You Never Seem to Leave Home....

While traveling in Colorado earlier this month, my family and I could not stop marveling at how different everything was -- the climate, the terrain, the scenery, etc. While Olney residents were boiling in soupy and scorching heat, we enjoyed temperatures in the 70's with below-40% humidity. Driving through the vast green pastures (with live cows, horses, elk and other generally large brown mammals) against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains, I was shocked to discover our car was traveling more than 70 miles per hour when it looked like we were moving only about 30 miles per hour. Traveling more than 30 miles per hour down Route 108 (when traffic is actually moving) would be a very different experience, with people and buildings whizzing by, speed cameras flashing and tickets awaiting. Yes, I felt my "Rocky Mountain High" but was quickly brought back to Earth by the ubiquitous American phenomenon -- the chain restaurant.

Of course the Golden Arches, Chipolte, Pizza Hut and the like are unavoidable anywhere, but I thought we were eating a little off the beaten path when I settled into my booth at the Hard Rock Cafe in Denver (the only other Hard Rock Cafe I had visited was in Beijing). I told myself, "Wow, we're really experiencing something new and different"... until I discovered that there are Hard Rock Cafes in Baltimore and DC. Compounding this feeling of never really leaving home was our waiter who is from (drumroll)... Wheaton, MD. No, he's not from Olney (which would be too cute of a coincidence) but he did play baseball on the fields on Route 108. And he met his future wife woman in Colorado; she was originally from Burtonsville, MD.

What really drove home my seeming inability to escape from Maryland was Hooters. No -- we don't patronize this fine establishment when we are home (although Hooters boasts 10 locations in the DC area, according to their website, not my own experience). My husband and I joked about trying "something new and different" and eating with our kids at Hooters but decided against it. My 10-yr-old daughter asked me what was so special about Hooters (besides their children's menu, which yes, they do have!). When I described the waitresses' attire and physique, she wrinkled her nose and wondered, "Maybe they have a beach theme. But why aren't there any men on the beach too?"