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Old 11-12-2017, 10:35 AM
  # 85 (permalink)  
Gilmer
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Ashburn, VA
Posts: 30,196
Dinner was fun and a great time, but, alas, lightning doesn’t strike twice.

It was a Saturday night and it was crowded, and we were all much more stressed with the logistics of getting there and parking than I had been on the other occasion I was there.

Before I had wandered in all by myself early on a Thursday evening full of joy and wonder, and the waitstaff was like Cinderella’s fairy godmother. This time it was still great and I certainly am glad we went (and so were my daughters), but I felt awkward and stilted from the get-go because I wandered in the wrong entrance and a helpful but somewhat patronizing host led me to our table.

And the food was just meh. Last time each course was like opening a new package on Christmas morning.

But we all had a good time anyway—my expectations were just too high.

When I have a great experience, I tend to get greedy: I want to repeat it, and I’m finding that often special experiences are a one-time gift.

I never realized that before. I always chalked it up to my being overly enthusiastic and then unreasonably nitpicky.

Not so much: I just sometimes look for things which cannot be found.

Interesting lesson.

And we did have a great time overall.
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