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May 29, 2005

Teach a Man to Fish...

Instead of driving 3 hours to the beach this weekend, we drove an hour south to Solomons Island to eat seafood and go fishing. Not realizing that we were actually going out on a fishing boat, I felt somewhat unprepared for the endeavor.

Little has changed on Solomons since I was in college and we would head over for dinner and drinks on the weekend. The tiki bar was roaring with the sounds of drunks and motorcycles. After walking along the main strip, we stopped by the Catamaran for crabcakes and crab-stuffed trout. The choices for beer were 16 ounces, or the equivelent of a small pitcher. We chose the former. The food was good and the portions generous. The entertainment, however most interesting. As day turned to night, the quiet strip along the riverwalk became a showcase for vintage cars, loud music and the roar of Harleys taking a pitstop on the way to DC for Roaring Thunder.

But, the whole point of the trip was to go fishing. So at 6am, we got up and got ready to hit the water. I'd purchased a nice little fishing rod the night before, so after picking up ice and bait, we took off for the Patuxent River. Cool, choppy water did not make for good fishing. Of the 5 or 6 boats that were out there with us, only two people had even caught anything. One guy caught two good sized fish and I caught a 2 croakers! Beginners luck and I can't take full credit because I neither cast nor baited the rod. In fact, it was all Kevin's. All I did was catch and reel them in. And I had to throw one back because it wasn't legal. But I caught one, nonetheless and Monday night we will dine on croaker. And I was worried that the only thing I would catch were a few photos.

Posted by kafi at 09:01 PM | Comments (0)

May 24, 2005

Weekend in Napa, Virginia??

As we drove out to Western Virginia, my friend said that she has always had perfect weather when visiting wineries in Virginia. So, why would today be any different? After lunch at Lightfoot, a restaurant in downtown Leesburg with an amazing collection of antique posters, we headed out to Breaux Vineyards, one of the most beautiful wineries in Virginia.

In addition to being completely surrounded by mountains and grape vines, the main building, tasting staff and grounds are top notch. The white wines, from the stainless steel chardonay to the fruity blended table wine, were fab. It was an experience defined by hints of citrus and ripe red anjou pear and strawberries and green apples. Each finish was a pleasant surprise, long and dry, crisp and zesty. If red wines can be categorized as old country, deep and robust with the flavors of the earth and suburban, clean and new with less personality, then I would refer to a Virginia red as a suburban wine.

All in all, though, Virginia wines continue to improve every year. That day, I also had the pleasure of sampling a $125 bottle of VA sparkling wine. I could never justify the price, but I must admit the wine was pretty damn good.

Posted by kafi at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)