Well, I am here to say we are guilty as charged! We are most definitely guilty of enjoying PB&J on occasion. In fact, we are guilty of enjoying it all over the USA during our many travels. We are also guilty of suffering through inexpensive mozzarella and tomato baguettes purchased at a train station in London, bargain priced cheese and crackers purchased and consumed in the Alps of Switzerland during a 106 mile hiking trek, and $1.00 energy bars brought from home and consumed while traipsing through Australia, Costa Rica, Turkey, Egypt and whole lot of other countries. Yep. Also guilty as charged.
We've also just retired at ages 48 and 56, with plans to continue to travel and see the world for a good four to six months of each year. Not a bad trade off for the price of ingesting a few humble sandwiches along the way.
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| Our typically cheese and bread lunch while in Switzerland hiking the alps this last September, normally consumed while gazing out at some unbelievable vista. |
Ha, ha - guess we know who got the memo on how to retire early and who missed the boat. Fresh peaches on the Amalfi Coast, ham sandwich in a French train station, bottle of red wine on a hillside in Tuscny - I'll take "cheap" any time.
ReplyDeleteOh good lord. I had to go back and read the every lovin commens. Whoever this person is, im about to write about frugal road tripping and they probably won't appreciate my gourmet cooloer. I always eat casual food (mostly local food wherever I am at lunch-although I try to eat at places that offer breakfast whenever possible as I am one of those folks who requires "real food" for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteLIke you I would rather have gourmet french food and eat sandwiches the rest of the time...
Clearly you all got the point I was attempting to make. :-)
ReplyDeleteHa! PBJs are my favorite lunch, at least 3-4 days each week that is what I make, pack, and bring to work.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how delicious a PB&J can taste in the midst of a long hiking day too!
DeleteI guess it's all relative. I would consider a $500 weekend quite expensive - twice what I spent during three days in Venice last year. And why in the world would anyone need to pig out on more than one fancy meal a day? If they do, what does their scale say? I prefer fresh fruit for breakfast in my room, and maybe a cheese and wine picnic for lunch to save room for the gourmet dinner. Besides, it's your life and your retirement. You get to choose how to spend it.
ReplyDeleteYes, Kathy, exactly. What constitutes whether something is expensive or inexpensive is highly personal. What matters is that you are satisfied with the outcome.
Delete(And kudos on accomplishing Venice in under $500. It would cost us more than that just to even get there from where we live! :-)
Well think of it this way. We need those people like dbethoney to work until they are 65+++ out of apparent hatred of peanut butter. Otherwise who would take care of running the world while we are off galavanting all over it!
ReplyDeleteSyd, yes, we really do don't we! :-)
DeleteThis is funny....because I always feel guilty about "splurging" on peanut butter (the "all natural" kind). It ain't cheap! But, oh, so yummy. A guilty pleasure, for me. Kind of like True Crime shows.
ReplyDeleteAnywhoo, love your blog. Read it lots, but mostly a lurker. I guess the Great Peanut Butter controversy really spoke to me!
Tessie, so glad you finally stopped lurking and popped in to introduced yourself! :-)
DeleteAnd yes, agree this has all been much fun. I probably even owe dbethoney a Thank You note!
I can't begin to tell you how much I LOVE PB&J sandwiches! I would trade your life in a minute...you are showing us all how to live well in retirement is done! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteReading over the comment, I think the person misunderstood what you were trying to say. As I read the Las Vegas post, you decided to eat less fancy for two meals of the day. It doesn't matter, though, because you are my hero in retirement...I'm taking notes...
Sharon, I'm thinking, no, (I'm not nearly as kind as you! :-) the poster was just feeling pissy. But it sure made for a wonderful follow up post.
DeleteWe've been traveling like this for years, long before we retired. It just works for us. It allows us to maintain our weight, stay within our travel budget, and get really, really excited about when and where our daily "splurge" meal will occur.
Life is cheap, I say. Fine dining at a highly regarded restaurant can really be a great experience. Even visiting the most expensive tourist spots and malls sound tempting, but we can always enjoy the highlights of life in the cheapest way. Getting a bite of cheap sandwich before a majestic scenery outdoors is the most expensive slice of what life has to offer.
ReplyDeleteDanny Riddell
Yes, I absolutely agree. As I posted to a previous blog comment, sometimes food is the destination in and of itself, and should be, but sometimes it's just fuel.
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