We Love Wawa

Dear Em,
When I was 16, my family moved to Southern New Jersey. There were many things that would be new to me that first summer. There were jug handles to drive through & people who spoke with a Southern twang my Yankee family was not used to. The food was different too. There were hoagies instead of subs & something called a cheese steak (I love cheese steak now). There was also Wawa.

Named after some kind of bird, Wawa was everywhere in Southern Jersey. As a family, we laughed about what a ridiculous name "Wawa" is. That was before we realized how amazing Wawa is inside its doors.

It's hard to describe Wawa to New Englanders. It's kind of like a 7-eleven, I guess, but so much better. Now that we live in Rhode Island, a Wawa barren state, we don't get to go to Wawa frequently. When we travel it's our hands down favorite pit stop (I actually downloaded a highway travel app just so I could find where the Wawas are along our routes). Here are the top 7 reasons why we love Wawa.

SEVEN. They are perfectly & frequently placed along Interstate 95, making them easy spots to stop for gas throughout New Jersey, Maryland, & Virginia.

SIX. Wawa has the best fresh, self-served coffee in a variety of flavors, keeping us awake & alert during our trips.

FIVE. Aaaaaaand, Wawa also has food. Let's be honest, if you have to stop on a trip for gas at one place & sustenance at another spot, you're wasting travel time (& with all the 12+ hour road trips we take, swift stops are key). I'm not talking crappy gas station food. Wawa is an incredible convenience store, carrying all the typical convenience store food. They also carry healthy options that appeal to littles. Rather than eating crap during our road trips, you're able to choose from fruit cups, yogurt, cheese sticks, & fruit pouches.

FOUR. The staff is friendly & helpful. When our road trips are full of traffic & aggressive drivers, Wawa is a breath of fresh air.

THREE. They always have the cleanest bathrooms of any of the right-off-the-highway pit stop options. It's really true, & you notice. You are in the habit of telling me which public bathrooms smell nice & which are stinky (as if I don't notice), & Wawa always gets top ratings from you.

TWO. The "hoagies" are the bomb. Seriously, I've tried a ton of sub places, & Wawa blows them all out of the water (the bread is especially amazing). The Wawa staff makes fresh sandwiches & salads to order at the speed of light. Instead of placing your order with a person, you place your order via a touch screen. The touch screen provides you with a zillion options (it can be slightly overwhelming for the first time orderer). Rather than being labeled high maintenance with a complicated order, you can order your meals exactly the way you want them. You can order your sandwich toasted or just the bread toasted (or not toasted at all). They don't just give you a choice of mayonnaise or no mayonnaise. You can choose "mayonnaise," "extra mayonnaise," or "a little bit of mayonnaise." Except, you can make that kind of choice with any of the toppings. I wish everything in life could be ordered via this touch screen kiosk, because only at Wawa do I get what I want exactly the way I want it EVERY SINGLE TIME.

ONE. You love Wawa too, actually you call it "Wawas." I asked you once what you liked better, Wawa or McDonalds. You didn't even have to think about it. "Wawas" was the easy winner. It's like a travel game for you. You look at all the highway signs until you spot a Wawa sign (& you're really good at spotting the Wawa signs). You excitedly announce that Wawa is coming up, & then you beg us to stop (I may be begging to stop too). The last time we went to Wawa, you made up your own song & dance. The song basically consisted of you singing, "I love Wawa" a million times. When a lady who worked at Wawa came around the corner & saw you, she had the biggest grin on her face. It basically looked like you had just won a trip to Disney World. I sheepishly smiled. "We live in Rhode Island. We don't get to go to Wawa that often. This is a special treat for us."

And this is why we would like to appeal to the Wawa corporation to please, please, PLEASE come to Rhode Island. We may be a little state with people who say sub instead of hoagie, but we need Wawa! There's a little girl who will eat fruit cups & sing your praises & a mom who desperately needs your subs.

I am aware this may be coming off sounding a little bit obsessive. Sigh. I guess I might as well fully embrace it. I admit it. We are obsessed...with Wawa, one of the most amazing places on Earth.

I love you so,
Mommy