MLB Predictions

The kind of, sort of, 60-game baseball season starts in 24 hours. After the latest Mets injury news, and considering how hard their schedule is, I really have no excitement for it. That said, they should make the playoffs considering 8 out of 15 teams will qualify. Here are my predictions:

NL East
y-Atlanta 37-23
x-Philadelphia 35-25
x-Washington 33-27
x-NY Mets 28-32
Miami 21-39

NL Central
y-Cincinnati 36-24
x-Chicago 35-25
x-St. Louis 33-27
Milwaukee 26-34
Pittsburgh 18-42

NL West
z-Los Angeles 43-17
x-Arizona 33-27 
San Diego 26-34
Colorado 23-37
San Francisco 23-37

AL East
z-NY Yankees 39-21
x-Tampa Bay 36-24
x-Toronto 33-27
Boston 24-36
Baltimore 18-42

AL Central
y-Minnesota 35-25
x-Chicago 33-27
Cleveland 31-29
Kansas City 24-36
Detroit 22-38

AL West
y-Houston 36-24
x-Anaheim 33-27
x-Oakland 32-28
Seattle 24-36
Texas 24-36

ALCS
New York over Tampa Bay

NLCS
LA over Cincinnati

World Series
New York over LA

Evil Woman

"I'm not weak, i tell myself. I stay because I'm strong. The truth is I'm not man enough to stop her from doing me wrong."

Those little known lyrics are some of those powerful, dark, insecure words in the history of songwriting, regardless of the genre of music. 

As I constantly face judgement, condemnation, rejection, ghosting, and simply being misunderstood by females, I despise this women's movement more and more. I love women, I respect women. But my goodness, there is the perception that they are the oppressed victim in society. Spare me with the fem sham. They know how to manipulate the emotions and actions of men. 

And those lyrics demonstrate it. He wants to say something, he wants to do something. This bitch, meanwhile, just shits on his heart, soul, hopes, and feelings, and thinks only of herself and what she wants. Actually what her pussy wants. 

She's with him as consolation so she can keep herself semi active while she's out trying to cheat on him with better dick. He can't stand to be alone so he puts up with it, hoping he'll raise up to her consolation level, knowing he will be the dick for her if all else fails. Notice the difference. One settles, one hopes. 

Lowcountry, part 5

We woke up before 6 am to catch the sunrise at the beach. It was already light by 6:10, when we got down to the sand and by 6:21, the sun started to appear over the dark blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It was pretty amazing how fast the sun came up. Within 60 seconds, the sun went from invisible to completely clear.

A lot of breakfast places have similar menus. So going in, you often have an idea of what you'll probably get, and you just hope the meal gets executed properly. That situation describes me having my one breakfast out for the week. I ordered an omelet with spinach, tomato, and cheddar. The eggs were cooked just fine, though the tomatoes lacked seasoning, they tasted too sweet. A plus was their chicken sausage: it had a nice spice, and tasted like actual sausage, which isn't always the case with breakfast poultry sausages. 

Hash browns: the same thing you've had at every regular breakfast joint. Shredded taters, a little browning on the outside. The two slices of sourdough toast were cut in half horizontally and spread with some kind of butter, it was really yellow, so I don't believe it was actual butter. 

My mom had the low carb scramble, and she let me try her side of bacon. The bacon was still limp and too chewy and it was really salty. I needed a few sips of water after one bite. I mean come on, how do you mess up bacon?

Sadly, the OJ wasn't fresh which is so key to me. It had had no pulp, but it did have that sour taste that is such a turn off. The staff was kind enough to replace it with iced tea. Good breakfast spot, but just not special.

We wanted to get some good quality time in before mom had her timeshare meeting and I had my golf round. So we played shuffleboard for about 30 or 40 minutes. Took me a little time to get warmed up, but after five or six rounds, I was getting 7s and 8s pretty easily.

I chilled in the hammock for a little while, read some of Colossians and thought about a girl in Tallahassee and wondering if I had any chance in hell at her. I still don't know, to be honest. I came back and we played a little Yahtzee, whch we seem to do every time we're together. I guess I needed another warmup. After a low round, I  rolled seven Yahtzees over two games,  I don't think I've ever had a streak that hot.

Then I dressed quickly in a maroon Greg Norman golf shirt,  black shorts, and new black Sketcher soft spikes, covered myself in sunscreen, put my dozen orange golf balls, flex tees, and glove in my yellow drawstring bag, the thing I'd been waiting for, golf at Shipyard. I hadn't played a round in six years and I chose this course because it was close to my hotel, not too expensive, and not very challenging. I paid as much to rent clubs as I did to play 18 holes ($60 each), but at least the clubs were somewhat new Titleists. I also had a Scotty Cameron putter in the bag and they had everything strapped in for me on my cart along with a cooler, and two mini USB plug-ins, sadly, they didn't work at all. 

The course is mostly maintained well, the bunker rakes were off the course due to COVID. The one real problem was the greens are not green on nearly every hole. There were spots where the greens actually looked like flat sandy beaches.

As for my play, it was pretty uneven. I hit one great sand shot on the second hole and I even parred one hole. But for the 18 holes, I shot a 110 (counting the nine penalty strokes for lost balls).

Could not hit the 1 and 3 woods for most of the round, maybe 1 out of 8 3 woods shots wee really good, and I quit the driver after two tries. I guess some time on the range before the round would have helped. But I was pretty pleased with my iron play and my short game was mostly good. I didn't make any great putts, but I made most of the ones I thought I could make. I have to say even though it would cost me some money to get a bag, clubs, and balls, I would consider playing the game. I have some disposable income and maybe golf is a place I would use it.

After five hours (and 3 beers), my feet were tired and I was sweating hard. But surprisingly my back felt better than I expected. I didn't even have a beer at the pub since mom was there to pick me up. I wanted to go back to the hotel and clean up, but mom had been at a timeshare meeting for 3 hours and did some shopping and she felt if she went back to the room, she wouldn't be leaving again. So it was off to find some dinner. I just wanted something quick and not too heavy, I thought about Publix for a sub sandwich. We arrived and all they had for meat options was turkey. I like turkey, but that wasn't going to satisfy me on this night. From there, we tried Slapfish, which a modern seafood pub. But the prices were a little higher than we wanted and it asan't quite the menu we were looking for. And considering the next day was the 4th of July, we knew the island would be crowded and finding an open place would be challenging. 

After leaving Slapfish, we headed back east on 278 and turned into a strip mall looking for one restaurant, but then we saw this one place with these outdoor tables and it looked pretty inviting. Sometimes the best experiences happen to us by accident. This was absolutely the case when I dined at Ombra on my final night during my vacation to the Lowcountry.

I reviewed the menu outside and was drawn into the early diner special menu that was priced at $30 per person. It was 5:20 PM, we still had 10 minutes so we decided to try it out. The restaurant was largely empty inside, I guess they were making a strong effort t keep diners a healthy distance apart. The stereo blared out playing opera and crooner music, which is great for setting the atmosphere in an authentic Italian restaurant. The lighting was kept somewhat dim.

We got a liter sized bottle of water, which cost $7.50 as we found out later. I was fine with iced tea, which came in a tall thin glass. They didn't have sweet tea, so I had to add the sugar myself. We got a brad basket, which has thickly sliced Italian bread and focaccia along with extra virgin oil for dipping.

For apps, we started with the beef carpaccio. Thinly sliced raw beef, beautiful rich flavor. The only thing missing was some avocado, which we've come to expect with carpaccio. I had the panzanella salad, which had lettuce tomatoes, cucumbers, crispy croutons, and EVOO. Both apps had large thin shavings of Parmigiano cheese, which were loaded with that authentic sharp flavor.

Mom's entree was the sea bass served over tomatoes with sauteed spinach and carefully prepped mashed potatoes, they looked like a swirl of soft served vanilla bean ice cream. She enjoyed it immensely. I ordered the herb half boneless chicken. This chicken was pounded thin, and then grilled under a brick. Crispy, juicy, just a tremendous piece of chicken. I loved the roasted potatoes, a little crispiness and super tender inside. The vegetable was broccoli rabe, not my favorite, it's a super bitter vegetable. It's actually part of the turnip family, not broccoli (you're welcome for the trivia note). But it was prepared well with olive oil, garlic, and lemon. My plate also had a nice thick slice of beefsteak tomato.

I was a little limited on dessert since I don't do chocolate. I thought about the panna cotta, but that can be hit or miss. I went safe had the orange sorbet, which was served inside of a frozen orange. It was good, but I wish I could have had pineapple instead. Mom had her profiteroles, always an indulgence for her.

So we got back with the sun starting to go down, and with me just wanting to chill, I hit the whirlpool before heading down to the beach before watching the sunset.

The next morning, it was 45 minutes on the treadmill, 45 minutes in the sun, shower, pack and leave. It took us about 5 and a half hours to make the trip back to Cary. Along the way though, Mom took me to Beaufort which has a very nice old school southern downtown and historical district. Nice blend of antebellum and modern. Yes I said antebellum, even if it's not politically correct, like so few things are anymore.

That Publix sub in Beaufort was so great. I don't know of many actual ub shops that are as good as Publix, which is a grocery store!

Lowcountry, part 4

For our first full day in Hilton Head, I needed a new start after the drama from the previous night. I wanted a workout so I walked the five minutes outside and up two flights of stairs to the gym. I arrived at 6:55 and the sign said the gym opened at 6 am. My key wouldn't work. I tried again, wouldn't work. I went down to the front desk and I was told the gym was actually supposed to open at 7. So I went back, and again, my key wouldn't work.

An elderly joined me, trying to get in also, and her key didn't work either. So we got maintenance down there and they opened the gym. But I had lost so much time that I only had 30 minutes to lift weights because we had a kayaking reservation set for 8:30.

Mom and I both had single kayaks while the rest of our group was all in doubles. It was a fun two hours, I got the hang of the kayak really quickly. We saw periwinkles on the grass, blue herons, and spitting oysters (when they jump out of the water to breathe). Apparently, a few people in the group caught a glimpse of a dolphin, but I wasn't so fortunate. Then again, when I was in Destin the previous October, I saw about 40 dolphins, so it wasn't like missing a bald eagle. Maybe the coolest part was seeing a roseate spoonbill, which looks like a flying flamingo. Turns out these are birds are usually white like swans, but they eat a load of baby shrimp, and turn more progressively pink as they continue to eat the shrimp. Is it weird that I felt a little competition with those birds to get my teeth on some shrimp?

Just as we were about to finish, the rain started and it change from a sprinkle to a deluge within a few minutes. We headed over to Coligny Plaza, which has 50 or 60 nice outdoor shops. And I like that they have good shops for guys, not just a bunch of antiques, bags, jewelry,and shoes for the ladies. Onto lunch at Sandbar in the Plaza. So with a crazy rain coming down in Coligny Plaza (typical mid Atlantic rain, it come down like crazy for 30 minutes, then the sun came out and the temperature got even hotter), we sat outside under their covered deck, since the part of the inside area looked like a construction zone with buckets of paint and plywood scattered on the floor.

Since Mom was somehow in the mood for nachos, I gave in and went with it. The server said they were the best on the island and that he wasn't saying it just because he worked there. That was good enough for me. About 10 minutes later, a mountain of homemade tortilla chips topped with beer cheese, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, Mexican street corn and a good portion of steak chunks showed up. I really liked the extra salsa that came on the side, I could taste the fresh cilantro and spices, which make all the difference in the world. Those nachos were super filling, the two of us knocked out nearly the whole plate. A few chips were left over, but I made sure all the steak and guacamole were eaten, and aren't those the two most important parts of any good plate of nachos? I do wish they had been a little bit spicier, some jalapenos would have helped out.

We also each ordered a bowl of she-crab soup, it seemed to hit the spot on a cooler summer day. It was quite thick and rich, I didn't understand why croutons were added into the middle, maybe a garnish?

I wish I could have eaten a few other items, but with those nachos, there just wasn't room for much else. Service was quite friendly, the server did a god job of bringing iced tea and water refills even before we had to ask.

After a meal that heavy, Mom was wiped out. She later mentioned she had indigestion, she's just not used to eating that way. Strange considering ordering nachos was her idea! So we hung out on the outside patio and played Quibble for about 20 or 30 minutes. Of course, with a lot of people heading back down to the pool and beach, I really wanted to get some sun. I hit the beachside pool for an hour and drank a double mojito. $16, but the combo of fresh mint and lime are always worth it.

I hit up the putting green for another half hour before a shower and dinner at Old Oyster Factory. This place looked like everything I would want in a restaurant in Hilton Head. Great view, inviting atmosphere, menu with variety. For the most part, I was pleased, but I have to say it could have been a little better.

As we pulled into the parking lot, they had attendants guiding us in, which was quite helpful. As I went inside, I noticed the dominantly wood interior, which gave the place a hint of of a log cabin feel. For a place that was a little off the beaten path, that made some sense.

The restaurant definitely didn't observe social distancing, we were really close to the other tables. Most people at least wore masks by the host stand, but not once they were at their tables. I wasn't too bothered, but my mom, who's in her 60s, certainly was overcome with concern.

For my drink, I nursed a $13 pineapple jalapeno margarita. It was not your typical margarita glass, this one was pretty large, so I could kind of justify the price. And the heat was pretty strong, I'm pretty sure the seeds were in this cocktail. A little more heat than sweet, but it was solid.

We were given a basket of honey butter and hot fresh hush puppies. There must have been ten in the basket. I ate three, but after my lunch nachos, I knew I had to limit myself! To start off, I got a bistro salad, which is a pretty standard house salad but with caramelized shallots and balsamic roasted mushrooms and I got feta cheese instead of gorgonzola. I really liked the combination of flavors, it would have been a perfect lunch with some tender sliced filet on top.

My entree was the broiled seafood platter with four local shrimp, two lightly breaded scallops, Oysters Savannah (bacon and cheese), Oysters Rockefeller (spinach and parmesan), salmon, mahi mahi, garlic parmesan rice, and veggies (sliced carrots, zucchini, squash). 28 bucks for all that food was a pretty sweet deal. I would say the scallops and Oysters Rockefeller were the highlight. The fish was all cooked nicely, but could have used a little more seasoning, especially the shrimp. I think I used the entire lemon wedge between the seafood and veggies. Mom had the combination of Savannah and Rockefeller oysters and despite not feeling too great, she had no problem polishing off all six.

The views are marvelous and it's fantastic that the restaurant is arranged in a way so that nearly every table can have a nice view of the water. The food is quite good, but not the best seafood restaurant I've ever experienced.

We got home just before the next Carolina summer storm hit and spent the night watching Restaurant Impossible and cooking shows on Netflix.

Lowcountry, part 3

I woke up and it was July, the best month of the year following the worst month of every year. I wanted to do the Prohibition Museum, but mom had really no interest and wanted to leave Savannah. I didn't feel it was worth it to hold us up, so we checked out pretty early on Wednesday morning. Katie was such a cute front desk worker, it was sad to leave her. But hey, ring was on the fourth finger of the left hand

We drove across the bridge and into South Carolina. Mom wanted to visit Latitudes, which is a Jimmy Buffett themed home complex. They have a full activity center, pools, theater, restaurant, pickleball, tennis, dog park (Barkaritaville), and tons of other features. It's a pretty fantastic complex, if they had apartments or townhomes, I would probably consider it. We toured the homes for about 45 minutes before heading back to our car and towards  Bluffton, an adjoining growing town near Hilton Head, and it's a hot bed for retirees.

After not having breakfast, we were ready for grub. The British Open had been on my radar since the early stages of planning this trip. We started with the Pub Wellingtons, basically mini Beef Wellingtons served over brown gravy. I'm not a Wellington fan, but I did like these. There was melted bleu cheese, some mushrooms, and they helped to enhance the flavor of the beef. 

Since I was in a UK pub, I pretty much had to go with fish and chips. The portion was more than acceptable, 9 ounces of cod that had been beer battered, the way God intended fried fish to be prepared. And sure enough, the fish came out crispy outside and flaky on the inside. The fries weren't fresh cut, but they were still well seasoned and crispy. I asked for a ramekin of honey mustard and it was a perfect dipping sauce for the fries. Tartar sauce and fries were fine too.

And then onto Hilton Head Island. My first thoughts were it was very clean, there were a lot of people riding bicycles, and way too many rotaries. So many rotaries, I thought I was on Cape Cod. And around rush hour, oh my gosh, do they back up!

We stayed at the Marriott Surf Watch hotel, which is a vacation club property, or a kind way of saying timeshare. As much as I dread timeshares, this place was fantastic. We had an amazing spot, the back patio was overlooking the boadwalk that led to our beach. Fully equipped kitchen, washer and dryer, I even had my own bedroom with two beds and I had a separate bathroom and closet. My gosh, I even had a ceiling fan in my bedroom! I don't have a single ceiling fan in my whole apartment!

We made a run over to Publix and when e got back, I knew I had 36 hours until golf and I decided to hit up the putting green behind the front desk building. Pretty crazy, they have a putting green, cornhole, bocce, shuffleboard, multiple pools, even several hammocks by the small ponds. the only thing I wish they also had was a bar and restaurant, aside from the one down by the beach.

I wound up putting for about a half hour, experimenting with a cross handed group that helped me control the speed of the putts much better than with a traditional grip. Thankfully there were putters for rent at the front desk, but gosh, it looked like they were borrowed from a low class miniature golf course.

For dinner, it was Cajun steamed shrimp and corn on the cob from Publix. And then, Netflix, and a typical stupid fight, bedtime. 

Lowcountry, part 2

On Tuesday, we woke up early ready for a hike. We knew we had to get started early before the heat wave really started to hit.  The temperature was going to hit the mid nineties again. We drove about 25 minutes south to Skidaway state park. As it turns out, more adjusting was needed. We couldn't find the trail,  So we walked towards the campgrounds and eventually found the Eastern trail. We were going to connect west back over to where the car was, but then came another obstacle.

A "This is Closed" sign appeared at a fork in the road. It wasn't like a piece of paper had been slapped on just because of the virus, this was a weathered wooden sign planted in the earth, and looked like it had been there for a couple of years. So we turned around and finished the walk, about 3 miles total. 

Oh but let me throw this in there too. The trail map said that there was an observation deck on the Eastern side of the trail, so I figured that would be a good spot to take some pictures. We got there and it was a 3 level tower, except there was no way to get to the 3rd level; you could only go to the 2nd level. But they had a garbage can right under a tiny hole that led to the 3rd deck so I guess somebody would have needed to give me a boost step in order to get on the top deck. Absolutely ridiculous.

Mom had heard about Tydee Island, on the east coast of Georgia, so we had made plans to go over there. We really had high hopes for this beachside town, but those hopes didn't last long. It was your typical family beachside town, with a lot of cheap souvenirs, and colorful, youthful looking restaurants. Most of the restaurants we were interested in were either closed or only doing take out.  But I had paid for us to park, it cost $7 for two hours and damn it, I was determined to get my $7 worth! I had to find some crap that I was interested in, even if I had to fake liking that crap. All that only lasted about 30 minutes before we decided we had had enough. We did drive over to the lighthouse which we heard was a great spot, except we couldn't get to it because it was barricaded. Had to settle for a distant photograph. Tydee Island was basically a bust.

We were pretty hungry at this point and we had passed the Paula Deen Creek House on the way in to Tydee Island. The location is excellent, first of all. It's right off a marsh a few miles outside downtown Savannah. We arrived around 1130 and then waited outside for 30 minutes. In the heat mind you, we could not wait inside due to capacity. So even if it was in the shade we had to deal with the annoying heat.

I didn't expect a 5 star dining experience, but that's okay. The meal was best described as ordinary and satisfying. Peel n eat shrimp, house salad, and fish tacos.  Server was an absolute sweetheart, but it's not a place I would recommend for anything special, it's really just to say you've eaten at a Paula Deen restaurant.

By this point, I needed a break and a shower. We headed back to the hotel and after 30 minutes of lifting weights in the gym, I cleaned up. We planned to check out the Prohibition Museum in City Market, but by this time, it had closed for the day. Not the biggest deal in the world, we can always push it to Wednesday.

I guess I can't blame Mom for getting frustrated. I think Corona, or the presence of it, has worn her down to complete frustration, since she has been unable to work or really go anywhere because she is concerned about catching it. She was ready to head back to the hotel but I suggested we at least get an appetizer. We began a 10 minute walk on East street towards a place I had in mind for a couple of apps, but then we passed Ruth's Chris. Mom knew they had a good deal on seared ahi tuna during happy hour and as it turned out they also had a good steak sandwich deal, so we took a detour.

The tuna was quite good, especially when eaten with a little ginger or wasabi sauce. Beautifully presented. As for me, that 6 oz filet steak sandwich with fresh cut fries only set me back 9 bucks. And what I liked about the sandwich was that I didn't get one big piece of steak. The problem with a steak sandwich is when you get that big piece, sometimes it doesn't break easily, and after one bite, you've taken out half the steak, and you're left with an onion/sauce sandwich. With this it was small bites of tenderloin covered in their sauce, so that problem was eliminated. The steak was cooked a solid medium rare. Along with a nice whiskey sour, it was a happy hour steal.

By then, mom went back to the hotel, but I was wanting to hit the town. I still wanted to experience more of the local culture before leaving Savannah the next morning. Translation: I wanted to get wasted in a local pub on local beverages. And across the street from Ruth's Chris was Rocks on the Roof, which is on top of the Bohemia hotel overlooking the Savannah River.  I took the elevator up four flights and took a seat on the outside patio. The view offers a great shot of the river, but the main things I can see are the Savannah convention center, the bridge, and some sort of industrial yard, along with a bunch of trees. It actually feels more like overlooking the shipyard in Norfolk with a forest. The speaker was playing hip hop music, which wasn't the best to suit the mood. I had two beers: the Pretoria Sky Walker Golden Ale and a Coastal Empire Praline Amber. I think I preferred the Amber, not because I'm a fan of sweeter beer, but because it was uniquely Georgia with that nutty, full pecan flavor. And even though I didn't order any food, I appreciate that they're adding an international flair based off the countries that typically send goods into the Savannah port. 

The last planned stop was Churchill, an authentic UK pub on Bay St. And of course, another sign on the door said it was closed but would reopen July 1. I'd already be gone by that point. So instead it was World of Beer. I think I tried 7 or 8 beers in that bar. The Orpheus Transimigration of Souls double IPA was my favorite though. I wanted to get smashed and I did, but not to the point where I couldn't function.

There was one significant issue though. I was drinking draft beer, but I saw that they carried several varieties of Innis & Gunn in their cooler. The new bartender told me the three kinds but didn't say what variety of beer they were. So I wound up getting a bottle of stout, not my style. I apologized,  explained I didn't know it was a stout, and asked to have it removed from my bill. I was told now, but thankfully my original bartender took care of it. 

I must say there are some mighty big boned women here, but downtown there some absolutely gorgeous women. They wear these amazing dresses and they have a tremendous sense of style. But I'm pretty convinced that none of them are single.  They're always hanging out with a guy.

Lowcountry part 1

I woke up at 5 am on Mom's living room couch and we left Cary around 5:50. The estimated driving time was 5 hours, and we made it to Savannah, GA around 10:45 and that was with just one stop for gas, no food, nothing else at all.

It was hot when we arrived on the west side of downtown Savannah, crazy hot, like a desert. I hadn't been in Arizona since 2005, but I felt the same kind of sweltering heat like I just wanted to stay out of the sun.

We had two free tickets to the hop on/hop off Olde Town trolley. It consists of 15 stops through the historical district of Savannah, which is not a large area, only 2.5 square miles. Our first stop was Chippewa Square, the spot where the famous bench scenes from Forrest Gump were filmed. But there's no bench there!

Hungry as can be, stop number 1 was Zunzi's, which specializes in South African sandwiches. We actually took the trolley just one stop just to make the stop at this sandwich haven. When we arrived, we saw they were only open for take out and curbside. But on my first day in Savannah, there was no place I wanted to visit more. I had seen the Conquistador chicken sandwich featured on Best Sandwich in America and I wasn't going to miss this. 

We ordered the number 1 and the number 3, which are the chicken and salmon sandwiches respectively. I placed my order through the company website and it took about 15 or 20 minutes for the food to come up. I also got a small bag of Byrds mini cinnamon sugar cookies and two South African half and half iced teas.

Since there was no indoor seating, we walked to the adjoining square park, one of about two dozen in the city, and sat on a bench. I guess the additional side dish was black flies (hey, black flies matter, right?) because about a dozen of them joined us. I guess they're a big fan of Zunzi's too.

I was all about the homemade bread, it was soft, and had a flavor, it didn't become soggy. But it's all about the sauces, they actually have more sauces than they have sandwiches. I wish I could have taken a shot of each one of them lol! But the combination of the sauces provides a sweet and garlic combined with a mild peppery spice. It's one of those food situations where the whole is more than the sum of the parts.

Salmon was also very good, though it reminded me a little more of a smoked salmon. It also had honey mustard on it but it was a little more mustard than honey, it was quite tangy.  But the conquistador chicken was definitely my favorite, it was one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever had.

That all came to about $34 for the sandwiches, drinks and one bag of Mini cookies. It's not what I would call cheap but it's unique and it's great quality so the price is very much worth it.

After completing the remaining 14 stops on the trolley tour, we checked into the Springhill Suites and it was quite the interesting room. There were two bathrooms. One had a shower and double sink, no toilet. The other had a toilet and single sink and was half the size of the other bathroom. Strange, strange setup. The other problem was there wasn't a clean up crew to be found. I'm glad mom had some disinfectant wipes.  Another thing with the hotel, there is no room service right now. They have a restaurant but it is only open from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Why can't they be open on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday? That's when a lot of businesses are closed, so would it not make sense to be open when other places are closed so they can make more money?

I had made dinner plans at a Cajun style restaurant about 2 or 3 blocks from our hotel and then 3 hours before dinner, I got a call from the restaurant that one of their idiot employees tested positive and that they were closing for the next several days. Just as bad, the same thing happened with Leopold's ice cream, which is an absolute landmark and now we can't go.

So we managed to score a 5:30 reservation at Vic's on the River, which is on Bay St and overlooks the Savannah Riverboat, which sits in the harbor. Very nice atmosphere with the piano player and the tall wall of wine. We weren't overwhelmed by the entree options so we decided to get a couple of appetizers. We first got a basket of buttermilk biscuits with honey butter, because...why not. Then I ordered a baby kale salad, and it was a really unique blend of flavors between the fried garlic and the cider honey vinaigrette. We also got an Asian style calamari, chargrilled octopus, and a lump crabcake. All of the appetizers were good, but I would probably say I preferred the crab cake, since it had a lump meat and I like the mustard sauce that accompanied it. I would have like the octopus more if it had a little more seasoning on it.

But the apps were nothing compared to dessert. I thought about the peach trio, but I went with the pecan praline basket (hey it's Georgia) with homemade vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and blueberries. This was a top 5 dessert I've ever had. Junior's cheesecake,  Emeril's banana cream pie, Elegant Farmer apple peach pie, Caroles cookies, and this. Crispy praline, nice punch of vanilla bean in the ice cream, fresh berries. Perfect. 9 bucks for bliss. 

We walked on River Street and it was still over 90 degrees out, even at 7 pm. But I guess I still hadn't had enough sugar because I dropped by Byrd's cookies for free samples. What I didn't anticipate was how many free samples I'd get.  After trying the scotch oatmeal, lemon drop, key lime cooler, almond shortbread, and two others that I can't even remember anymore, I was pretty sure I was on the verge of needing dentures.

The shops were closing at this point, so we began the 15 minute walk back to the room. The hotel didn't have an open bar or restaurant, so that was it for the night.

Charlie Daniels

This one hurts me. A lot. I was blessed to watch Charlie Daniels play live maybe half a dozen times, as recently as March 21, 2019 in downtown Richmond VA.

He carried an aura about him on stage. That big cowboy hat over his gray mane, the dark sunglasses concealing his eyes, and he'd always be chewing gum. Yet then, he'd give all of that tremendous energy for that hour as he'd play guitar and then sow so hard on that fiddle with his own inimitable grip and technique. He'd play blues, country, rock, jazz, gospel, and not miss a beat. He loved to drop wisecracks in concert with his self deprecating sense of humor.

He was never afraid to stand up for the USA and its military.

He was never afraid to play songs about Jesus Christ in concert.

He was never afraid to stand up for true values no matter how the world around him changed.

I have both his books, several albums, and a lot of good memories.

We have a lost a great artist, a great performer, a great American, a great Christian, and a great man.

Country music, the United States of America, and the world are far better for having known Charlie Daniels. The world will be a lot better if we have more people like him.

With a tear in my eye, RIP sir.

This App Sucks

1) This Blogger app needs a facelift. I update 4 old posts from 2 and 3 years ago and they go to the top of my posts. Ridiculous. 

2) So someone in Vancouver likes me. She has three kids, loves cats, and lives on the west coast of another country. What could possibly go wrong...

3) I think it's been a couple of years since I had French Toast. Bad job by me, I might need to fix this. I still have 2 dozen eggs from Costco, this might be one way. 

4) How did it take me 25 years to finally discover Everybody Loves Raymond? Another bad job by me. 

5) One more week till vacation. 

Recent Pictures

I thought as a twist, I would post some recent pictures I've taken. Who says that these posts need to be composed exclusively of words?

View from the Shenandoah Trail on the Virginia/West Virginia border. 

Beaver dam Trail in Gloucester VA

Now that's a steak. Garlic and herb butter shmeared on top

My new speed wheels

Skillet Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes and Mushrooms. Growing fresh herbs inspires me to try new dishes. 

6 Weeks Off

1) I was speaking with someone online recently and we got into a conversation about blogs and I'm really starting to wonder if it's that people just don't do it much anymore or that people still do it but don't talk about it. But it seems like blogging is now a passing fad of the 2000s like MySpace, LiveStrong bracelets, and pop punk. 

2)  It feels so good to finally have my gym open again. I just could not take running outside in the heat anymore. I got my 5 miles in and it wasn't easy to do it, but I did it at my 7.5 pace which is usually my baseline and I added on a little bit of incline as well. 

Who knows when my next race will be. I had visions of competing a half marathon this year. I don't know if there will even be one for me to run. But at least I can train for whatever might come. 

I have my new On shoes, the first pair of these that I've purchased that are meant for running.  The 1st that pair that I bought were down in Florida and I know now that they were meant for more of a daily use. But I have a good feeling that these will last a long time and they will support my feet well.

3) EA and I are actually speaking regularly. I've known this girl for maybe 7 or 8 years and I've always had feelings, but it was never a close friendship, more of a friendly acquaintance situation. Before, we spoke every couple of months maybe. And when one of us was dating, it certainly wasn't happening. But it seems like we're messaging nearly every day, usually about Corona. 

The fact that she actually sent me a picture from yesterday when she was getting her hair done, I honestly think that puts me on a higher level. I mean, how many women would send a picture of that to a guy who's les than a good friend?

I don't expect a relationship, but I never did even when we lived in close proximity or would see each other on the train going to or from Chicago during the morning commute. 1500 miles of separation isn't helping. It's like if I think about it a lot, I'm just setting myself up.

4)  I'm continuing to do a lot of cooking. Skillet rosemary roasted chicken with potatoes and mushrooms is one of my new go to recipes. Fresh lemon juice and fresh herbs absolutely make this recipe a winner. 

5) Next travel destinations: Savannah GA and Hilton Head SC. Three weeks away. 

I Could Be Holding You Tonight

I could quit doing wrong and start doing right. 

You don't care about what I think. 

Think I'll just stay here and drink. 

I wish LAMC hadn't even texted me the news. I would have rather found out from one of those Facebook relationship status updates because it would have given me something else to be angry about. It's as if I'm looking for something to be pissed off about with her. And I am pissed off because I know it's the end of a friendship. Because there is no going back to what there could have been. I will always be on the shelf, I will never be accepted in the way that she accepts another man. And that just isn't acceptable right now. Not when I wanted to pursue her. 

So I'm here in my apartment mixing sweet tea vodka, lemonade, and dashed hopes. And Mighty meaty pizza from Mellow Mushroom. Pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ground beef and I added garlic. A little extra crushed red pepper because why the f not. A great tonic for the heartache she gave me today. 

Thank you for helping me with this one,  mom. Only question is am I sad enough to eat the whole thing...

A Candle and a Beer

1) We are 24 hours away from the NFL draft. This will be Joe Douglas's 1st draft as general manager of the Jets. I feel like it's a needed new era. It is time to invest in this offense and it is time to help out this quarterback. Here's who I would like to see, especially, drafted in the first round on Thursday night:

• Andrew Thomas, OL, Georgia 

• Tristan Wirfs, OL, Iowa

• CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma

• Mekhai Becton, OL, Louisville

• Jerry Jeudy, OL, Alabama

2) I miss lifting weights. I miss church. I miss breweries. I miss festivals. I miss restaurants. I miss movies. I miss Top Golf. I miss running races. I miss concerts. I miss chicken being sold at Costco. 

3)  I figured spend 4 months without a hair cut, I may just let this hair and beard go for a little while longer.

4)  I'm so worried that my Ryder Cup trip will be canceled.

5) Her: "What would I do without you?"

Him: "You'll never have to worry about that."

Life would be so much easier if I had a Hollywood screenwriter following me around. 

Easter

So that was Easter. It has come and gone, I swear it gets smaller and smaller in society every year and it's up to us who know and worship Jesus Christ to remember it, observe it, and make it known.

But with Corona going on and not be able to attend church, it feels a little more distant and difficult. But shouldn't we be thankful that we have streaming ability and maybe it makes us need to invest a little bit more since we are in our homes and not in a cathedral or a chapel?

And after reading the book "Heaven Is for Real", somehow my spiritual life feels more vivid, like it makes more sense and that it is more real. My decision to trust Jesus Christ for my eternal salvation is a wise one and with these visions of heaven from the book, it just feels more real and more affirmed.

And for mom, Christ the Lord is risen today. A-a-a-a-aleluia

Oh the Pain

I've never made it a secret that I feel a kinship with Joe Benigno, WFAN radio host since 1995. Joe is almost 30 years older than me, yet he may as well be my crazy uncle. We root for all the same sports teams, so we have shared in a lot of losses, failures, heartbreaks, and pain. 

Oh yes, pain. Joe has many famous sayings, but maybe the most famous is "Oh the pain." I still remember the first time I heard him say it, after one of the Philadelphia Phillies scored from 2nd base on a ground ball to the pitcher against the Mets.

 So with all going on in the world, and live sports being canceled, Joe's co-host, Evan Roberts, decided to create a March madness style bracket of 69 moments of pain. Over the next couple of weeks, they will be going through the bracket and Joe will decide which moment has caused him more pain until there is only one moment remaining.  On a side note, Evan did a terrible job with Rangers moments, he left out the horrible playoff losses to Buffalo, Tampa Bay, and Ottawa.

And now I have filled out the bracket myself, and my final 4 moments were Carlos Beltran getting caught looking in 2006 vs the Jets losing the AFC Title game in Indianapolis on one side, and on the other, I have the Victor Cruz game and the Knicks losing the NBA Finals in 1994.

We'll start with the Overnight Region.  Clip my championship match in that region is the Jets losing in Indianapolis edging out the Rangers losing the 2014 Stanley Cup Final. It's amazing how for a lot of these moments, I was not home. For Game 5 of the Finals, it was played in Los Angeles, but I was in a hotel room in Mystic, Connecticut. The Rangers had a fantastic run to get to the finals. But that LA team was just too big and physical, they would wear the Rangers down in every single game, the Rangers did not score one goal in that series in the 3rd period or in overtime. And when Alec Martinez scored in double overtime, I just flipped the TV channel and collapsed back on the bed. It is an absolute tragedy that Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers of that era did not win at least one championship.

But oh I will never forget Indianapolis. Nobody ever expected the Jets to make the playoffs that season, let alone be one of the final 4 teams remaining. But after they beat Indianapolis and Cincinnati to close the regular season, then beat Cincinnati and San Diego on the road in the playoffs, they were only 60 minutes away from going to the Super Bowl. Indianapolis was about 4 hours from where I was living in suburban Chicago, i knew this might be the only opportunity i would ever have like this, I scored a ticket for about $90. I drove into Indy, parked in a hotel garage, and found a Jets tailgate. I wasn't much of a drinker at the time, but I must have down 5 or 6 beers in the parking lot, we were just having an amazing time huddling, dancing, and drinking.  That looks so, we go inside, and I'm feeling pretty bullets to. The jets jumped out to an early lead and while I was feeling pretty good, it felt very tenuous against Peyton Manning, the best quarterback of this generation by far. And when Indianapolis scored late in the 1st half to pull within single digits, I knew it was trouble. And I was right, midway through the 3rd quarter, I knew the game was over and I left the stadium nearly getting arrested for yelling and cursing. I  stormed back the 6 blocks to my car only to realize I did not have my keys. So I called my mother, and she drove 4 hours with my spare set of keys so that we can both drive home separately. Meanwhile I had to wait for her in a hotel, too depressed to eat or drink anything. And 5 minutes before she arrived I actually found an extra car key that would have worked, though I have never told her about it. I think we got home around 2:00 in the morning.

Let's go to the Midday Region. Losing in the regional final is the Jets choking away a playoff spot in Buffalo in 2015.  Ryan Fitzpatrick had had a magical season as the Jets quarterback, but the clock struck midnight on him. He could not throw a pass accurately, Chris Ivory was glued to the bench at running back, and Darrelle Revis kept playing about 15 yards off Sammy Watkins, who caught short passes against him all day long. That was the day when I knew Todd Bowles was not going to work out as a head coach. And and the Jets have never come close to a playoff spot in the 5 years since.

Now Game 7, 2006 NLCS. That may have been the best Mets team of my lifetime. That lineup was loaded, the bullpen was stacked, the starting rotation was decent enough. They won 97 games, took the division by 12 games, and then swept the Dodgers in the first round. Even though Orlando Hernandez getting hurt was a blow to their rotation,  I never doubted they were going to make the World Series.

October 19. Game 7. Oliver Perez versus Jeff Suppan was not exactly a marquee pitching match. But Suppan decided to pick that night to become Greg Maddux and hold down the Mets. And Perez, who was one of the most wild pitchers ever, did a fair job. He did throw the pitch that Scott rolen would have had slammed for a home run if not for the legendary catch by Endy Chavez.  But the Mets had several excellent chances to score after that catch, and both Chavez and Jose Valentin failed. So when Yadier Molina hit the go ahead home run off Aaron Heilman, it was a bad blow, but I don't vilify Heilman because it never should have come to that. Oh and Cliff Floyd struck out in the bottom of that inning with 2 runners on. And when that curve ball broke in across the plate against the great Carlos Beltran for strike 3, it was if somebody took a sledgehammer to my solar plexus. I snatched the tape out of the VCR and began destroying it in the garage with a hammer. I literally went outside on the porch and screamed at God. I had a qualifying test from my new job the next day and I absolutely did not give a shit. Although the Mets have won a pennant since that time, that is the one year I can remember when they were the absolute best team in baseball and should have won the World Series. And factor in that they didn't get back to the playoffs for another 9 years, it hurts even more.

Franklin College Region. It's a layup. Victor Cruz ruining my Christmas. That beats out the Kenny Rogers bases loaded walk in 1999, as the Mets fell in Game 6 to Atlanta in the NLCS. For that moment, I was terrified, watching on NBC, on a tiny 15 inch TV in my dorm room at Gordon College in Massachusetts.  When Al Leiter gave up 5 or 6 runs in the 1st inning, I was absolutely convinced the game was over and I turned it off. But of course, the Mets battled back to tie, they had to give me one last tease.  They took the lead twice, and blew it both times. Finally, it was Rogers and from the beginning, it did not look good. Andruw Jones drew the walk, Gerald Williams scored, and that was it. Pure heartbreak.

But that son of a bitch, Viktah Croooze.  It's Christmas Eve in 2010, I'm in San Diego hanging out with about a 100 jets fans. It was such a huge game for both the Giants and the Jets that day. The Jets had the better of the game going to the end of the 1st half. But when Eli Manning threw that short pass to Victor Cruz and he took it down the sideline 90 plus yards as he avoided tackle attempts by Eric Smith and the immortal Kyle Wilson, the air went right out of all of us in Henry's bar. The Jets offensive game plan was comical, they made Mark Sanchez throw pass after pass after pass. The Jets lost the game, have never been to the playoffs since, while the Giants went on to win yet another Super Bowl. Oh and I was dating a Giants fan at the time...

In the Food Delivery region, the Knicks edge out the Revis trade for me. Darrelle Revis was perhaps the best defensive player the Jets have ever had. And for him to leave, wind up in New England and win a Super Bowl with Satan, I can never truly embrace him again. But the Knicks had such a good 15 year run and this was their best chance to win it all. Michael Jordan was gone, they'd finally vanquished the Bulls. Then they held off Indiana in the ECF, though we got a glimpse of the misery Reggie Miller would inflict on us for the next 7 years. And then losing games 6 and 7 of the Finals in Houston, blowing a 3-2 lead. They've never been that close to a title since. 

So what is my final? Mets 2006 season edges out Victor Cruz for the win. 

For Joe, I predict his Final 4 will be Mike Scioscia, Bill Belichick quitting, the Jets losing in Cleveland in 1986, and the Charles Smith Memorial. Jets vs Cleveland over Scioscia in the finals