No. 179 - Sandwich

Today we took a trip to a place where the road ends and the beach begins. You can drive your car for many miles on the sand, park wherever you want, and have a private section of the beach all to yourself. We like to make this day trip whenever we are in the area.

Two years ago we drove several miles on the sand and then got stuck when we went to leave. I did not appreciate the trouble we were in until a guy on the beach - I've since dubbed him the "old-timer" - told me that several years earlier he lost a Denali - as in Yukon Denali - when he got it stuck in the sand. I asked what exactly he meant by "lost" and he proceeded to tell me the surf ended up taking it away. I don't know if his tale was real, or not, but it was enough to panic me some. We eventually got ourselves unstuck with the help of a few Good Samaritans.

Today we only drove about a half-mile on the beach, but still had a fantastic day. And we didn't get stuck!

When we went to leave we had some sandwiches prepared for the trip back. We told the kids to wipe their hands really good so that they didn't get any sand on their sandwiches. My daughter asked why they were called "sandwiches" if they didn't have "sand" in them.

I learned that the origin of the word sandwich can be traced back to John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century English aristocrat. The town of Sandwich is located in southeast England. It is said that he ordered his servant to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread, and others began to order "the same as Sandwich!" It is also said that Lord Sandwich was fond of this form of food because it allowed him to continue playing cards, while eating without getting his cards greasy from eating meat with his bare hands.