Happy Birthday to Me!

It's only once a year, so for that one day, everyone deserves to have it be all about them, and Friday was mine. I had a nice cake and balloons at work, along with a very nice gift, then I left a little early to go to a movie with my mother. We saw Nights in Rodanthe, which was very good except for..... no no, not telling. It is fun to see a movie set in familiar places, as the Outer Banks are right next door to Virginia Beach.

After the movie, we met my brother & BS at a Virginia Beach landmark for dinner:

Steinhilber's has been there since 1939, and is still owned and operated by the same family. We like to give our pennies to locally owned businesses, and this one has excellent food.

My fried shrimp were enormous and served with a lovely remoulade sauce, and my brother said the prime rib is the best he has ever had. The transfer of tasty beef from the plate to his stomach via his taste buds is one of his favorite things, so I trust his opinion of anything culinarily related to the cow. Anyway, the restaurant is on the river, so the view out the back is lovely, even if it was getting dark. But dusk on a clear breezy evening is my favorite time of all. And on our way out, Mom gave me a WHOLE PAN OF BROWNIES to take home!!!!! Hot dog!

Then Saturday morning, I got up and drove down to the Outer Banks for a visit with my dad for more birthday fun. It is 72 miles from my front door to his. Not bad, and it is a very pretty and peaceful drive.

This is my very favorite scene on the way there. I keep wondering - is that what killed these people? Dirty Dick's is a local seafood company, and they just loooove their slogan. And their other one - 'if you haven't been there, you obviously don't know Dick'. Heh.

When I arrived, we walked across the street for the Kitty Hawk Heritage Day festivities.

This little clown did NOT look happy to be wearing her costume & face paint on a warm afternoon. Could not get the child to crack a single smile.

First thing we did was make a beeline for the food, and we found a vendor selling big ol' BBQ turkey legs. I don't want to think about the fat & calories in this thing. It was just too stinkin' good, as you can see because all that was left were the bare bones....

They had a really cool old old old fire engine...

Some dead animal carcasses (can't figure out why they were there. You couldn't buy them or anything).

Local school kiddies playing music....

These high schoolers formed a jazz band, and they were very good....

Grown men in funny looking clothes. No, really, they were from Fort Raleigh, the site of the Lost Colony....

And lots of green pond scum. You can see it around the fountain, but when not disturbed by moving water, it made for a solid green mat of algae over every damp surface....

When we had about as much fun as we could stand, we went back home to digest before dinner. My dad lives on the Currituck Sound, and he gets the most beautiful sunsets. On some days, anyway. Saturday wasn't one of them, but the views are still wonderful....

He says that when they moved into the house 20 years ago, the level of the sound was not that high, certainly not up the stairs. It has risen about a foot since he has lived there. OMG! It's GLOBAL WARMING and RISING SEA LEVELS, right there in his back yard!!! (If you look closely in that first link, there is a little story that says crop yields will increase with warming. Yay! Increased crop yields. The only bright spot amid all the doom and gloom. They even go so far as to say that there would be no more Mardi Gras in New Orleans. "Oh my gawd, it's a fuckin' nightmeah!" (5 points to whoever gets that obscure movie reference. I know Toughie & BS will get it) But I digress...

Anyway, Pop & I headed out for a very enjoyable evening. It started with dinner at the Flying Fish Cafe in Kill Devil Hills. The food was spectacularly good. Then to First Flight High School for an installment of the Outer Banks Forum, bring the performing arts to the isolated & unwashed masses of the barrier islands. This one featured the 1929 silent film version of Phantom of the Opera with Dorothy Papadakos at the organ. Sooooo cool - she basically improvised an entire soundtrack right there while watching the movie with all of us. The forum has done a fantastic job, and I wish them much success. Darn, I had a picture of her playing with her organ (snerk), but I can't find it.

Then we came home and watched football. It was close, but Virginia Tech beat Nebraska's big fat butts.
Go Hokies!

The next morning, we headed out for breakfast at probably my favorite restaurant on the Outer Banks - the Jolly Roger.

I think the reason it's my favorite is because we have been going there since we first started visiting the Outer Banks - about 30 years, so there are a lot of memories attached there.

After a little nap after breakfast, I had to go, since I had another stop to make before I went home. My internet friend Rosie Hawthorne (not her real name. I am Ticky, but that's another story) lives only about 10 miles from Dad, and I have visited her several times before. There is always a fun time to be had there. She is a fa-a-a-a-abulous cook (as is Mr Hawthorne), and she posted all about my visit and her preparations. They are truly beloved friends, and to think, we met online at this site, since we both love to watch the Food Network. Not everyone you meet online is a stalker, you know. Her posts about my visit have much better pictures, so I will encourage you to look at hers, however, I shall include a few....

She asked me ahead of time if I liked shrimp, and my response was "Shrimp are the food of the gods. So is Velveeta." We have an ongoing joke about Velveeta. So she made me some delicious Veleeta dip....

Next were homemade spring rolls. They look like big floppy phallus symbols. Probably why she made them for me, she knows how much I like my phallus symbols....

Hawthorne Doggie Dixie was very anxious for some tasty scraps....



I hope I see you again soon Hawthornes!! And I'll bring BS next time.

Some random scenes of NC before I go:

A box turtle we rescued from the road and placed ever-so-gently in the safe bushes.



These trees were still b-r-a-c-i-n-g for the storm. I don't think anyone told them the storm was over...








"And come again real soon!" New Yorkers got nuthin' on us.

And finally, the stained glass windows I made for Dad's house, many years ago....





Now I think I need a brownie for breakfast. See ya!