Food

70,000 Sunrises

Sunrise Which is over 191 years worth, neither I nor the condo balcony I was standing on when I took this photo will ever see that total, the Emperor won’t make that many either, but it had traveled over that number in miles by late this afternoon.

Donna and I went to bed around 9:30 last night so we were up at the crack of dawn, literally. After breakfast we postponed our usual walk on the beach because it was quite chilly and windy. Instead we hopped in the car and drove to Bluffton, Hardeeville and Ridgeland to take Post Office Portraits. Our little loop brought us back to HHI where we ponied up the $5 for a day pass to nab the missing Harbortown branch PO on the Sea Pines Plantation.

Along the way we made several stops, ostensively to shop for the few remaining folks on our Christmas list, but I think Donna and I made out better than anyone. Our last stop was a used book store near the entrance to Sea Pines where we both got a couple of hardcovers to read. One of the ones I got was the latest Robert B. Parker Spenser novel which some one had just brought in today.

Right next door to the shopping center the bookstore was in was a Sticky Fingers restaurant. The one in Augusta had catered a lunch at ASCO when we had some visitors in and those who had the food said it was good. Being lunchtime Donna and I, let the car sit and walked the 100 feet over. It was 12:30 on a Saturday and there were two cars in the parking lot. Both in the back. One cook and one waitress? I was a little hesitant to eat at a place were we were the only customers, but it was a chain, so it couldn’t possibly be awful. It wasn’t. We split a lunch combo plate which consisted of 2 big ribs, a pulled pork sandwich, some beans and some slaw. Everything was tasty except for the slaw which was bland which means we would, if the opportunity strikes again, eat at a Sticky Fingers again.

Late afternoon found us at Donna Horsman’s house for some grilled chicken, roasted new potatoes, green beans and salad. We hadn’t seen Donna since attending Jerry’s memorial service back in May. She, with the help of her daughter, has continued to manage the 18 condos at the Beach & Tennis Resort and will for at least one more year. I think it helps keep her busy and mind off the loss of Jerry the Condo King. I guess I’ll have to start referring to Donna as the Condo Queen and Lisa can get the “title” of Condo Princess.

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 481

Ten Plus Glenn Springs

Glenn Springs Post OfficeWe did get those two stray Post Offices, 8 more official ones and a historic no longer used one. In just a random happenstance on our drive we stumbled on a small post office in a place we didn’t expect. A quick u-turn and we found out it wasn’t a currently active PO, but a restored building from the old days in Glenn Springs.

You can no longer search for the term gafinkleforp on Google and not get any results. There are two, yesterday’s post and the front page here. Not bad, less than 24 hours. Yahoo is still behind the times, they return no hits — yet.

We had breakfast in Saluda (BK’s French Toast Sticks are the greatest food invention since, well, ever.) Lunch today was in downtown Chester at Annie’s Arbor, whose buffet paled in comparison to the Kings morning offerings. Dinner was at home, thank goodness.

Just in time for Christmas, all nine seasons of the X-files, plus the movie all in one jumbo box for just $246.99. I’ve added it to my Amazon Wishlist in case anyone is feeling generous.

More realistically, the new Blade Runner (Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition) has been added to the wishlist as well and it is only $54.99. This looks like the only way to get a copy of the 1982 Theatrical Release with the Harrison Ford narration. But to get it to me in time you will have to use expedited shipping as it is not going to be released until 12/18. Happy Shopping.

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 473

Wine & Dine Subset

A Miata Darkly IIOnly a real die-hard Miata nut would have recognized the car in last night’s picture as a Miata. And only the Uber Miata Geek subset of that group would have been able to tell you that the car could only be either a 2004 or 2005 because of the speakers built into the windblocker behind the seats.

Ah, Friday night. Donna and I drove to Augusta right after work to meet with MMC‘s Fine Dining Subset for a nice evening out. This month’s pick was Calvert’s. All three of the couples like to eat diner early so we took advantage of Calvert’s Sunset Special which includes salad, entree and desert for $28.95 a couple. Donna had a seafood crepe; shrimp, scallops and crab meat served in a light French crepe and covered with a lobster champagne sauce and I opted for the pecan-encrusted pork.

Tomorrow will be a hike in the woods in the morning and the ASCO Management Club’s annual Christmas meeting in the evening. The Management Club is a subset of the company’s employees that consist of the salaried folks and we get together four times a year for a buffet dinner at a local country club or restaurant and sometimes there is a speaker. The year end one is different in that spouses (or a guest) are allowed to attend and instead of a speaker there is music and dancing. The HR department waited too long to book a place, so instead of the usual middle of December date we are having it in early November. To make up for it we are going to have our office Thanksgiving dinner at work the second week of December.

Sunday is possibly a quick drive northwest to get the Post Offices in Clifton and White Stone, they are the last ones in the Spartanburg subset.

Started up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 471

Its Finished

Got done reading book #11, Valediction, this evening, thereby completing my quest to read every one of Robert Parker’s Spenser novels. I’ve got all 34 books on a shelf and maybe in a couple years I’ll read them through in order, instead of randomly like this time. It was never required, but it might make some of the references fit together better.

This book didn’t have any crime buster secrets, but it did have one of Spenser’s Laws of Dining:

In high restaurants the food never lives up to the view.

The second to last book I read, A Savage Place, did have a Dick Tracy Crime-Stopper reference:

I had a full file of Dick Tracy crime-stoppers at home, but none of them that I could remember covered this. What would Allan Pinkerton do? What would I tell the Bel-Air Patrol if they put the arm on me here in the bushes? My palms felt a little sweaty. I squinted a little to blur things and took a quick peek. They were still at it. Private eye was one thing, Peeping Tom was another. I headed for the car.

Seeing as no specific rule is mentioned it didn’t make the cut.

In case you missed it the FRS didn’t lose to the Indians in game seven of the ALCS, like I expected, so they are on to the World Series (or more appropriately the MLB Championship Series.) They now get the privilege of playing the Colorado Rockies of the National League who have won 20 of their last 21 games and swept through both of their playoffs series. I hope Mark is right in that if the Rockies ever lose one, they’ll collapse and not win another until next year some time and that the FRS can win the first game on Wednesday to start that slide.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 454

General Elliott Inn

Haven’t talked much about eating out since I stopped keeping track of expenses. And I might not have said anything about tonight either because we didn’t pay. A coworker, who took me out to eat when I first got hired at ASCO, after 18 years, got around to doing it again tonight. He and his wife took Donna and I out to eat at a local B & B that serves dinner only on Friday and Saturday evenings.

When Eddie and his wife Lee moved out of town twenty years ago the 16 acres they bought was way out in the sticks. As Aiken has grown there has been a little bit of developing out that way, but not too much. Within the last five years though, out northeast of town has become a haven for polo players with large chunks of property being broken up into slightly smaller sections for polo farms. With it has come some money and road improvements, why even, Lee and Eddie no longer live on a dirt road.

A few years ago a couple bought a big house across from a polo club and opened a Bed & Breakfast. That B & B is just a stones throw from where Lee and Eddie live, so consequentially they have befriended the Innkeepers and with that have found a place to eat their Friday evening’s dinners, the General Elliott Inn.

I can see why they like to eat here every Friday night. The food was excellent, plentiful and rich, but for that very reason I know Donna and I couldn’t eat there every week. Once every couple months is about our tolerance level for that sort of decadence.

Thanks Eddie. I’ll be looking forward to 2025.

Started up, went down, back up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 424

Beaufort Mermaids

Mermaid de LiberteCarolina Car Trek has fallen back a notch and Beaufort’s Big Swim is now in second place on the Bogardi must-see-’em-all list (right after SC Post Offices.) And not just because the Mermaids are sans clothing, but mostly because the base of the cars is a 55 gallon drum that makes the whole thing look like a public trash bin with a funky top.

The new camera is here and I’m busy monkeying with it. I’ve taken about 20 pictures trying stuff out and so far absolutely none are worth saving, let alone posting here. Too bad I’ve stopped keeping score on the meals out thing because now I could have posted marvelous pictures to go with the prices because this camera has a special “Food” setting.

As much as I hated the Kodak Easyshare software, it made short work of transferring pictures from the camera to the PC. This camera came with a couple different programs for camera to PC connection and I hated the first one I tried, Lumix Simple Viewer, but the second one, Photo Fun Studio, seems a little better. One other thing the Kodak camera made simple was keeping the batter charged, it happened automatically every time the camera was in the dock. The Panasonic came with a separate battery charger, but you have to remove the battery from the camera to charge it. There is an optional AC adapter (DMW-AC5PP), but it doesn’t even charge the battery, it just runs the camera. Definitely won’t be getting that because they want $80 for it.

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 343

Philanthropic Lawyer

One afternoon a lawyer was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the roadside eating grass. Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and he got out to investigate.

He asked one man, “Why are you eating grass?”

“We don’t have any money for food,” the poor man replied, “We have to eat grass.”

“Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I’ll feed you,” the lawyer said.

“But sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree.”

“Bring them along,” the lawyer replied.

Turning to the other poor man he stated, “You come with us, too.”

The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said, “But sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me!”

“Bring them all, as well,” the lawyer answered. They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine was.

Once underway, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said, “Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you.”

The lawyer replied, “Glad to do it. You’ll really love my place. The grass is almost a foot high.”