So, vacation = no staff meal, but I made it out alive anyhow. As you can see, when I wasn't underwater I was eating.
We started our trip out right with my mom and brother, sitting on a dock by a saltwater river, eating even lobster and drinking wine. We were at this great place right near my Mom's house where you bring all of your own stuff- salads, bread, drinks, desserts, and they make the seafood and that's IT. We had steamers and lobster rolls and it was excellent. Afterwards we had ice cream cones and I battled my brother. The next day we got to try my friend Molly's sweet biscuits and scones at her revamped Rocky Acre Farm Stand in York, Maine. If you are in the area you should go see her some weekend! She is an excellent baker and even has good coffee to go along with it all.
The reason we go home specifically every August is for my grandmother's yearly lobster bake. This year was fantastic- the lobsters were sweet, and the corn was too. The brownies were nearly raw and each weighed several pounds... Being a horribly disgusting and unstoppable family, we went to the Ipswitch Mass. Clam Shack the very same week, where we ate pounds of fried clams and onion rings. It was insanely good and also gave me a stomach ache (which tells me I'm still alive, so that's good).
This year we extended our trip down to the North Carolina shore for more family visiting. Here we spent most of our time having a SPF 30 tanning contest and then fighting about who was winning. We also cooked a few meals, ate some sno-cones and bought some really special southern teeshirts. Also, I fed a seagull a nacho cheese Dorito out of my hands on a boat!
It's always hard to get home after an awesome vacation, but I'm glad to be back in Portland. My tomatoes are ripe and beautiful, I got up the courage to rip out all of my zucchini plants, and the Portland Pie Off is only 5 days away. I need to start practicing recipes!
