Storytelling

2 Comments Posted on car reviews, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Holly: Your Little Feet and Hands in the Sand for the 1st Time (“Ride the Lightning” 2017 Toyota Prius Road Trip)

1 year, 1 months.

Dear Holly,

It was everything I had hoped it would be, seeing your reaction to the ocean and the sand and waves.

As your Daddy, it was so rewarding to see your precious little toes in the sand. I got to see how you used both your hands at the same to pick up the sand then let it run through them.

It became very obvious to me that if you could, you would be perfectly happy spending all day out there on Miramar Beach.

But your favorite part was when I took you into the water. As you wore your “Sweetie” bathing suit that I adore on you, I stood with you in the shallow water and lifted you up as each new wave came to you.

You just loved it! You weren’t afraid of the waves at all.

There were a few times when, as I lifted you up as a bigger wave splashed, you would shake like you were crying. But each time I looked down and saw your face, you were laughing instead.

I know it was asking a lot of you, at just one year-old, that Mommy and I took you on a 7 hour road trip to Florida with your brother.

Fortunately though, you slept through most of the driving as we journeyed on in the 2017 Toyota Prius Three. Perhaps it’s not necessarily normal for parents to drive all that way to take such a young little girl to the beach… I don’t know.

What I do know is, I’m glad our family was able to make this trip happen. And because of how well you handed it, you’ve now got Mommy and me convinced that our next trip to Florida doesn’t have to be another year from now.

Hmmm… maybe this fall? Yeah, we might need to make that happen.

Love,

Daddy

2 Comments Posted on fatherhood, new house, parenting, Storytelling, toy reviews, Uncategorized

Our Back Porch and Back Yard are Like 2 More Rooms of Our House in the Summer (Featuring American Plastic Toys)

This makes the 3rd summer we’ve spent in our house since it was built, yet it’s the 1st summer we’ve really made an effort as a family to utilize those 2 forsaken “rooms” of our house: the back porch and the back yard.

It’s becoming the norm these days that, as a family, we end up hanging out there under the blue sky, with the soybean field in sight right over the fence. My one year-old daughter loves it when I take her out there just to watch the robins fly by. She points to the sky, “Wuh? Wuh?”

I then confirm, “Yes, birds. Birds.”

While we were on vacation in Florida last week, American Plastic Toys sent our family some samples of their outdoor sports equipment for kids. (And yes, these products are actually made in America.)

So this past Saturday morning, we finally were able to break out the new outdoor sports toys and have some fun.

We made our way out onto the lawn so my son could hit some home runs. I forget how big our lawn actually is, but playing baseball helped put our “field” to use.

Our back porch transformed into a golf course, as our son wanted to refine his skills for the next time we visit a putt-putt place. Eventually, our golf game transitioned in to a hockey match, as our son is quite aware of the Nashville Predators. Before he was ready to move on, though, he also engaged me in a sword fight, using the golf clubs.

Summer is on its way. I want make sure we make good use of the great outdoors, especially when they are literally right outside the back door.

As for my daughter, she’s happy just to watch her big brother play, as she uses our back porch as a training facility for learning to walk.

6 Comments Posted on fatherhood, Health, Storytelling, Uncategorized, vegan

Destin, Florida is Still Not a Vegan Friendly City… A Year and a Half Later

If, as a vegan, you end up in Destin, I will help you out by highlighting some of the places you will be able to eat. But I’m telling you up front, it’s a challenge…

The most obvious choice is Whole Foods Market, which was still being built the last time I was in Destin back in 2015. While it is glorious and new and easy to get to from the main road, it is not vegan friendly.

I struggled to find something to eat there, that would provide for my protein needs. I had to rely strictly on the buffet, but even then, it was nearly impossible to find grains I could eat. The options with rice or pasta all contained meat or dairy.

Briefly, I thought there was a ray of hope when I walked over to the sandwich bar, as there was a veggie sandwich (Le Provencal) on the menu that I could have ordered without the cheese. But when I tried to order it, I was told they no longer have that option available- not just that day, but permanently.

The guy then suggested I try their Caprese Classico sandwich instead, as he informed me that their pesto sauce does not contain dairy. I then delicately explained to him a Caprese Classico sandwich without the cheese is ultimately just a big piece of toast with a tomato on it.

That’s the thing: People who aren’t vegan fundamentally don’t understand how vegans get their protein:

Veggies, fruits, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds.

I made things work, but was ultimately limited to spending $14 a pop at the Whole Foods buffet; surviving mainly on tofu and beans.

Of course, there is a Mellow Mushroom on the main drag, as well. So that was the next place I took my family in the 2017 Toyota Prius. That’s an easy go to for me when I’m travelling. I experimented with their veggie burger for the first time.

I was very pleased, though I did have to cheat a little, knowing there were traces of egg whites in the burger. The reason this didn’t wreck my conscience is because I’m not a vegan because of animal rights. I follow a 0% cholesterol lifestyle for the health benefits- and I know that the cholesterol of an egg is in the yolk, not the egg whites.

There’s also a place called The Dig, which for a vegan, serves in the likeness of a juice bar. That’s where I met Aaron Sundstrom, who is another fellow male vegan. He switched to the plant-based lifestyle after he survived a bout with cancer.

Perhaps the easiest place for me to dine and got a solid meal was Don Pedros Cantina, which is on the main road but off to the back and easy to miss.

I ordered the veggie fajitas, minus the sour cream and cheese.

So there you have it. Vegans typically don’t end up in Destin. It’s not an inviting place for us, when it comes to food.

It’s not Destin’s fault. Destin is simply catering to who’s showing up.

Apparently, the vegans are visiting other cities instead, like Pensacola.

In fact, the next time I visit Florida on vacation, I will be staying in Pensacola but will take a day trip to Destin.

I get it. I am an intelligent guy. I understand how the free market works…

The reason that Destin, Florida is still not an easy place for a vegan to eat, as I became aware back in December 2015, is not the fault of the city. Instead, it’s simply demographics.

I theorize it like this: Destin is mostly comprised of older, retired residents who live there during the winter, then rent out their condos to young families (like mine) during the warmer months.

The majority of people either living in or coming through Destin are demographically, by design, not the target market for the vegan lifestyle.

Compare that to Pensacola, just about an hour away, which I deemed as very vegan friendly back in May 2015.

Pensacola isn’t a tourist town, the way Destin undeniably is. Instead, Pensacola is an actual city with established residents. Pensacola has employers that run businesses that go beyond the scope of tourism. Pensacola has spunk. It has character.

Destin, not so much. Destin is simply a beautiful place to stay when you want to enjoy a vacation at the beach. It’s plenty of fun, for sure. But Destin is not an environment that typically attracts the vegan type.

But hey, I made it work. If you’re a vegan who ends up in Destin, you can survive too. I just have a feeling you’ll need to bookmark this blog post to serve as your guide.

And if you’re a vegetarian, like my wife and kids are, it’ll be that much easier for you.

1 Comment Posted on car reviews, fatherhood, marriage, Storytelling, Uncategorized

This is 36: Taking Shifts with My Wife, As the Baby Sleeps in the Car

As you know, our family recently spent a week down in Destin, Florida for a family vacation over Memorial Day weekend. As you can imagine, with a 1 year-old little girl in tow, we largely had to base our schedule and activities around her sleep schedule.

For example, on the way down to Florida, we left our home in Tennessee immediately after an early dinner so that we could get to our condo in Destin by 1:30 AM. This created an environment for our daughter to be able to sleep through the entire drive. Granted, we only stopped once during the 7 hour trip for a bathroom break; to help ensure she didn’t wake up.

Since this formula proved effective, we did the same thing for the drive back home from Florida. That’s right- just 2 bathroom breaks during the 14 hour round trip.

Uh… impressed much?

We continued to cater to our daughter’s slumber throughout the course of our vacation.

One day we took a day trip over to Pensacola where one of my brothers-in law and his wife have recently moved. After we toured their new home which is currently under construction, everyone decided to walk through some of the model homes in the surrounding neighborhoods.

So my mother-in-law and her husband (who were also in town for the weekend), my brother-in-law, his wife, my wife, our son, our daughter, and I successfully toured two model homes.

But as we drove to the next neighborhood, our daughter had fallen asleep in just a matter of minutes. I volunteered to stay in the driver’s seat of the 2017 Toyota Prius Three as our daughter took her afternoon nap behind me in her car seat.

There in the driveway of that model home, I pulled out the classic 1984 Ride the Lightning album by Metallica to enjoy for myself. Fortunately, the symphonic distorted electric guitars helped keep my little girl asleep. She’s not too picky when it comes to music, yet.

Even after my wife and son returned from the tour of that model home, they returned to the car, only to inform me that there was yet one more model home to visit before we made our way back to Destin.

Honestly, I didn’t mind one bit. It was peaceful and relaxing for me. It gave me not only a chance to think, but a chance to help my wife out by giving her some time to see something new and exciting and to take a break from constantly caring for a baby.

Of course, it was no surprise that less than 24 hours, my wife would be taking the next shift of “chill out in the car while the baby sleeps.” Because for lunch the following day, as went out for Mexican food for lunch, our daughter had fallen asleep in the car.

So I took my wife’s order, then eventually brought her food to her roadside, while the rest of us ate inside the restaurant.

This is just how it has to be right now. We’re used to it.

This is 36.

4 Comments Posted on car reviews, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

This is 36: We Took Our 2 Young Kids on a 7 Hour Road Trip to Florida (So You Don’t Have To!)

Brave. Ambitious. Heroic.

Those are buzz words that people like to throw around these days when referencing someone who dares to go against the norm; someone who is willing to take risks that others dare not.

If that’s the case, then my wife and I are soon to be famous…

Because during past week, we willingly took a 7 hour road trip from Spring Hill, Tennessee (where we live) to Destin, Florida and back… with our 1 year-old daughter and our 6 and a half year-old son.

Not in a minivan. Not in a big SUV. But in a small car.

As Jeb Bush muttered during last year’s campaign… Please clap.

Now I want to warn you, over the next week or so, you will be presented with several blog posts about our recent road trip and vacation to Destin. Riding on tubes at the beach, digging up buried treasure, racing go-karts…

At times, you may even think, “Lucky them! What a cool, fun family! Looks like they’ve got it made!”

If those thoughts cross your mind, think back to this blog post…

In the midst of all the glory and splendor of our trip, we were also caring our daughter who was still recovering from an ear infection.

We were there during a holiday weekend, meaning we were at one point stuck in traffic for 2 and a half hours (during a stretch that should have barely taken us an hour) with that little girl who we were desperately trying to keep asleep, as her older brother who hadn’t had a nap that day was getting way too antsy.

Keep in mind that as we were sharing a condo with family (which definitely saved us money), at one point we got locked outside for about an hour, which delayed our daughter getting to bed that night on schedule. And by the way, it took hours to get her to sleep each night in that new environment, compared to her falling asleep within a few minutes back home in Tennessee.

Consider that the 4 of us all slept in a small room with very squeaky beds, which at any moment my son or my wife or I could (and sometimes did) easily wake the baby.

Near the middle of the vacation, my wife mutually proclaimed we would not be taking another trip like this for years.

Funny though, because by the last day of our trip, we both recanted, asking each other, “Hmm… when can we come do this again?”

Despite the chaos, we truly had a blast.

And the fact that we were in a 2017 Toyota Prius Three, that meant we did the entire road trip on just two tanks of gas! Plus, we very easily stuffed the hatchback with all our stuff. We actually had plenty of room. My wife even rode in the back seat with the kids a few times, while I drove up front.

Our road trip not only produced awesome memories (and photos to prove it), but it helped build character for our family. And I’m all about character arc, because in my opinion, that’s what makes a good story.

I wouldn’t have had it any other way, actually. I think it’s obvious that my wife and I are wired for a good challenge.

We survived. We did it!

This is 36.