When I was younger, my family went on a few cruises with my mom's side. I don't remember that much about them, but the majority of what I do remember is food-related (duh). Eating room service fries with my sisters and cousin, the insane art carved into watermelons and cantaloupes and, most notably, the nightly dinners in the dining room. These cruises were like, v. fancy, and so we would dress up in our finest Jessica McClintock (RIP) dresses and be served by very nice, very snazzy waiters. While breakfast and lunch were free-for-alls with buffets that could easily feed five times the amount of passengers aboard, dinner was a set menu with classy dishes.

One dish I remember was an appetizer of grapefruit and avocado salad. I had never had this combination before, and to be honest the idea kind of freaked me out. This was also way before the avocado craze, the millenial pink craze, and the pink and green color scheme craze existed.

My parents were really good about encouraging us to try new foods while respecting our likes and dislikes. When the avocado and grapefruit salad appeared on the dinner menu one night, my dad suggested I order it - I could always get something else if I hated it, since cruises are filled with literal tons of food. Well, thank you dad, because that salad was fantastic and now avocado and grapefruit are two of my favorite foods.