One of my cousins who lives in San Antonio with her two children is
visiting family here on the east coast, so we got together for dinner
tonight. We decided to meet at the Bahama Breeze in the Cherry Hill
Mall. This is a chain restaurant with a Carribbian theme.
My cousin Karen from Texas brought her 11 year old daughter Jenna with.
They're staying at Karen's sister's house nearby. The pretext of this
gathering was so Karen could meet my sister's fiance Rob. Karen sent me
email last week to ask me if I could arrange this outing. Janet and Rob
were there and they brought my mom, who does not drive. My dad was in
one of his grumpy moods so he stayed home.
Dinner was nice. My sister and mom both ordered some sort of tropical
chicken dish, which looked very tasty, but I didn't try any. They both
said their food was fine. Rob went the conventional route. He got a
hamburger and a side of fruit salad with coconut crusted onion rings as
an appetizer. Karen ordered a tropical style chicken salad which
consisted of a bed of fresh greens and a chicken shish kebob with sliced
tomato, onions, and some other raw vegies. Jenna went with the chicken
fingers and french fries off the children's menu. Karen told me that
chicken fingers are one of Jenna's favorite items to order when they eat
out. I ordered the chicken tortilla soup. My entree was a combination
platter of chicken and beef kebobs which was cooked on metal skewers and
served on a bed of saffron flavored rice. The waitress removed the food
from the skewers for me. The skewers of meat also included chunks of
onion, zucchini, sweet peppers, and onions. I enjoyed my meal. The soup
was very flavorful and it had a good deal of chicken with little pieces
of mango in it. Jenna is a tiny little thing, but she gobbled up her
entire meal in lightning speed, and Rob also coaxed her to have one of
his onion rings and a good size piece of the chocolate cake my sister
ordered for dessert.
Jenna told me her favorite food is Cool Whip and her favorite subject in
school is lunch period so she can meet up with her friends. Jenna also
said she hates the lunches her school sells so she brings a homemade
turkey sandwich with her for lunch every day. Jenna is the only kid I
ever met who has an airline frequent flyer card. She actually has a
frequent flyer card with two different airlines. For an eleven year old
girl, Jenna sure travels a lot. I travel by air two or three times a
year and I don't have a frequent flyer card, but that's because I think
they're a scam. Jenna's grandparents on both her mom and dad's side live
in Florida. Karen's sister lives near me. Karen also has two brothers,
one who lives in Florida and the other lives near London, England, so
their immediate family is spread far and wide. Jenna's older brother
Jason is in New Hampshire now attending camp. Karen takes her two kids
to visit friends all over the country. In the past couple of years,
they've been to Mexico, Chicago, Florida, Georgia, California, and here
in New Jersey, plus Karen has been traveling the east coast this summer
looking at colleges for Jason, who is a high school senior. Jenna also
recently spent two weeks at camp in Georgia where she goes every summer.
Karen's husband passed away very suddenly about five years ago, but
Karen is doing a splendid job raising her kids. When I looked into
Jenna's eyes, I saw a very happy, vibrant, and bright child. Karen
teaches part time at a local Jewish school and she does a lot of
volunteer work at a synagogue. Karen is the only one in my family of my
generation who takes our religion seriously.
Karen has invited me several times to visit her and her kids in San
Antonio, but I never seem to take her up on her invitation. One of these
days I will, but I think my head might explode from all the
conservatives there! 🙂