Vacation - It's all about the Food

Taking the fight to leukemia for 418 Days and counting...

Crabs, Crabs, everywhere

Our vacations center around one thing and one thing only - food. Ocean City is awash with establishments offering crabs. Practically every street corner is home to a crab house of some kind. Many times there are even more than one. And I found all of this odd. Growing up "inland" in Texas, I don't recall BBQ restaurants adorning every corner. What's the fascination with crab?

On Monday evening the Believe in Tomorrow group dined together at Hoopers - one of Ocean City's renowned crab and seafood restaurants. Carson was having a blast before we sat down - but that had nothing to do with the crab. Hoopers had a Dale Earnhardt NASCAR racing car as a centerpiece inside the restaurant. So, we spent most of the evening examining every detail of the car.

It's a miracle we ever made it to the table.

But we finally sat down, ordered drinks, and started in on the Seafood Feast and Ribs. (Anything described as a "feast" and then adds "ribs" is definitely targeted advertising to our family!) We had the boiled shrimp, fried clams (or were they muscles?), ribs, hush puppies...and then came the crabs.

BBQ vs. Crabs - is there really any contest?

And this is where I take issue with seafood. Crab is good, but it is WAY too much work for such little reward. Do you have to work that hard for BBQ? No. Do they have hammers on the tables at your favorite BBQ joint? Well, they shouldn't. My point is BBQ is a delicacy worth breaking a sweat over, but you don't have to. Why bother with crab?

Swimmer Boy

On Tuesday we took a much needed rest from the beach (yes, I was still complaining about the sand) and we headed to the pool. Carson spent the morning trying to refine his swimming by paddling up to the pool bar. (I guess this is where I should add that Believe in Tomorrow does NOT have a pool for the children, instead we use the hotel pool across the street - thus the swim-up bar.)

Carson continued refining his stroke until he finally said, "Let me go!" and swam across the pool. So, after starting swim lessons in June 2009 - a few weeks before his cancer diagnosis - we finally got there.

Like turning on a switch, he was off. He swam over to mom. He swam to the ladder. Then he said, "I want to go to the deep end." So we went and he swam across the deep end.

Carson took a really good nap on Tuesday.

Italian Rules the Day

Those of you who know us, know that when it comes to Italian cuisine we are somewhat particular. Well, okay, we are SNOBS. (There I said it.) Four years of living in Italy - even though it was a long time ago - left us jaded. As a result, we don't try that many new Italian restaurants.

However, when Wayne, the Believe in Tomorrow - Ocean City Program Director, described the authentic Italian restaurant a few miles to our north, we thought we'd give it a try. And, boy, are we glad we did.

Carson and I scarfed down Margarita pizza cooked in the wood-fired oven and topped with freshly shaved parmigiana. They even had roasted peppers as one of the toppings - one of my favorites. But the real treat of the evening was when we were done eating and then the manager invited Carson into the kitchen to make another pizza. (I have some pictures to upload, but don't have the adapter to get them off our phones...so look for those next week.)

If you are ever in the area, you definitely want to stop by Mancini's. You'll be glad you did.

Okay, so strolling on the beach in the evenings is actually kind of nice...even for a beach-hater like me.

Captain Carson

Wednesday started off with a boat ride around the bay and down to Assateague seashore. It was a beautiful journey on a gorgeous day. Captain Dave, a long time resident and avid fisherman, knew exactly where to take us and was an awesome tour guide!

We saw wild horses on Assateague Island. No, Francesca, we can't take one home!

Capt. Dave and First-Mate Carson pilot the boat around the numerous sand bars in the bay. Carson would like to point out that we also saw police boats and a tow boat, too.

So, it's Wednesday evening and Carson is still having a blast. Although, he is getting tired of having to get in the shower three times a day to wash off the sand. It won't be too long and he'll be a beach-hater like me. :-)

Paul.