Asian Fish Tostadas w/ Slaw

A couple summers back we had a pot luck at the neighborhood pier for an outdoor screening of Jaws. I decided to get bold with the two hours I had to prep, cook, pack and get there. I wanted to make fish tacos, but that was going to call for a lot of food for everyone to have one, and there were going to be plenty of other things there to eat.
So, I decided to make a smaller version - tostada style. Additionally, instead of doing the popular Mexican/Tex-Mex version, I went with an Asian flavor with a wasabi sour cream.

Main Ingredients:

3 lb. tilapia (or any other fish you want to use), cut into 1 x 2 inch strips/chunks

1 pack gyoza wrappings

Spice for the fish (in a bag to toss around):

1 cup flour

2 tsp Chinese 5 spice

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp roasted sesame seeds

2 tsp black sesame seeds

2 tsp ginger powder

3 tsp salt

2 tsp white pepper

2 tsp cayenne

Canola oil (for cooking)

Sesame oil (for cooking)

Toss fish chunks in flour-spice mixture and add a few at a time to already hot oil in skillet on medium to medium-high heat. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, place on brown bag or paper towel to absorb grease.

Cut gyoza rounds in half and place individually to cover baking sheet. Toast in 450*F oven for about 30-45 second or until browning on edges. Keep an eye on these, tho. If the center starts to brown, they will burn real quick. once toasted, dump them out in basket or bowl so they no longer are on the hot baking sheet.

For the Asian cole slaw:

1 small head napa cabbage, shredded

1/2 small head of purple cabbage, shredded

1 red bell pepper, julienned

2 carrots, peeled & julienned

1 small red onion, finely diced

3 scallions (white and green parts), finely cut

In separate bowl whisk:

3 tbsp grated ginger

3 tsp garlic paste

4 tbsp rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)

2 1/2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1-2 tsp of sambal or sriracha sauce

4-5 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp roasted sesames

1 tsp black sesame

Pour the dressing over the veggies and refrigerate for 30+ minutes.

1 small container of plain sour cream

2-5 tsp wasabi paste, as per your preference

Once everything's made, you can put it out and let everyone make their own. You're done.

Chicken & Andouille Gumbo

So... I love making gumbo. Love it. I usually make a big batch and feed the neighborhood orphans (aka, my friends). But, in these trying economic times... sorry guys. So, in the spirit of *teach a man to fish,* here's how to do it yourself:

Whatcha need for about 5 qts. of gumbo:

1 large chicken

chicken stock

1 lb. andouille sausage

2 large onions, diced

2 red pepper

2 green pepper

4 stalks celery, chopped (optional... cuz I hate celery)

6-8 cloves garlic, minced

2 lb. okra, chopped in rounds

3 bay leaves (again optional... I don't normally use it)

salt, garlic powder, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, file

3/4 c. flour

3/4 c. canola oil (or veg oil)

1/4 c. butter

Whatcha do:

First thing's first. Boil your chicken. Rinse the chicken, then put it in the pot. Fill the water up to top the bird, throw it on the stove and boil it. Well, bring it to a boil, then lower the heat so it simmers pretty hard. Can't rightly say how long... an hour? Hour and a half? Basically, you wanna cook the thing til the legs easily pull off. Take the chicken out and put it in the fridge to cool. Strain the juice into a container (to get the lil bits out), and set aside. You're gunna be using this lovely stock in the gumbo.

While the chicken's cooling, it's time to make your roux. It's up to you to decide how lazy you are and how much flavor you want in your gumbo. The roux decides all of that. Put your oil in the pot and return the pot to a medium fire. After the oil gets hot enough, put the butter in and melt it down. Once melted and stirred together, add the flour, in parts, and start stirring. Keep on stirring at all times, not letting any of the roux sit too long. Basically, you're cooking the flour. The longer you cook, the darker it gets. The darker it gets, the more flavor you get. I say give yourself at least 45 minutes or medium heat slow cooking.

If you have talent, and can do two things at once, while you're doing the roux can also be a good time to saute your okra. A lot of people don't like okra gumbo cuz they're either stupid or crazy. Crazy, cuz it's not truly gumbo without okra; stupid because they don't know how to properly prepare okra to avoid the sliminess, which is basically why they don't like okra in their gumbo. If you saute the okra on a medium-high heat in some oil, the okra *slime* will fry up and brown the okra in a nice crunchy way. Just make sure you don't stop focusing on keeping your roux moving.

After the roux's come to the color you want, throw in the onion, peppers and garlic, and start sauteing them. You can throw celery in there too, if you want. I personally can't stand celery (especially cooked), so I normally don't include it. But there you go. Anyso, saute all these together in the roux til they're soft. Then throw in your okra. Mix all that around. Start adding the chicken stock. I say at least 2 quarts (8 cups), to start. But, as usual, I can't really say how much to measure it. Add you spices: salt, white and black peppers, cayenne, garlic powder and bay leaves. I like to also add the file during the cooking, but some people argue that it's suppose to be at the serving time. Feh. As always with me, put a few dashes (a couple dashes of the cayenne) and see how it tastes. As it cooks, the flavors will come out more, so you can add more as you need.

Bring this to a boil, cover and simmer for about two hours. You may need to add more stock as it cooks down.

While that's cooking, get your chicken out and start pulling and breaking up the meat into chunks. As for the andouille, you have two types: the processed kind you can find in the grocery store, or the real deal smoked andouille, that you really can only get in Louisiana. (I don't care what other people say. Jacob's in La Place is the best - http://www.cajunsausage.com/) Cut em into rounds, halves or quarters. I prefer the quartered so they're bite size and more to go around... but that's just me.

After you've let the gumbo cook for a bit, add your chicken and andouille. Let that cook for another 30 minutes or so. Now... you can either make yourself some rice, and bowl up or you can wait til the next day. I prefer letting it cool and sit over night. Chow down with some nice French bread, and have the file and the hot sauce waiting.

Chocolate-Coconut Cake

Make This!!! Make it!!! It's good!!! And pretty!!! And easy!!!

I was assigned to bring dessert to a dinner party, but it's 17 degrees outside, so I wasn't too interested on going out before I had to, and don't really like store bought stuff. So, I thought on what ingredients I had, and boom... decided on this.

The recipe I found online called for the coconut and chocolate to be sprinkled on the top, but I thought that could lead to burning and scorching, so I did it after the fact. Yum!

Sift together:

1 3/4 c. Flour

2 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp. Salt

Add 1 c. Dry coconut

Cream:

3/4 c. Sugar

1/3 c. Coconut or veg oil

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Add 2 eggs, room temp

Mix into creamed mixture:

In 3 parts dry mix

In 2 parts 1 c. Coconut milk

In 2 parts 4 oz. Bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat 350* F

Butter bottom n sides of cake pan

Bake 45-50 minutes

Toast 3/4 c. Dry coconut

Glaze:

1/2 c. Powdered sugar

3-5 tbsp. Coconut milk

1/3 tsp. Vanilla extract

Ganache:

3 oz. Bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 c. Coconut milk

Double boil - mix and melt the two together in a lass bowl over a pot of simmering water.

Once cake is done, flip/transfer onto plate. Brush glaze on top, sprinkle toasted coconut. Drizzle ganache and glaze all over.

Roasted Crimini Mushroom Soup

Roasted Crimini Mushroom Soup

30 large crinimi mushroom caps

2 carrots, peeled and halved length wise

1 large onion, diced

1 small Idaho potato, finely diced

3-3.5 cups chicken or veggie stock

1 small carton Heavy cream

2 tbsp. butter

1-2 tsp. Thyme

1/2-1 tsp. Chili flakes (preferably not the seeds)

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 425*F

- Prepare foiled baking sheet with olive oil and lay carrots and mushroom caps on. Lightly spray olive oil on all. Roast for 15 minutes.

- While mushrooms and carrots are roasting, on med-low heat caramelize onions and potato, stirring often. (I did it near to the point of the French onion soup caramelization, but you don't have to if you don't want to take that much time.)

- Once roasted and cooled, finely dice carrots and mushrooms. Reserve liquid that formed during roasting.

- When onions/taters have gotten to the level you want them, stir in the roasted liquid, then the carrots. Let carrots saute with onions for 5-10 minutes, then add mushrooms. - Saute all together for 5 minutes, then add stock - just enough to cover the vegetables - as well as thyme, salt & pepper (to taste).

- Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally as well adding more stock if need more.

- Using immersion blender (or a regular one in batches), puree vegetables to preferred consistency. (I didn't want mine chunky.)

- Add heavy cream to preferred amount. (I used maybe 1/2-3/4 cup.)

I let mine simmer a little longer (maybe 10 minutes) before I ate. It is sooooooooo good!!!

You can drizzle a tiny bit of nice olive oil, or have it with some croutons, if you want to add to it. Make this. It's really amazing.

Bon appetit!

Yakibuta Ramen

This is three recipes combine for the final dish:

Recipe 1: Yakibuta (Roated pork)

Marinade overnight a 2-3 lb. pork loin roast, shoulder, belly or neck in the following:

1 cup (360ml) soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
3 Tbs. oyster sauce
5 Tbs. sugar
1/2 cup shaoxing wine (紹興酒）or sake or dry sherry
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 small onion, peeled and cut into quarters
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with a knife
1 cinnamon stick
2 small piece of star anise
1 clove

Preheat to 450*F, then cook the roast and marinade for 15 minutes in a dutch oven with lid on. Turn heat down to 250*F for 1-1.5 hours, basting every fifteen minutes, and turn it over every 30.

Once the internal temp is 160*F, it's done. Remove and let the meat rest. While that's happening, but the marinade and now juices from the pork on the stove on med-high heat. Scrape off all the lovely bits, then add 3-4 cups of water, for the broth.

If you can get your hands on authentic ramen, do it. They're the best. If not, believe it or not the cheapo Top Ramen doesn't kill the dish, heh.

Toppings can be anything you want, but I went with:
- fresh baby spinach
- red bell pepper
- scallion
- fresh shitake mushroom
- snow pea shoots (much better than munk and alfalfa, in my opinion)
- poached egg
- nori
- silken tofu (extra firm)

Slice the meat semi-thin, add the (already cooked) noodles to the bowl with the broth, then let the eater top as they like.

Day 2: Bell's Island to Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills

We woke before dawn, hearing a couple men down the way getting their boat ready to go out crabbing. One of their dogs came wandering over to greet us as we came out of the tent. In the most nonchalant way, he said hello, sniffed around, then wandered into the water and swam back over to the boatmen.



We broke camp down as the sun rose, and were on the road by 7am.

Of course, within 20 minutes we were ready to eat. (Didn't eat too much the night before, heh.) Because of the learning experience from the night before, we didn't want to take our chances. So, the first area we came to that had more than one business, we started looking but were kinda worried. The only restaurant in the area was a BBQ joint, with the neon sign shining *open,* but ain't nobody there.
I decided to stop in at a gas station and ask where the closest breakfast joint was. The man behind the counter gruffly said *right here.* There was a big ole kitchen area back there by him, but I didn't see anyone cooking. But, we decided to play it safe, anyway.
Everything to choose from was already made, but it was homemade... not some stupid microwaved egg breakfast. Homemade biscuit with fried egg, cheese and bacon. (Ethan had the sausage... must say, it was even better.) And tho, yes, it was probably 10 times better than anything because of the previous meal and the work made to get to it, it was a really tasty breakfast... and amazing for a gas station.



Back onto Hwy 168... sigh. (Note: eventually Hwy 168 merged onto Hwy 158. This was not an improvement.)
As it was Sunday morning, the southbound traffic seemed a little thinner, but as the day passed and we moved further south, it seemed to be fairly busy. Of course, we were fortunate that we were headed the way we were, because the northbound traffic -those leaving the OBX to go home to their workweek- was nonstop insane.

We took a photo op of the (apparently) world famous Grave Digger Monster Truck.



Ummm... yeah. There. Moving on...

We kept on keeping on, tho for some reason this day was just miserable for me. About thirty minutes after leaving the monster truck place, I had to stop and take a couple Advil. Of course, stopping was not something Ethan wanted to do, but too bad.
In doing so, we lucked out. While we were stopped, less than a mile away, there was a northbound accident that was being cleaned up. Some man in an SUV, also moving northbound, was paying attention to his GPS and swerved across the southbound lane to avoid the traffic that was stopped due to the accident, smashed into a minivan, sending it spinning off the road. The SUV flipped multiple times in such high speed that it flipped over a giant ditch and landed on its side (the bottom facing the road) in a parking lot.
I like to think, had we not stopped, that we would have gotten past that spot before that happened, but taking into consideration I was so miserable I was definitely riding slower... so who knows. Coulda been involved in that. But, it didn't happen. Sigh of relief.

After about ten miles we stopped at Grandy Greenhouse & Farm Market. A man and his family suggested we get the peach soft serve, so... tasty dessert we had.



After feeling relaxed and refreshed, we hopped back on the bikes for the last 18 miles on this evil highway and landing in the Outer Banks. The best thing of those last miles was going over the 3 mile long Wright Memorial Bridge into Kitty Hawk. Cars were almost nonexistent on our side, and it was just so nice and free to be surrounded by water... not to mention it meant we finally made it to the Outer Banks and close to the end of our trek for the day.

We stopped, of course, for a photo op at the Welcome sign after coming off the bridge.



While getting our bearings and figuring out the next stage, Ethan ran across the street to help a southern poster boy: shirtless, mini-mullet (not hipster-style by any means), southern boy with a stalled, 1980s pick-up truck on the outgoing side. Poor guy couldn't have weighed more than 120 lbs, and was trying to push the truck to the side of the road.

Good deed of the day.

We hopped back on the bikes and made the quick decision to get off of Hwy 158. Oh joy, how wonderful a decision this was! We took a right onto The Woods Rd, onto a lovely, little, winding, off-the-road bike path that was nearly always in the shade of these beautiful green trees. (The colors of trees are so much prettier up close!)
While on the path, we stopped to read a landmark sign, and figure out our camping options. There had been an older couple who we passed earlier on the path, who caught up with stopped to talk to us. After giving them our brief lowdown about our trek, they started telling us about how to get where, what to see, where to eat and the general idea of directions.

We took their advice, and headed to the Black Pelican for lunch. Oh what great advice it was! Fish fritters, mixed greens salad with a lemon vinegarette dressing and spicy shrimp & grits. Best part - BLUE MOON BEER!



We ate while looking over the dune at the Atlantic Ocean with a nice breeze blowing, which topped it all over.
Our waitress, we'll call her Daisy, was a transplant who now considers herself a local. We struck up small talk conversation about living in the area year round, particularly curious about passing the time during the off season. Her answer... *Drugs.* It wasn't too far fetched a response, and we absolutely believed her. Two words: Meth Mouth. Heh. The teeth just... just... yeah. Not pretty.

After taking a nice amount of time relaxing, we hit the road and headed South down the N Virginia Dare trail, which basically runs right along the beach. It was around 2pm, and we needed to make the decision on where to camp. We really wanted to be close to the ocean, if not right on it, but the only official camp grounds in the Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Kills area was in the national park, which was pretty much smack dab in the middle of the island.
I guess in passing all these amazing beach houses, not to mention the hotels, and just wanted so badly to be in the ocean, it got in our heads that maaaaaaaybe we could find ourselves a hotel room and get a good night sleep in a bed. I mean... we did have a 65+ ride to reckon with the next day. So, a good night sleep would benefit us. Right? Heh
We explored and toured the trail for a few miles, stopping at various hotels and motels to see what they had available. The first place we stopped at, Kill Devil Hills Days Inn, had a smaller motel they run just up the way that we could have for 80$. Hmmm... more shopping around, but nothing was as good a deal. So, back to the hotel, booked, then dumped all out stuff in the motel room and headed to the Wright Brothers Memorial.



View from atop the Memorial hill:










Following wandering the hill, the giant monument, bronze sculpture of their take off and the museum, we headed -briefly- up Hwy 158 to a grocery store for food and beer. We decided we wanted more fish, and I was dying for some crab, so we got a couple fillets, a container of fresh lump crab meat, and some asparagus. We also decided to play it safe and get a few staples for the road: lil container of peanut butter (we had tortillas from the first night, still), oreos (we needed them!), and dried apple rings.

After having a beer at the room, we headed to the beach (with a couple more) and splashed around for an hour or so. Ethan, it should be said, mentioned his concern of sharks and riptides at least 2 dozen times. Needless to say, neither a shark nor a riptide got either of us.

Back to the room for a nice shower, nice beer and lovely dinner - made on the *porch* on the propane camp cooking kit.



In looking back upon the day, the opportunity to actually do some true sigh seeing (not to mention actually have something interesting to actually see... ummm, the Memorial. Not the monster truck. Heh) was pretty great, but the absolute best part of the day was ending it in the ocean. I always liked swimming in the ocean. But, to do so after biking as far as we did... wow.

So ends Day 2, August 16, 2009
51 miles (41 to destination, 10 roaming the area)
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3170910

Day 1: Brooklyn NY to Chesapeake VA to Bell's Island NC

Saturday, Aug 15, 2009

2am: Up and at 'em!

We had packed everything up and prepared ourselves to just throw everything into the car and go as quickly as possible so we could get on the road.
The list:
- (2) Surly Long Haul Trucker bikes
- (2) front bags (for power bars, sunblock, cameras, iphones, etc)
- (4) Ortlieb Panniers (2 orange for Ethan, 2 yellow for myself) containing clothes, swim suits and flip flops
- (2) sleeping bags
- (2) air mattresses
- (1) Marmot tent
- (1) first air kit
- (1) MSR cooking set & mini propane tank
- (2) Kryptonite cables & locks
- (2) helmets
- (2) cycling shoes

...and two people ready to go.

3am: On the road
FB Update: "and we're off!!! 3am... Yawn"
Anyso, we set out before light, with a quick stop at a Brooklyn gas station/Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and extremely stale donuts. (Note to self: 3am is not a good time for fresh donuts.)

Ethan drove, I entertained. We passed thru Manhattan to go thru the Holland Tunnel, tho E first intended to go thru Staten Island. We should gone thru SI... the Port Authority's been working late night/early morning weekends. Great.
We only got thrown off by about 15 minutes, but we left a lil earlier than we actually thought (we intended for a 4am leave). We jumped onto the NJ Turnpike, and took it all the way to I-95 South, then down to Chesapeake.



FB Update: "We're in Delaware! (5:08am)"






FB Update: "half way thru at 7:36am. MD is boring."

FB Update: "coulda gone into Dixieland or Bonnie's Box... But noooo, instead it's the old aluminum siding ugly BP Ocean Way for us!" (8:57am)

The Chesapeake "Bridge" is something crazy. You cross a bridge, then go into a tunnel, then come back out onto another bright, then back into a tunnel, then finally back onto a bridge that brought us intil Chesapeake VA around 11am.







After a quick stop at a bike shop for my front bag (the original one I ordered never made it to me... thanks ebikeshop... jerks), and a run to the post office to mail our clothes for the wedding and our second half of our vacation in Emerald Isle, we zipped over to drop off the car JUST in time. The Hertz employee was amazed to see how much stuff we pulled out of the (not-so) midsize sedan.
We put our bikes back together again, organized and loaded up everything onto the bikes, then had a quick sammich and change.



Bike & gear weight:
Ethan - approx. 70 lb.
Allison - approx. 50 lb.

1:30pm: On the road, again...
...but this time, by bicycles.

Side note: Throughout the trek, we averaged our "real" breaks (getting off the bike, heh) every hour and/or ten miles. Other than stopping for breakfast and lunch, most stops were 5-15 minutes long.

FB Update: "Loaded up and ready to haul on down to stop 1: Bell Island NC" (1:32pm)

We had about 35 miles to do on this first day, and nearly all of it was on what we would eventually despise:
Hwy 168
This was a hell-on-earth 5-lane road with a shoulder averaging 1.5 feet in width. The automobiles didn't care to slow down at all on the 55 mph, and about 50% of them didn't even bother moving over a lil to be on the safe side.


FB Update: North Carolina! We made it!!! (3:39pm)

We made it into NC (which was actually nearly dead-on at the halfway mark) around our ETA. About 18 miles done, 18 miles to go... ok, well, maybe add a few.

After stopping in NC, we stopped off at the Visitor's Center. There, we learned what to be looking out for to get to the Bell's Island Campgrounds. Unfortunately, we didn't think to ask what kind of stores were in the area, and we didn't bother grabbing anything then and there since we still had 18-ish miles to go.
About an hour and a half later, we made it to the turn off to get to the campgrounds. Yay! We'd finally be getting off of 168 for a while!!! Nope... we stopped off at a thrift store that was at the turn off onto Bell's Island Road, and asked the self proclaimed handy man where we could find a grocery store or something.
Well, sad to say, there was nothing nearby. Fortunately, there was a "store" -he said- about a mile to a mile and a half up 168. So, back onto the highway for us... only, it was more like 3 miles... each way.
Now, mind you, 6 miles isn't that far when you're in a car. But, on a bike, especially after you've already done 30 miles, it is... and it's even more when it's out of your way and you still have another 5 miles to go to get to your destination.

Nonetheless, on we went and after worrying the last mile of if he was lying to us, if we'd ever see it and just being utterly miserable, there it was. Classic wooden redneck store (not redneck store where the city folk would pass thru and think "oh how charming, or find a souvenir), with two old dogs hanging out in your way.



At this point, everything sounded good to eat, and we were looking to be creative... but, we were limited. A six-pack of Miller Lite was a must. Flour tortillas, a can of refried beans, Rotel tomatoes and box of frozen corn... we get dinner!

Back onto the bikes and on to our first campsite. I was utterly exhausted, we were both cranky and hungry, and Ethan had his second wind. Off he went, leaving me to trudge on my own thru marsh land that seemed never ending.

We made it to the Bell's Island Campgrounds (252) 232-2590 ~ 769 Bells Island Rd
~ Currituck, NC 27929) a lil less than an hour before sunset. Tho the owner of the property had passed by us on the road to it, and talked with Ethan, we got there and he wasn't around at all. Some lady was wandering down a lil gravel road of the grounds with an empty wine glass, and immediately approached us. She gave us the breakdown of what's where, and told us it was pretty much open choice for us wherever we wanted to set up camp.



We found a lovely, dry spot right on the sound's waterfront off to the side from the rest of the grounds.

After a beer and a toast to completing Day 1, Ethan set up the tent and I started on dinner. Oh dear... ummm... yeah, that frozen corn we got... I think it's kinda old... and frost bitten. Sigh. I tried to use some of it, tho, which I shouldn't have. Just cuz it all didn't look all that bad, it was pretty nasty. Edible... but really chewy and... just not a good addition.
After camp was set up and we ate what we could (we worked around the corn bits as best we could, heh), we waded into the water and wandered the waterfront of the campgrounds. We didn't do any swimming, and Ethan was a bit turned off by the water because there was all this crazy long grass floating in it and rolling up onto the lil beach.










By dark, we were done for the day. We showered (separately!) in near darkness in an outdoor cinder block shower with a lil frog hanging out with us. For me, he was in a crack between the shower wall and the building wall. The only reason I knew he was there at all was because he scared the bajeebus out of me when he started calling out to his friends. After I left, tho, he moved. Ethan first found him in the soap dip, but later he crawled up the wall and onto the shower head, looking down at Ethan while he did what he had to do.

So ended Day 1.
41.5 miles
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3169039

Looking back on OBX

OBX_trek
Originally uploaded by vaduzuvunt

It has been a week since I've been home from our trip to the OBX. I finally have the time to sit and recap, in more detail, the trek we made from Brooklyn, NY, to Chesapeake, VA, and thru the Outer Banks of NC.
So, how to break it down. Well, I guess by day, the way I attempted (tho poorly) to do while on the trip.

The break down goes like this:

Day 1:
- Saturday, August 15: Drive from Brooklyn to Chesapeake, VA
- Saturday, August 15: Chesapeake, VA to Bell Island, NC
Day 2:
- Sunday, August 16: Bell Island, to Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills, NC
Day 3:
- Monday, August 17: Kill Devil Hills to Buxton on Cape Hatteras, NC
Day 4:
- Tuesday, August 18: Buxton to Ocracoke, NC
Day 5:
- Wednesday, August 19: Ocracoke to Inner Banks of Cedar Island to Otway, NC
Day 6, Final Day:
- Thursday, August 20: Otway to Emerald Isle, NC

Days 7 thru 9:
- Friday, August 21 thru Sunday, Agust 23: Wedding fun, relaxation and home again

So, here I go... trying to remember everything I did, experienced, loved, hated and photographed.

Day 5:

This afternoon SUCKED! The monrning was wonderful, but I woulda given up the wonderful morning swim in the ocean to balance out.
We woke to the sunrise, packed up, then decided we would have a swim n catch the 10:30am ferry from Ocracoke to Cedar Island. Shouldn'ta.
Ocracoke is beautiful, and definitely a place I want to go back to (off the bike). The ferry was also nice and relaxing. Two hours of a/c (a first on this trek).
But... When we got off, it pretty much was full on headwinds of about 15 mph the entire time. On top of that, we were passing thru a salt marsh wildlife refuge for 90% of the time with very short (2 miles?) opportunities of shade thru lil towns that had no where to stop. We travelled about 20 miles before we could have a proper rest in Davis.
We've finally made camp in a lil waterside campground (where we can't swim) in Otway.
I am done.
But not.
Tomorrow is the last leg of our trek (I refuse to say 'journey'), with only 34 miles and two big bridges til we land in Emerald Isle. Waiting for us is a wonderful bed in a wonderful beach house by the ocean, with a/c and a kitchen and a nice shower.

Words cannot describe how much I am looking forward to this, and how decadent it will be.

I have loved nearly the entire trip, and can say it's been the best vacation ever. But I am looking forward to the next aspect of it... in Emerald Isle.

I will be updating, in more detail, each day if the trek. There's been so much that I've experienced.

Day 3

We biked over 60 miles today from Kill Devil Hill to Butxon on Cape Hatteras. We lost signal for quite a while, but were surprised later to get it back.
The bridge over Oregon Inletwad terrifying, but midway thru it we saw porpoises swimming below.
We're camping just south of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and swam again jn the wonderful ocean next to a blocked area where a sea turtle had nested.
Now we're sitting under the stars listening to the frogs and watching shooting stars . So far we've seen 4.
It's been a wonderful day.
Tomorrow we're roaming the area, then crossing over to Ocracoke on the ferry n biking down to the end of that island n making camp one last time on the ocean before heading south into the inner banks area.

Day 1: Chesapeake to Bell Island

Well... We made it thru the first leg of our trip. After waking from a 4 hour nap at 2am, we loaded up and headed out. Made it literally at the exact time we had to return the car.
We hit the road around 2pm. With a couple lil stops for this and that, we made it to BI n were set up by 6:30. I could have done without the 3 extra mile excursion to find food, but at least I get to eat (and have a beer!) tonight!

Hittin' the road...

Hello. I'm away right now. Off to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a 250-mile ride with E. We're all packed and ready to go. I'm a lil nervous, cuz this looks like a lot of stuff, and it weighs my bike down a good bit. But, I'm determined and excited, so I'm sure I'll make it.



I'm not really sure how much I'll be able to actually blog on this about, but I have a BlogWriter Lite app on my iPhone, as well as something to Twitter (tho I'm proud to admit I'm not a Tweeter... Twitterer? Ummm... Tweetin' kinda person), but hopefully some updating for the friends and family.

Alrighty then... onward and upward!!!

Farewell to Bob Guskind

Saturday was the memorial for my friend and associate, Bob Guskind. I was dreading the whole thing, because... well, no one wants to go to the final memorial of the life of someone they cared about. But, went I did and must say it was the most wonderful send of (for lack of a better term) one could have.
Bob introduced me to many people whom I finally got to meet. I wish it were under different circumstances, but nonetheless it was good. I learned more of a new friend whom I lost. We all share a bit of the Bob we each knew, making him more of who he was that we each had yet to learn for ourselves.
If Bob never knew exactly how appreciated by and how important he was to so many, we all know... and I hope somehow he was there to see for himself.

Bob Guskind, My Friend

It's all over the NY blogs, but despite, here it is on my own. I have a personal reason for mentioning the news I heard of my freind Bob Guskind death. 

I was a big fan of gowanulounge dot com, which has since been taken down. I was constantly sending my images to the site's photo pool. But then, early fall of 2008, he made his apologies but said he was shutting the site down. It seemed as if all of Brooklyn was upset by this, because he had hundreds of comments wishing him well and hoping he returns soon. Finally, he came back. I emailed him, asking if he needed help with posts.

At the time, it was just days before I was to have knee surgery for an ACL replacement and meniscus repair, so I knew I would be home and with plenty of time on my hands. Within hours he responded with thanks and a post for me to do. That was that... we jumped right into it, and I worked with him nearly every day since.

Through the months of working together, we became friends. We talked about GL, Brooklyn, his life, my life... we confided in each other. He was constantly thanking me and talking about dinner and drinks and talks and... "one day, when we're not so busy." 

My boyfriend told me of the news in the middle of the work day on Thursday (3/5). Since then, all I can do is repeat "Bob Guskind" over and over in my head. My mind rereads the conversations we had, the things I learned of him and know of him, the laughs, the woes, the annoyances. 

I did not know Bob well, hell I never even had that chance to meet and hang out with him face-to-face. But, I consider him a friend and cannot get this out of my head. He is more than just Gowanus Lounge. He is a voice of Brooklyn, that should be respected. 

The Brooklyn Paper's original announcement of his passing (even the "edited" version) is the lowest of the low, the most outrageous example of disrespectful journalism for sensational purposes. Assumptions of his death and exposures of his personal life were published for all the world to read and start the whispering over. Bob did many posts in reference to this site, and this is what they do to repay him. (Of course, now they are posting a new article that shares their respect.)

Whatever the reason (of which it is none of mine to know or say if I do know) the fact of the matter is a lot of people -and entire community- lost a very wonderful, kind person. I don't know why exactly this hits me as hard as it does... but, I miss Bob. 

I carry my camera with me every where I go. And nearly every time I shoot something in Brooklyn, I have him and GL in mind. Yesterday, when I was riding home, I didn't even bother pulling my camera out to see what I could get. This fucking sucks.

***Ooops: I mistakenly said it was the Brooklyn Eagle, but in fact it was the Brooklyn Paper. Thanks for pointing it out to me to Xris from the Flatbush Gardener.

Get Ready

As we come to the end of another year, I wish to note that I continued into it with the *woo hoo* endless-drunken maritime social life from the year before, moved into an *ohhh boy* of too-good-to-be-trueness of love, and now prepare for a new year of *hmmm* to what will happen with the pending changes. 

Better be good, that's all I know.

Washed

Scrubbed so hard up was dark, down was light. It can be understood how it is seen as such, but can't be understood why it's ignored. Given the chance, the tide would flip and it would be done. No chance. Not here. You say tunnel. I say simplistic. Manicheanly speaking.

Ahem

You suck. Stupid piece of shit.

Open Day at the Hate Fest

Questionable reprobates with the audacity to assume, demand, take and disregard. Dip you in cement and toss you over into the mirk. 

Gram

Gram Parsons' grave, Garden of Memories, Metairie, LA

Originally uploaded by vaduzuvunt

On a recent trip home, the ole man and I went out of our way up Airline Highway to find the burial place of Gram Parsons.

In researching how to find it, I came across the Gram Parsons Project. In actually going out to find the spot, I found that, not only was the site very old and in desperate need of updating (the place marker at the time the website was last updated was merely a bronze vase holder), but also that the only real information that was helpful was 1. that Gram is buried in the Garden of Memories in Metairie, Louisiana, and B. that his burial marker is R-12 11-3. (No offense to the owner of the site.)

In following the directions from the site, which will now be redacted from conversation, we spent about 45 minutes wandering around the wrong area. So, I'm taking it upon myself to help any Gram fans out so they don't have to:

When you head into the cemetery, take your first right. The road's gunna fork, at which time you head to the right. After doing so, the road will make a nice sharp left. I'd say about 75 feet after the curve, stop. 

To your left, in the distance, you'll see a big white bas-relief of the Last Supper - start walking towards that. About halfway up the hill, past the 9th line of grave markers, you'll see a white bench. Just past, and between the tree to your right and that bench, is Gram. 

He has the largest grave marker (as you see above) in the area.

In my oh so wonderful OCDness, I took the liberty to also create the exact location (or within 5 feet of it) on google maps. Happy hunting, if ever you go out looking for Mr. Parsons.