to the nature of the job - it's hard to find people who can relate to this lifestyle! And we have some events coming up that the Weens will also be going to, so I'm excited to meet them and become friends!

We shell-ebrated passing through our first state-lines together (Minnesota-Wisconsin-Illinois) and we made it to Naperville safely and met up with some of Katie's friends before calling it a night. It was hard being so close to Chicago without seeing my friends but knowing we are scheduled to come back in a month made it okay.

The next day was driving driving driving until we made it to Dearborn, MI for the night - and then finally to Rochester Hills, MI - my hometown - for father's day! I was so happy we made it - and also nervous? Technically it was our first real event, and I knew I'd be seeing a lot of family and friends and I guess I felt the pressure to really entertain! LOL.

It was 90-something degrees but I managed to give a bunch of rides around the neighborhood. Originally the event was meant to be a kinda small gathering, but when you drive a giant peanut, word is gonna get out. Eventually we had strangers from all over the neighborhood parking their cars and taking photos with the NUTmobile. It was a blast and a great way to get our feet wet before the DC BBQ Battle this upcoming weekend. And a great way to shell-ebrate Father's Day!

I know many of you who read this were guests this past weekend and I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Really - it was such a cool send off after some crazy weeks in Peanut Prep and I feel so lucky to have such a supportive group of people surrounding me. I hope to cashew on the road!

The next morning we stopped at River Oaks assisted living home to hopefully bring some snacks and smiles to the community there and it was a total success! We met June, who turned 100 in May (only 8 years younger than Mr. Peanut!) and she was incredible! She walked right up to the NUTmobile, dancing, and then struck a pose just like Mr.P! We could help but laugh and cheer her on. After our visit there we are inspired to make more stops at assisted living and retirement facilities.