Emerald Coast, Round 2, Part 2

We started the day by driving over to Topsail Park, which is about five miles east of where we're staying. We inquired about taking a kayak later in the week, although my mom felt a little uneasy with the possibility of alligators. We walked about two miles to the beach and turned around. There were a lot of dunes, but my gosh, they're nothing like the midwest. These are more like hills, there's a ton of grass growing on them, and people aren't even allowed to walk on them either. What's the fun of a sand dune that you can't climb up?

Anyway, after cleaning up, we headed to Faith Assembly Church in Destin, or the Rock and Roll church, which is where my mom always goes when she is visiting. It's a blues based music church that is more of an older crowd but has a lot of youthful energy. You've never heard Amazing Grace until you've heard it performed mid-tempo blues with a sax solo in the middle.

It's definitely not a slick and polished church: there are no lyrics displayed anywhere, the stage lights were off when the service start, their online giving link is down, and on Facebook, they misspelled the world "church." But I guess there's something appealing about the rawness and realness of a church like that. Definitely worth returning.

Mom wanted to head over to Bass Pro Shoppe. It's funny, we had never gone there, and now we've visited twice in 9 months. All I could think about is if I had to do a Shipt order form this store, I would be so screwed. Fishing supplies, hunting gear, marine equipment, I may as well as have been staring into the human brain. She wanted to get a waterproof pouch for her kayaking and she was able to get that. I wasn't looking to buy anything, but when I saw the silver pouch containing the ready to eat Italian sausage sandwich, I nearly threw up in the aisle. It looked like a Manwich inside of the worst looking bread of all time. I swear, it was like some drunk guy said, "How can we go a few steps more disgusting from a combination of a sloppy joe and a hot pocket?"

I did make one stop inside of a spice shop. For a small bag of chimmichuri rub and a container of Butcher's Rub, I paid $19. These are the purchases that make all the sense in the world to me.

The sun was starting to emerge from the gray clouds so we headed home and I put some sun block home so I could have a little beach time. My friend, Cristin, drive two hours form Tallahassee and we met up for about an hour. It was OK but as I suspected, it did not feel like anything more than an online friendship. I wasn't disappointed, it was pretty much what I expected. I mean, let's face a little reality, when a girl is in her 30s and hasn't been kissed, there's a reason for it, and it is usually not her own choice.

It was around 3 pm and the Jets had just lost their seventh straight game. So i walked over to the beach bar at Pompano Joe's. As it turned out, it was Happy hour. On a Sunday afternoon too! I drank 4 Rum punches, $5 each. Was glad to drop the cash!

Mom made shrimp broccoli and pasta for dinner. The only other thing I remember about that night is doing this 1000 piece puzzle about the history of television which was so complicated. I think I spent 3 hours just putting the end pieces together. I also found out two bitches I used to know found guys to marry. More reasons for more beer. And sometimes alcohol is the only way to get through a jigsaw puzzle.

Emerald Coast, Round 2, Part 1

I feel fortunate to have even made it on the 7 am plane out of Newport News. 24 hours before my flight, the color on the standby website was orange, meaning I had a fair chance. I think 15 of 64 seats were open, and i was the first standby listed, so I wasn't worried. 

Well after not being able to get an Uber, I had to drive myself, which will cost me an extra 15 bucks or so. Check in and security were a breeze and I began my hour long wait at the terminal. I wasn't feeling any more uneasy than I usually do before I fly, I actually tend to relax once I'm on the plane. I checked the flight listing and it was suddenly oversold be one person, meaning about 15 or 16npeople had booked the flight in a 24 hour span. And I counted about 45 people or so in the terminal for the only plane that would leave that airport until 11 am. Then as a family of five wearing LA Dodgers gear showed up 15 minutes before departure, I don't know why, it suddenly set me off. It's actually a blessing for me that I can wear a mask in the airport, so people can't see me glaring. 

So the ticketed passengers all get on. There were 5 of us trying to get on. They call a Richardson, who is sitting next to me and clearly smokes a lot of cigarettes judging by the smell. Then they call an Otis. How are these two people going ahead of me?! I'm a D1 and checked in first! Finally the gate agent called my name and I got the last seat on the plane to Charlotte. 

Sadly I can't get into the Admirals Club anymore, which makes airport drinking and phone charging a whole lot harder. And all the food I've had in the Charlotte airport has sucked. They have the absolute worst pizza I've had in the last ten years. But I did find a plaza that had Potbelly, Bojangles, Shake Shack, and Wicked Weed beer. Not too shabby. 

It is almost scary how quickly my phone drains. I swear, 4 hours of moderate usage, and it's practically shot. 

Lunch was at The Shack in Fort Walton Beach. This was my first lunch spot on my trip, I wanted some seafood on the waterfront. Sadly with the heavy rain, we had to sit inside, right next to the storm windows. Would have been a great view on a clear day though. We started with the boom boom crawfish, which had a sett and slightly spicy Asian sauce and served with diced tomatoes and green onions and served over a bed of lettuce. Pretty good, but the crawfish didn't need the sauce Just deep fried with some lemon and tartar sauce or remoulade would have suited me just fine. 

For my main course, I had a plate of grilled mahi mahi with French fries and broccoli (I paid an extra 3 bucks to lost the mayo-based cole slaw). Fish was really good, a pretty good sized portion, nicely seasoned, and their tartar sauce was really zesty, it definitely didn't taste like the generic tartar that so many restaurants tend to serve. Their fries were those long wedge slices, and they tasted really good when dipped into some honey mustard.

I wouldn't necessarily call this place special, there are many that I would consider comparable in terms of atmosphere and menu. But on a clear day, it's a nice place to visit.

We did some window shopping down Highway 98, which is the main drag that is just as much under construction now as it was when I first visited a year ago. Two lanes each way and the equivalent of four more lanes that are nothing but dirt, road cones, and empty cranes. We actually stopped into a couple of shoe stores. Sadly, I would've had to pay $140 for another pair of On shoes. Nothing quite worked, so we went to the home on Miramar Beach and unpacked.

Looking for some live music on a Saturday night, we went to Graffitis Funky Blues Shack. Their variety of pizzas named after musicians really caught our eye. I could've ordered the Stevie Wonder, but I don't think I would've been able to see it when they brought it out. 

But that aside, we got a 3 topping 12 inch pizza for 9 bucks. It was a pan style pizza, not thin crust, but not so dish either. They served it with a decent amount of parmesan already on top. I think it could've used a little more sauce but it was still a very enjoyable meal. Throw in four good size glasses of happy hour wine, and it cost me $23, and that's with tax included! That's a steal. 

They had music going on in the parking lot, a 3 piece keyboard based blues band with a vocalist. Really nice relaxing sound. But then certain types of customers were getting a little too close and it was quite disturbing, so I was ready to go pretty quickly. We stayed for the first set and then left. 

Top 10 Country Music Lists

Top 10 Favorite Male Artists

Johnny Cash

Waylon Jennings 

Kenny Rogers

George Strait

Eddie Rabbit

Earl Thomas Conley

Charlie Daniels

Toby Keith

Ricky Van Shelton

Keith Whitley

Top 10 Favorite Female Artists

Linda Ronstadt

Trisha Yearwood

Tammy Wynette

Martina McBride

Emmylou Harris

Loretta Lynn

Patsy Cline

Miranda Lambert

Dolly Parton

Danni Leigh

Top 10 Favorite Duos/Groups

Oak Ridge Boys

Blackhawk

Restless Heart

Pirates of the Mississippi

Midland

Alabama

Gatlin Brothers

Brooks & Dunn

Zac Brown Band

Montgomery Gentry

Diamond Rio

Over One Month

Life has been so hectic and I feel so uninspired to write at times. Then again, I have no audience, so I'm sure nobody feels deprived. Let's do 10 quick hits. 

1) YouTube has old Yan Can Cook shows up from a San Francisco TV station. I think this is the show that got me into cooking more than any other when I was a kid. It didn't matter that I never cooked any of the recipes from that show. It was the energy and fun from that show that showed me cooking could be an art. When Martin Yan smiles, I smile. When he tells a dad joke, I laugh. Can't help it. 

2) I met such a great girl while horseback riding. Yet I am terrified to ask her out. She just seems so busy with school. Probably the girl who's not looking for a guy... until the right one comes along. And I'm no great girl's fantasy. 

3) The Jets. The Jets. The Jets. They are not getting any better. Not now, not tomorrow, maybe not ever. 

4) Every time I want to spend money, but I refrain, there is an internal victory in me that I have discipline. And usually, it's on food.

5) I completed a 4 week dumbbell workout, where I focused on certain body parts each day. Typically, I would do a little bit of everything. But man, with these workouts, I would feel the burn in my chest and legs for 2 or 3 days afterwards. I'd like to maintain this workout  but I think it would be tough once I start seriously running again. But what is the human body truly capable of enduring?

6) I have this fascination with visiting Annapolis, MD. I think I could spend 3 days there easily. But I would like for the Naval Academy and Maryland State House to open back up already...

7) I made something of a pact with God that if my biggest pains in my life was related to women that would be alright. Just as long as I could make a fair living, save some money, travel a little. I wonder if that was fair. Because I don't even need to be in a relationship for a woman to break my heart. Maybe my independence is my God. Doesn't seem like the most stable foundation, does it?

8) I miss being in a church where I feel I'm part of the community. Where the pastor teaches me, entertains me, and challenges me. Where the people take me in and actually have time. Where the music isn't loud overproducted and ovesung rock and roll. Where I have opportunities to serve in unique and creative ways. I hope God has that for me. 

9) If Donald Trump isn't reelected, I'm truly terrified of where the United States will be headed. The more I live, the more I realize the people who are truly hateful, intolerant, and dangerous are the extreme left. And to see my mother on the left now just because he mentioned the word pussy... I'm ashamed of her. 

10) 36 hours until Florida. I'm dying for a break from the daily stress that I live with. I have not taken voluntary time off from work since maybe February. I've freaking earned it. 

Bacon onion jam

So tonight, I made bacon onion jam for the first time. Basically I chopped a pound of bacon and rendered out the fat, then I sauteed four sliced Vidalia onions with some brown sugar, beer, fresh thyme, and salt. It took about two hours for the jam to really come together, even though I was told it would only take about 45 minutes. Then I finished it with a little balsamic vinegar for some acidity, sweetness, and tang. 

So now the question is what will I put this on? Well it has already gone on top of a double cheeseburger with some pickles and Sir kensington's sauce, and that was absolutely fantastic. I have the rest of the jam sitting in a mason jar in my refrigerator and apparently it lasts for about a week. So I'm thinking maybe a grilled cheese, Hot Dogs, roast beef sandwiches, and an egg dish maybe. Or maybe I will even spread it with some almond butter and make a sandwich.

Fall Creeped In

In Virginia, we dropped from 90 to 55 faster than if the Emporia police was watching us drive. I wore shorts and a t-shirt to do my Shipt day. While i wasn't cold on a upper 60s degree day by any means, I'm thinking it's almost time to reshuffle my closet. But knowing the weather in this state, we will definitely be seeing a few more days in the 80s.

 Hmm it's coming on fall, I suddenly want pumpkin pie...

Make Time For Me

It's only been a couple of weeks since I met you and I've gotta say you're already making an impression on me. So many times, I've thought about spending days with you. Going to church, traveling to events, getting in the car and driving anywhere. It's crazy, but I've even thought about you accompanying me when I do random grocery deliveries. I've never thought of that with any other girl. 

I've thought about our first phone conversation that took place on Labor Day. 1 hour, 4 minutes, 28 seconds. It flowed so smoothly. Like I was chatting with my best friend of five years. You knew how to respond. You displayed great listening, timely humor, and personal insight. You encouraged me, you lifted me up. As I hung up, I knew I wanted to do this with you more and more.

And that's what scares me. So many times in my life, I've had an initial burst of excitement over a girl and then I became too eager to move forward or too analytical of everything I'd say and do and it's backfired on me. I want to do this right with you, I believe that you are special, and I do not want to mess this up. 

You don't need a random guy to come along and add to your already heavy load. I don't want to be a burden on your schedule. I don't want to be an obligation for you to fit in. 

I honor and respect your goals and aspirations. I respect you as a woman and a fellow believer of Jesus Christ. I know I will make mistakes, but I pray you will give me the grace to learn from them.

I don't want to confess that I'm interested in being your boyfriend, that would be crossing a couple lines when it's so early in this process. But I'm curious where this can go. 

Do you feel the same? Will you explore it with me? Just say yes. 

NFL Predictions

 This is assuming there is a season of course.

AFC
AFC East

y-Buffalo               10-6    

x-New England     10-6 

Miami                    5-11

NY Jets                  3-13

AFC North
c-Baltimore         13-3 

x-Cleveland           9-7

Pittsburgh             9-7

Cincinnati            4-12

AFC South
y-Tennessee         10-6    

x-Indianapolis      10-6

Houston                7-9

Jacksonville          2-14

AFC West

y-Kansas City         12-4

San Diego/LA          9-7

Las Vegas/Oakland 8-8

Denver                      4-12

NFC
NFC East
y-Philadelphia       11-5

x-Dallas                  10-6

NY Giants               6-10

Washington            3-13

NFC North
y-Minnesota          10-6

Green Bay              8-8

Detroit                    7-9

Chicago                 5-11

NFC South
y-Tampa Bay        10-6

x-New Orleans     10-6

Atlanta                  8-8

Carolina                6-10

NFC West

c-San Francisco    12-4

x-Seattle                10-6

LA Rams                7-9

Arizona                  6-10

Super Bowl

Baltimore over Philadelphia

Rejected

I remember when I was a young man, especially in my early to late 20s, the very thought of asking a woman on a date intimidated me. I guess I have always been a late learner when it comes to social settings. I suppose that's what happens when you don't have any siblings, when you get bullied for so long, and when you don't have much else in the way of family in terms of cousins and people that are your own age. You just come by things the hard way, and that makes those hard lessons cut that much deeper.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, I gained a little self-confidence. I can't even be sure if it's something somebody said or if it was just when I had a moment of self realization, but I remember I was 26 years old. 

And now fast forward 13 years. A change has taken place. I'm not afraid to ask a girl out, it's now that I get rejected constantly. And what has not changed is that the moments after I get rejected sting just as deep as they did when I was in my early 20's. I still sense the confusion, my brains start racing to figure what I said or did wrong. Did I use too many words? Did I ask too quickly? Did I use the wrong voice tone or rate of speed? Did my freaking eyebrow go up?

The most common things I hear are they're just getting out of a relationship or we're not a match. The latter, I can't really do much with. If they feel that way, they feel that way. But the first one is complete nonsense. If they say they are not looking for a relationship, all it means is they are not looking for a relationship with ME. I've seen it. They're looking for a relationship with one particular guy or they have a set image of what that guy is supposed to be (6 feet tall and makes at least $60,000 seems to be the most important criteria). 

Women will reject men over the stupidest crap. And it's always personal for me. It doesn't stop hurting and it doesn't stop happening. And I don't know how to change it.

Maybe there just is no other half. And if so, that's ok, I'll learn to accept it. But I'm pushing 40. My time is running out and running out quickly.

Opus 9 Steakhouse Review

I'm going to start right with the main event, because I know you're not reading this to see how the bread tasted. Fantastic steaks, nice and juicy with a touch of char, cooked exactly how we wanted, medium porterhouse and a medium rare strip. The sound of that sizzling butter as the meat is coming on that white hot plate, it is one of the most beautiful sounds human ears have ever heard. However my friend's strip was certainly oversalted, and that is saying a lot since they add salt to just about everything they eat. I took a bite of the strip and before i did, I had to actually scrape some of the salt off.

I was also pleased with their wine selections, they have about 150 bottles. I wound up ordering a wonderful Syrah from Oregon for $50. But the sever did not pour a taste from the bottle to see if we liked it, he just poured a whole glass. And he could've done a better job noticing when our water glasses were approaching empty.

I had further frustrations with him at the end when I specifically ordered the bananas foster cheesecake when I ordered my meal, since the menu stated this dessert needed to be ordered at dinner for prep time. When my dessert came, it was a regular slice of housemade cheesecake with strawberries, whipped cream, and berry puree. I didn't make a big deal of it, since it was a good dessert, but it was disappointing to not get what I asked for, especially since I was celebrating a birthday.

A few other notes about the meal. I've never seen another restaurant that puts their butter in a piping bag and squeeze it into a ramekin to accompany the bread, nice extra touch. The onion ring side we got was enormous, but they tasted great. Beer battered is always better, am I right? I took half of those home. Since I signed up for the email club, I got a free shrimp cocktail app. Very nice presentation with a silver slotted cup, and a space for each of the 5 shrimp. I liked the addition of remoulade to accompany the traditional cocktail sauce. With the potatoes, the garlic mashed were quite creamy, but nicely seasoned. I enjoyed my au gratin, they had a good amount of cheese, but not too much. I could have handled a little more pepper in them though.

Aside from did, with COVID going on, guests can scan a QR code and view the menu from their phone rather than having a hand held menu at their table.

Our bill came to about $200, which is pretty high when you consider the shrimp app was included and the service wasn't executed as smoothly or as tightly as it could've been. But I did have a great steak and that's really the most important thing. 

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.