I was introduced in 1997 by driving out to the Rose Bowl from Columbus, OH with 2 friends originally from Barstow. They took me to 3 places I won't forget, Del Taco, Red Robin, and the best, In N Out. It was disconcerting to me when we arrived at the Barstow location, as my friends(and their families) were talking non-stop about the place and even refused breakfast so that they could eat more! As we walked in, my friends immediately told me to grab condiments, straws, napkins, etc. and try and find seating for 20... They would order for me, they said, don't worry, we'll take care of you!
20 minutes later, I miraculously found seating(Albeit spread out across 5 tables). 10 Minutes after that, both families sat down with their receipts in hand, waiting expectantly for their number to be called. Numbers were called, and my friends jumped up and ran to the front liked they had won a bingo game at my local Catholic church. They returned with a marvelous spread for the 3 of us, 2 Double Doubles, 1 1x2, a cheeseburger animal style, a protein style hamburger, 1 2x0 animal style, 3 fries of which 2 were animal style, 1 Neopolitan and 1 vanilla shake, and 3 drinks. I was curious, and hungry, but I was a little leery of their enthusiasm, as I had been burned before by raving friends of certain food places, but as soon as I tasted the first animal style fry, and soon as I was chomping away at the first Double Double, I knew. This was my newest, most favorite fast food place! This is where GOOD CHEAP food was created for people like me! I begged them during that trip to go back, and go back we did, 3 more times during our 2 weeks out there. Then we drove back to Ohio, and my memories of that place, while bringing back pleasure, brought more longing year after year, but then started to fade away...
Fast forward to Sept. 2007. I had met my wife 11 months before, and at this point were engaged. I had qualified for a regional championship out in Vegas, and part of the package was airfare and hotel for 2... We arrived at the riviera... I was completely engrossed about showing my fiancee a good time in Vegas, when it appeared before me... A woman walked by, with a white T-shirt emblazoned "In N Out, LAS VEGAS"...
My memories roared back to life. We checked in, and I practically dragged my fiancee out of the riviera and told the cabbie, In N Out! He only smiled knowingly and asked, which one? What? They have more than one? What kind of sick world would give Las Vegas more than one In N Out, but none within 1500 miles of Ohio? "The quickest!", I replied! We walked in, and I instructed my fiancee the same as my friends had, and came back with a similar feast(though not quite as much). The look on her face after she tasted a fry was priceless. I wondered to myself if I had had the same look in 97 when I tried it. I decided to ask. I snapped a pic of my fiancee and picture mailed my friends, asking, is this the same glow I had when I first tried In N Out??? They texted back, accusing me of illegal torture tactics and ruining their week. I texted back with "This is why Southwest has 'fun' rates!" They confirmed it, though. It was the look of In N Out rapture. This rapture quickly leads to addiction. This was evidenced by a trip my wife and I took 2 weeks ago, when we stopped in Idaho falls looking for a cheap place to eat and the only different thing we saw was a jack in the box. Ho Hum. Inside, I saw another vision, another woman wearing a T-shirt, In N Out, Las Vegas. I asked, Is there another In N Out nearby? She replied, "Oh, There's one in Utah, it's only 7 or 8 hours away by car, It's in St. George... I go there on weekends, sometimes..." 8 hours later, we were in St. George, enjoying a fine dinner as the end of a beautiful day... Alas, I am now back in Ohio wondering when my next repast will be, but I have something that brings other people to smile(or drool) sometimes as I walk by, and it proudly exclaims:

"In N Out, Utah"