Exploration

There is one definitive perk to being married in the military.  (to me, at least.)  And that is the opportunity to explore regions of the country and world with your spouse that you may have not ever visited let alone lived in.  This exploration, of course, stems from government mandated moves every 2-3 years.  So if you can get past that part, the silver lining is a slew of new experiences.

Before I moved to the Quad Cities, John was stuck here by himself, working 12-16 hour days as the Aide de Camp for the Commanding General on post.  His phone calls often consisted of the his wish for me to be there with him (instead of in Colorado) so he would have someone to come home to and someone to explore the area with.  (At the same time, he also didn't want me to be there as he had very little time to himself and his life was basically consumed with work - which would be no fun for me.)

So, after we married (and after he switched out of the Aide job for a less intense position) I moved to the QC.  And we explored.  Restaurants, attractions, firework displays, on post events, shopping, nearby areas...  It's not always the most exciting because it's the frickin Quad Cities.  But it's still fun to explore together.

Now, in reference to restaurants, is the purpose of exploration to try every single restaurant?  Or is it to find that one restaurant that becomes an old favorite?

We have a local favorite.  It's called the Riverhouse.  It's SUPER close to post, has a variety of good food (fried shrimp, buffalo chicken wrap, meatloaf, baked chicken dish, enchiladas, prime rib...it's all good), plus house made chips with garlic dipping sauce, not to mention a large variety of beer.  It's not fancy, but it's comfortable and nearly always delicious.

And yet, every time we're trying to decide on where to go to eat, if we're not considering a specific genre of food (Chinese, Italian), I almost always default to The Riverhouse.  And then I feel guilty for not giving any more restaurants a try.  Like they're not getting a fair shake. Or maybe I'm just getting too much into a comfort zone, and I would never want to be accused of that....

And then I think I'm just being silly.  And I order up some chips and garlic sauce!