Saturday, November 19, 2011

Road Trip Friday - Wilmington DE


Crab Nachos

Old Bay Steampot
Yesterday a friend and I went to Wilmington Delaware for the afternoon, specifically to go to Joe's Crab Shack.  I guess the Joe's commercials on TV are working if they entice me to drive 75 miles for lunch.  Joe's is located in the Wilmington Waterfront area which is really nice.  They have several restaurants, outlet stores and also the ballpark for the minor league baseball team the Wilmington Blue Rocks.  If you have a large lunch, this is a nice place to walk off some calories and look at the seagulls and boats and do a little shopping.

So, as far as my restaurant review - if you ever have a chance to eat at Joe's you should definitely go.  It's a quirky looking place that has so much stuff on the walls you can't even see the walls.  I had to laugh at the bathrooms - Dudes and Babes.  The food is huge.  No skimpy portions here.  The steampots are delicious with crab legs, potatoes, sausage, clams and corn and come in different flavors with different kinds of crab.  Being from Baltimore, I had to have the Old Bay steampot.  You have to try the crab nachos.  Unbelievable!  I also had hush puppies and clam chowder that were equally good.   It ended up being a little expensive, over $80.00 for two with tax and tip but you could get away with spending less if you don't try to eat everything on the menu.  The way I feel about it though, is if you're going to drive 150 miles round trip to go to lunch, why not splurge a bit.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Shenandoah National Park - Skyline Drive VA


It was a beautiful day last Friday for the Veterans Day holiday.  Took a trip to the Shenandoah National Park and drove about 40 miles on Skyline Drive.  The park had free admission for Veterans Day so no $15.00 fee.  It was a little late for fall leaf viewing but there were still some pretty sights.  Saw this little deer and a huge buck with antlers.  Hoped to see a bear but no luck.  The scenic overlook was very pretty as the town looked like a Christmas garden.   



  


  

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Fall Photos at the Reservoir

Today I took a trip to the Loch Raven Reservoir which is in Northern Baltimore County.   This is a reservoir that provides drinking water for the City of Baltimore and most of Baltimore County, Maryland.  The dam was constructed in 1914 to increase the municipal water supply.  When it was built, an entire town was submerged under it. 


It's a great recreational area with lots of hiking paths and picnic tables.   When I was a kid, we would ride our bikes there and feed the fish.  They had huge carp in the reservoir back then.  You also were able to walk right out to the ledge by the water, but that's closed off now.  Probably a few people fell in over the years.



On the way there, I stopped at a country store and bought a banana nut muffin for lunch.  When I got to the dam I gave some of it to the gulls and the geese.  This gull was upset because he didn't get any.  Then a goose stuck his beak in the bag, which I had left on the ground, and he got the wrapper.  I had to chase him to get the wrapper back.   It was a pretty day, felt like Indian summer and I had a great time taking photos and feeding the birds.




Monday, November 7, 2011

My Cat is on Daylight Savings Time (or Maybe They're Smarter Than We Think)

My cats get fed twice a day.  They know when breakfast happens because they get fed when I get up, which is usually around 8:00am.  Sometimes they help wake me up with a paw in the face or a leap onto my stomach, but it's normally around the same time every day.  Dinner is a different matter.  I always fed them at 6:00pm when I was working because that was the time I usually got home.  They knew it was dinner time when I walked through the door.  Now that I am retired, I still try to stick with that 6:00 time because it's what they're used to.    

A funny thing happened yesterday when daylight savings time ended and the clocks were turned back.  My kitty Alexandra started running around the food bowl at 5:00pm...an hour early.  But this was actually 6:00pm daylight savings time.  So how does she know it's really 6:00pm?  I think my cat is actually telling time.   Smart kitty!  Now if I can just get her to turn all those battery clocks back it would sure save me some time.....