Saturday, July 31, 2010

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Is there anything more depressing than returning to reality after a fabulous vacation? I submit that there is not.

In an attempt to spare you all the gory details of my "Fall from Retro WW Grace", let's just say that I enjoyed every moment of my week in every possible way. I ate, drank and lived life to the fullest.

There is, however, one specific story I feel obliged to share...

It was a rainy Sunday at the lake, so we skipped the daily trip to the beach. While looking for something fun to do, my husband remembered an out-of-the-way diner that a friend had recently told him about. "They have the best pie you will ever eat in your life", they assured him, "Totally worth the 30-mile drive to get there".

So despite my protests, we spent our Sunday morning driving 30 miles into the middle of nowhere. To get a slice of pie.

phot credit: www.bike-erie.com

When we arrived, I was so very pleased. This place was the very definition of RETRO. And I don't mean phony retro--like some of these new-fangled wanna-be retro diners. I mean this place was old school, baby. The menu had things like glazed ham and lima beans and jello on it.

But here's the kicker: one of the luncheon entrees was simply called "Diet Lunch". It consisted of........wait for it........

Cottage Cheese, Fruit and Gelatine!

I almost fell off my chair! I wondered if Jean Nidetch had been secretly involved in the planning of this menu back in the 1970's? Was it fate that I was sitting here all these years later about to place my order? Had some strange force pulled me into this quirky little diner to remind me of my Retro WW Experiment? Was this a message from Jean?

As I stared at the menu, I knew what I had to do.

I ordered the Rhubarb Pie. A la Mode.

What? I couldn't pass up the best pie on earth, could I? Besides...I was on vacation. There's plenty of time for cottage cheese and gelatine now that I'm back to reality.

Thanks for hanging in there during my vacation, bloggy friends! The Experiment is officially BACK ON!

4 comments:

Helen said...

Welcome back! Glad to hear you had a good time of R & R. Now, go find your envelopes of Knox and get to work.

Shoes15 said...

I remember this self-serve restaurant when I was a kid had a "diet plate" that consisted of a hamburger patty, a slice of pineapple topped with cottage cheese and some crudite. No jello, unfortunately.

Lidian said...

Actually, the diet plate was a sign to tell you that you must have the delicious pie! (I don't quite know how this works, but it does). Vacations and diet plates do not mix!

Welcome back!

P.S. My captcha word is SARSA, as in: Rhubarb pie is a terrific sarsa vitamins! :)

Bring Pretty Back said...

This is something V and I would do! We drove around once looking for an out of the way steak place on vacation... for 2 hours.
we found it . Had the time of our lives!
I would have ordered the pie too!
But ... tell me?! was it the best pie on earth?
Kristin