I boarded a plane today for the first time in 9 months. It was significant because the last flight I took, was heading home from a wonderful vacation in San Francisco with my husband, Bill. We had planned it for months. One last hurrah before going from junk food vegetarians and sometimes vegans to starting the Engine 2 Diet. We would begin on December 27th, 2011, just after returning home from our trip.
You see, we love to eat. LOVE it! I mean who doesn’t right? But we were a serious breed of eater. We planned our vacations around food. That’s right, the joy of finding amazing vegetarian food and superb coffee was the focus of many of our trips. Sure there are landmarks along the way, historic buildings to feed my love of architecture, and the standard tourist attractions you’ll find in any locale. But most people don’t pick their hotel based on it’s proximity to a well known vegan diner or a 4 star micro-lot coffee roaster. From NYC to San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta and L.A., we ate our way across the country. Fueled by shots of espresso, we consumed one decadent treat after the other on our adventures.
My vacation photos are of food, us and food, latte art, a Louis Sullivan designed building, vegan donuts, a sunset and alas, more food. While knee deep in our adventures, it never really occurred to me that this may be odd behavior. We were on vacation after all, isn’t kicking back and indulging what vacations were for? I can point you in the direction of just about every indulgent vegetarian/vegan establishment from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Thinking back about it now, I wonder what it looked like to other people? We would come back 7 or 8 pounds heavier from a few days away, feel miserable, and spend the next month trying lose what we gained. Several cities later in addition to every day bad habits led to serious issues. Not to mention all the things we missed. Museums, landmarks and the things that regular people do.
This has been on my mind recently when planning an upcoming trip. The entire process is different. I am no longer scouting for places to eat, as much as renting a place with a kitchen so I can cook good solid plant-strong food for us. W e can make quick simple meals in a home/condo with a kitchen than we ever could alone. Save money, save time + longer vacation! Sort of a no brainer.So much has changed since becoming plant-strong. We rarely go out to eat. We have come to love simple wholesome meals that we make at home. At first I was a bit sad thinking about the loss of adventure in seeking out what had become a tradition, seeking out local vegetarian goodies. There was comfort in the pursuit of decadence.We justified it by saying we were on vacation. We told ourselves we deserved it. Then felt bad about ourselves when we were done.
Doesn’t really sound like fun when I retell it. It actually sounds sad.
I won’t feel sad though. Instead I will rejoice in the new opportunities for culinary adventures yet to come. Farmer’s markets to explore, sightseeing trips that don’t involve the pay off of greasy food. A vacation that is easier to plan. Our menu is simple now, easy enough to pack a bag for lunch on a road trip. I don’t need a vacation any more to have great food. I look forward to exploring a city with new eyes.
