Being the youngest in my family, going on vacations usually meant doing what other people wanted to do.  Most family outings involved following my brother’s baseball pursuits around the Southeast.  I rarely remember getting to choose where we went, what we ate, what activities we did, or even where I got to sit in the car.  My parents and brothers could have a different take on this, but nonetheless, this is what I remember.

So, as we are on family vacation now, with my own family, I decided to share the love, or at least the control.  We started tests on a system where we invite each family member to take turns in choosing where we go and what we do.  This week we are in South Florida, a trip which my wife and I choose without much input form the kids, we decided test out the turn taking with where we eat.  We also decided to make up some rules to govern our system.  I hesitate to write down these rules, as I am both the creator and enforcer of the rules, and keeping them fluid can work to my advantage!  But here is what we decided thus far.  The order is Tucker (youngest), Tyler (oldest), Janan, and then me.  When it is your turn, you get to pick where we eat.  If (as was the case with one pick) we have a gift card, you get to pick one of the restaurants associated with the gift card.  If you complain about the choice someone else makes, or misbehave in such a way so as to make the choice unpleasant, you loose your turn.  What is somewhat in question is what the appropriate response should be if you complain at your own choice.  But we will work on this.

So what were the choices?  Day one lunch was on the road, and was taken over by Tucker.  Given the choice of which roadside establishment he wanted, he choose Zaxby’s.  Because of complaints at Zaxby’s, a turn was lost.

Tyler got to pick from the gift card we had.  From the options of Carrabbas, Outback, or Bone Fish Grill, he went back and forth between Carrabbas and Outback, but ultimately decided on Outback.

Since somebody lost their turn, I was up for lunch the next day.  We took a slight detour to Little Havana, and I used Trip Advisor to help me select El Cristo.  I was not overly impressed, but it was good Cuban food, and good café con leche.  While there, Tyler lost his turn.

So, for dinner, we were geographically on South Beach, walking down Lincoln Road, with all types of world class eateries at our disposal, and Tucker was up (due to Tyler’s lost turn).  With all of the many options at his disposal, my man Tucker picks Burger King, and not a trendy Whopper Bar restaurant, but the run down, 3 out of 5 stars on Google, with a poorly functioning AC Burger King.  When asked why he choose this BK, he said because it had a play area. (go figure)

Day three lunch was up to Janan, and despite being back in Little Havana on a bus tour, she choose Bubba Gump.  And, much to her dismay, the item she waned to order was not on the menu any more.  But, surprisingly enough, everybody else managed to play along, so no turns were lost!

Dinner was up to me.  And since I love Cuban food, and since we are pretty much at the epicenter of Cuban Food, I made the choice to follow Anthony Bourdain into Parts Unknown and we drove an hour to the western edge of Doral to our first experience at Islas Canarias.  We were greatly impressed with this local place.  Great food, only Spanish spoken, and even got a lesson in how to improve my café con leche!  And, nobody lost a turn:-)