WEYBURN - Recently I travelled to my second home, Vancouver, for a glorious 11-day vacation with my best friend of 43 years.
With the rising costs of fuel and accommodations considered, we decided to have a staycation at her place in Delta, B.C., and concentrate on experiences instead.
One of the highlights of our time together was a short trip to Seattle to see Billy Joel in concert with another friend from high school.
Prior to the concert, we went for supper at an Asian restaurant. Our Seattle-based friend frequents this establishment and recommended a few things to try.
We started with deep fried shrimp and calamari fries. Then our friend ordered a plate of oysters.
Neither my bestie nor I had ever tried raw oysters. Neither of us had ever had the desire to try raw oysters.
That gooey, gelatinous lump of something resembling mucus did not look appetizing at all.
But we put on our brave faces and with much trepidation, sucked back the slimy goo. And it wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t fantastic, but it was much better than we had anticipated.
Eating a raw oyster was not on my bucket list. In fact, I felt a little like a contestant on Survivor or Fear Factor.
I’m usually pretty brave about trying new foods. (After all, don’t we encourage our children to do that?)
But I was fearful. I was afraid it would taste fishy or make me gag.
In order to move on to our main course (short ribs, rice and grilled asparagus – a fantastic, flavourful meal), we had to face the fear.
Even though eating oysters wasn’t (and would never be) on my bucket list, I am glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried them.
The Billy Joel concert was phenomenal, as was the Simon and Garfunkel tribute we saw later in the week. Concerts will always be on my bucket list. Oysters, not so much.
