Whimsical Wednesday: Oysters, Road Trips, and Disappointment

First, the good news. Despite our disappointing discovery that the Oceana Grill has indefinitely ceased the serving of oysters-on-the-half-shell, Dan and I have successfully found some plump, tasty, relatively clean oysters at the French Market Restaurant on Decatur Street in the French Quarter. True, on the day we sampled them, they were $17 per dozen as opposed to the happy hour special of $6 per dozen that the eatery regularly offered prior to the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April, but given that we're both die-hard oyster lovers suffering a severe six-month oyster withdrawal (due to our lengthy stay in Michigan, a state not known for its raw shellfish), it was a price that we were indeed willing to pay – especially on that particular day, the day we realized that our much-anticipated French Quarter apartment would probably never be ready and that we'd be better off demanding the return of our deposit. So, yahoo for us!

Now, for the other news – well, it's not really news as much as a travel observation. Last week, I was informed that I've been spending a bit too much time focusing on Michigan, New Orleans, and the Florida Keys on my American Nomad blog. Given that I've been working on back-to-back guides – that is, Moon Florida Keys, Moon Michigan, and Moon New Orleans – I suppose my fixation makes sense. Nevertheless, I've decided to make a concerted effort to cover other parts of the United States more frequently. To that end, I wrote and posted a piece about the historic mining town of Silverton, Colorado on Monday. While researching the post – and sifting through old photographs from my first visit to Silverton, part of a road trip that my mom and I took back in the 1980s – I recalled a disappointing discovery.

As a child, I'd been enamored with an old-fashioned place called Smedley's Ice Cream Parlor, situated in the 1300 block of Greene Street. I loved it so much, I even took a picture of it. But, alas, on a more recent trip to Silverton, I discovered that the ice cream parlor had been replaced by a hotel, and while I have nothing against that particular hotel, I must admit... I do miss the ice cream parlor. Of course, that's not the only favorite haunt to have suffered such a fate over the years. For a whole slew of reasons – from economic to personal – establishments, even beloved ones, come and go, but despite the logic behind such decisions, I'm not always happy with the results.

So, what about you? Have you ever returned to a particular locale, only to learn that a beloved establishment has been replaced by another? More importantly, how did you handle such disappointment?