Reluctant Patriotism:
I dislike July the Fourth..
in some ways. Primarily in that if
you would like to enjoy fireworks, you have to wait until well after
sundown.. According to my intelligent
phone, that occurs today at 8:33 pm, which is approximately five hours from (as
I write) now, and six hours away from the scheduled fireworks show. To be sure, we have an excellent view and
enjoy the show. And as usual we’ve
invited some friends to join us. Problem
is, what the heck are we going to do for six more hours? We’ve finished the obligatory cleaning
campaign stem to stern, so everything is pretty much in readiness, except the
fireworks. One is loath to start into
cocktails as it might result in less than an enjoyable evening (where's the Feeder?) since the
enjoyment will no doubt include adult beverages. Not only that, but today is Tuesday (yup,
just checked) so many people have to go to work tomorrow. Why can’t we have July the Fourth on the Friday
closest to the date? Huh? Why not?
Yet Another Buffet Dinner
There hasn’t been much of real note since the last edition, but a
few things of casual interest. One of
the civic associations that I belong to had its “Charter Night” event which
marks the end of our fiscal year, and also the changing of club officers. Normally I would submit you to another Bailey’s
event, but we went to a new venue this year, the Harry Lundeberg installation down
on Piney Point
It’s a nice facility, maybe you’ve been there and know it is
affliated the Seafarers International Union and used as a vocational school
dedicated to preparing students for successful careers as U.S. merchant
mariners. The School has been training individuals for careers at sea since
1967. The SHLSS provides entry-level training for individuals who wish to begin
a seafaring career.
It's a pleasant venue
And is rather like a large hotel, or in this case a Cruise
Ship Dining room, and there are people training to be servers (and I think
culinary jobs of all sorts). The tables were nicely set
And on our club’s budget, we got yet another buffet.
And, since I brought up Bailey’s, the comparison is inevitable for the Feeder. There were some similarities, but I would have to say that this food was a (sizable) cut above the usual at Olde Breton Inn rote standard selections… the menu included Chicken Marsala,
Shrimp Creole, and the old standby Prime Rib. Although, unlike OBI and Bailey, they elected to not have a haunch at the end of
the table, but rather (machine made) slices in the pan.
If you wanted other than “medium” you kind of had to poke around in the pan, and find some slices leaning toward the pinker side. After a trip through the line, my plate
looked like
I did skip the starch and vegetables, sorry healthy friends.
It was tasty enough, I thought the Shrimp
were the best of the batch, followed by the Chicken, and the Beef was okay, a
little shy on flavor.
Service was very good, all the students were eager to please
and very courteous. Anyway, it was
something different for the feeder, and dinner was followed by the requisite “Speechifyin’”
Another Dinner..
Before leaving the food side, we did join some friends for
dinner at the Dry Dock last Sunday night. We had reserved our party of four and
were promised table 4 or 5 (discerning readers take note).
We arrived first, and upon entering noticed all the window tables were
full, including our expected destination.
After inquiring, we were told “there was a mix-up” and all that was
available was Table 2, which is the one in the far corner that is on the path
from the kitchen to the porch (avoid if you possibly can). They were
quite busy that evening so we got to see every dish headed for the porch, preceded by a kicked open door. There also appeared to be no “manager” on duty to
whom I would have spoken (as I know most of them). At the time, nothing was to be done, but I would
expect better from the Dry Dock. And while
I’m poking our favorite restaurant a bit, I’ll mention they continue to offer special dishes like “Roasted Sea Bass with mashed potatoes”. I don’t much understand that combination,
light with heavy? Not much harmony. They
were (mercifully) out of that dish and so I had the Special of pan roasted Halibut
with lemon risotto. Much better, however
in reality I would have preferred the risotto to be a bit less dense (use your imagination here). Good conversation with good friends.
Meteorology
You may remember that last Saturday there was some severe
weather in the area. One of the many
pleasures of being able to live on the water is to observe said weather (which
can be good or bad). There was a
particularly interesting cloud formation
Breakfast
For my Father’s day, FOJTE gave us a gift box with a
selection of Sausages, force meats, and bacon.
Okay, okay, I’ll eat some kale along the way.. Anyway last Sunday MFO prepared a very nice
breakfast for us
She has become fairly accomplished at “over easy”, a feat of
which I am no master. Usually my
attempts result in poorly scrambled eggs.
And, with a nod to good health, we cooked the Berger’s bacon a little
more done that most might, so the fat was a bit reduced. Nothing like a good breakfast. And, for good measure, the Washington Post
had an article on the “beat generation” note the (historical) picture of
Lawrence Ferlinghetti. History to some, reality to us..
I don’t think Allen Ginsberg and friends worried about
DFD
Update: only three hours till sunset!
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