Let me say up front that it taxes my abilities to keep up with everything when I’m part of a party of nine. Prepare yourself for a steadily deteriorating report. While we were in St. Thomas, our next door neighbors, Scott and Julie Hammons and their son, Hudson, also were there. We’re all great friends, and Hudson (5) plays regularly with Ella (4) and Lily … Continue reading XO Bistro, Red Hook, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
If you go to St. Thomas, you have to go to Duffy’s Love Shack. It’s a rule. Michael had been here a number of times before during the Boyd’s sailing days. Duffy’s is in a nondescript building perched incongruously on the edge of a small shopping center’s parking lot. But the exterior bodes well, and once inside, you’re at a beach bar. Music is playing, … Continue reading Duffy’s Love Shack, Red Hook, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
A popular groundswell has prompted Ayden to revisit its decision to cancel the annual Ayden Collard Festival this year! They are forming a new committee and now plan to have a one-day festival on September 11. All depends, of course, on state officials and federal guidelines. Keep your fingers crossed and pencil this onto your calendar. Follow the links for background information on Ayden, the … Continue reading The Ayden Collard Festival is Back On — Tentatively
How many of your Spring Break trips have given you a deeper appreciation of Dante’s Inferno and the Book of Revelation? None? Read on and learn. Let’s start with a note on our sedulous preparation for the trip to St. Thomas. One attraction of St. Thomas is that they require all visitors to test negative for COVID before entering the island. Nancy and I duly … Continue reading Trip to St. Thomas via …
Well fed after our dinner at Buck’s Fishing and Camping, our dear friends, Jon and Nancy Breul, shook the dust of Washington from their feet and left for their new home in South Portland. Actually they’d been living Maine for over a year, during which time they established themselves as our Senior South Portland Correspondents. Our Correspondents nobly spurned, for at least one meal, the … Continue reading Salvage Barbecue, Portland, Maine
I just saw this on Facebook — This Saturday, Taste Virginia barbecue history as Pitmasters Alex Bazemore, Sam Clayton and Southern Grit will be cooking two whole hogs the Virginia way- pit dug over wood fired coals. Live stream from Big House Farm in Chesapeake, Virginia of the cook, followed by the pickup of the barbecue by the pound at friends, Now You’re Cooking Culinary Studio also in Chesapeake. For more … Continue reading Whole Hog in Chesapeake, Virginia
Ah, another wonderful meal within walking distance of our house! Our Senior South Portland (Maine) Correspondents, Jon and Nancy Breul, recently completed their move to Maine to be near their granddaughter, Charlie, full time. Oh, and Charlie’s parents. Yeah, them, too. Jon and Nancy were in town to empty out the last of their house. They’ve been close friends for more years than I care … Continue reading Buck’s Fishing and Camping, Washington, DC
It’s that time of year again. Crabbing season opened on the Chesapeake Bay on April 1. That means that the window is now open for you to get those incomparable Chesapeake Bay crabs. The season will remain open until mid-December, which leaves little room to eat great crabs. Seize the day! You can boil or steam the crabs with lots of seasoning — Old Bay, … Continue reading Reposting Nancy Tanner’s Crab Cake Recipe
David Sanders is one of my three favorite cellists, along with Pablo Casals, whom I saw (and heard) in concert with Isaac Stern, and Septimus Harding, after whom I’m trying to model my life — except that barbecue was unknown to him. Maestro Sanders — is it ok if I call him maestro? Usually a maestro is a conductor or a top pit master like … Continue reading On the Road with David Sanders: Episode #1
Dang. Another great event scotched. These indeed are the times that try men’s souls. I suppose some of you may not be aware of the Ayden Collard Festival, although it is a major event in Pitt County. But then you may not be aware of Ayden. Even within Pitt County, since it’s overshadowed by Greenville. If you are aware of Ayden, it’s probably because you … Continue reading Breaking: The 2021 Ayden Collard Festival is Cancelled
