Rose & Crown Restaurant Lewes DE

Rose & Crown Restaurant - Lewes, DE

My neighbor Barbara took me out to lunch today at the newest restaurant in Lewes, Delaware.  It is called the Rose and Crown and is located on the first floor of the Rodney Hotel.

Our booth by the window - Barbara is the blond to the left

I'm always eager to check out new restaurants, especially ones in Lewes where I work part-time as a hotel front desk representative.  I like to personally dine myself at the restaurants so I can give first hand knowledgeable reviews of the restaurants that I recommend to hotel guests.  I also like the social aspect of dining out.  Always good to get out of the house and experience a change of pace from my own very excellent cooking.  

Barbara and I in our booth awaiting our orders - loved the skylight!

Barbara and I didn't get too adventurism with our orders today.  She ordered fish and chips.  I ordered a very well done (which drives Barbara crazy) hamburger with fries.  Barbara ordered deep friend pickles as her app and I ordered a butternut squash soup.  The pickles were excellent.  I thought the soup was on the bland side but maybe that's the way with butternut soup.  "Butternut" always sounds better than it tastes in my experience.

My hamburger burnt to perfection (just the way I like it!)

We had a minor emergency though before we ate.  Our waitress came up to us and informed us that the restaurant was "out of gas."  That meant they couldn't cook out food.  At least right away.  She said an emergency deliver of propane gas was on its way and should only delay our meal by 15 or 20 minutes. Time to put that ice tea aside and order a cocktail.  I ordered something called a "ginger fizz."  I forget the ingredients but it tasted like a gin and tonic on steroids.  First sip and I was transported back to my weekend bar cruising days in the 70's.  My Drink of Choice then was a gin and tonic.  After a couple of sips I was getting that familiar, self confident grin on my face.  I had to remind myself I was in a straight restaurant at midday in one of the straightest small towns in Delaware.  Down Ron.

Barbara's fish and chips (which she said were "excellent") with Remoulade sauce

Our meals arrived.  My hamburger was properly burned black and tasty just the way I like it.  The fries looked good with skins on them but were luke warm.  I like my fries hot but managed to devour more than a few fries on my plate.  I asked for a small container to take the rest of my fries home with me for rejuvenation at my meal tonight.  I may even let Bill have a few.

All in all we had an enjoyable, pleasant, afternoon diversion on this brisk, late fall day with my friend and neighbor Barbara.  The only thing that would have been better is if those fries were crackling hot. 

Note:  the restaurant graciously took $15.00 off our bill because of the "we're out of gas" delay.  

Also, the Rose & Crown is open seven days a week, 11 am to 11 pm.  Good news for me and my hotel guests on Mondays and Tuesdays when most of the other restaurants in Lewes are closed.  A nice place to stop for a casual lunch in Lewes.

Lewes, Delaware

Ever Have One Of These Days?

My artery busting bacon cheeseburger with fries at The Cake Bar Saturday night - something I was hoping to replicate today

Today is the first day of my fall vacation.  I had this great idea to invite my co-worker and friend Robert out for lunch.  We work different shifts and don't have time to spend together.  So I thought I had a good idea by inviting my friend out for lunch so we could discuss politics, work and whatever.

Ah ha.  You've heard of the saying "the best laid plans of mice and men....."  Well, just about everything went wrong.

I asked Robert to meet me in front of The Cake Bar in Lewes at 12:30 pm.  Since both of us work in Lewes and are frequently asked by hotel guests for good places to dine, I thought today was a good opportunity for us to check out this particular restaurant.  I always feel more comfortable recommending a restaurant if I have actually eaten there myself.

Robert meets me in front of The Cake Bar.  We both notice that The Cake Bar is closed. Oh, I forgot, most of the restaurants are closed on Monday in Lewes.  After all, where we live in Sussex County, Delaware isn't called "Slower Lower" for nothing.

We checked another restaurant. Yep, that one was closed too.  Uh huh.  I suggested a few more local restaurants but Robert wasn't too enthusiastic about them, especially one that was condemned a couple years ago because of RAT DROPPINGS.  Now THAT will kill anyone's appetite.

Hey Robert, how about us getting out of Lewes since it was basically closed down for Monday?  I suggested The Kitchen in Paynter's Mill which was about four miles away up Rt. 1.  I asked Robert if he had time.  He said he didn't have much time because he was studying for his finals (he goes to college).  But he said he had some time.  So off we go, Robert following me up Rt. 1.

I drive up Rt. 1 all the time.  I don't live too far away from Paynter's Mill. I don't think the drive is that long but today it seemed really long.  Here I am taking my friend away from his studies for lunch.  What I had originally intended for a casual lunch between friends is now turning into a PROJECT.  I was starting to feel guilty.

We arrive at The Kitchen restaurant at Paynter's Mill.  I didn't see any cars parked outside.  I didn't see any activity inside.  Uh huh, The Kitchen WAS CLOSED ON MONDAY.  Lower Slower, Slower Lower.

So now I'm starting to panic.  I'm wasting my friend's time.  But I don't want to give up yet.  I don't want to fail.  I didn't want to completely waste Robert's time.  All the while Robert is being very patient with me.

I now suggested driving into Milton. I was pretty sure there were a few restaurants opened on Monday in Milton.  I was HOPING there were a few restaurants opened in Milton.  I pull out of the parking lot of Paynter's Mill and onto Cave Neck Road headed for the quaint small (dead) town of Milton, Delaware....another FOUR MILES away.  Yes folks, this lunch date is turning into a MAJOR PROJECT.

Another long ride and we arrive in Milton.  I pull into the Goodfella's Restaurant parking lot.  There were no other cars in the parking lot.  Not a good sign.  With trepidation I approach the front door of Goodfella's.  YES!  It was open!

Downtown Milton, DE

Of course we were the only patrons.  Of course.  The hostess said he could sit "anywhere we wanted to sit."  Do you think?  NO ONE else was in the restaurant except the bartender, the waitress (who had no teeth by the way) and the cook.

We peruse the menu.  It was a standard Italian restaurant menu.  Appetizers, sandwiches (hoagies), and dinners.  I wasn't up for a dinner but I was up for some eggplant parmesan.  I ordered the eggplant parmesan hoagie.  I also ordered an unsweetened iced tea.  Robert ordered a hamburger with potato chips on the side.  Haute cuisine here folks.

My iced tea arrives.  I take a sip from my straw.  It tasted like iced watered down Dawn liquid detergent.  Oh no.  I hate to complain and send thing back in the restaurant but I really needed something to wash down my eggplant parmesan hoagie.  I told my waitress (who was very nice, that was a plus) that "something didn't taste right" with the ice tea and I would need something else to drink.  How about a Sprite?  I don't like to drink sodas because they don't quench my thirst but I had to flush away the taste of Dawn liquid from my mouth.

Our meal arrives.  Robert's hamburger is "so-so".  It looks "so-so".  My eggplant parmesan hoagie arrives.  It is delicious!  Yes folks, it was good!  Even the roll was good.  No giant hot dog roll masquerading as a hoagie roll. The eggplant parmesan was prepared as it should be; crisp on the outside and the soft, delicate taste of eggplant on the inside, all smothered with a taste tomato sauce.

Robert and I had a good conversation, away from the needs of the front desk at the hotel where we usually have our abbreviated conversations when I used to relive him from his shift.  We thoroughly dissected Obama's debate performance last week.  Did a little work related gossip (which I won't repeat here).  Yes, we had a good lunch, two hours later than our original time (12:30) we were to meet for lunch today.

We said our "goodbye's" in the still empty parking lot of Goodfella's Restaurant.  Robert was still smiling when he left but I don't think he will repeat this lunch date anytime soon.  And I can't say that I blame him.

Anyone for my next lunch date?

My longtime friend Ed and I at The Cake Bar Saturday night

Two Old Dogs Dining in a Restaurant

I was feeling a bit down today until I found this video from You Tube send by my good friend and former boss Bill P.  This video is literally a FOYCL  (fall off your chair laughing).  Oh God, my stomach hurts from laughing.  Thanks Bill!

Dining With Ron

This movie is a compilation of some of the many photos I have had taken of me dining out with friends and at different functions like class reunions and birthday celebrations.  Most of the time when I dine out, as most of my friends know, I usually ask the waitress or waiter to take a picture of me and my dining company. Sure, sometimes I can be an annoyance to my friends when I ask the waitress "Would you mind taking our picture first?" But when you look at this collection of pictures you will see that it was all worth whatever minute or two I took out of our Dining Experience to memorialize my time together with friends and family for light hearted camaraderie and good food.


I haven't posted all the photos.  I wanted to keep this movie under ten minutes lest I put anyone to sleep.  This isn't quite as bad as watching a slide show but I know I take the risk of boring the casual reader of this blog.  I'm taking that chance!

I tried to put a theme to this movie.  See if you can pick up on it.

Enjoy!

A Mile Wide and an Inch Deep

Down on Rt. 9 towards Georgetown there is a furniture store on the right side of the road called Beschels.  I've been in the furniture store a few times, checking out their wares.  The furniture store is unremarkable except for one feature.  Outside of their building they have a big deck with a wooden statue of an Alaskan fisherman clad in an yellow slicker rain gear.  The deck this fisherman stands on overlooks what is a vast, large pond.  Every time I ride down Rt. 9 I look over at the this pleasant sight of the fisherman by the pond.

However, this summer we've been having a drought here in Lower Slower (aka Sussex County, Delaware).  The pond is dried up.  The yellow rain gear clad fisherman still stands on his deck but now he overlooks a dried up pond.  Now when I ride by Beschels and look over to my right, I feel sad.  What is supposed to be isn't.  And that is because that "pond" was only a few inches deep.  When there is water in it, it looks vast.  Without water it looks like what it is, a dried up indentation of land.

Tonight I went to our usual Friday Night Dine Out group.  Tonight's restaurant destination was the Ocean Point Grill in Lewes.  On this early August summer evening I decided to join my gay friends for our weekly get together.  I walk into the restaurant looking for my friends.  No one was there. I tell the owner/manager who is at the cash register "I'm here with the group."  He looks at me like I just stepped off of a spaceship.  I say "There should be a group meeting here tonight."  He says "I know of no group that is meeting here but we have tables if you would like to eat here." Uh oh, I better check my e-mail.  I tell the owner/manager that I'm going to check "something."  I go outside and bring up my e-mail on my iPhone.  There it is, a message from the organizer of the Friday Night Dine Out group.  The message says that only me and one other person have responded.  He said he didn't reserve a table and if we're interested that we should contact one another.  Well, I don't think so. It's another "blind date."  I've already had one of those this summer.  I'm not up for another.  Embarrassed and humiliated that I put myself into this position, I don't respond to the e-mail.  I get in my car and leave.  I won't do this again.

As regular readers of this blog know, one of the reasons I moved to the Rehoboth Beach area of Delaware was to make friends with other older gay men like myself.  Since we moved to Delaware in November of 2006, I have met a number of people, both gay and straight.  Most of them are nice and pleasant people.  A couple of strange ones and one or two real creeps but for the most part, nice folk.   However, I've only been able to make one true friend.  I will not state his name here but he knows who he is.  I have made several really good straight friends.  In fact, I've made more straight friends that I have made gay friends.

I've met and know a number of gay friends (all male, lesbians don't want to be friends with gay men no matter how hard I try.)  But, like the "pond" in front of Beschle's Furniture Store, the pond is a mile wile and an inch deep.  Tonight the pond dried up.  Tonight I had a true picture of what my gay friendships are really like here in Gayberry, DE.  Nothing.

Now this could all be my fault.  I may not be quality material for friendship.  I know some gays  can be very superficial.  Gee, do you think? I remember all too well one of my early friendships.  Oh he was the Toast of the Town with Potlucks and Big Involvement in the Gay Community with the local gay organization called Camp Rehoboth, which is really a private club for two longtime lovers whose only goal seems to be raising money for gay slave auctions and gay dances to raise more money all under the guise for "creating a more accepting community for gays." I could go on about that fallacy but that is a subject for another whole posting.  Back to my friend (and he knows who he is because he reads this blog...sometimes and will probably post a bitchy comment).  Once Mr. Involvement in the Community needed help because of the breakup of his longtime union with his partner and had no place to live, not one and I mean NOT ONE of his circle of friends came forward to help him.  I helped him short of inviting him to live in my home which was not possible.  I help him move, I helped him find a job, I went out to dinner with him when no one else would.  I'm not bragging on myself and I don't expect anything in return but only mention this to illustrate the shallowness of gay friendships here in the East Coast Gay Capital.  I don't recall anyone from Camp "Inclusive" Rehoboth busting down his door to help him in his transition from Gay Couple to Gay Single Man and all the trauma that he had to go through in this chapter of his Passage of Life.

I am very fortunate in that I have Bill, my longtime partner.  Bill doesn't and won't involved himself in any of these gay friendships because he sees them for what they are, false and shallow.  As I said earlier, we have made one friendship since we've been down here and we value that friendship very much.  Bill expressed surprise that we have that one friendship.  Bill has been around a lot longer (13 years) than I have and he knows how these things work.  He was on the gay scene long before me.  When we met, he withdrew from the gay social whirl and hasn't regretted it one bit.  He has often told me how foolish I am to expect to make any gay friends and apparently he is right.  There is no doubt that I felt like a Big Fool tonight standing at that cash register looking for my group of "friends."  The laugh was on me.  One thing is for sure, it won't happen again.

During my time on this earth I have made many friends.  Most of my friends are straight.  Some are from my school days, who I still keep in touch with.  Some are former friends from work who I also keep in touch with.  Of course I have relatives who are friends but most of them keep me at arm's length because I am gay.  They still think that is some kind of sickness of illness but they "forgive me" for my "deficiency of character" and accept me in spite of my gayness.  I've made  some friends in my neighborhood but ironically of the three gay couples in my neighborhood we are not friends.  Two of the couples are lesbians and as I said earlier lesbians generally have nothing to do with gay guys unless they want advice on a window treatment.  We were friends with the other gay couple in the neighborhood for a short time until I found out one of them was an unapologetic racist who freely uses the "N" word and the other a constant critic who was always belittling us.  We couldn't keep that friendship.  Just because they were gay doesn't mean we were compatible.

A long time ago I heard the definition of a true friend.  It went something like this "A true friend accepts you are, not the way they want you to be."  I am fortunate in that I do have some true friends who know me well.  They know the Good Me and the Bad Me and they accept me just as I am.  They ask nothing of me. They like me for who I am.

Unfortunately, most of the gay people I've met down here either want something from me, want to control me, or don't have time for me because I have nothing to offer to them.

Ironically, one of the main reasons I moved to Delaware (other than the low taxes and I did just get my tax bill today which is the same as it was five years ago), was to be with my one true gay friend that I meet over 50 years ago when we were both serving in the U.S. Army.  Unfortunately, a few years ago he started to show signs of dementia.  In the past couple of years he has slowly gotten worse to the point that he called me a few weeks ago asking "What night does the Friday Night Dine Out Group meet?"  He has no cognitive skills and doesn't remember anything.  He still remembers my name but our conversations are always one sided (with me doing all the talking) and minutes after our conversation he doesn't remember what I've said.  He may be here in body but his mind is gone.  We can't do the things we used to like taking rides, dining out, and just having late night conversations on the phone catching up on the latest gossip.

I know this has been a long post and I offer no apologies.  If you're this far in my post than I guess I'm of some interest to you.  For some others, I probably have bored you to tears.  Well, that is just the way it is.

This morning I went to a local graveyard and took about three hundred pictures with my "friends."  When I work in my back yard I'm with my "friends" the birds, bees and plants.  When I walk, I'm with my "friend" nature.  I have a good friend from my school days that I call on FaceTime in the early morning.  He's straight and doesn't discount me as a human being because I just happen to be gay.  We always enjoy each other's conversations.  I talk to Bill every day.  He says I don't talk to him often enough.  I tell him that's because if I talk to him too long then he starts with the criticisms and our conversations end in an argument.
 
Yes, even after forty-seven years together, we still have to work on our relationship.  It's not all his fault though, I have a low tolerance point for constant criticism, probably because I had to endure so much growing up from my father but then again, that is a story for another blog posting.  How ironic I ended up with a man who is so much like my father.

I have a longtime friend from my workdays at the bank in Philadelphia who asked me once when I wrote a similar post like this "What are you looking for in friends?"   He sounded a little bemused when he asked this question because I think he thinks I have a lot of gay friends down here in Gayberry the Rehbooth Beach/Lewes/Milton area because of the large group that goes to the Friday Night Dine Out.  Not so, that large group of "friends" is like that large pond...a mile wide and an inch deep.

Friday Night Dine Out Group Bomb Rescue

My Garden Fairy

Phew!  We're finally getting a break from this heat.  I just returned from dinner with my friend Bob C. from Milton.  I was to meet my regular Friday Night Dine Out Group at the Broadkill Boathouse in Milton but I had to change my plans.  I arrived at the Boathouse on time, I could hear the loud music from where I parked way up the street from the Boathouse parking lot because it was packed.  The closer I got the louder the music got.  Not a good sign.

I make my way through the folks outside the door having a smoke (another "not a good sign") to the cool inside of the noisy bar which I have to pass through to get to the dining room.  I look for my group.  At first I couldn't see them from the din of noise of the music and loud people screaming over one another.  Then I saw them.  There!  Over in the corner, packed together like sardines.  Actually, more like packed together like an old man bowling league dine out group which is what a lot of people think our little gay group of older men look like when we dine out together like this.  The only thing that gives away our sexual proclivities are Rick and Nick who like to hold hands while out in public - not that there is anything wrong with that.

So I look for my chair.  Nada.  None.  There is no chair for me.  So do I want to bust into this group of old men bowlers and demand a chair?  I don't think so?  I'm not to enamored with the offerings of the Broadkill Boathouse either, even though my friend Don V. is enthralled by this new restaurant in the heart of downtown Milton, DE.  Me?  Not so much.

It took me all of perhaps a second or two to make the decision "I'm not eating here tonight."  I was undecided all day anyway as to whether I wanted to go out tonight in this stifling heat and breath taking humidity.  Seeing our group of old gay men shunted over in the corner of this noisy restaurant sealed my decision.  In a situation like this I can foresee the future.  It wouldn't be a good experience because the waitress would invariably get our orders mixed up; we would be shouting over each other all during the meal trying to have a conversation; and then there would be the usual confusion over who got what check.

I backup, turn around and make a determined retreat to my car in the parking lot up the street by Wagamon's Pond.  My car is the only car in the parking lot which is the way I like it.  I try to minimize my opportunities for getting dings in my car door after paying over $100 to have a couple of dings removed from my new car door.

When I got to my car I had a brainstorm and called my friend Bob C. and see if he wanted to go to dinner in a less crowded and noisy restaurant.  Just on the off chance.  I called and Bob answered.  He answered in the affirmative but he would have to change first. He said he would leave his door unlocked and I could let myself in.  That I did.  I didn't have to wait too long until he descended from his second floor staircase in grand fashion in a suitably appropriate Hawaiian shirt for our impromptu date.  My blogger friend Dr. Spo would have approved.

We drive down to the Bay Leaf restaurant near the car wash (many of our restaurants have the weirdest locations).  The cold of the air conditioned air envelopes us as we walk into the front door of the Bay Leaf.  This restaurant is also busy too but not packed and certainly not as noisy as the Broadkill Boathouse.  I did see a baby in a bassinet on a table which is usually a killer for me.  The woman waves to Bob.  He knows her.  She's the lady who runs the Milton Historical Society. I learn later it is her adopted baby. She's allowed. This obviously is not the time to make my predictable scene about babies in restaurants.  Instead I asked to be seated in the next room in a booth.  I'll manage.

We were seated, waited on, ordered and we had a wonderful meal!  I could actually talk to my friend and he could talk to me without each one of us shouting.  And, a big plus, there was no musical accompaniment.  I don't know what it is with these restaurants around here where they think it is necessary to hire the local "talent" (which is debatable) to sing and strum along with the meal and the din of diners shouting over one another.  No, instead we had a very enjoyable meal.  Bob had stuffed flounder and I had a roasted vegetable panini which was DELICIOUS!

So tonight I performed the rare task of turning another potentially disastrous restaurant dining experience (which I've had too much of recently) into a positive restaurant  dining experience.  At the risk of being a bore (which I am always at the risk of being and might actually be but I prefer not to acknowledge that at this time), I must say I am quite proud of myself for my quick thinking tonight.  Maybe I learned something form all those force fed all those management training seminars I blackmailed into taking endured my banking career heyday in which we were taught to turn around bad situations.  You know, make lemon aid out of a lemon.

When I got home tonight at about 8:45 pm, the sun had set and total darkness was inevitably settling down upon the landscape.  The temperature had dropped to a downright tolerable 88 degrees.  It was actually comfortable in spite of the humidity that was still in the air and clung to my body.  I took this picture of one of my favorite girl statues that is illuminated by one of my solar powered floodlights.

Yes, this day ended well.  Disaster was avoided.  Tomorrow another adventure awaits.  I am having brunch at Cafe Azafran in Lewes with the infamous famous"Anne Marie of Philly."  Film at eleven.

My favorite girl garden statue - not appropriate for a garden but I like it anyway

When To Say "No"

My wise Bhudda this evening after I returned from my Friday Night Dine Out Group

The sun has set but the heavy blanket of heat and humidity is still laying on the land here in my home of choice, southern Delaware.  We're not used to this heat.

The temperatures here rose to 105 degrees.  And this isn't the "dry heat" of Arizona.  This is the heavy heat of Florida.  We're not used to this heat.  Man oh man.

So I ventured out into this oven of heat to meet with my friends for our weekly Friday Night Dine Out Group meeting.  This week we met at the Texas Bar and Grill on Long Neck Road, somewhere down near the Indian River Bay (I don't remember the name of the community.)

The Texas Grill on Longneck - it's OK but I wouldn't make a special trip there

My friends Bob and Jim were there with their longtime unemployed houseguest Kenny.  Kenny looks like a concentration camp inmate because of all the weight he's lost only eating one meal a day.  Before I saw him tonight I didn't have much sympathy for his plight but after seeing him skin and bones, my attitude has softened somewhat.  Not so much that I'm offering him a place to live but I do feel sorry for him.

If you all remember my friends Bob and Jim, both show signs of dementia.  In the past I've helped them with installing a satellite TV in their home (they had no TV) and trained them into how to do e-mail (a waste of time because they promptly forgot what I taught them every time I left).

The last time I talked to them I had a falling out because I grew so frustrated with their dithering and confusion and hesitation on making any decisions.  I'm not a care provider.  I have no shame in admitting that fact.  I have my good qualities and skills, caregiving is not one of them.  I have little if no patience.  It's all I can do just to take care of myself and my 82 year old spouse.

So it took me quite by surprise this evening when Jim asked me to fill in the function of "friend" in dealing with the woman who is selling her trailer to them.  He said she is not using a real estate agent and their realtor advised them to "get a friend" to help them deal with her.  Excuse me?  A "friend"?  Me?  I don't so.  Why would I want to step into that quagmire?  Especially with my past experiences with Jim and Bob who absolutely cannot make a decision on ANYTHING.  Why would I want to do that?

I have a hard time saying "No" but I did say "No" to Jim.  He was taken aback but he shouldn't of been. Even if he did secure a "friend" to help him deal with a lady who is trying to save real estate commissions by selling her trailer herself, that wouldn't be guarantee that all the i's were dotted and the t's crossed.  I advised him to get a lawyer.  He said he did have a lawyer for the settlement.  I asked "Why isn't the lawyer working with you during the whole transaction?"  His answer?  Jim is going to save a few bucks by not paying a lawyer.  So he asks me to fill this function.

I turned him down flat.  I advised him to spring for the few bucks and get a layer.  Like me, he just inherited money from his Mom's estate so he has the cash to cover this expense.  So I said "No."

Do I feel a little bit guilty?  Sure. I like to be a hero to but I have to be realistic.  I've dealt with Jim before and it's no picnic.  Bob, my dear long time friend, is almost totally out of it.  These guys need help.  But that help isn't coming from me.

Maybe after all these years I've learned my lesson, no matter how much I try to help someone it always comes back to bite me in the ass.  I've been down this road many times before.  Maybe sometime I'll tell you about it.  But for now I'm leaving these two friends to seek professional help, which I am not.

Trapped at the Restaurant

For the second time this week I was trapped in a restaurant by a sudden thunderstorm.  What are the odds? We've had very little rain this spring and summer here in southern Delaware.  The fields of corn and soybean are burning up from the lack of rain.  Clouds of golden dust swirl up on unpaved roads as vehicles race to their destinations.  Route 1 is clogged with various modes of transportation as the hordes of tourists descend upon the sandy beaches of Rehoboth for relief by way of ocean breezes from the sweltering, energy sapping humid heat of these summer days.

Tuesday I joined friends for lunch at Stripper Bites in Lewes.  During our lunch the skies darkened and the heavens opened to a downpour of much needed rain on our sun baked soil.  So there we were; Jack and Judy and me and the other Judy.  Oh well, we had a chance to get better acquainted.  At least we got some rain and it was fun watching from our vantage point inside the diners on the patio make a hasty retreat from their cafe dining experience to the dry interior of the restaurant.  Actually, it was quite funny but then I enjoy watching things like that.

So tonight our Friday Night Dine Out Group meets at the Ocean Point Gill in Lewes.  As I arrived (I was the first), at 6:45 I noticed the skies darken.  Thunderstorm coming!  By the time the rest of the guys arrived the skies were almost black.  Someone brought up the subject of the giant sandstorm in Phoenix, Arizona earlier in the week.  I mentioned that one of my blogger friends was there and had taken pictures.  I brought the pictures up on my iPhone and passed it around for all to see.  All were predictably impressed.  Just as my iPhone was handed back to me, the heavens opened up and the downpour began.  The monsoons have arrived!  Well, at least it wasn't a giant sandstorm like they had in Phoenix.  But here it was, yet another downpour during my Dining Experience.  What are the odds?  No complaints from anyone at our table though.  We all know that we need the rain...bad.

During a momentary lull in the rain I made my getaway.  I had to get out of there before darkness.  I have a hard enough time as it is driving in the dark, but to drive in the dark with the rain and all those headlights coming at me....too much.

Actually, this was sort of fun tonight. There was a friendly camaraderie with my fellow diners as we were Trapped in the Restaurant.  Just another Day in the Life.

A Change of Scenery

Jimmy's Grille, Bridgeville, DE

Tonight our regular Friday Night Dine Out group didn't meet so the Milton contigent (you know who you are) decided to go on our own and take the long trip to Bridgeville, Delaware; home of the annual Apple-Scrapple Festival.  No, the festival wasn't being tonight.  We were just going to give Jimmy's Grill a try in far away Bridgeville.

Ken ready to eat

Well, the trip was worth it!  When we saw the crowd waiting to be seated as we entered the restaurant we knew we knew we were on to something.   This wasn't any summertime tourist crowd waiting to get into one of those overpriced Rehoboth restaurants.  These were hometown folk out for a night of good homestyle cooking.

Don digging in

We didn't have to wait too long until we were seated.  As we perused the menus, the biggest problem was what to choose.  This was All-American cuisine.  None of those "presentation dishes' where they paint the plate with squirts of some unknown and unheard of sauce, place a few sprigs of basil and maybe a sliver or two of meat and call it iconic (or something like that - I can't remember the exact word they use for those 'painted' dishes).

Scott with his chicken pie and David with his crab cakes

We placed our orders and we were all pleased with what we got.  Don V. was especially happy with his chicken breast with stuffing which tasted just like mom's homemade.  Scott got the chicken pie which he said was delicious. It looked so good, that's what I'm getting next time, right after I order the chicken breast with homemade stuffing.  I had a grilled Cajun chicken breast which was good, though I would prefer it a little spicier.  Scott also got that pretzel-Jello-cream pie appetizer which he said was the best he's had.  All the homemade desserts looked fabulous.  I left with a homemade cherry pie ($14.00).  Bill and I will make quick work of that All-American dessert (right after I complete this blog posting as a matter of fact).

My Cajun grilled chicken, scalloped potatoes, and sauteed squash

Of course I asked the the waitress to take a picture of our group.  She wasn't quite sure how to take our picture with my iPhone so the young man (Ryan) bussing the tables volunteered to take our picture.  It came out pretty good don't you think (except for me all hunched over like Quasimodo).

Oh yes, there is nothing like a little change of scenery.

Ryan, our photographer

An Evening With John Milton

Me, Bob, John Milton, and Ted (my Spo Shirt made its debut last night). Yes, Ted is sitting in John Milton's lap.  

Yesterday evening, The Old Geezer's Dining Club met again.  This time the Restaurant de jour was the Broadkill Boathouse restaurant in Milton, Delaware.  The Broadkill Boathouse was formerly the Iguana Grill.  I ate there once a few years ago with my good friend Bob Mc.  It was not a pleasant experience.
Which was a shame because the location of the restaurant is ideal.  It is right on the Broadkill River (thus the name) with a beautiful view of Wagamon's Pond in the center to downtown Milton.

The Broadkill River, Milton, DE

Well, I'm glad to say that last night's dining experience was a whole different story.  The Old Geezer's Dining Club (me, Bob C., Don V. and Teddy W.) came away from our summer evening dining repast with  satisfied appetites and happy memories.

Don, Bob and Ted (aka "The Old Geezers) looking at the Broadkill

Don, Bob and I had the prime rib sandwich special at $10.00.  Superb!  And you all know how fussy I am with food, especially prime rib.  Not for me a pink, soggy, pulsating slab (or two) of meat on a bun.  I need it cooked.  My prime rib sandwich was perfect.  With the prime rib sandwich I had steak fries.  The best steak fries I've ever had.  I can say that without qualification.

Teddy had a hamburger with sweet potato fries.  Teddy, who is about as fussy as I am, had no complaints about his food.  The hamburger tasted like hamburger (chargrilled - both of us love that flavor) and he especially liked the sweet potato fries which had some kind of special coating on it that he couldn't determine.  He asked the waitress but she didn't know either.  Thus that will remain a mystery.

Me, Ted, Bob and Don at the Broadkill Boathouse Restaurant on the deck on this beautiful summer evening in Milton, DE - check out my Spo Shirt - I was the envy of the Old Geezers! Is it me or does Don seem to have the spotlight on him while the rest of us are in the shadows?

Don had some kind of salad that looked like it had goose poop on it but he also pronounced it an unqualified success.  Maybe the goose poop dressing was in memory of the former geese population that took up residence at the Broadkill River last year until someone from the state park snuck in the dark lonely hours of the early morning hours before and did away with the year round resident geese.

Don and his great new haircut!

After dining at the Broadkill we all returned to Ted's house for his homemade peach pie with ice cream. Delicious!  Thank you Ted.

A delightful summer evening with friends in the cozy little town of Milton on the Broadkill River.  It doesn't get much better than this folks.  We'll have to do it again.

As darkness fell on the deck, Ted goes in to pay the bill for our evening repast

An Abject Public Apology

Yes folks, I am making a public apology.  Yesterday I posted a mean and thoughtless remark about how ALL my friends are OLD AND FAT and don't want to do any physical exercise except dine out.


Mark your calendar folks, I WAS WRONG!


My first mistake was saying ALL my friends are old and fat and lazy.  Hey, maybe some of them are maybe not.  So what?  Who am I to make such a judgement?  Just because some of them don't want to participate in my activities?  I would say that was pretty selfish of me, wouldn't you?  


So, to my friends who are in my age group or older - I APOLOGIZE.  I DIDN'T MEAN IT!  


Having said that, not everyone of my old, fat and lazy friends disagreed with me.  Here is an e-mail exchange from my long time friend Bill B. (who is so secretive that he doesn't like to comment on my blog but I'm outing him anyway):

Ron,

"I know what you mean.  Every Memorial Day weekend, on Saturday after the Chestertown Tea Party, Betty and Sam have a picnic in MD with a group of about a dozen friends.  We used to spend hours walking around Chestertown after watching the parade, eating all kinds of goodies (fried chicken, pulled pork, crabs, etc.), then watching the Tea party Reenactment on the Chester River.  Now we go back to Betty's a lot sooner in the day and talk.  I sometimes wonder how long this tradition will continue.  So, I'm with you buddy!"

Bill

----- Original Message -----

From: Ronald Tipton

To:  (name removed to protect his privacy)

Sent: Monday, June 13, 2011 9:42 PM

Subject: Re: [Retired in Delaware] Beautiful Monday

Bill,

I'm not disposing the older friends but facing reality that most of them aren't as physically fit as I am thus I'm going to stop asking them to join me in activities.  I keep hitting this brick wall with them.  Reality hit today.

Ron

On Jun 13, 2011, at 5:35 PM, (my old friend) wrote:

Ron,

"Look for some younger friends.  Don't dispose of the old ones, but some younger blood is good for us."

Bill

Then here is another response from another one of my longtime OLD friends:

Larry, aka The Kid and The Old Goat has left a new comment on your post "Beautiful Monday": 

Ron

"I take umbrage with this: "ALL of my friends my age or older are overweight and out of shape and don' want to do anything other than eat out again." You know I love walking, it's just distance that comes between us sharing some trails. 

Anyway, I'm waiting to see my schedules at work the next week and maybe then Lo and I can drive down and go with you to that photo shop. I'll reply to your email today.

"I have a bunch of old farts for friends, believe me. I'm the only young one. Sad but true." Indeed!! Someday you have to join me on some of the trails I regularly walk. :)"

Lar 

Now, to make be really feel guilty, another friend of mine (who has a lot more class than I obviously do) sent me this e-mail today inviting me out to dinner in spite of the thoughtless insult I tossed his way yesterday:

"Wanna go to Boathouse tonight? I know what you said in your blog but you want to go with the Old Geezer's Club?"

I accepted his invitation and will be leaving shortly to join my OLD friends at dinner tonight.

By the way, I can't do what I used to do twenty years ago either and I can hardly get through the day without my daily nap.  

My comeuppance is now complete.  Now which I think I'll ask who wants to join me on that 5k run next week.

"Please accept my apology"

Frozen Lime Margherita

"Ah yes"

Well folks, can  you think of a better drink from a warm summer night?  I can't.  I just returned from our Friday Night Dine Out Group meeting.  This week we met at the La Quezalteca Mexican Restaurant in Millsboro, DE.  I like Mexican food.  I like this restaurant.  It is located at the intersection of Rts. 24 and 30 just before you enter Millsboro, Delaware.  It is a lovely early evening ride to meet friends for dinner.

Usually, I don't order an alcoholic beverage when dining out because I'm driving.  But tonight I made an exception.  After a long, hard day of work (in at 7 am this morning after getting off of my shift last night at 11 pm), I thought I deserved a little drinkie poo.  After I saw my friend Don V. order a Lime Margherita, I thought "Why not? What harm can one do?"  I am glad I ordered it.  It was delicious!  Just the thing to loosing my nerves and take my anxiety away.  One drink only though. Any more than that then I'm loopsy do.  I don't want to get that way, that's loss of control.  I do not like to lose control.

I have one more day of work before I resume my normal schedule of 3 to 11, on Wednesday and Thursday night.  That is tomorrow, Saturday.  I am so looking forward to getting back got my regular routine.  I've been off of it since our vacation at the beginning of May.  I've lost 12 pounds (most of it around my waist which is where I wanted to lose it) and my system (bowels) are all screwed up.  I just have to get 'regular' again in more way than one.

I love tonights like tonight.  Millsboro is a good 30 minutes away from my house.  I don't like to travel in the dark but on these long spring days, it is the perfect and relaxing time to travel.  And it is always good to get together with friends.  Dining out with friend is probably my third favorite activity (my second is gardening, and I'll let you guess what my first is).

Today was a good day and I'm just about ready to call it quits.  See you all again tomorrow.  Thank you Don for taking the pictures!

My friend Don who too the pictures enjoying HIS lime margherita

With Eyes Wide Shut

Friends dining at the Bay Leaf Restaurant in Milton, DE May 24, 2011

As all of my friends know, when I dine out with them I usually ask the waitress (or waiter) to take a picture of me and my dining companions before the meal.  I know that my habit sometimes annoys my friends.   I try to restrain myself but to little avail. Occasionally, like last Friday's Dine Out, I didn't pull out my iPhone camera.  I actually got through the whole meal sans pictures, probably much to the pleasure of some of my dining companions.

However, tonight I wanted to take a picture of me and my friends because we were dining at a new restaurant in Milton called The Bay Leaf.  I was with a group of my VBDF (Very Best Dining Friends) who I hadn't been with for too long because of vacation and my recently crazy full-time working schedule. We call our club "The Old Geezer's Dining Club". Yep, we're all retired and way over the hill.  We're at the age where we just enjoy each other's company.

So tonight right after we placed our orders I asked the waitress to take our picture with my iPhone.  She happily obliged.  She took the picture.  She handed me back my iPhone and I glanced at the picture and saw smiles around.  I was pleased.  I sent the picture to my dining friends by the way of my iPhone.

We had our dinner, which was delightful.  We lingered after dinner over dessert and coffee, catching up on everything since the last time I was out to dinner with my friends.

I come home.  I pull up the picture taken of us dining and what do I find?  I HAVE MY EYES CLOSED!

Can you believe it?  One would think that after all these years of having my picture taken dining out with my friends that I could at least keep my eyes open!

You know why?  After all these years I'm just not a poser.  I never would make a good model.  I cannot smile on command.  Spontaneous pictures of me are the best.  When I pose, and there is even the slightest delay, this is what you get from me.  A doofus with his eyes WIDE SHUT.

Hey guys?  Let's do this again!

Old Geezers' Night Out

Springtime colors in front of my house this morning

Spring is almost here.  Although spring arrived officially a month ago, spring really hasn't arrived yet.  Oh a day or two here and there but for the most part we've had cold, gray and wet days around these parts on the eastern coast of Delaware. 


Today I finally felt a Taste of Spring.  After Bill and I returned from Loew's with another couple bags of mulch, I worked all morning to break up a couple hundred daffodil bulbs and replant then.  Oh, I know that I'm supposed to wait until the 'green dies back" but by the time that happens (July 4th) I'm in no mood to dig up daffodil bulbs because it is usually too hot for digging and besides, the mosquitoes are out in full force.  So I threw the rules out the window (like I usually do with my plantings) and dug those daffodils up this mooring and took about three hours to transplant everything.  Next spring we're going to be in Daffodil Heaven at this house.


Early tomorrow morning (7:30 am), Sposato Irrigation is coming by to turn on my irrigation system.  This is summer time folks.  Next I pay a visit to the East Coast Garden Center and buy three river birch trees.  Bill and I are going to build a kidney shaped island outside my bedroom window to block out the heat of the summer midday sun.  I like that sun coming in my bedroom during the winter (nothing like the comfortable heat of a solar warmed bedroom in the dead cold of the winter) but in the summertime it's a bit much.


These evening my friends Don V., Ted W. and Bob C. came by to pick me up and we had dinner at the Nage Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach.  We don't usually patronize expensive restaurants but Don had a 50% off coupon good until the end of April so we all decided to take advantage of his generosity.  We all had filet mignon.  It's been a long time since I had such a tender and tasty piece of meat like I had tonight.

Don in front of Nage Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, DE

We call our occasional get togethers at for fine restaurant dining "Old Geezer's Night Out."  This occasion is not to be confused with the regular Friday Night Dine Out Group. That group of (mostly old geezers with few exceptions) is at an inexpensive Sysco Food Driven restaurant.  But, occasionally, we break off from the group and patronize a restaurant that make their food fresh from scratch.  It may be more expensive and perhaps we can't afford it but it is worth it.  One really nice thing about tonight's dining experience, no kids.  Hey, I love little kids and I think some of them are just as cute as they can be but sometimes, just sometimes I like to dine out without the background sound of a screaming kid or a crying baby.  Tonight was a treat.

Old Geezers ready to chow down