The Hoochie Mama of Ellicott City

Okay, couple of weeks ago we were wandering around historic downtown Ellicott City, Maryland when we came upon the Sweet Cascades Chocolatier at 8167 Main Street. I'm not sure what a 'chocolatier' is but I'm pretty sure it means they make candy. Anyway, we stepped inside to see what savory wares they might have.

In no time, the Mrs. was pointing out a thing called a "Hoochie Mama" (right) on one of the lower shelves. It was a jalepeno pepper dipped in chocolate. Oh my!

Since "Hoochie Mama" is my catch word for everything (kind of like a mainland version of "da kine"), I just had to get one.

I asked how hot the peppers were and the proprietor said they were fairly hot. I asked if the chocolate would cut the heat any. She lovingly smirked as she replied, "Honey, you won't even know the chocolate is there." Yikes!

She tried valiantly to convince me to bite the Hoochie Mama right there in the store but I had bigger plans. We were meeting a large group for dinner and I wanted to show off my Hoochie Mama.

I'll add here that I also bought a slice of chocolate covered bacon. That just sounded too strange to pass up.

So off we went to meet our group. There were about 30 people from the our week-long conference gathered for dinner at the Crab Shanty. I probably made a spectacle of showing off my Hoochie Mama but I think it was fun for everyone. I will also add that I gave everyone in the place a chance to bite the Hoochie Mama and none stepped forward.

So, after polishing off the Soft Shell Crab Volcano, I gathered everyone around to witness the event. After offering my Hoochie Mama one last time to everyone in the crowd and finding no takers, I lifted my chocolate dipped pepper friend and took the plunge.

I'd like to admit that I chewed my Hoochie Mama with a casual abandon befitting a man of my stature. I'd like to... but I can't. I had a glass of milk waiting there on the table and quickly chased the Hoochie Mama with the milk. She was still pretty danged hot. It was an event. George Wright tried some of the pepper (without the benefit of the milk - I drank it all). He ate it and he liked it. He was sweating profusely and had a kind of wide-eyed look on his face, but he liked it. I liked it too.

So, if you ever find yourself in Ellicott City (just outside of Baltimore), head to historic downtown Ellicott City and the Sweet Cascades Chocolatier and find yourself a Hoochie Mama. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Freedom is One Beautiful Lady

Got to see this beautiful young lady last Friday as we walked around the Nation's capitol. Her name is Freedom and she has adorned the top of the US Capitol since 1863.

It is amazing to me how much of our freedom we take for granted. I'm concerned that too few of us understand freedom at all. It is truly a blessing that so many people can take arguably the most free society in the history of the world for granted. I think that says a lot for the beauty of freedom.

It was a beautiful, albeit crowded, day in Washington last Friday.

Statue of Freedom

Korea Wants to Classify Dogs as Livestock

"SEOUL (AFP) - The Seoul city government is seeking to classify man's best friend as livestock in order to set food safety standards for South Korean lovers of dogmeat, officials say.

"Somewhere between two and four million dogs are estimated to be consumed in South Korea every year but the slaughtering and processing is carried out in dirty environments and poses a risks (sic) to diners' health, they said.

"Since dogs are not currently classified as livestock there are no hygiene regulations on their slaughter, officials said."

I remember a buddy and I coming up on what looked like a dog ranch while bicycling in the Korean countryside. It was a strange situation and we just moved on. Was it a kennel or a ranch? I don't know. Some of the foreigners over there seemed to worry that they would accidentally wind up eating dog. As I understood it, "Kaegogi" (dogmeat), is more of a delicacy and more expensive. Based on that I figured I never really ate any. I guess if I did eat it, it tasted like beef. Before this item I hadn't realized it was such a polarizing issue for Koreans.

Anger as Seoul Aims to Reclassify Dogmeat

Chicago Revisited

Found a picture of some of the graffiti at Gino's East. The writings cover everything except the bathroom walls where there are signs saying it is a graffiti-free zone - yeah, that works. In fact, outside of the bathroom (which is where I hope you spend most of your time during your visit) it is almost impossible to find a place to add your wisdom. But if anyone can get in there and prominently write "polarshark.com," send me a picture and I'll do something nice for you.

All in all, the trip to Chicago was a success.

Cubs Win - Who Cares?

Sounds a little crass perhaps... And I didn't feel that way as we experienced the thousands singing what I guess is the Cubs' victory song after an exciting 9th inning victory last night. Wrigley Field was a treat, we had good seats, and the weather was beautiful. It was my first visit to Wrigley so that added to the luster of the evening. The Chicago experience included Wrigley, Gino's East, and a trip on the 'L.'

But then, on the ride home, the news of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis brought concern for friends and family up north.

Gino's East

Dinner last night. Deep-dish pizza at Gino's East at the corner of Wells and Ontario in downtown Chicago. We had the Famous Cheese and Sausage - nice. I was surprised that the crust was slightly sweet. I'll see if I can find a picture of their graffiti-laden walls. They border on artistic. Now, if we can just make it into Wrigley Field tonight...

Headed Home

As we headed out of Bluefield this morning I wondered whether I was tired already or tired still. I guess it was too early to be tired already so it had to be tired still... This is a picture of Grandma's kitten 'Cutie.' She is a rambunctious rascal and very entertaining when she's chewing on someone else... We visited Mom's grave yesterday afternoon and spent some time remembering her smile and sense of humor. Then last night we attended Nikki's (my niece) wedding (7/7/7). It was nice and quaint. She was married in the church my grandmother went to as a little girl. She was beautiful. The minister conducted the best wedding ceremony I've ever heard. As best I could tell everyone had a good time at the reception... That pretty much wraps up our July-o-poluza except for the drive home. We should be back at the housee tonight and back at work tomorrow. I may post a few more pictures once I get home and look at them.

Amy the Armadillo

One of the stars of our week on Amelia Island was Amy the Armadillo (see 7/1 post). Actually, I don't know that anyone ever named her. I thought it might anthropomorphize her a little and thereby make the story a more heartwarming tale and less like it is about an armor-plated rat. (I would have said 'opossum' but, as Michael will inform you, an opossum is a marsupial where an armadillo is a mammal - hence, armor-plated rat. Class dismissed.) Anyway, here's Denise's picture of sweet little "Amy."

USS George Bancroft @ King's Bay

On the 5th I mentioned the static display at Kings Bay Subase that was quite impressive. Through the miracle that is the Internet (I had to come to WV to get access!) I discovered it is the USS George Bancroft SSBN-643 surfacing just outside the gate. I found this picture at www.StMarysSubMuseum.com. I think old George is more impressive when viewed from across the street but this gives you the idea. One of my brothers spent a few years on a sub - not all at once but it might have felt that way - so I thought this was pretty cool.

From the Island of Amelia to Virginia Blue Fields

For those of you who don't know (Mark, excluded), there are two Bluefields (WV & VA). We got to spend time in both today - woohoo! Our drive up I-95, I-26, and I-77 was quiet and uneventful - as I said before - just how we like it. All the way up there was the constant presence of law enforcement (no problem with that) but I don't recall any of them having the typical 'bubble gum machine' on top. They were all of the hidden lights variety - they're getting sneakier. Again, I have no problem with that. I also don't recall seeing any accidents along our route. Our trip covered 576 miles 2,560 feet in elevation - I guess we were driving uphill all the way. What a day! Once we got here we had the distinct pleasure of spending a couple of hours visiting with my 84-year-old grandmother, Doris - the most fulfilling portion of the trip so far. By the way, we were extremely pleased to hear that Johnny's niece is doing well after her surgery this afternoon. I'm looking for a picture of grandma but don't have one with me - we'll see if we can rectify that.

Cumberland Island - Oops

Once again the morning sky looked gray (grey? - I'm never 100% sure which to use) and menacing. That color in combination with the bright pink of my belly (no sunscreen yesterday - ouch!) convinced us to delay our scheduled departure to Cumberland Island. Cumberland Island is less than a mile north of Amelia Island and yet we had to drive more than an hour to get there. Thanks to Magellan we went via Kings Bay Naval Base. It was out of the way but that submarine static display at the gate is impressive. We then worked our way down into St. Mary's to catch the ferry. I've been trying to find something positive to say about the ferry experience... I'm still working on it. We didn't sink - that's about the best I can come up with at this moment. The crew was friendly - I'll give them that too. Actually it was our fault. We went to go to the beach taking the 9:45a ferry out and the 2:45p ferry back. So for investment of ten hours (7:00a - 5:00p) we got one hour on the beach. Bad investment. On top of that the beach was a letdown. The beach at Fort Clinch is better, cheaper, and easier to get to. Perhaps Cumberland Island is a better trip if you are going to go exploring, but I certainly won't go back for the beach. It made for a long, hot day but, I have to say that everyone, exhausted as we were, kept in good spirits throughout. Obviously, this ate up most of our day. The only thing left was dinner. Tonight we had a YOYO dinner (You're on your own). Lisa and I went back to Barbara Jeans for blackened catfish. Both the food and the service were good this time. All in all, my first trip to Amelia Island has been very enjoyable. I won't hesitate to come back. Tomorrow we head north for Bluefield, West Virginia. Here's to a safe journey for everyone.

Happy Independence Day

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th. It rained again last night so we weren't sure what we were getting as we started the day. By the way, I neglected to mention that Johnny, assisted by Angie, made an apple pie for us last night - very much in the spirit of Independence Day. I firmly believe that you should always be sure to thank anyone willing to cook for you - 'nuff said. Anyway, the sun broke out and we headed for the beach. That lasted about 20 minutes before the rains returned. So we tried the pool - it wasn't raining there. If you know Florida, you understand. That lasted about 30 minutes. So we all wound up back in the condo playing Sorry Card Revenge. After lunch we headed back to Fort Clinch to their beach. Some beach... We had fun scavenging and playing. Dinner was at The Surf, which is supposed to be torn down after Labor Day to make room for condos - too bad. I ate too many all-you-can-eat wings... Later tonight, Lisa, Katie, and I went downtown to watch the fireworks. We watched an awesome show across the water in St. Mary's, GA as we waited on Fernandina's show. But we all agreed the wait was worth it - we had a blast. Hope you did too.

Rocky Day

Today started off cold, wet, and blustery with a dark feel to it. The weather was playing havoc between the wind and the rain. The best thing we could find to do was to watch the movie "Flushed Away" (probably one of the best movies of 2006 IMHO) on DVD. "Milicent Bystander" gets me every time. Then, after a short walk on the windswept beach, we decided to drive around the island. We explored the very remote Fort Clinch State Park. It looks like a great place for hiking & biking but we did neither. We did walk out the long, long fishing pier (from which today's picture was taken). We debated going to the Island Seven Theater to see that "Rat" movie (see how I cleverly avoid showing that I can't spell that French name?) but it appeared that the entire island had the same idea - so we skipped it. We finished out the weather-bitten day with a shimp boil and spirited games of Catchphrase. The day wound up on a sad note as I learned that my Aunt's significant other passed away this morning. I am truly sorry for her loss. The day ended much as it started though for different reasons.

Shark's Teeth

The morning broke clear after yesterday's rain and most of us took advantage of the clear skies to go back to the beach and the fresh breeze off the Atlantic. Lisa & Denise sought the comfort of the historic downtown shopping district instead. In all cases it was an enjoyable morning. Our only sadness was in saying farewell to Denise (in the driver's seat) as she headed back to MCO. We had lunch at Cedar River Seafood and it was very casual and very good. Lisa says, even though they offer the option of 'broiled' seafood, stick with the fried stuff - it's what they do best... We spent the rest of the day searching for shark teeth on the beach. I think Katie said we have 25 or so. I guess if you come down this way your only shark fears will be involve being gummed mercilessly. We did see some dolphins this afternoon as they swam north along the shore... I think we're heading north tomorrow ourselves - we're going to Cumberland Island, weather permitting.

Office Jargon

Remembering an email I received about "deep diving" that had nothing to do with the ocean. I guess this kind of jargon makes mundane jobs seem more exciting. Here's some more fun jargon I found. Don't be a "Mucus Trooper..."

Jargon Watch

Rain & Armadillos

The day started out as a bright & sunny beautiful day. This is a view off the balcony of the condo - very nice. Lisa's sister drove up from Orlando to visit (Samantha opted for Blizzard Beach) and, apparently, brought the rain with her. Perhaps she needs to visit us in Newnan - we need the rain desperately up there. We went to Barbara Jeans for Johnny & Angie's anniversary (18th) dinner. The food was excellent. They're famous for crab cakes and didn't disappoint... Wish the service had been a little better. On the way back Michael & Katie spotted an armadillo in the condo complex. Johnny can catch lots of critters but armadillos aren't one of them. Hope you're getting rain if you need it or dry if you don't.

Catchin' Any?

Lisa wanted me to tell everyone she caught this shark the first day here... Yep, she's quite the fisherwoman. I kept the post last night short - I wasn't sure if the messaging software would split the message. So I'm sitting here on the 4th floor balcony watching the already hot sun come up over a placid Atlantic Ocean. Johnny & Angie and their kids, Katie & Michael, are here with us this week. We all went to the historic downtown & had dinner at the Crab Trap (like the one at St. Simons). The birthday girl had blackened mahi & I had blackened "ponga" (never heard of it before). The fish was very good. Don't remember what Johnny shared with Michael but Angie had a seafood casserole that looked good too.

Arrival @ Amelia Island

The drive down today was uneventful - just the way we like it. Probably the only real item of interest was the Girls Gone Wild bus heading north out of Savannah as we were heading south. This my first trip to Amelia Island and it is quaint and beautiful. There seemed to be a lot of southbound traffic today but, so far, the island doesn't seem too bad. We had a nice birthday dinner for Lisa - it's her (mumble mumble) birthday. Here's the obligatory, goofy statue picture.