Another vacation is in the books and on my hips.
We went to Florida for a few days with our older son and daughter-in-law, henceforth referred to as DIL. It was five years ago that we first spent time with her in the same coastal city after our son asked if he could bring along his girlfriend. We asked if we could meet her first, if he didn’t mind, before spending 10 hours in the car with her.
That vacation went well, but we were all getting to know each other. (Example: She commented while we were playing a game in the car that my husband, David, “isn’t competitive at all.” We laughed our heads off; now she knows why.)
We always take snacks for the drive, and my husband asked DIL what she wanted, and she said trail mix. He bought her some, and he made guacamole to take, as well as a cooler of sandwich fixings.
I had lost a few pounds prior to this trip, but I do not diet on vacation. As much as I like the white-sand beaches and the sound of the ocean, Florida is about the
food, too.
My husband and I typically get a few items at the grocery store once we arrive, but this time, we went a little crazy and filled our cart. We had ice cream, ice-cream bars and other snacks.
We usually eat breakfast and lunch in the condo and go out to eat every night. We have a few favorite spots, and we have to work them all in, so sometimes that means eating lunch and dinner out.
I have come a long way from the vacations where I ordered fried shrimp at every single restaurant.
The first night, we went to one of my favorite restaurants and sat outside on the deck, snagging the rail with the better view as soon as a couple left. I had the pecan-encrusted grouper with new potatoes and corn on the cob. It was delicious, and I shared a bit of my fish with the stray cats prowling down below, although that’s probably not recommended.
We went to an ice cream shop one night, regardless of the fact that we had 3 cartons in the fridge — thanks to the check-out girl who alerted us that it was buy-one-get-one — plus the ice-cream bars. And the Oreos. And the dark-chocolate kisses. And white-chocolate-covered pretzels.
I had “homemade” key-lime pie at one restaurant, following my meal of shrimp and grits. We took a little drive to a nearby city to eat at my favorite restaurant, where I love an entree called shrimp and grits a ya-ya. Then I had the strawberry shortcake, but I shared.
Two nights, we ate at a chain restaurant, but one we do not have in Conway. The chocolate cake is wonderful, and we four shared it both nights.
Then I had ice cream after we got back to the condo.
The night before we came back to Conway, my son announced that we needed to eat all the refrigerated food that we couldn’t take with us. I thought he was kidding, but he got out the ice cream containers from the freezer, and we all proceeded to finish them.
Later, he worked on the leftover pizza.
For breakfast the morning we left, I scrambled four eggs for my husband and three for me. I chased the eggs with two chocolate ice-cream bars. (Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.)
We packed the other snacks, and we stopped on the way home to buy boiled peanuts for DIL and peaches for me — and we all got ice cream.
A couple of days after we returned home, my son texted me: “I need some grits a ya-ya,” he said.
Me, too. I told him if we left right then, we could be there in time to eat it for breakfast.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.