i would love some advice

[ptaylor]

Well, escourtu: I respect your thoughts, but could not disagree with you more. "You could buy a case of them and never have to worry about food along the way."

I have only toured the US, but I have never gone more than a day without passing a grocery or convenience store. I look forward the the shopping experience, and , in season, the roadside farm stand. I usually meet interesting people there, who are happy to talk about their community.

I carry a few staples and 'leftovers' from prior days, and meager emergency rations like  Power Bars, but for the most part, I think that the best course is to buy what you need, when you need it.

Paul

[intothewild]

thank you all for the advice on cooking.  i plan on probably going low-cooking and (as suggested by Paul) buying along the way.  it's what i'm most used to in various other traveling methods.  i do and have done quite a lot of backpacking so i already have a little stove that i made out of the bottoms of two aluminum cans with a pot stand made from a small coffee can.  both are small, light, and heat and cool very quickly.  i've gotten pretty handy with them.  BrianCM, thanks for the advice on the one-pot cooking books and that hiking journal.  i'm always looking for ways to freshen up my backpacking culinary skills (there's only so many ways a person can prepare rice and beans).  those Pheylonian beeswax candles look pretty interesting too.  i may have to try one sometime.  please post your experiences with them, if you try them.
again, thank you all!