Seafood and Fudgsicles

Dad loved buffets.



He didn't really care what kind of buffet it was, but he was quite fond of Chinese food all-you-can-eat places. He'd even go alone if needed. We've been a buffet family from the very beginning in Modesto: Kings Table, Hometown Buffet, The Golden Dragon. Our family loved the variety.

When Dad would come to visit us once we moved to St. George, and if it was a Friday night, we'd all drive down to Mesquite, Nevada and hit the Friday Night Seafood Buffet at either the Casa Blanca or the Virgin River.

Dad's idea of a great evening was loading up his plate with as many peel-and-eat shrimp and crack-and-eat crab legs as he could balance while walking to the table to sit down. Then doing that a few more times. We'd all get tired of sitting and waiting for Dad to finish eating, so he'd finally give up and we'd all waddle our crab-filled bellies out to the parking lot for the ride home.

As we'd walk out, Dad would always mention: "If you add up all the crabs that we just ate, what would they look like all running across the parking lot?"

I always got a kick out of that.


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I remember as a kid, Mom worked for Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. Every summer, they'd have a big picnic for all the employees. We each got a bracelet which entitled us to "free food" and all the games they had there for kids. It was quite a fun time.

Dad decided that the free fudgsicles offer was too good to pass up.

Dad sat at our table and made us girls run and get him fudgsicles. After all three of us running up multiple times, the tally was NINETEEN fudgsicles. I'm not sure if Dad fizzled out at 19, or if we were just too scared to ask the popsicle guy for more. But that story has come up multiple times throughout the years as a source of pride and embarasment for Dad.