Today is BEER Day

It may not be Shiner Bock, but Happy Birthday!

Airline Passenger Diatribe
You know sometimes things just happen that seem surreal?
When I got on my second flight Friday night, I was on the last part of boarding. My first flight had been delayed and the gate was quite close to the airline club room, so I stopped off quickly and had a couple pieces of cheese while I pounded two and a half (small) glasses of wine.
So, I get on the plane and a lot of the overhead bin space is already taken. I had to back two rows on the opposite side to find a space. Only, there’s an open space, but it’s between a take-out (take-away) container and luggage. Yes, you read it correctly, a Styrofoam take-out container. I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing and actually thought, “Maybe it’s the wine…. Maybe I’m hallucinating.” However, as I went to sling my somewhat-heavy bag into the bin, someone saw me and said, “Oh! My food!” Will wonders never cease.

Elizabeth City, NC

I have no idea how many times I’ve exited off the 64 East (and why this is “east” and not “south” could be a post in and of itself…) at 291B and taken the “Elizabeth City” direction on the split. Lots of times is probably the beginning of that answer. However, I always kind of wondered “Where exactly is Elizabeth City?,” “How far away is it?,” and “How long does it take to get there?” Well, other than knowing that Elizabeth City is in North Carolina on Highway 17, I didn’t really know anything about it. Well, S and I had been discussing adventuring, and she suggested Elizabeth City. So, we began to plan a little escapade. Not too far from the VA state line, highway driving, a half day trip was in the making. I googled Elizabeth City and found out that it’s on the Ablemarle Bay. There were also a lot of interesting sounding restaurants. So, off we went in search of food and drink. (Gee, that sounds nothing like us!)

There was a link on the website that said “The Oyster Bar.” I read the article and found out that C & H Oyster Bar has been open about 30 years, and the owner only keeps the place open while the oysters are good. When they’re done, he’s done. He closes down from May to October. The article said that they opened at 5, so as S and I drove around, we went to find the place (with the intention of returning after 5.) At 4:30, there were already people waiting outside. Well, we decided to get in line. I’m not sure what time they actually let us in, but I think it was actually before 5:00.

We headed with the stampede to the bar. This is a great local place; it probably has changed very little since it opened. There was a huge bar in the center with rails for shucking on the inside. One dozen oysters was $12, while we pay about $18 in Norfolk. We ordered a dozen and got 15. Then we ordered another dozen and got 15 more!!!! They were huge and delicious, as were the fried clams and the clam chowder. The only drawback was they only serve beer, which makes for unhappy non-beer drinkers (like myself.) We left, full, and decided to stop at Montero’s (a new, chic restaurant) down the road and have a drink at the bar.

Montero’s was another delightful surprise. S and I split the appetizer platter and an outstanding bottle of wine. After we’d finished, we drove down to the sound as we had driven through the countryside earlier. All in all, it was an interesting adventure and definitely delicious. I am looking forward to another trip, but it will have to wait until the autumn when we can get more oysters!