Long-distance self-optimization.

Latest thing I have learned about myself:  When on a long car trip, it's better to pick where we are going to have meals ahead of time.   As in, identify a particular chain restaurant at a particular exit in a particular town, and drive there for dinner.  Flexibility has its benefits, but it doesn't suit my particular brand of food insanity.  (We can, of course, stop for the rest of the family to get snacks if it takes us longer to get there than we expected.  And we can change the plan, but that doesn't undermine the importance of having a plan.)

If we don't have an exact plan, then as dinner time approaches I find myself obsessively scanning the horizon for blue highway signs labeled FOOD, and frantically running my mind over the possible combinations and things I could order at the various chain restaurants along the way.  Should we go to a McDonald's where nothing's really great for you but I have a well-developed, reliable strategy?  Or should we go to a Chili's where theoretically I could order something quite healthful but there's a chance that I could be distracted by the choices and wind up talking myself into a giant mushroom swiss burger or something?  Trapped in the car with little else to do, I find I can't think of anything else.  By the time I'm actually sitting down in front of a table, I've lost all my control.

But the last time we made a several-hundred-mile car trip, I made a plan to go to a specific restaurant in a specific city, which we expected to reach around dinner time.  (I had coupons even!)  And I discovered that I didn't obsess over the signage at all.  "We're going to stop at the such-and-such at Exit n and that's that," I told myself, and instead of focusing on the blue FOOD signs I found I was focusing on the tiny green mileage signs instead, which wasn't so bad, and when we got where we were going I knew exactly what to expect and what my strategy would be, and I did fine.   I chose healthful items and had a non-excessive amount, including a small dessert, and felt satisfied and guilt-free.

I think it's important to perform this sort of experiment on yourself from time to time.  The results might not be applicable to others, but hey, you're only responsible for optimizing you, not them.

Comments

[Christy P.]

We take an alternate strategy and pack a picnic. Hummus, already sliced cheese, apples or grapes, olives, and not too crumbly crackers or a baguette-y type bread. Oh and a few pieces of nice chocolate. Red wine doesn't really work when on the road (despite how nice it would be with our picnic), but if we plan it right then sometimes I drive after lunch and J has a beer. On our last road trip (SLC-San Diego, all in one shot), we only stopped the car twice. It was just easier. Also, when driving long distances in the west, there are long times when there are no blue signs at all!

[mary]

we just got back from vacation and i used this book http://www.amazon.com/2009-Exit-Now-Interstate-Directory/dp/0934798923/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1249852004&sr=8-4 to find olive garden's along the way. we even used it before we traveled to see which hotels were near our half-way point of driving. hth!

[bearing]

Hey, that book sounds useful, except that it would be out of date really fast. I wonder if my library has it.

Re: picnics, having tried several different strategies on trips between Minnesota and Ohio, we have found that stops for meals and snacks provide welcome breaks from hours in the car. I wish it worked out better to stop less frequently, but it's amazing how much anticipation in advance and peace in retrospect can be bought for the price of a 79-cent bag of trail mix or a 25-cent Sunbelt Fudge Dipped Granola Bar, IF it is purchased at the gas station. We always take a cooler full of fruit which can be eaten freely in between stops.

The reason we aim for chain restaurants is only because we can identify their locations in advance from the websites. I can see Olive Garden working, or in fact any restaurant where the food-insane person has developed a good strategy (I have an excellent McDonald's strategy for emergencies, for example.)

Believe it or not, our family has had great success at chain buffet restaurants. You get your food immediately and can leave immediately, which is nice when the kids are cranky and Dad wants to get going.

[Dentist West Palm Beach]

Nice post. i like your insight.. pretty interesting. thanks for sharing.