We had great weather all the way on the drive down and for once we hit no construction zones. But we paid for that good fortune the next day.
The skies opened up and rain issued forth like racist comments at a conservative political meeting. The rain that fell wasn't light summery rain, it was soul deadening rain that would make lesser people tear their hair out and commit suicide. Actually, it didn't rain so much as it gushed water from the skies.
But despite moisture, some brave souls still went about their beach business.
And some fat bastards didn't give a damn if it rained or not, they had missed going to the beach last year because of they were in the midst of buying a house and packing and moving so they weren't going to let a little liquid sunshine stop their fun. (That photo of yours truly was actually taken on Thursday morning. Yes, it rained then too.)
No, we didn't go in Monkey Bar & Grill but I was glad to see Atlantic Beach is getting more classy as the years go by. What we did do when the rain was falling was go sightseeing, go to antique stores, go to the movies, hang out, and read.
When the sun was out I not only went to the beach, I went into the future as well. I journeyed to the year 2050 and there I saw on the beach blog bud ReRe and her husband James. I did not talk to them because I did not want to break the time space continuum. Any sci fi fan knows you don't fuck with the time space continuum.It didn't rain on Wednesday so we spent the day on the beach in the sun and in the ocean. Thursday it was overcast so we got in the car and drove around and we made our way to the Down East/Sea Level area. Yes, there is actually a town named Sea Level, well it's not a town really so much as it's a wide place in the road. It's an non tourist area and it's loaded with great old derelict buildings like this one:
After taking in the sights of Sea Level and Cedar Island, we drove back to civilization and got some lunch at this place:
Despite the odd name, it's a decent place to eat, as long as you stick to dishes that are their strength that is, dishes like deep fried seafood, she crab soup, and hush puppies. We had a massively good late lunch and we ate enough deep fried food to last me for the year but man oh man was it good.
The sun finally came out to stay on Friday so we spent the day once again on the beach under our canopy. And boys and girls, canopies are the way to go on the beach. Umbrellas break and get taken off in gusts of wind but canopies stay put and you can move in and out of the shade when you feel like it. The sunny days that we spent on the beach, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday made us forget all about the cold and rainy days like this one:
The surf was a little high on Saturday but it didn't stop us or this cute little family from enjoying the beach:
On one of our trips into Morehead City we spotted this scene:
I half expected to see those birds begin to attack people while Tippi Hedren ran screaming down the street. Luckily, I didn't see that but I did see this scary sight:
Damn Bill Collector, he follows me where ever I go, even on vacation! He won't give a monkey a break. But we still had a nice time despite him.If you agree that we had a good time Sparky, stand in the cold rain with your arms out above your sides.
Now, there you go. Would Sparky lie? We had a good time at the beach, as we always do, but we're both glad to be home. And now here's some useless lists:Seafood eaten on Beach Trek 2009:
- flounder
- scallops
- shrimp
- mahi-mahi
- grouper
- tuna
- crab
- oysters
- Julie & Julia
- Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
- Pepper by Amal Naj
- In The Devil's Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food by Stewart Lee Allen
I began by peeling a couple of big white sweet potatoes, but you can use the orange sweet potatoes or even regular potatoes if you like. 
Then I cut them into French Fry-like shapes and I put them in a pan with some water and I boiled them until they were all fork tender.
While the sweet potatoes boiled I got out some spices 
and I got out my big mortar and pestle. Let me put a plug in here for stores like TJ Maxx and Ross and Tuesday Morning. I love discount stores like those because I always find such great things there. I got that big mortar and pestle set for $29, anywhere else it would have been like fifty or a hundred bucks, at TJ Maxx, I got that big bottle of sea salt at Tuesday Morning, and I found that bottle of sweet Spanish Paprika at Ross. But I digress. I mixed a tablespoon and a half of crushed black pepper, a tea spoon of sea salt, two teaspoon of paprika, a half tea spoon of cumin, a heaping teaspoon of chili powder (not the hot variety), and a dash of that powdered cheese spice and I mixed it all up using my big mortar and pestle. Then when the potatoes were fork tender I covered the bottom of a 13 by 13 pyrex pan with extra virgin olive oil and I covered the potatoes with the spice mixture and I spread them out in the pan. I turned the oven on to high broil and I stuck the potatoes in. You don't need to broil the potatoes if you don't want, since they are already done, but since I'm off deep fried foods I like to broil them to make them a little bit crispy.
Here they are before I broiled them. 
And that's what they looked like after. Not much difference in looks but there is a big difference in texture. 
I served the sweet potatoes with some big ass salmon cakes and a salad. Mmmmm, it was good.