Getting domestic in NC

November 30, 2007
Can you believe it? We have been getting complaints that we are getting lax in our blogging responsibilities. Nothing has been heard since the great Oyster Feast. Well, we're sorry and will try to do a better job in the future.

We bought a car. Winter without a car looked kinda bleak so we went out and bought one that we can turn over to Tony and Annette upon our departure. They need something with a back seat for the future baby and this is the perfect ride.
So we went off to have Turkey Day with Tony & Annette in Asheville, NC. Asheville is in the western part of the state, in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Being higher and further from the coast, it is quite a bit cooler. In summer, that is very nice. Here we all are having a pre-thanksgiving Mexican dinner.
Annette is providing a warm, wet home for a future bambino. Only 2 months to go.....
Here's the lucky couple in downtown Asheville.
Here is one of the bands that Tony plays with. We saw two of their shows while we were there. These guys are good! They made us get up and do a little flamenco - the audience was nice about it although I doubt many had ever heard flamenco before.

After a week in Asheville, we came back to Oriental and are now doing the promo work for our big show here on February 1. We need to get everything out now so that we can visit California without having to worry about it. While in Asheville, we noted that Santa Cruz has been out-hippied by Asheville. Asheville has more yoga and massage instructors, more organic food stores, more music, and younger hippies. And there are a lot more of them! Santa Cruz hippies are showing their age - the young ones are punkier or gothier or something. I am now so old that I have no clue what the young folks are up to - and don't even feel bad about it. Now that we are here for a while, we can get snail mail, so you could actually write to us (those of you who eschew the keyboard).

All the oysters you can eat.....

Wednesday, November 14, 2007
We have settled in to life back in Oriental, NC. We bought a car and are enjoying the mobility. Here in the marina, the social life is very rich. Almost every night lately, we have been having outdoor potlucks around the fire pit. As soon as a fire is lit, folks just start showing up with food and drink.
Yesterday, we used the new car to take Don, Heesook, and son Christopher shopping. They have been at the marina for a few days now on their way to the Bahamas. Don wanted to get some fresh shrimp, so we went to the local shrimp packing plant where "just off the boat" shrimp are frequently available at great prices. Alas, it was late in the day and so their stock was all gone. So we just went to the supermarket. As we came out, we saw a truck that said "Fresh Crabs and Oysters" on the side making a delivery. Don, being somewhat irrepressible, went over and offered to buy some oysters directly from the driver. To our surprise, they made a deal. We pitched in and the two families bought a bushel of fresh oysters (harvested yesterday) for $40. That is a bag that I doubt the women could lift.
So we took them back to the marina and I began to discover why a plate of oysters on the half-shell costs $1 per oyster and up. First we had to break clumps of oysters into individuals. They we had to hose the mud off them. They were in the same condition as when they were pulled out of the ocean. Then we sorted them into oysters that would be easy to shuck for eating raw and oysters that would need some kind of cooking to get them open. Finally, the oysters to be shucked at once needed to be brushed along their hinges so that leftover muck didn't get inside when they were shucked. When you consider that we are dealing with well over 200 oysters, the task becomes significant. By the time all this was done, it was dark.
But finally the oysters arrived at the table and we commenced the all-you-can-eat oyster feed. We tried every possible combination of sauces in addition to just as they come from the shell. Shucking them took a bit more work, but we had more help so we gorged. Then the BBQ oysters started coming off the grill. You toast them until they open. They get steamed in their own juices and then get a smokey flavor on top of that. Since this was a potluck, there was chicken, pork, salads and pasta to be had. Finally, we couldn't eat anything more.
So we went to bed with our refrigerator full to capacity with the fresh oysters that didn't get used. Tomorrow, there is to be an oyster chowder, according to the reigning cook. I think I can handle this.
Late flash: there was an oyster chowder, "just like Mom used to make", and then for dinner, Oysters Rockafeller, lot of them and the best I've ever had. We washed those down with a Chardonney from New Zealand's Marlborough region. This is my favorite source of great value wines - virtually any wine from this region will be a treat, especially if it has a screw cap. The Marlborough vintners are the first group to really defy the notion that cork is the only way to seal a quality wine. Actually, it is the worst, and screw tops are the best. Anyway, we aren't living too badly our here. We really do wish you were here.

Back home in Oriental

Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007
We have been back at Whittaker Creek Yacht Harbor for a week now and have been settling in. Last night there was a potluck on the docks with steamed oysters and a really good gumbo - plus all the other usual yummies. Fun!
We bought a car so that we would be able to do road trips this winter and visit family and friends. It's been a long time since we drove, but it comes right back.
We have been amazed at how many people we have been running into on the streets and in the market who saw us perform in the 2 little appearances that we did last summer. There are already students lining up for Andi's dance classes. It is nice to be recognized even though the town doesn't really have any aficionados. It seems as if there are quite a few willing to be aficionados. We'll see what we can do to encourage that.
We have a great internet connection and spotty cellphone connections, so email is the best way to reach us. The phones do work, though.

Saeta gets her picture taken

October 30, 2007
Since we were travelling in company with Kloosh, we took the opportunity to photograph each under under way.


Here we were motoring through the river below the last lock of the canal.
And here we were still in the canal, following Kloosh.
Once we left Elizabeth City, we were able to sail across the Albemarle Sound
I wonder who's steering that thing.

We brave the Dismal Swamp

Monday, October 29, 2007
We met John and Cheryl just before the first lock of the canal and rafted with them until the lock opened. We were really worried about the canal being too shallow for us, but there had been rain for 4 days that raised the water level enough for us to risk it.
After we got through the first lock, we tied up to a dock and went out for a really bad Mexican dinner, but got to know John and Cheryl and shared lots of stories about our Sceptres.


The next morning when we awakened, there was this fog on the water that was mysterious and spooky.
Then we all started off. We let some other boats go ahead because we figured that we were the most likely to go aground. We touched bottom many times, but never were stopped.
There was some kind of duckweed on the surface of the water.
As we got to the final lock, the duckweed was really thick. We were on TV as the last group of boats to transit the canal before it closed for the season. Most boats use the regular canal that is deeper and used by commercial shipping.
John took this picture of us in our cockpit awaiting the final lock opening.

The Dismal Swamp Canal does a big job of promoting itself because it only serves recreational boaters and is always under the threat of being closed. It was planned before the revolution, but wasn't funded until the 1790's.
There was a hotel along the way where Edgar Allen Poe wrote "The Raven", undoubtedly inspired by all the dismalness.
Once we cleared the last lock, it got much deeper and by sunset we were in Elizabeth City where there were flags that said "Welcome" and people to take our docklines as we tied up to a free dock right on the city front. It is nice to be welcomed without a big price tag. We'd have liked to have spent a few days there, but had to leave at dawn to make miles before tropical storm Noel threatened the area.