Have you ever been to a new place and pulled into McDonalds for lunch because you know what you like there? Do you typically order one of the cheapest things on the menu when in a nice place instead of getting the entrée that looks amazing and costs five dollars more? When you go on vacation do you go shopping and to souvenir shops instead of taking advantage of local activities?
I have been guilty of all of these. Different events in my life have changed me, for the better, I think, and I now try to live life to the fullest.
When I was probably around twelve years old, my family went on what I remember as our first real vacation. We went to Huntsville, Alabama, to the space center. My sister and I rode in style, in the back of a pick-up truck in the camper. It was fun. We had beds made so we could sleep and had things to do. We were Gen X kids, we thought nothing of it. What I remember most about that trip (besides the eighteen wheeler nearly taking off the back corner of the truck, my sister included, when Dad stopped at a stop light and the big truck got the message too late to stop) isn’t the space center or anything else we did, it was walking into our motel room. There were gold chenille spreads on the beds, orange carpet on the floor, and shiny turquois ceramic lamps with dingy shades. It looked dirty and old to me. I was not happy with our accommodations, to say the least. Of course, I got into trouble for complaining about it. I’m sure my parents got what they could afford so they could give us this vacation.
Today my sister calls me a hotel snob, a title I will admit, doesn’t bother me. Yes, that is hotel. I’m like Manny on Modern Family, “You tend to lose a lot of amenities when an H changes to an M”.
When I stay in a hotel for vacation, I need indoor corridors, free breakfast, crisp white sheets and duvet covers, a clean-looking floor, LED television, refrigerator, free Wi-Fi, and though I probably will not use either, a gym and a pool are a plus. My sister says why does it matter when we are there to sleep. Well, I am on vacation. After a long hot day, I want to get out of the shower into a clean bed and be able to see and hear what is on the television or use the internet. (She requires Wi-Fi also) So yeah, if that makes me a hotel snob, so be it. Maybe that is why I like cruises so much, you never go back to an unclean room or unmade bed.
I’ve always been a picky eater. Boston cuisine brought a little of that out of me, but when I was in Korea, I was always excited to find an American restaurant when out in the city. I knew how and what to order at KFC or Burger King. What I knew of Korean food seemed gross. On the street they sold some kind of dried bugs, little snails, and chopped live squid, like we sell Dippin’ Dots and Hot Dogs. Eventually I started venturing out with our KATUSAs (Korean Augmentation to the United States Army). I worked with around eight of these young men and got close to one. He would take me out to different places and teach me some of his culture. When we would be on extended exercises, they would take us (Americans) to Korean restaurants, the kind where you take your shoes off at the door, sit on cushions on the floor, and eat with chopsticks. Raw meat, vegetables and spices would be brought to the table, and the guys would teach us how to cook at the wok on the table and would offer us different things to try. When our supervisor was leaving the peninsula, the KATUSAs gave him a going away party at a nice restaurant. There were bars and bars of food. You could get just about any kind of meat or seafood you could want (no dog though) and any vegetables. We had our own room with several woks to cook, and the guys introduced us to all kinds of Korean cuisine, and some interesting adult beverages. A good time was had by all. I think experiences like these are what have opened my mind to trying new foods and probably didn’t help my waistline one bit.
A few years ago, a few of us girls made a trip to New Orleans to board a cruise ship. The night before, I asked the front desk at the hotel where we could get some local cuisine. They told us Mother’s was just right up the block. I had never been to New Orleans, but I felt I had a taste of the culture when I left there. It wasn’t fancy and their customer service skills were lacking, but the food stood up for their reputation. A year or so later I took my mom and her friend, who I call Lucy, to Gulf Shores. We got there after lunchtime and were hungry. I was driving down the strip trying to find some local flavor to try. They kept pointing out every chain restaurant coming up. Lucy then said, “there’s Arby’s”. Getting agitated and seeing we were running out of town I responded, “Fine, we’ll go to frickin’ Arby’s.” No one would remember that, except that Lucy got tickled and that got Mom to laughing. Now anytime we go on vacation, every Arby’s gets pointed out by, “look, it’s frickin’ Arby’s”.
I say all that to say this. I have decided when I am in someplace new, I will try to find a local place or if it is a chain, at least choose one we don’t have close to home. I ate a Hebrew National on the streets of New York. I tried to get a Philly cheese steak in Philadelphia, but the person in front of me got the last one. I ate at Rendezvous in Memphis, ate Nashville hot chicken at Harriets in Nashville, and drank many a Sam Adams in Boston. I personally think trying the local cuisine is part of the experience and it makes richer memories.
Not only do I try to take part in the local cuisine, but I have started trying to do local activities, especially when I can find someone to accompany me. On one trip to Orange Beach, we went on a swamp and dolphin tour. We saw many water birds, interesting foliage, and houses we didn’t know anyone who could afford. On our way back from the swamp, the dolphins came out and played around us. We took lots of photos of where a dolphin just was a second ago. On the same trip my sister and I went parasailing, 800 feet into the air. I was shocked that she agreed to do it, but very proud of her. A few years ago, a friend and I took a speedboat ride around Miami and got a chance to get close to all the celebrities’ homes. When we got to the Bahamas, we took an underwater boat around the Bahamas National Park and the sea life there was beautiful. It didn’t seem to mind our boat at all and just swam right up to our window. A couple of years ago, on the 4th of July, our cruise ship docked in Key West. My sister and I toured the Ernest Hemingway House (to see the six-toed cats of course) and then ate at the legendary Sloppy Joes, one of Hemingway’s favorite hangouts. We also enjoyed some key lime pie.
I love experiences as much as who I experience them with. Whether it is riding around Nashville in an open tourist trolly with my sister and good friend, riding the ski lift up the mountain in Gatlinburg with my mom and sister, experiencing Freemont Street for the first time with the girls, experiencing my first cruise with the girls, listening to the lions carol in the dark with my aunt at Turpentine Creek, it is the sharing and the memories of the experiences we can talk about later that make them so significant.
My last topic is going to step on some toes, but if it steps on yours, then you need to do something about it besides being mad at me. The heading for this topic is: You can’t take it with you.
I know people who work hard all their lives to lift themselves from poverty to a place where they have something of value to leave for their children. To do this, they sacrifice all the things in life they would like to have, like the extra bathroom, the sunroom, the trip to Europe, that one thing they always dreamed about. My parents have done this. As grateful as I am to them for their sacrifices, I would much rather them reap the fruits of their labor. My parents raised two responsible adults with good work ethics, who got an education and had support all their lives in the process. My sister and I are okay. We are set we both have a home and a retirement plan, and each other. I told them they did their job and it is time for them to have a comfortable life, but of course that suggestion went nowhere.
So, what are we supposed to do with our money? Pay our bills, give to the church, take care of personal needs like food, clothes, vehicles, etc., and help others. I totally understand some don’t have enough to balance the books at the end of the month, and if you are one of those, I am not talking to you. I went through my days of living on ramen noodles, canned tuna, and Taco Bell dollar menu (yes, that used to be a thing). I remember living in a hot tin box where it had to reach 80 degrees before we could turn on the air because we couldn’t afford the electricity. I totally understand.
I do have friends though, who will squeeze a nickel until the buffalo poops as my grandpa would say about my grandma. These friends can afford to not eat the cheapest thing on the menu because it is the cheapest thing on the menu. If you have the means, enjoy life. If you don’t want to enjoy the blessings afforded to you for your hard work and good choices, there are many people out there who would gladly choose Red Lobster over McDonalds you could donate to.
As for me, I will run my air conditioner on Christmas if it is hotter outside than inside. My home will be comfortable to live in no matter the time of year. If I go to Longhorn, I’m getting the steak, not the chicken. I will wear comfortable shoes that I like, not get the cheapest color available. I will be a hotel snob and enjoy a good night’s sleep while on vacation, because my sister runs me to death, and I need it. I will spend money on an experience so ten years from now we can look back on it with fond memories. And if you don’t want to pay for the experience because it doesn’t sound like something you would enjoy, chances are, I’ll pay for you too, because I have faith you will.
Friends if God has blessed you enough to get out and have amazing experiences, see amazing places, and eat amazing food, you owe it to yourself and to your loved ones to enjoy things together. Take in His beauty and see as much of it as you can. Laugh and have fun experiences together. And if you are one of these curmudgeons who don’t want to do anything but stay within the same 25-mile radius for the rest of your life, but you have been blessed, bless someone else. Give to kids’ camps or senior groups or Veteran groups so they can go have experiences and enjoy life.
Just please remember you can’t take it with you; you might as well use it while you can. Now go out and find some experiences and make some memories.
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