How Many?........Just one 

Going out to dinner solo can be very interesting. I don't mean the occasional drive-thru kind of dinner. I mean the going to a real restaurant with a menu and sitting down by yourself. Well on my little adventure to Maine, I went out quite often by myself. The first time I went out for a drink at the outdoor bar after a 7 hour hike and thought to myself "no one deserves a cold drink more than you my friend" - well unless you'd been hiking for a long period of time and being that most people go to Acadia to hike, it would make sense that everyone was feeling that way, hence the very crowded park. I digress ok.....anyway back to dining alone.

There's a couple of things I learned about dining out solo while traveling:

* Sitting at the bar and eating dinner is definitely better than sitting at a table. You can always chat up bartender who can also serve as a guide in your little vacation.

* People are much more friendlier at the bar (could be the alcohol yes, yes)

* You meet lovely and not so lovely people who travel from every where at the bar.

* You don't have to wait long periods for a refill at the bar.

* You catch up on local gossip at the bar.

I found a comical routine when I ate out which was everyday since I did not have a stove. I would be asked every single time, "Just one" - Uh, "yeah just one". After a week of saying "just one", I began to feel this kind of silliness with the whole thing. I hated being just one. One for dinner, one at home, one at the movies, one one one. Yet, after that week it made me smile to myself and say "yes, just one and its ok". Seven days of just one was exactly what I needed.