Kings and etc.....

A weekend with tons of football, another thrilling golf tournament leading up to the FedEx cup, necessitated a day of recovery yesterday. So to catch up...


Sunday afternoon the Bottom Feeder transformed himself into King Oyster, and made a regal appearance at the Taste of St. Mary’s over in Leonardtown. Once you get over the initial “I look like a fool” feeling, it’s kind of fun. I always enjoy talking to people and this provides a great chance for that. Kids love me/King Oyster. At one point a couple of charming little girls sort of worked up their courage and asked if they could have my autograph. “I don’t have any paper”. Oh, no, we want you to sign our arms.. and King Oyster obliged. In the course of conversation (with adults) of course I always bring up the Oyster Festival – the raison d’être for King Oyster. I am continually amazed that I get responses like “I’ve lived here (20) years, and never have been to it!”; or worse “I’ve lived here (20) years, what’s that?”.

After working the crowd for a while, I transformed back into the Bottom Feeder, and made the rounds of the food tents with a fistful of the little red tickets. The booths were mostly occupied by the chef or owner of the particular establishment and it’s always fun to see them. I left the trusty Canon in the car so don’t have any images, but we did enjoy the food. Somehow a lot of the dishes leaned to spicy, as there was the Bison Chili from Café Des Artistes, a Jerk Chicken from Chef’s Bistro, Island Bar and Grill had blackened rockfish, etc. I certainly didn’t sample all of the things that were there, and I purposely avoided the Stoney’s truck. Stay over in Calvert, please (although yes they were entitled). There was only one place that offered Oysters, I believe it was Clarke’s Landing. King Oyster gave them special commendation. As the Geezer’s were getting ready to play, the rains arrived and ushered King Oyster and the Bottom Feeder back to the confines of the digs. And the wide screen.

These kinds of community events are always fun, and worth getting out of the house for. Upcoming events of note would be the County Fair this weekend, the Sotterley Wine fest the following weekend, and the famous Oyster Festival on the 15th.. wish there was something to do..

A letter

There was a letter in the mail box yesterday addressed to me, with a return address of the Beaux Frères Winery in Newburg, Oregon. Hmmm, what’s this? Turned out to be another example of the creativity of those clever marketing folk. The letter began with: “Dear wine (and freedom) loving Marylanders”. It then went on to congratulate me on the fact the Maryland legislature passed a law allowing direct ship from an out of state winery to my home. And just by coincidence “your cause for celebration finds us in the midst of our 2009 vintage release”, and how they would be glad to ship me some wine at reduced shipping (if you buy 6 or more bottles). They appear to be an exclusive Pinot Noir house and they were offering three labels of ’09. The price list was included for my benefit. Pinot’s always are pretty pricey, and their “cheapest” bottle of the Willamette Valley was $50 and the other two were $80 and 90. But, if you were willing to buy 6 bottles you could get the Willamette for $300. Oh, wait… how about the 1.5L (two bottles) for $100.. Hmmm… They also included a little card with tasting notes from the Wine Spectator along with a list of their ratings from 1991 through the present release. Scores ranged from 90 to 95. Of course Wine Spectator is famous for rating 90% of wines in the world at ~88 or above. Helps with that marketing you know… and finally the letter was signed by (sic): Michael Etzel (wine grower and freedom advocate). What a selfless guy..

There are many facets and opinions on the “new” law, with some valid points on either side. I do, however appreciate the opportunity to talk to a knowledgeable “wine guy” at a store, maybe get a taste, and learn about a particular wine or maybe a suggestion or two.

Another Anniversary

Not a hurricane, but the one year anniversary of the start of last year's trip to Ireland. What wonderful memories are associated with that trip. We’re probably going to join pretty much the same group for a trip to Scotland next year..

And we will have to pack to be able to

DFD