Vacation Food

Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. John 6:27 (NIV)

Today, I started a post vacation diet. Well, not really a diet, more a cutting back. I don’t do well with diets. Too little self control. I have to cut back though because I overindulged while on vacation. It started in Pensacola. Though we ate breakfast and lunch at the townhouse, dinners were in restaurants. I believe vacations should be from all work and that includes cooking. Dinners were decadent. I had shrimp stuffed with crabmeat that melted in my mouth at Peg Leg Pete’s. McGuire’s Irish Pub offered a delicious version of Shepherd’s Pie. I will never make mine the same way again. Paradise Pub was all about fried shrimp, and at Surf Burger I got, you guessed it, a hamburger with a side of sweet potato fries. Mmm, good. I would have been okay if I hadn’t turned right around and headed for Philadelphia. The city with a Philly Cheese Steak stand on every corner. We ended up at Campo’s where we Floridians mistakenly ordered our sandwiches with provolone cheese. The waitress turned up her nose at it and insisted with have a side order of Cheese Wiz. I thought she was nuts, but darn if she didn’t know what she was talking about. Who would have thought? We had a delicious, but pricey Italian meal at Panorama in a historic hotel on the waterfront. I also purchased the most expensive Chicken Pot Pie I have ever had in my life at Jones Restaurant. At $25, it should have been made of caviar. It was okay, but not worth $25 bucks. We found a nice family owned Italian restaurant around the corner from the hotel where you could eat for $10 which I did twice to make up for the other costly meals. One night was pizza, the next, a meatball sub. My favorite meal was at the City Tavern. There, in the replica of the place where the founding fathers drank their ale and solved the problems of the colonies, we dined on “traditional” colonial fare. I am not sure how authentic a tossed salad, turkey pot pie and peach cobbler were, but if that is what was served two hundred years ago no wonder it took so long to write the Constitution. They were too busy eating! I also tried “shrub”, a colonial drink that tasted like fruit punch with a buzz. I got mine non alcoholic. I didn’t want to be left napping while there was so much to see in the city. With a gelato shop down the street from the hotel and the Amish market complete with pretzels, cookies and ice cream five blocks away, my stomach was full and satisfied all week. Now home, my work clothes no longer fit and it is back to my own cooking and salads for lunch. Sometimes, I put my spiritual life on vacation, too and ignore what truly satisfies, time with God in prayer and Bible Study. How about you? Been on vacation too long?