Butt Rockets, July 4 Chaos, Elon Musk’s 55th, USA’s 250th & the Art of Empty Nesting!

Get ready for fireworks, belly laughs, and real talk in this unforgettable episode of Plate & Ponder: Empty Nesting w/ Jen and Chris Fenton! 

Jen and Chris kick things off with the most ridiculous (and painful) 4th of July story you’ll hear all year — the legendary tale of getting a bottle rocket shot straight in the butt. Yes, it’s as wild as it sounds, and it sets the tone for a celebration of freedom, family, and fearless fun. 

From there, the conversation takes a meaningful turn as they explore why the hospitality industry is one of the greatest forces for human flourishing — creating connection, joy, and community one plate at a time. They shine a spotlight on the incredible restaurants of culinary legend David Slay and share why great hospitality matters now more than ever. 

They also give you the inside scoop on the nationwide screenings of Bad Counselors hitting theaters July 22, celebrate Elon Musk turning 55, and toast America’s monumental 250th birthday. 

On the personal side, Jen and Chris open up about the sweet (and sometimes chaotic) joy of cooking with their daughter and offer honest, practical wisdom on balancing work, kids, life, and much-needed relaxation during the empty nesting chapter. 

Whether you’re navigating empty nest syndrome, love a good patriotic party story, or simply want to live life with more intention and flavor, this episode delivers laughs, heart, and inspiration in equal measure. 

Pour yourself a drink, fire up the grill, and join the conversation — because empty nesting isn’t the end… it’s the most delicious chapter yet.

#PlateAndPonder #EmptyNesting #EmptyNestLife #4thOfJuly #BottleRocket #JackassVibes #ElonMusk #Elon55 #USA250 #America250 #HospitalityMatters #HumanFlourishing #DavidSlay #BadCounselors #FamilyCooking #WorkLifeBalance #EmptyNestWisdom #PatrioticPodcast #FoodAndLife

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Oh, wow, listen to that. I feel like we got a jazzy beat to kick off this episode of Plate and Ponder Empty Nesting with Jen and Chris Fenton. We are live itch around the world, 73 nations listening to us. We are super excited about doing a second one this week because every once in a while we get into that rut of just one a week. But Jen Fenton, the better half of Plate and Ponder Empty Nesting with Jen and Chris Fenton, um, is super excited tonight to do another one. And we are reaching out to our friends in Kyiv and Ukraine saying, I hope that this episode helps you get through the day a little better because we want that war to end super quick. So out there, um please download, follow, engage, enjoy, and DM us anytime you want. Um, Jen Fenton, I'm gonna hand it over to you. What would you like to sort of carry us through a little bit of a opening here?

SPEAKER_01 0:55

I actually don't know. This was your idea. I'm just the sidekick. I'm literally just the plus one here.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

Just so you know, you are first billing. Have you ever seen a one sheet in the movie? Whoever's first billing usually is the star of the show, and you are Jen Fenton.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Sometimes I feel coerced.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Uh-huh. I do. I have to coerce you sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

What is going on here?

SPEAKER_00 1:22

I don't know. We have we have music that's playing in the background that I gotta stop because I was gonna play some applause for you. But sometimes I have to coerce you because the fans want to hear more Jen Fenton.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

I don't know. I think it's you just wanting to spend more time with me. It's what it is.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Shout out to Jen Fenton. Yes, I do. In fact, yesterday was ultimately one of the great days of spending time with Jen Fenton. I had a lot of fun with you. You did? We didn't really do much. Oh, I think we did.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

I mean, I had a great workout in the morning.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

How many steps did we walk yesterday?

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Oh, that's a really good question. I should look. Probably like 13,000. For sure.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

13,000 steps.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Because we walked to town twice. We walked to town for lunch, you went surfing, I did a Pilates, uh, we yeah, we walked there, we walked back, and then for dinner we walked into town and we met some friends and we walked back. So probably like 13,000 steps.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

We didn't walk into anybody that we didn't know the name of, which was actually a plus.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Oh thank goodness. And have you heard from the guy with the helmet on the bike that we saw at the pier who lives in El Segundo, and we don't know who who he is.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

I haven't. I mean, the only one from the last episode was somebody that reached out about somebody that's in the dog business and um was really proud of the fact that we have a dog that gives protest poos and wants to come on the show and talk about why there's protest poos that come from a dog.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Yeah, that is curious. I also want to know why when we leave the house for dinner, Flynn decides to go up onto the bed and move all the pillows around and use his head to like buck them off the bed. He he messes it up. I don't understand.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Yeah, he does do some weird stuff.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

And then after dinner, he likes to do the scratch of the couch and then go out and he pretends he's a cat and then he runs out and he goes pee, and then he runs back in like he's got FOMO.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

But he makes it super interesting to watch.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Well, I I don't like watching him poo.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

No, well, that part is not super interesting, but watching his whole habit and the way he does it every single night is hilarious, I think.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

I didn't know that animals had habits. I mean, people, yes, but I would absolutely say our dog has a habit.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Well, he's an old dog.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Well, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

That's exactly the case. In fact, although you teach me a lot of new tricks a lot.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

No, I just ask you not to give me the ick.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Yeah, that's the new thing. I'm not um yeah, there's certain things that we gotta keep each other on a pedestal. Jen's always on a pedestal for me. Like, she can do whatever she wants, and I still think of her as like the greatest queen goddess. Like, uh, I feel like I play above the rim every day.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

I think you're lying to yourself and to everybody out there. You probably get annoyed by me all the time.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Um, I don't, but there are certain things like um, yes, I have um I haven't I I like the sparkling sodas, the sparkl, not sodas, but the sparkling water, yeah. And sometimes they do make me want to burp. And every once in a while I just want to really rip out a loud burp. And sometimes I forget that you're close by and I'm like, oh, did I do that?

SPEAKER_01 4:24

It gives me the eck.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

Yeah, so I can't do that anymore. Um, in fact, Kaylee knows that I'm I'm not supposed to do that anymore either. So um anyway.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

But you're also not no, you burp in her face, and she gets so mad at you.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

Well, that's what dads are supposed to do.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Really?

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Well, what are dads supposed to do then?

SPEAKER_01 4:42

I don't know. You can hang out, but you don't burp in her face. That's pretty that's yuck. That's it. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Okay, I guess you're right. Um, well, this has been a fun weekend because the weather has been good. It's summertime. We're moving into July 4th weekend, which is sort of crazy.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

July 4th weekend is very stressful for me. I'm gonna tell you that right now. I actually think that July 4th is more stressful than maybe New Year's Eve. I would say that as a parent in Manhattan Beach. And for anybody who lives in the South Bay, you can probably attest to this. But what happens it is like kids gone wild starting at probably 8 a.m. with the pregame and the pregame before the pregame, before like the afternoon pregame, to the party, to the post-game, to the come home nap, to go out again. Like if my kids are home by eight or nine o'clock and I see them, you know, because I I track them, and I can see them, that makes me so relieved because it is just pure chaos.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

It's chaos, and it does start early because actually the the crazy part is the six man, right? Uh it's not the six man, it's the um Iron Man. The Iron Man, which is like a long swim, a long run, and then it ends with You pound a six pack. You have to pound a six-pack. And um And that's at like seven a.m. It starts, yeah, it's at 7 a.m. and it's a complete scene in Hermosa Beach.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

No, it's a shit show.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

I'm gonna say I'm gonna say that. And then to have kids who are teenagers, everybody's on the beach, everybody's partying. I mean, it's just like one big bonfire.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

I mean, I will say it's a fun, it's a fun shit show.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

Except it just as a parent, I get a little nervous.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Yes, it's it it it gets a little crazy. There are certain stretches of the beach where you can't even walk. There's so many kids.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Well, when we first moved here, we moved in the summer and the kids were what finishing up kindergarten, going into first grade, right? So they were they were still babies, and we were super excited to be here for 4th of July. And you know, we took our we took the like the the wagon down to the beach.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Well, and there are a handful of people that say, Why are you staying for 4th of July?

SPEAKER_01 6:54

We just moved to the beach town, it's probably the greatest thing ever, right? Until as we are walking to town, you see teenagers like puking in the bushes, passed out, you know, on doorsteps, everybody in their itty-bitty teeny weeny bikinis, people partying, and we're just like, Oh my god, we are never gonna be here for 4th of July. And Katu, we are here for 4th of July more often than we are not. And our kids are a part of that mayhem, and that is why it's stressful.

SPEAKER_00 7:21

Well, the the funny part was is I remember when we moved down here, we said, Oh, what what time are the fireworks? Where do they launch them and all that? And everybody's like, Oh, they cancel the fireworks on 4th of July, they just don't do that anymore. I said, What? There's no 4th of July fireworks in Manhattan Beach on the beach, and they said, No, it just gets too crazy, so they stopped that and now is in December.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

So, you know, if you would awesome, it's like a holiday today.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

I love it, but during the week, you know, it's like when no one No, it's on a Sunday night in the holidays.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Yeah, maybe Sunday night. But you would you would think the Fourth of July has crazy fireworks, except it doesn't, and I'm glad because Manhattan Beach is chaotic even without the fireworks.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

I think they have it in Redondo Beach. Maybe, right? And and then our son will be back uh east in the j on the Jersey Shore for Fourth of July, which anybody from the East Coast knows that that is one of the crazy spots there. I mean, it's not just a Manhattan Beach South Bay thing, like the the beaches get crazy. It's like part of the whole celebration. And this year should be a lot more like insanity because it is the 250th birthday of the United States of America. That's sort of cool.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

Are there gonna be more parades? Are there gonna be more, I don't know, shows about this? Are there gonna be weekly full-blown celebrations? Because wait, what day a week does the 4th of July fall on?

SPEAKER_00 8:38

I think it's a Saturday. Is it a Saturday? Is Friday the third?

SPEAKER_01 8:43

You know, that's a great question. Friday is the third and Saturday is the fourth.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

By the way, talk about the craziest day on earth to have the 4th of July. It's a Saturday, it's the one one year where it's on a Saturday. It's wild.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

Wow. So is it gonna be like blackout Friday before that leads into early, early uh six packing on Saturday?

SPEAKER_00 9:04

You're talking about you and me?

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Hard, hard note for me.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Yeah, I think uh it will surely be 11 o'clock bedtime, like normal. We'll just probably see and and be a part of more interesting sort of gatherings those couple days.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Poor Flynn. This dog does not like fireworks. He gets so scared and he shakes and he runs downstairs, and for whatever reason, he has found comfort in Dylan's bathroom. He keeps like one of the cabinets open, and he's done this since we moved into this house, and Flynn will bury himself under all the clothes, and it's probably the lowest point of the house, like in terms of you know, because Dylan's at the bottom floor, and he just finds protection there, and you just see his little eyeballs, and he's shaking, and it makes me so sad.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Well, the last house we had, we had the screening room in the basement, and he would get under a chair that literally looked impossible to get under, but he would somehow morph himself underneath that and sit out and sit under there until all the fireworks are over, which was sort of crazy, and then panting and uh yeah, I don't know what the deal is with dogs, but I've Is it just maybe the loud noise? I think it's the loud noise, but like some dogs, you know, like they say make sure they're they're the doors are closed, balconies or you know, they run away or whatever it is. Yeah, it's a it's sort of a sad thing and they get the heart beating, and yeah, I don't know. And and fireworks are supposed to be illegal here in California, but they definitely don't seem that way. In fact, if you're up on a bridge or a high place and you look towards downtown LA, you see them shooting off like like there's a war going on kind of thing. But um anyway, I don't want to sound like old curmudgeons. I mean it is No, it's 4th of July. It's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

It's exciting, but it's it's chaos, and for a parent here, it's just a little scary. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

I'm well what happened that was crazy that uh did we ever have an episode that sort of happened um you know around Fourth of July that was interesting to bring up to our 73 Nations?

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Well, I don't think we've ever shared the story of firework in the butt.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Yeah, you don't have to say the names, but but what happened exactly?

SPEAKER_01 11:07

So our daughter and her friends were on the beach a couple years ago, and it was part of the mayhem and it was part of the chaos. And we get a call. It was probably like three o'clock in the afternoon, maybe four o'clock in the afternoon. We were heading to a party for dinner, and Kaylee's like, Mom, everything's okay. And when you start the conversation like that, you know everything's not okay. Mom, everything's okay. We're on our way to urgent care. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, pause. On the fourth of July. On the fourth of July, I'm like, okay, who's driving? Number one, right? Because you just wanted to make sure that nobody who was drinking was actually driving. That was a big, big thing. And so she told me who was driving, and I said, What happened? Is everything okay? Like, are you hurt? No, I'm not hurt. But one of her friends, as they were on the beach, there was a group of jackass boys who were lighting like fireworks. And one of the fireworks, I don't want to say it like went in her butt cheek because it was a bottle rocket. It was a bottle rocket, like it grazed her butt, and they had to go to urgent care because she had like a piece of the fire for the fireworks in her ass cheek.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Yeah, it was brutal. And then they uh they they videoed it and they actually put it on TikTok, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:18

They videoed her at uh at urgent care, and she's very proud of it. And I think that video has like two million likes on TikTok.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Well, I mean thankfully everybody is okay, but that this is exactly why I am worried.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Yeah, it's it uh the whole thing was um a little scary when it went down a few years ago. I will say, like you brought up the whole drinking and driving thing, and I and I do I do um think kids these days um for the most part knocking on wood, knocking on wood, they're very particular about like the idea of ever getting into a car.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

Oh, I don't think they do. I really don't.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

Which is a great thing. And by the way, we also have these Waymo's out here that don't even have drivers in them, and you know, Ubers everywhere, but we live in a town also where you can like literally skateboard to everybody's house or whatever it is. So, you know, knock on wood um killing. Well, there's no reason, honestly.

SPEAKER_01 13:16

There's zero reason to drink and drive with the advent of Uber, with Lyft, with the Waymo's, there is zero reason to drink and drive. Like growing up, we had taxis, okay? But taxis didn't exactly take you from the San Fernando Valley over Coldwater Canyon into Beverly Hills, like that didn't happen. Now there are so many ways to get around that it's just it's dumb to drink and drive.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Yeah, and it was a pain, I mean it was a pain in the butt to try to get a taxi. You had to plan it out way in advance, and it was it was hard to do, and I think people thought they could get away with you know a handful of drinks and driving, and and you know that it eventually burns people, and you know, um, I do think the roads are a lot safer nowadays because of that, which is great, and and people hopefully for the most part party responsibly, which is good.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Okay, can we talk about partying responsibly? Yeah. Last night we went to dinner. Yes, we walked, we did not drive because we definitely had some cocktails. I think we went through two bottles of wine, a couple martinis, yes, an old fashioned.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Sleigh of fat, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:22

Yes, it was really, really good. But now, as we're watching the bear, and this is season five, we've watched all the seasons, and this is the culmination of Carmine and you know, and and his restaurant. And I hope we find out if he gets a Michelin star. But you know, I I don't think I'm not a foodie. I will 100% say I'm not a foodie, but I'm very particular when I go to restaurants and I think I expect certain things. So last night totally delivered 100%. But we have gone to restaurants where you sit down and it takes forever for somebody to come pour your water or take your drink order. I don't understand. Like, what's the deal? I feel like you need that contact immediately. Hey, how are you? Can I, you know, I I know you're getting settled. Can I get you some water? Uh, are you ready for a drink order or should I come back? I I don't understand why there's a pause. Can you explain that to me? Because you've worked in the restaurants. I haven't.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Well, I think I I think a lot of the time it has to do with a disorganized um kitchenslash wait staff, um, or maybe a handful of people didn't show up for their shift. Um, that typically lends itself to everything sort of breaking down and a scramble to to make sure people that are there get taken care of the right way. But we were at a restaurant uh a week ago where the experience was just brutally not great.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Well, it was a new restaurant, so I'm gonna maybe I'll chalk it up to it being new. We visited the sister restaurant in Venice, uh Venice, California, not Venice, Italy. And uh it was a great experience. We really like it. So they opened up here in Manhattan Beach, and when uh we got there, you ordered some wine, and the first one you ordered, they didn't have, and the second one you ordered, they didn't have, and I think it was at the third one that you ordered and they didn't have, and then they brought you a Pinot, which you didn't love. But you drank it anyways.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Yeah, well, there was that, and then the fact that it just took forever to get the food, and then they didn't bring the stuff that we ordered, so we canceled it when we got the bill, that kind of stuff. It was just it was disordered.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

It wasn't a great dining experience.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

And and here's the thing about you know, um, you know, we talk about human flourishing and this idea of like how do we how do we keep humanity excited about all the facets that make being human awesome, right? And it's that emotional touch point that you have with you other humans, interacting with other humans, the experiences of being out, um, interacting, having those, you know, real life, you know, uh, you know, opportunities to see and talk and discuss about different things. That's where restaurants, for instance, or even the hospitality business really needs to step in and say, hey, we're gonna make sure we deliver that special experience so that you know you avoid this idea of staying in your house, ordering everything, and you know, becoming a recluse, like sitting on your social media and scrolling, all that kind of stuff. Like it's important that they really step up and remind us of how important it is to be out.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

A hundred percent. But this restaurant, now if you remember, I didn't tell you some of the bad things I had heard about it before we went because I didn't want to taint the experience. So we have friends who had a you know not so lovely experience at the restaurant, and then we had other friends who were walking by, and it's hard to get reservations in Manhattan Beach over the summer. It's a destination place, there's a lot going on. Uh, people are playing volleyball, they're at the beach all day. So you tend to make reservations, but there's always spaces at the bars on like a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night. So these friends of ours, you know, they they walked into town like we do, and they went to this said restaurant that we had a bad experience at last weekend, and the hostess was like super rude to them. So that is their first touch point, and that did not go over so well. So there were, I mean, three three strikes. I sort of feel like do we give it another chance? Do we let it maybe grow? And in eight, you know, when the restaurant's been open for more than a few weeks, we we try it out again? Like, is there a curve that we we give?

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Yeah, I don't know. I'm I'm I'm a little tainted for now. Like we have great restaurants to go to. Last night we have an had an incredible time at Fett. Um, is it David Slay who owns it? He came over to the table, gave us a couple of things.

SPEAKER_01 18:47

He's so good at that, honestly. Like, that's that's something I really want to commend him. He owns several restaurants in Manhattan Beach, and they are probably some of the best restaurants actually in the city.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Uh he's got Slay's Steakhouse, he's got Slay's Italian, he has um Fett. Um, are those the three? I think those are the three main ones.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

I think those are the three main ones. He had one in Hermosa, but that closed. So those are the three main ones, and all of these restaurants are packed, whether it is a Monday or whether it's a Saturday. They do great takeouts, some of them. They've got great like weekend meals, they've got a great wine list. Um his Pinot Noir is actually one of my favorites. It is amazing. And so uh David Slay, he goes to he like restaurant hops every single night.

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Yeah, it is pretty interesting because all the restaurants are on the same stretch, but they're probably what four blocks away from each other.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

He is back and forth and he's going up to every table and he's talking to every table. And that it to me is like the pinnacle of hospitality.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

It is, it's the pinnacle of hospitality. We also know the Sims family is fantastic at that time.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Sims families are great too.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

Cornell restaurant, hotel and restaurant management grads. And um, yeah, it's just I I think it's the importance of that humanity, that interaction with humanity at these high points of hospitality, uh, hospitality, you know, whether it's resorts and hotels and visiting and traveling, or whether it's just simply restaurants, that's going to be important for for all of us to hopefully enjoy and engage in when technology starts to get more and more uh you know uh pivotal in everything that we do.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

Well, take for example when you travel, okay? You travel, you go to a hotel, and somebody from the concierge as you're walking past, hi Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, do you you know, do you want me to get you a cab or can I arrange a dinner reservation? Or you come back from a dinner, oh, how was blah blah blah said place. There's something about that touch point that makes you feel special and it makes you want to go back.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

That's 100% it. And I and I also think it's crucial too, in terms of this sort of overtipping world that we're in, where like there's almost like an entitlement to being tipped for things that actually require very little sort of human interaction, you know, like you just buy something at a store or something that says, Do you want to tip? And the person doesn't give you the time of day or whatever, just rings it up and and then expects you to put something down. Uh the tip is really about, I think, a reminder of saying, Hey, thank you for interacting with me, uh reminding me why it's important to be out here doing things among other human beings and not just sitting in my house ordering DoorDash, right? Like that's which I like too.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

I'm not gonna lie, I do like that. There's a there's a comfort and there's an ease, and we all become lazy at certain points.

SPEAKER_00 21:37

Yeah, no, I I I agree a hundred percent, but I also love the idea of truly enjoying you know, getting out and okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:45

Speaking of getting out, you know what I'm doing tomorrow? First of all, I have to say working in education, it is a very hard industry between the funding and the demands. Um it's it's definitely not an easy gig, but the One thing that's nice, uh well, there's a lot of things, but one thing that's particularly nice is in education you get breaks the way schools do. So even though I work at uh a district office for the charter school, we have off Thanksgiving break, like a week. We have off two weeks for Christmas break, we have off a week for spring break, and I have this week for fourth of July, kind of my summer break, because I'm a 12-month employee, so I work year-round. I have this week off. So uh thank you very much because that is uh a very exciting thing. Plus, plus, I get PTO, right? So I get these these however many weeks, plus I get PTO. So it's nice. So speaking about putting the effort, tomorrow I am doing one of my favorite things. Do you know, do you know what I'm doing tomorrow?

SPEAKER_00 22:44

I know exactly what you're doing tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

And it sounds it's gonna sound crazy, but it brings such joy. So I live in Manhattan Beach, as y'all know, and they have the best outlet malls in Palm Springs. It's called the Cavazan Outlet Malls, and I will drive from Manhattan Beach to Palm Springs. It's probably gonna be like a two-hour drive. I will spend the entire day shopping by myself, and these are phenomenal stores. I mean, between like your Celine and your Gucci's and your Reformation and your Ula Johnson's and your Golden Goose. Um, they have the the other stores too. Tons and tons of stores, probably one of the biggest outlin malls I've seen. I will spend the entire day there, and then I will drive home tomorrow night, probably after dinner.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

It's right by Casino Morongo.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

It is right by Casino Morongo. Yeah, I'm so excited for this day. I cannot tell you.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

Yeah, it's sort of one of those uh it became a major, major spot uh outside of Los Angeles, just uh just shy of getting to Palm Springs, particularly when um China had so many tourists coming over here, and and this was in the like say 15 years ago, 20 years ago, when a lot of American products were not available in China in the way they are now, and it would just be mobbed with people that literally sometimes would just fly over to go shop at those outlet stores. So it's it took on a life of its own. Even I, if you drag me to it, I do.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

You have done so well at that Cuba Boss store.

SPEAKER_00 24:14

I hate shopping, I hate it, I hate it, hate it. But like I will say, it it does have a lot of really good deals, and it's just shy of getting out there to Palm Springs, driving through all those windmills and all that kind of stuff. But boy, it is hot, although they got the misters over your head, you know.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

So I don't know if it's gonna be that hot. We've done it in uh, what is it, in August when Kaylee had cheer camp at uh right? So on our way to La Quinta, we would stop by there, but I am so excited.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Well, I'm excited that you're not gonna be working because uh one thing that you tend to do, and I'm probably guilty of it too, is when you have a day off, I do see you working quite a bit on your computer. Like it's hard for you to shut off. So this is good.

SPEAKER_01 24:55

It's hard for me to sit still, it's hard for me not to do anything. I think I had a therapist who once told me that I had to schedule like TV time, and it was okay to sit on the couch and not do anything, and I had to be okay with that. I still don't think I'm very good at it. I mean, you'll say to me, you're like, Jen, you're really uncomfortable today because you don't have a lot to do.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Well, I think I mean, because this show it centers around the empty nesting phenomenon, which we're only not even a year into, I think a lot of it is about how do you find that balance, right? You do have that extra time because you are empty nesting. How do you reconnect with the with your spouse and the person that you love? You do a podcast. You do a podcast, right? But but but what are the things that you do to fill in all this extra time that's a real blessing, number one. And number two, how do you try to balance that with you know maintaining a great relationship with the kids and and trying to be involved with what they're doing at college without being helicopter parents or whatever that is? And then on top of it, how do you reconnect with friends that maybe you haven't been as close to because of all the chaos that was going on, say with four straight years of getting a kid through high school or whatever it is. And then how do you balance that live work thing? You know, like how do you find that downtime? A lot of people, when they have that extra time, they fill it with just working and working and working, which I don't think either of us want to do. I mean, we work hard, but we want to have that balance.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

No, we want to have the balance, but actually, this this is an interesting question. And I had dinner with a friend um about a month ago, and she's she's a little older than me. Her kids are a little older too. And the question was about hobbies after your kids leave. And do you and your spouse have the same hobbies or do you have independent hobbies? Like what's what's the better play? Because I could make an argument that having the same hobby, so you know, we podcast together, we have friends who play pickleball together, right? Those things are bringing the couple together when for the last however many years they've been running in separate directions, kind of living with each other, because it's just being being a parent is hard 100%. Or is it better to have your own hobbies and have your own time and grow as a person and then come together? Like a lot of my friends play Mahjong. I don't, but that is uh something that they don't do with their spouse, but they have a really good time because they're doing it with their their friends and they're doing with a group of women, right? Um, men like a lot of your friends golf, right? They don't golf with their spouses.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

You know, like they do uh, you know, golf is one of those things I grew up playing. I don't it it takes a lot of time. I would say the separate hobbies that we have, you know, are not super time consuming.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Well, mine mine tomorrow is consuming, and I'm okay with it.

SPEAKER_00 27:45

You know, like Chris Chapin and I will go surfing for an hour and a half, two hours, something like that, right out the backyard. So it's not it's not like we're hobbying, you know, something that's a weekend away or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

Like a 16-hole golf game.

SPEAKER_00 27:59

Yeah, well, yeah, exactly. And and um we also, I mean, we know a lot of people that vacation separately a lot. Um that's not something that we do. Um you know, not that it's it's a bad thing. We just I don't think we've really found a a reason to go do that. I think the times when we're separate on a travel basis typically is just around work, you know.

SPEAKER_01 28:21

So Or if you do a girl's trip and I uh or a boy's trip. Because we do that too. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 28:26

It's not that often, but we do.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

No, you know what? We actually used to do those more often when the kids were younger, come to think of it.

SPEAKER_00 28:33

Yeah. I mean, I think there was definitely a um you know, it it's interesting because I I think when you have the kids at home, you definitely want to find those m times to sort of go off and escape. Um, but when the the kids are away in college, I think when they're home, you want to be around and and on top of it, you know, there's a lot of other things that sort of distract you from going, oh my god, I gotta get out of here, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:57

Yeah, like tonight, right? Tonight, uh I said to Kaylee because she came back from Costa Rica on Friday, and I knew that we had plans last night and she had plans last night. So I said to her, why don't you and I cook together? Um, and we'll have dinner, it'd be super fun. Obviously with Chris. Chris doesn't cook, but uh he would enjoy the the fruits of our labor. So she came home from the beach and it was definitely getting to the point where we needed to start dinner. So I definitely did a lot of the prep. I will say that. I did probably two-thirds of the dinner and the dessert, but she came in and she was awesome, and we made this amazing um dessert as well, which I think you really love too, and we all had dinner together and she helped clean up and it was so sweet. Like, I love just having those couple hours with Kaylee, like that to me is perfect.

SPEAKER_00 29:44

I loved listening to you guys banter. I thought it was really cool, mother-daughter time.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

I mean, what were we saying?

SPEAKER_00 29:50

I don't know. You guys were just talking about all kinds of stuff, and I was busy trying to get a couple things done, which by the way, I found out you can actually get it something notarized over the internet, which is really unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

I feel like this said notary took your identity and is now opening credit cards.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

I have no idea, but uh if people don't know this out there, there there is a way to get a 24-7 notarized um documents over the internet. Um, it's interesting. Somebody actually has to come on and and join you on video, but it literally, I think the second I put out the request with the document I needed, I somebody threw this this uh service showed up like on my internet 30 seconds later, and and there you go. It was pretty interesting. Um, so yeah, shout out to internet uh available notaries notaries.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

Okay, now I'm gonna push back though. Those used to be services that required human touch. Like literally, you had to use your thumb. Like that person would touch you and touch your thumb. So are we?

SPEAKER_00 30:51

Okay, did you ever have one of those experiences going, oh my god, I just met the nicest to be friends with them.

SPEAKER_01 30:58

But my point is you're talking about all these touch points that we are losing because of technology, yet at the same time, you're being somewhat hypocritical because you just used one.

SPEAKER_00 31:05

Yeah, but not I mean, getting a document notarized is not really what I would think of like as a human flourishing moment. That that it's a little different than the hospitality business. Okay, well, here's a couple other things I want to do to wrap up so we can take Flint for a dog a dog walk. Um, I'm gonna ask you a couple questions. Are you ready?

SPEAKER_01 31:25

No.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

These are timely questions because we just did a lot of timeless stuff at the beginning. So timely. Okay. Ready? Um, number one, South Africa and Canada played in the World Cup today to see who got to the round of 16. Who won and who, for the first time ever, got to the round of 16?

SPEAKER_01 31:43

Canada.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

Canada. Woo woo! Right? Is that those are the words, right?

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Not sure.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

Okay. Um, number two. What day does uh Bad Counselors open at the local Arc Light Cinema West Theater?

SPEAKER_01 32:06

Wednesday, July 22nd.

SPEAKER_00 32:09

Yes, there's a screening at seven o'clock. That's the first one, and everywhere around the country, the same thing is happening. Okay, number two, or number three. Who said, well, at this point, we absolutely have to have a nuclear weapon?

SPEAKER_01 32:26

Uh Iran.

SPEAKER_00 32:27

Iran.

SPEAKER_01 32:28

I'm doing so well today.

SPEAKER_00 32:29

Well, I'm I'm giving you a uh applause, but I'm gonna say for Iran, that's not cool.

SPEAKER_01 32:34

So does that mean the deal didn't happen?

SPEAKER_00 32:37

Well, apparently the ceasefire is still on, even though they were both sides, us and Iran, were shelling the heck out of each other. Um and Bahrain and Kuwait got in the middle of it, and and obviously there's the issues going on with southern Lebanon and Israel and all that stuff. Oh, I just hope somehow there's peace in the Middle East. I don't know what that version's gonna be, and I just hope it's the right version and it happens soon. Okay. Um another thing that's happened is today marks the most expensive time ever to own a house. Can you believe that?

SPEAKER_01 33:12

Uh yeah, I can, and I think it's probably why you have this socialist movement that you're seeing in a lot of states with a lot of young people, because I think it is so incredibly expensive right now to go out to eat, to buy a home, uh, to buy a car. Everything just seems exponentially more money. So yeah, I can see it. I can.

SPEAKER_00 33:36

Yeah, the statistics just in the last five years of the average house in the United States of America in terms of what it costs, the cost of interest on a mortgage, um, the cost of insurance, the cost of maintenance, the cost of property taxes. It's unbelievable. And I feel for anybody, say, under the age of 35 that's looking to get in their first house, it's something that needs to get figured out. Otherwise, people are gonna feel left out. So um, let's put some hope out there that somebody figures out a plan. Um, I have some ideas and we can get into it on another episode. Um, okay. What do you think Supergirl or Jackass worked this weekend? Because let me tell you, Jackass, I'm completely biased for I love Johnny Knoxville, I love that guy stuff. It was fantastic. Remember, I used to go to the that movie by myself because I couldn't find other people to go do it. Do you think they ever either of them worked this weekend?

SPEAKER_01 34:31

I don't know. I I mean I didn't really see much in the way of marketing and advertising, whether it was billboards, whether it was pop-up, whether it was like, you know, anything in my Insta feed. So I don't know. Well, neither.

SPEAKER_00 34:48

And Supergirl cost $200 million and it didn't even make $40 million here in the middle of the year.

SPEAKER_01 34:53

Do they still have marketing budgets where they would collab with like Burger King and you would get a toy or you'd get a cup?

SPEAKER_00 35:00

I think they had over a hundred million dollars worth of partnership sponsorships.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

So why haven't I seen anything? Yeah. Am I just not the market audience?

SPEAKER_00 35:07

I think the superhero thing's a little tired. I I don't know the answer to that, but it definitely didn't work, and Jack S didn't work, which makes me a little sad.

SPEAKER_01 35:15

That doesn't surprise me as much, but I would think that a female superhero would actually do well. I'm kind of bummed to hear that it didn't.

SPEAKER_00 35:22

Look, it's gonna be the summer of bad counselors. Thank goodness. You just wait. Bad counselors to the rescue. And then one last question for you.

SPEAKER_01 35:29

Am I gonna get it?

SPEAKER_00 35:31

I think so. Uh oh. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 35:33

I'm nervous.

SPEAKER_00 35:33

I'm nervous. There are two absolutely amazing people on this earth that turned 55 this year. One of them turned 55 yesterday. Who was that?

SPEAKER_01 35:44

I don't know if I would qualify this as absolutely amazing. Amazing?

SPEAKER_00 35:49

Gene Gene. Okay, well, yes, okay. Savant, an entrepreneur, a tech titan, and somebody who has definitely changed the way the world operates.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

It's Elon Musk. Elon Musk. That's who it is. There you go. Um happy birthday. You have done a lot. I don't know if I would say good or bad. You have done a lot. Uh, that man, his brain, does it ever shut off, do you think? Does he ever sit down and watch TV like my therapist told me I needed to?

SPEAKER_00 36:20

No, but I do think um on that note, we should probably sh uh shut down this episode because what we're gonna do is we're gonna take the dog for a walk, and then we have a lot of reality shows we're getting into.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

You have this like this like I have this obsession with blow deck right now.

SPEAKER_00 36:36

Yeah, blow deck. There's this one that's the love, not a love island or whatever the.

SPEAKER_01 36:41

Yeah, it's after um, oh my god, uh my head, I'm forgetting it.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

And then there's the cheese the cheesy summer house. And then there's the cheesy next gen New York thing that's on, and then we gotta watch the bear.

SPEAKER_01 36:54

I wanna I wanna keep watching the bear.

SPEAKER_00 36:56

And we also love the French people and legends.

SPEAKER_01 36:58

Yeah, so we got some TV to do.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

Yes, we do. So thank you, Jen Fenton, for doing another episode with us on uh Empty Nesting. Uh playing Ponder Empty Nesting with Jenna Chris Fenton in 73 countries around the world. Please download, engage, review, enjoy, DM us, and until next time, we love you and happy 4th of July week. Enjoy.