Sharing Resources

[Guest guest]

I've been a member of this group for about a year, and am delighted to see all the new info being posted about restaurants, products, etc. It is getting easier to live with celiac and be GF.

When I was diagnosed in Jan. 2002, my husband and I were less than halfway through what turned out to be ten years on the road as full-timers, living in our motor home, exploring the US and Canada. We're from the Bay Area, still have family, friends, and strong ties here. A few months ago, we rented a house in Eugene, OR.

One of the founding members of GIG (the Gluten Intolerance Group) when it started almost 30 years earlier was at the RV park I was staying in Palm Desert six years ago. Sue took me under her wing and was my GF Guru for two winters in the Desert. She taught me how and where to shop, how and where to eat out, and a million things it would have taken much longer to learn.

What I learned, I passed along, as an informal resource in the Desert for the next several winters, as well as in the Bay Area, and in response to anyone who knew someone who needed information.

We made several cross-country trips, and sleuthed places we stopped. Through the internet, I found formal groups, like chapters of GIG and the Celiac Sprue Association, like this and the DCCeliacs, online support groups, newsletters, blogs, product pages and more.

I discovered places to shop, restaurants to try, new foods to look for, people very willing to answer questions about their area. When we went to Washington DC last spring, through the DCCeliacs group I found out about GF hot pretzels in Virginia (Noah's Pretzels, now in land), all kinds of choices at the cafeteria in the American Indian Museum, had fresh bread on a scrumptuous sandwich at Lilit Cafe in Bethesda, leads for Baltimore, and much more.

Last June we went to a Country Music Association Fest -- 10 a.m. to midnight, four solid days, plus another half day to kick it off. How to manage to stay GF in the midst of madness? A wonderful lady with the Nashville Celiac Support Group contacted CMA for me, and all worked out fine.

We spent a couple of months in the Bay Area this summer, and used resources from this group, adding to those I'd collected previously, as I met with friends in Petaluma, Vallejo, San , the Peninsula, Walnut Creek, San , etc.

I've had ongoing correspondence with terrific people at companies and restaurants all over the country. Outback Restaurant now has over 236 locations that serve Redbridge GF beer. I just got the updated list.

Last spring, I started a Gluten-Free Travel blog; since we stopped rolling down the road, I've been adding my finds. I've posted about GF Pizza in Phoenix and Greenwich Village, ribs in Austin and San , and more. My sidebar has eclectic links to great blogs, products, restaurants, tips, organizations, online newsletters, etc.

I do believe that what goes around, comes around, and spend a lot of my time and energy freely sharing my expertise.

I'm active with Eugene GIG (Gluten Intolerance Group), and will be a Resource Person for their Restaurant Awareness Program, which provides guidance to restaurants to develop GF meals and menus. I'm very excited about this venture.

I just started a "GF Foodies" group on www.MenuNetwork.com, which has an eclectic range of reviews from all over. They added a category of "Gluten Free" under "Cuisine Type". I'll be posting reviews from Washington DC to Austin TX to Palm Springs, the Bay Area and more, as I get them up first on my blog.

I wanted to let you know about these things, in hopes that we can all continue to share and collectively be a stronger voice for awareness and progress.

Recently I told a store manager, "You know there's a market for GF items when a national company like Anheuser Busch launches a product like Redbridge Beer. Make more shelf space, get the good things in, and people will come."

I hope I'm not out of line with this message and the link to my blog. I'm organizing material about the Bay Area I will post there soon. Please contact me either offlist or through this group if you have resources I can share.

Thanks!

Michele

Gluten-Free Travel by Graf