Summer Swing, notes from the Rogue.

Sometimes obliging, sometimes not...Assateague's temperamental break. 8/2017

Assateague's stoke. 8/2017

   Been nice to get back to get back to the Shore. Good to see the wife adjusting as well. Amazing what some good seafood will do! Plenty of company. Friends. Family. Now August. Summer in the apex. Mix in a little surfing and primo summer beer. Goes a long way in dissolving the stress of a move. Puts you in the swing.

August on the Sho' and we had to do Blessing of the
Combines. Snow Hill, MD 8/5/2017.

                   Millville, DE. 8/2017                         

Chicago's Revolution Brewing put out
a super summer IPA in Tropic-Hero.
Big aromas of mango and melon.
Finished with the sweet of peach
and bitterness of grapefruit. 
7% ABV, a big 70 IBUs.

     

Summer peaches, Ocean View, DE 8/2017

When it wasn't shorebreak, it was late day short rides. Surfing kibbles until the 'Canes start trippin'. 
67th Street thighs, Mid- August, 2017.

   Dogfish Head ixnayed the Brew Pub. Put up a literal venue. Remodeled the brewery into an oyster house. Had to check it out. Good grub with all the added brews. An added advantage to our piece of the Right Coast. They haven't lost their touch.

This one impressed me. 17.5% ABV

70 IBUs. World Wide Stout. 

Brewed with roasted

malts & tons of barley. Throw in

some coffee. Some vanilla. Age in

an oak barrel. Dogfish did this

stout good. Black Velvet brah. 

Knock ya on yo ass!

Heaven's Pearls...the Chesapeake & Maine superstars.

Dogfish's Summer IPA. Lupu-

Luau. Pils malts and oats. 

Copious amounts of hops and

coconut. Poured a hazy pale 

orange. Nice white foamy head. 

Tasted of coconut and citrus. 

7.3% ABV.45 IBUs. Couldn't stop

at one.

   2017 White Marlin Open was not to be missed.
First couple of days were a washout as storms
moved through the area. By Day 3, a couple
hundred boats a day. The featured, an 87lb.
Yellowfin (pictured at weigh-in) that won a
couple hondo G's, and the heaviest White
Marlin in tournament history at 95.5 lbs. 

                                                         

Mid-summer mushburgers at Rodeways, 8/2017.

"Horse Racing is animated roulette."  - R. Kahn.
Can't let summer go by without a trip to Ocean Downs. Trotters, late August. Racetrack Road, Berlin. 

Always a nice Pale Ale to toast the
evening to. Smooth, with a touch of
orange zest and melon. Bitter resin
notes in the finish. Solemn Oath
outta Naperville, IL did Old Faithorn
up right.

Sunrise on the St. Martin. Late August, 2017.  Good time to walk the dog with my Granddaughter.

Blue To Green, from the Rogue's notebook.

"Surfing just magnifies something that everyone is capable of feeling ... true clarity, true freedom."

-William Robertson

California dreaming down the Ventura/Malibu border, 8/17/2017.

   Few years back I worked a sales job traveling cross country. Hadn't been surfin' long, but always found it a wonder when I would be on the East Coast one week, the West Coast the next, and back on the East Coast again. Always watching for the next ride on the horizon. Been a while. Almost fifteen years. Different job. New position. Another trip to Cali. Ventura/Malibu. Walls of blue with patches of foamy, brown kelp mixed in; tops of kelp forests that form aquatic murals along the Pacific Coast Highway. A glimpse of the local surf style through the eyes of the various lineups spread out just beyond the break. Felt the longing to have access to a board. One crack at a stomach high swell I had yet to scratch. LAX on the breakfast menu.

   A week later cross-country. Standin' on the shores of my hometown, facing down knee to thigh waves...again. Greenish brown, semi-clean walls swirled with the sand sucked up as the bottom drifted up to meet the swell-line along the trek to shore. You now why our water's green vs. blue?

Evergreen...my Right Coast, 67th OCMD.

The diminished oyster population of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays caused by over harvesting. A natural filter exchanging oxygen and CO2 for water, over the history of Bays lack of regulation led to a state of near exhaustion. Lack of oxygen means more algae and bacteria. Mean green. But Watermen and local governments have worked together to spur a comeback to bluer seas. Once again, I digress. Caught me quite a few fronts, skinning 'em up here and there. Mid-tide. Light bump. Stoke filled session. Upper seventies water. Mid seventies along the sand. Nice night in the lineup. Grateful. Blessed.

Skinning the greenies. Holidays, 8/24/2017

   On the return trip from Ventura to LAX, stopped at Neptune's Net off the PCH in Malibu. On location for several movies including 1991's Point Break, and The Fast and the Furious. Delicioso fish tacos washed back with St. Archer Brewing's White Ale. Outta San Diego the brew poured a hazy gold with a less than finger head. Lacing was hard to see in the plastic cup required on deck. Traditional Belgian Witbier with aromas of pepper and orange in a Belgian yeast background. Tasted of coriander and orange...very similar to a Blue Moon (not a fan). Only 5% ABV so the 22oz. bomber didn't hurt. Light hop finish at 15 IBUs. Given the added local atmosphere, I rated the ale a B/B-. With surf paraphernalia splashed around haphazardly and a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean, it was a classic surf moment on Point and hard to beat.                                          

Brewers, artists, musicians, surfers, skateboarders, snowboarders...
the iconic Cali Coast.

Shake A Leg, from the Rogue's notebook.

Goin' against the grain, tryin' to keep me sane with you.    -Shake A Leg, AC/DC
Vittles for the stoke. The break formerly known as Rodeway's, 30th on the OC's Right. 8/10/2017

   Now painted up as an Econolodge, the break still known as Rodeway's on 30th, has been spewing a few dollops here and there over the last couple 'o weeks. Water's been a very comfortable 76-78F. Been doin' the best I can to take advantage despite the inability to keep a stick completely intact. Last week's thigh plus point break/closeout session kept me guessing up until takeoff. Changin' my mind at the last minute. Go right. Go left. Not always in position. My 7'6" T&C though slimmer, is tougher to spin in position. Made it slow to set-up here and there. Nice little jam sesh though. Gave me enough stoke to shake off the kook legs for a bit.
   Any brewery worth it's salt will put out enough good beer to make a post surf confab worth partaking in. Burley Oak...in addition to being one of the best local taps...is a surfer owned/operated brew house that does just that. Lost IPA. Found after deep conversation on perfect IPAs, this 60 IBU hopped up concoction pours a slightly hazy copper with about a finger white head. Lacing that disappeared quickly. Aromas of grass, fresh pine and light grapefruit. Going down, tastes of orange, mango, and light honey. Creamy, well balanced caramelized malt finish made for easy drinking. Comes in 16 ounce four packs...at 7.2% ABV. Put ya in a hurt locker if ya ain't careful. Had better, but this one was nice nevertheless. Rated a B+.

"Free air guitar with every pint."

-Bar Sign

Gone Skeg, from the Rogue's notebook

"I need a drink and a quick decision..."  -She's Gone, Hall & Oates.
Not feelin' the love, Castles on 38th. 7/27/2017

   Summer is startin' to wind down. Can just feel it. No notable sessions. Seems like as of late I've dealt with more shorebreak than point breaks. Been paying the price too. Week before last, caught a couple then spent the rest of the time bitch-sliding down the face of a few waisties much to my chagrin. Blamed it on the backside. More like something missing (besides time in the aqua). 

Feelin' better on the backup...
thigh-hi skimmin', Roadways@30th. 8/4/2017

Following a frustrating sesh I faced a stone covered path to the shower. Like stepping over shards of dull glass. Puffed a sigh of relief when I made it to the shower only to lose my breath as I realized my center skeg was adios. Not just broke off...fuc#ing gone. Fin box and all; ripped right out. Not that I wanted to re-live the whole affair, but I did not recall a single wrecked ride (and there were a few) that would have slammed my stick like that. Blame it on the shorebreak.

Paddle Board esplanade, The Pines Swim Club. 8/6/2017

  Jump ahead to the now. Wife and son- Jake, and I went SUP'in yesterday morning in the Pines, then surfed Assateague in the afternoon. Nice day on the bay, but the wind picked up in the PM. Atlantic was pretty much blown out. Couldn't make up it's mind if it was goin' left or right. Squeezed out a few thigh to waists here and there. Backsides included. Not much power. Became worse as the tide went out. Jake caught a few. Both stoked. Prepared to exit the Salted. Started to wrap the leash around the tail and Damn! if I didn't snap another one. Center fin gone. Thruster became a twin fin once again. My wife just shook her head. Never an issue over the years and in two weeks, two skegs gone. Blame it on me. I guess.

Always a fan favorite, never a fan. The AP's, Assateague Island. 8/7/2017

Gone again..."better learn how
to face it." -H&O

Blame it on the workday
Blame it on the heatwave
Blame it on the tick-tock moving too slow
Blame it on any ol' thing you want
Ready, get set, here we go
-Day Drinkin', Little Big Town.
   Make all the wreckage feel a bit better? A good beer. Or two. Michigan's Short's Brewing Company throws out an outstanding IPA that pays homage to the hop (hence the play on the genus-species). Huma Lupa Licious pours a clear amber with a finger plus khaki head. Thick, sticky lacing. Aromas of toffee and sweet malts with mango and orange. Thrown back, the sweet, whiskey-malt front end. Nicely balanced as the 96 IBUs of resinous citrusy bite of the hops hit 'cha in the finish. A very smooth 7.7% alcohol content will leave you at least thinking you're wanting. Rated an A. What skeg?

   Fought the sour puss with Victory's Sour Monkey... Sour Brett(anomyces) Tripel. Another 9.5% ABV, boozy favorite.  Hazy gold pour. Half finger head. Thin lacing. Sour green apples blended with lemon in the nose. Some yeast. Tastes of tart apples and lemon mixed with sweet rum. Not a dry finish in the house with this one. 10 IBUs as typical with most sours. Rated an A-.

"Don't need a reason or a
happy hour." - LBT