It is no secret that the love of the road has been part of the American experience for years. For many it has been engrained in our consciousness since childhood. “Hit The Road Jack,” “Route 66,” “On The Road Again,” “Drive My Car,” are just a few of the many songs that have filled our heads with the love of the road. Heck even just yelling “Road Trip!” incites a knee-jerk reaction to get ready and “hit the gas.”

The road represents adventure, fun, and new experiences. And it’s Albertsons Market digital team’s love of fun and new experiences that makes us a huge fan of the Tillamook Loaf Love Tour. What’s not to like? An array of tasty cheese, chopped cheddar colored VW vans (my personal fav!), and a road trip that takes their adventurous team of Brand Ambassadors across the nation spreading their love of delicious Tillamook Cheese. It is a highly personal tour that is not only creative but fun as well. If you haven’t met up with the tour yet you should make it a point to do so. The samples and savings on Tillamook products are awesome!

It’s in the same spirit of the Loaf Love Tour that Albertsons Market launched the “Best Road Trip. Ever!” promotion. It is a digital road trip that is created through the creative stories of our customers as they describe their favorite trips of all time in an effort to win a new Ford car. Customers can enter stories, pictures and videos to add miles to the “journey.” We love customer stories at Albertsons Market so we decided to make the car prize get better as we get more entries. The more people that enter, the more miles are added to “the road trip” and the better the car prize gets.  We’ve already gone from a Ford Fiesta to a Mustang!

The road has a special place in the hearts of many. I’m sure our friends at Tillamook would agree as they cruise across the States spreading the love of cheese. At Albertsons Market we are trying to get you to the Loaf Love Tour in a sweet new car. Don’t forget to enter the “Best Road Trip. Ever!” promotion by August 31, 2012! Vroom, vroom!

By Matt

Being a Brand Ambassador on the Loaf Love Tour, I can tell you that there is never a dull moment, even when we are traveling from city to city. We have found some very creative ways to entertain one another while covering the long, grueling hauls on the road. But before we actually begin our journey, we have to make sure our Yums are secured in the Daddy Loaf. This is the dreaded process known as “strapping.” After many hours of trial and error, sweat and tears, our Brand Ambassadors have become professionals at securing the Yums in our beloved Daddy Loaf. Once the strapping is complete, we are ready to move on to the next city.

Hard at work

One of the necessities of a good road trip is food, and we Brand Ambassadors have healthy appetites. Whether it’s cheese and crackers, pounds of candy, or day old pizza warmed up ever so slightly by the brutal Texas sun, we Brand Ambassadors vow to never go hungry while on the road. Second to food is the music. Thanks to Cheddar Coy’s auxiliary cord, the Brand Ambassadors take turns streaming music from their phones (the exception being me, Dandy Andy, the only crew member who does not have a smart phone). Every time we cross the border and see the state sign, we stop the vehicle and take a cheesy photo in front of it.

Cheesy even when we're off-duty

One of the more popular games we play in the car is “guess what Disney character I am.”  What you do is think of a Disney character (a lesser known one is best) and the group has to ask yes or no questions until they figure out who the Disney character is. To this day, Tillatastic Ash is the only one to stump the group. Another popular way to entertain each other is taking photos of people when they fall asleep. It wasn’t until this trip to Colorado that they finally got me. About two hours from Amarillo, TX, I dozed off. Huge mistake. TillaMaya was there immediately to get a quick pic. Don’t worry, though, I still have several months left to get TillaMaya back.

I'm surprised their laughing didn't wake me up

Farewell Texas, you have been kind to us. Colorado, we’re glad to be here!

-Dandy Andy

By Andy