Like Father, Like Son

When I was little, I always used to laugh at my dad. Wait ... I should probably qualify that last sentence. I used to laugh at my dad ... when he'd talk about our family vacations. Usually these trips consisted of driving across several states to visit grandparents, but later on, they became other kinds of trips where we stayed in hotels (gasp), went to theme parks, and ate out at restaurants. I would laugh at my dad whenever anyone asked how these trips went. In my mind, the best part of these trips were the rides or the zoo animals or the fact that we actually had cable TV for a couple nights. Inevitably, however, my dad would break into a long discourse about each meal we had. He would describe the consistency of the chips at one restaurant or the flavor of the pasta sauce at another. To the average listener, it sounded like we spent the entire time with a fork in one hand and a napkin tucked under our chin.

Fast forward 15 years.

My company had a retreat a little while ago. We had an amazing weekend where we went golfing (or to the spa if you don't mind someone invading your personal space), hot air ballooning and river rafting. A couple of years ago, we went on another retreat where we received professional golf instruction at PGA West near Palm Springs, California. Both trips were wonderful. When I got home, I was all ready to tell my wife about all the fun I had, and what could I not stop talking about? The food. I went on and on about this delicious fish and how we got to have fresh guacamole made right next to our table by the waiter. About 30 minutes into my monologue, my mouth fell open and I realized I was doing exactly what my dad used to do.

I decided I should probably just embrace it, since it was WAY too late to do anything about the habits I learned from infancy. So if you ever hear me talking about a vacation, be prepared for a healthy chunk of that conversation to be about food.

Speaking of food ... this blog has some pretty cool food ideas (thrown in with a bunch of crafty stuff that I probably couldn't do even if I wanted to. I just don't want to see how many times I can stick my finger with a sewing needle ... not pretty). You should check it out when you have a second: http://projectdomestication.blogspot.com/