"Fun"due / Melting Pot

Trip Start Jun 27, 2008
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Trip End Jul 06, 2008


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Flag of United States  , Virginia,
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

After the round of golf, I headed south towards Virginia Beach to meet Jim, my former roommate in flight school for dinner.  I was excited because it has been several years since I last saw Jim and about 8 years since I last saw his wife, Nicky, and the twins, Erin and Brenna.  I called Jim to let him know I was running late and hit heavy traffic on I64 heading towards Norfolk.  Jim just got back from a flight and gave me directions on how to avoid most of the congestion points via cell-phone while driving home himself.  With his help I arrived at their house with no problems.  Understandably, I was not invited in the house because Jim is moving to Texas and everything was packed or picked up by the movers.  We immediately piled into the family minivan and headed towards an eatery as yet undecided.  I was introduced to Mollie, Jim's youngest daughter.  Even though I was the guest, I let my host decide where to eat.  The girls wanted to go to a Mongolian Barbecue but Jim/Nicky vetoed that vote because they went there last weekend for Mollie's birthday.  The final decision was a fondue dinner at the Melting Pot.

While walking from the parking lot to the Melting Pot, I heard a noise which I have not heard in 15 years...the roar of the jet engine of a F/A-18.  I flashed back to my days in the Navy, stationed at NASA Cecil Field (home of all the East Coast squadrons back then).  Jim started to explain to me now much trouble the Navy is getting due to the complains of noise pollution as the jets fly in and out of NASA Oceania.  The Navy is looking to move their flight operations south somewhere in the Carolinas but is getting protests wherever they think of going. 

The waiter at the Melting Pot was very helpful with his recommendations and suggestions.We decided to go all out with the dinner and ordered the complete meal package with two cheese pots, oil frying pot, mojo broth pot and everyone's favorite two chocolate desert pots.  The girls were really enjoying their night out.  I was surprised how easy it was to have them eat their vegetables when they can dip the vegetables in hot cheese.  During the main course, the girls were more fascinated with sticking the various meats into the oil/broth and less interested in actually eating the food.  Jim and Nicky were champs in keeping track of all the meat in the pots with only one MIA piece that cooked so long that it was unidentifiable.  Everyone's favorite part of the meal was the desert where we had two chocolate pots and two plates of treats to dip in the chocolate.  The plate of treats included strawberries, brownies, cheesecake, marshmallow, graham crackers and rice krispies.  It was funny I first noticed the rice krispie squares on the girls' plate and made a comment on how we (the adults) did not get any.  Jim and Nicky laughed and replied that there were squares on the adult plate, also.

Jim and Nicky may have regretted feeding sweets to the girls so late at night.  Under the influence of chocolate the girls were giggling the whole ride home and probably will be full of energy for a little while after I left.  It was a most fun evening and I was glad I was able to see Jim and his family before the move to Texas. . Coogan family
Coogan family
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