The post title would suggest that I didn't have a wonderful Valentine's Day, but I did...really. The only thing is that it didn't turn out to be the way we thought it would.
First, Casey was called in to be a grand juror a little while back. He had to report in on Tuesday, and they worked on cases through yesterday afternoon, all day long. Originally we were going to drive to a nice restaurant an hour away for lunch and get back in time for Miles' nap. Obviously that plan went out the window with the jury thing, so we decided to leave right after his nap and make it an early-ish dinner.
Problem is, not only was this an extremely popular restaurant, but it was also February 14, and apparently Reba McIntire was in concert that night. Thanks a lot, Reba! I went in to put our names down only to discover that the wait would be just under two hours long. The hostess said it very matter-of-factly: "It's going to be a 100- to 110-minute wait" with this look on her face that simultaneously said, 'I really don't care about your ruined evening -- I'm doing a job here.' I've been a hostess before, so I could get behind the attitude. But still, all I could think was that we had driven an hour to find out that we could not eat here. I tried not to be too upset, and we drove down the road to another, albeit less popular, eating establishment. Waiting time? Only one hour. Really? Wonderful! Can't do it.
Because it was past Miles' dinnertime and we had another hours' drive ahead of us, we had to pick somewhere to eat, so we chose...Wendy's. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan. And that Homestyle Chicken Club was actually very good. But it's tough not to be disappointed, you know?
The drive home was good, partly because I made a stop at Starbucks for a grande caramel macchiato. I needed a little mood-booster. And then we had one of our students over to watch Lost (my favorite thing said by a wide-eyed Jonathan, the student, as he turned to Case and I during an intense moment in the episode: "I love this show!"). The night ended well.
Today, Casey and I made plans to return to our first-pick restaurant for lunch, this time sans Miles (being watched by a good friend -- thanks Melanie!). I hadn't even eaten breakfast in anticipation of stuffing my face, that's how serious I was. This time we called a little bit ahead to get our names on the list, only to hear a message saying that they don't even open until three o'clock on Saturdays. Umm...that's not good. What were we to do? We had driven yet another hour away from home for this, so the obvious choice was to again visit the less-popular (but still decent!) place. No lines this time. We were taken straight to our booth and enjoyed a wonderful meal.
But make no mistake: I will eat at our first-choice restaurant this year if it's the last thing I do!
First, Casey was called in to be a grand juror a little while back. He had to report in on Tuesday, and they worked on cases through yesterday afternoon, all day long. Originally we were going to drive to a nice restaurant an hour away for lunch and get back in time for Miles' nap. Obviously that plan went out the window with the jury thing, so we decided to leave right after his nap and make it an early-ish dinner.
Problem is, not only was this an extremely popular restaurant, but it was also February 14, and apparently Reba McIntire was in concert that night. Thanks a lot, Reba! I went in to put our names down only to discover that the wait would be just under two hours long. The hostess said it very matter-of-factly: "It's going to be a 100- to 110-minute wait" with this look on her face that simultaneously said, 'I really don't care about your ruined evening -- I'm doing a job here.' I've been a hostess before, so I could get behind the attitude. But still, all I could think was that we had driven an hour to find out that we could not eat here. I tried not to be too upset, and we drove down the road to another, albeit less popular, eating establishment. Waiting time? Only one hour. Really? Wonderful! Can't do it.
Because it was past Miles' dinnertime and we had another hours' drive ahead of us, we had to pick somewhere to eat, so we chose...Wendy's. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan. And that Homestyle Chicken Club was actually very good. But it's tough not to be disappointed, you know?
The drive home was good, partly because I made a stop at Starbucks for a grande caramel macchiato. I needed a little mood-booster. And then we had one of our students over to watch Lost (my favorite thing said by a wide-eyed Jonathan, the student, as he turned to Case and I during an intense moment in the episode: "I love this show!"). The night ended well.
Today, Casey and I made plans to return to our first-pick restaurant for lunch, this time sans Miles (being watched by a good friend -- thanks Melanie!). I hadn't even eaten breakfast in anticipation of stuffing my face, that's how serious I was. This time we called a little bit ahead to get our names on the list, only to hear a message saying that they don't even open until three o'clock on Saturdays. Umm...that's not good. What were we to do? We had driven yet another hour away from home for this, so the obvious choice was to again visit the less-popular (but still decent!) place. No lines this time. We were taken straight to our booth and enjoyed a wonderful meal.
But make no mistake: I will eat at our first-choice restaurant this year if it's the last thing I do!
2 comments:
Ok you've got me curious...what is this first choice restaurant?!
yes, I need to know, too! I hope you get to go soon. Don't you hate things like that? I would probably "fire" them & never try again. haha.
Joy
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