High On The Hog...

My Wife and I just returned from a little weekend getaway to picturesque Orlando Florida.

Going to Orlando for the weekend is nothing unusual for us. We live about an hour and a half from Orlando, and we both hold Yearly Passes to the Universal Studios Theme Parks which allow us to walk right in like we own the place. We go all the time.

But this time we did it a little differently.

This time, we got a room in one of the Resort Hotels on the property.

It was obscenely expensive.

But we had been planning for this trip for quite a while, and my plan was to set things up so that all weekend, the answer never had to be "No, we can't afford that."

We were shuttled from the Hotel to the Parks on a little boat, we had Fast Passes (included in the price of the room) which allowed us to skip right to the front of the line on any ride we wanted to ride. We soaked in the Hot-Tub, raided the Mini-Bar, put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, and basked in the lap of Luxury.

My Wife's brother and his Wife went with us, and on Sunday Night, we all dressed up and went to dinner at Emeril's Tchoup Chop (pronounced "Chop Chop", due to the fact that you cut up your credit card when you leave the place), where I paid $170.00 for 16 ounces of Filet Mignon, eleven roasted potatoes (which looked suspiciously like left-over Home-Fries from the Breakfast Buffet at the restaurant next door...), three Scallops and a handful of Onion Straws, shared between my Wife and me.

I could have cooked the whole meal over a can of Sterno in the Hotel Room for about $15, and you would not have been able to tell the difference in the food.

But I did not go there for the food.

I went there to look at the Waterfall on the back wall while I ate. I went to see if there were any fish in the raised Tile Pond in the center of the restaurant. I went to have the waiter fluff my napkin and put it on my lap for me, and ask every two minutes if I wanted more Mineral Water.

I went for the experience.

And it was great.

I have always had to be extremely careful with money my whole life, but for one weekend, I was P.Diddy in Orlando, and it felt wonderful.

I do not know what your financial status may be, but DO THIS.

At least once in your life, just go away somewhere with your Wife/Girlfriend/Boyfriend/Partner/Complete Stranger, and forget about the cost. For just a few days, do whatever you want, no matter what.

And when you get back home, be happy about the fact that you did it. Don't second guess it.

You will not be sorry.