Off the Beaten Path

We just returned from a GREAT weekend trip to St. Louis (I highly recommend taking a trip there if you haven't already...so much fun stuff to do with your family!).  I could write a whole post about the trip and all of the fun times we had, but I know for a fact that most of it has already been covered by KCParent.com since I used a lot of the articles here to help me figure out what to do/where to go. 

This post is about our drive home.  It's a long drive to begin with and when you are on the way HOME, it just feels even longer.  The kids were restless and tired from 2 full days of fun and 2 nights up way past bedtimes.  We stopped at a McDonald's along the way and sadly determined it to be way to gross to eat at for dinner (flies, dirty bathrooms...YUCK!).  So we got back in the car and kept driving.  The kids were hungry, we were tired and didn't know where we would be able to stop.  I was praying for another McDonald's but my wonderful husband said, "Let's try to find something different."  Thank goodness for smart phones because we did a little search and came up with Biffles Smoke Stack BBQ in Concordia, MO.  Now, my first reaction was, "No Way...let's just do McDonald's...we know what to expect and we have no idea if this place is good."  But my husband prevailed and we stopped at Biffle's. 

And we had the BEST time!  It's a little "old timey" BBQ restaurant with good food and a fun atmosphere for the kids.  We saw some "real live" cowboys there, got to sit down and enjoy a good meal (MUCH better than Mc Donald's), and it totally reset all of us for the rest of the drive. 

This happens to me all the time when I let my inhibitions go and just try something different and off the beaten path.  Yes, sometimes it is nice to go with what you know, but sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and try the unfamiliar.  You may just have a great experience! 

When was the last time you tried something new and unfamiliar?  Did it pay off?