Sunday, June 29, 2008

Random Chocolate Thoughts

I head out tomorrow for my ChocoTour 2008 - heading to Pennsylvania. Last time I hit Hershey, so this trip will be to some of the smaller chocolate and candy companies. I'll keep posting as I go so you can share the fun without the calories.

Before I go, however, some very random thoughts:

As I've said before, not everything should try to be chocolate. I originally said this about Pez, now I'm saying it about Trident. Yes, Trident is launching chocolate gum in the UK. It apparently has a liquid chocolate center encased in mint gum. EEEWWW! I've never been overly thrilled by Trident - it's always been pretty ho-hum, but this is just gross. Who knows, maybe the Brits will like it. I still say - be what you are and be really good at it - don't try to be something you're not. Trident should work on being better gum.

With each passing day, I am more astonished by the amount of information on the web. This blog:

http://growabrain.typepad.com/growabrain/food_chocolate/index.html


is amazing! There are links to some of the weirdest and most fascinating chocolate things I have ever seen - including chocolate bubble wrap, a poem entitled Chocolate Jesus accompanied by praying hands made out of chocolate, and chocolate toothpaste from the Philippines. I have abandoned all hope of becoming an expert on anything ever again. There's just too much information out there and it's the wild west - a completely unorganized free for all. I get lost on the Internet regularly! Can't Mars map the Internet Genome? Somebody call Al Gore! Bill Gates is retiring - can't he work on this? What else is he going to do - golf?



I gave a seminar last week and was talking with some of the participants about Niagara Falls. There was a painting of Niagara Falls in the conference room we were using, and I couldn't understand why. This session was in North Carolina. No one had any idea why there was a painting of Niagara Falls in their conference room. No one had asked. (Am I the only one who asks such random questions? How could you NOT ask about such a painting?) Anyway, one of the participants said she was going to go to Niagara this summer, but had decided not to because of the price of gas. I had been there last year and had a blast - I love the grandeur of the falls and the contrast of the cheesy tourist attractions. And there's a Hershey's store there!!! It's a fun place to visit - and the fireworks and the lights on the falls - wow!!



I told her the price of gas was probably not going to drop drastically anytime soon. There was no better time to go! Some people suggested she fly, but she was planning to take her three children with her, so this was out. And get this - she had a free place to stay!!! I told her she was nuts - she might never be able to go any less expensively than she could right now. But she had decided. Seeing Niagara Falls would be something she and her children would remember for the rest of their lives. For what - MAYBE a couple hundred dollars (she was willing to pay $2 per gallon, but not $4, I guess) she is giving up the experience of a lifetime?

Think before you let the price of gas keep you from living life. Really run the numbers. And if you do decide to stay home, take that money and do something worthwhile with it. (Maybe save it for a trip next summer!) My guess is that most people will stay home, blow the $200 on something stupid, have nothing to show for it and will complain that their lives are boring. If you're going to do that, can't you help me organize the Internet? At least the chocolate part? You won't have to drive anywhere. Please?


1 comment:

About Me said...

A lot of people don't think about the beautiful "vacation destinations" in the near vicinity. We recently decided against our regular Disney thing, but we've discovered that just 3 hours drive from our home is Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, which we can do for about one-fifth of the Disney World price. It's not the dream vacation, but we're getting family involved and it should still be a good getaway! My husband wanted to stay home and do vacation things around here, which would probably be most optimal cost-wise, but I'm one of those people who needs to see another part of the world to feel like I am relaxing. So that's our compromise. Hope you have fun in PA!