Tidewater Coastal Pilgrimage, the Rogue's notes.

 

Coastal high-tide on Broad Creek. St. Michaels, MD - 5/26/2024.

    Haven't been to St. Michaels, MD in a minute. Became time to take stock and stock up. A Tidewater Coastal pilgrimage of sorts. Indulged a bit. Beer. Spirits. Food. History. Beer. Did a few tag-ups... Gina's for a quick bite, Eastern Shore Brewing for a beer or two or three, Lyon's Distillery to fill our depleted bar, some street shop surfing, then finished with dinner at Limoncello's.  This is why we always make a timely return. Somewhat yearly. Hell, got married here! No wonder it's ingrained. Place always leaves us stoked. 

Eastern Shore Brewing

        

Colonel Kemp House.

           Yeah. Okay. It's from the county below, but RAR Brewing puts out a very solid IPA. Nanticoke Nectar. Served in many a' St. Michaels tavern. Dark golden pour with a near 2-finger head. Ample thick lacing. Floral and citrus in the nose. Biscuity. Caramel and pine. Flavors of the caramel-toffee malts. Plenty of mango, grapefruit, and resin. Earthy, bright, crisp finish. At 7.4%, you'll begin to feel the net one quick. Kinda like a dizzying 65 IBU hop punch in the mouth. Like I said. Solid. Rated a B+.

"Life and beer are very similar;

keep it chill for best results."

-A. Nonymous

Fast Crash Rollers, the Rogue's notes.

Rollin' on the River. As the swell and the Cruisers rolled out, the fog rolled in.
St. Martin River, Shell Gut. 5/21/2024

    May. Water's warming. Not fast enough. Running about 48-50F. Shorebreakin' a bit as well. In addition to the Atlantic rollers crashing the beach (literally), we've had Cruisin' Weekend crashing the town (not literally). Surfin' and Street Rods. Always a fast pair. Can't get wet, can at least get charged.

'73 Chevelle SS

    Brew review. Boreal, "of the North." A Michigan Dry Hopped Lager. An IPL- India Pale Lager. So to speak. Old Nation Brewing. A hoppy lager that poured a straw yellow with a thin, white, fizzy head. Fast dissipating, like the lacing. Aromas of herbal hops and lemon zest- heavy citrusy lemon. Flavors of no-salt saltines. Crackery malt. Bready. More lemons. Lite grapefruit. And a sharp pine finish. At 5%, refreshing. At 40% IBUs, very crisp. A- rating. Get's ya charged! Good stuff.

Inlet parking lot, 5/18/2024. (Dispatch photos)
"Surfing and hot rodding weren’t mutually exclusive,
and many of the surfers who made money selling
boards or winning contests put that money into the
hot rods, muscle cars, and sports cars that announced
their arrival at the beach."   -Benjamin Preston, Hagerty Media

Surrey Sesh, the Rogue's notes.

27th Street Dunes. Windblown waist plus chop. Waves couldn't decide where to break. 
Salted spray everywhere. Off the Boards, 4/14/2024

     Blowin' sand all afternoon. Yeah. Sunday on the Boards. Long winter. Spring has sprung. Spent those stretches away from the beach. Good to get back. I remember riding bikes on the boardwalk. Wife and I? Can ride bikes around the OP all the time. We rented a Surrey. Bike World on Caroline. Our boardwalk bike-ride go-to. Riding north we were with the wind. A breeze. Pun intended and appreciated. 

Built in wind socks!

Wind was blowing hard enough we coulda broken records. Ride back? No records. No music. Just that wind. Blowing in our faces. Ears. Hard. Pump those legs! On more mile. Got the beach though. And that lovely Ocean. Chopped up slop. They were rights. Frontsides. Long to get back in. Have a better season than last. What a conundrum. Freezing chop? Or the relentless wind in a surrey? Well...we rented the surrey. Had to return it. Good thing a beer was waitin' at home.

     Penrose Brewing. St. Charles, IL. Day Off IPA. Perfect name for the beer to quench my fatigue from that boardwalk wind brawl. Not super heavy at 5.7% ABV. Poured a bright gold with a finger-plus, white head. Thin lacing. Aromas of citrus and guava. Light pine typical of a fresh IPA. Tropical flavoring- lemon-lime, pineapple, and grapefruit. Nice hop bitterness to balance the citrus. Easy drinker. Solid B rating.

Outside The Box, the Rogue's notes.

"A real wayfinder never sleeps." - Maui
Man's imagination... Lake Buena Vista's Amphicar.

     Four days of the Mouse. That wave of Disney took it's toll. Decided to spend time outside the box. So to speak. Over the next two days: put in a day at SeaWorld then split our final day- poolside at the resort... eating and shopping at Disney Springs.

     SeaWorld. Had a Food, Wine, and Beer Fest going on- Seven Seas Food Festival. Quick Queue- like a fast pass. Restaurants in general.  All X-Pen-Siv. Like more than Disney, not gonna lie. Not as high end, and not as clean. However, this was a resort town. Resort prices. And smaller parks gotta make their margins. Their aquariums, and shows did shine somewhat. The real leviathans were the Coasters. We did Manta and Pipeline. Sick. Both impressed. Late morning until evening. Mod Pizza for dinner (this was Orlando), then back to home base to unwind.

 

The Manta!

 

Taking flight.

Ready to ride the wild surf!

 

  

Gotta take that one last ride. -Jan and Dean

     Closing day. Hit the pool, late AM (yes, slept in) until early PM. Two pools to chose from. "Avast!" Chose the pirate themed pool. More to work the young imagination. Copa Loca Bar & Grill, to help the Grups douse the week's burn. Another sunny Florida morning. Stoked. 

     Late afternoon. Disney Springs. Yes, more of and the last of Walt's world that topped off an outstanding seven day fiesta. An intense last Disney sesh. Dinner at The Boathouse. 

Islamorada Beer Co.

Blonde Citrus Ale. 

Straw yellow pour.

Fluffy 2 finger

white head. Lemon 

and malt aromas.

Flavors of citrus

and hops. Refreshing

lawn-mower brew. 

5% ABV, 19 IBU.

Marina drinkin.'

Rated a B-.

Classic marina view.

Sunrise IPA. Sailfish

Brewing's  hopped-up

offering with a water

slappin' 77 IBU bite.

Hazy orange-amber

pour. Finger thick head.

Sweet mangos and

oranges in the nose.

Grapefruit, pineapple,

and resinous pine in

the flavors. At 7% ABV,

one too many and

you'll need the bright

lights of Disney to find

your way! Liked this

one. Gave it an A-.

Coffee at Joffrey's- the Disney staple. Walk off dinner. To Jock's. To the Edison. Passed Planet Hollywood... reimagined from Disney's Pleasure Island days. Crossed T-Rex's. Entered the World of Disney. Skimmed the Polite Pig (a bourbon bar replete with their own brew on tap- much to my disenchantment). Closed out with Ron Jon (found the replacement stoke!). Needless to day- slept well. As difficult as it was, we found the energy to check out. Portillo's once again as we exited Orlando. Provided the kick needed for the trip back. Great vacay!

Jock Lindsey's

Shaky Jamaiky

The Planet

the Edison

T-Rex's - the bones await.

Bourbon 'n Beer here.

Plenty of Disney- at a price!

Store of Stoke

Morning wakeups, the GV.

"TAKE VACATIONS!

You can always make more money.

You can't always make more memories."

-A. Howell

The Kingdoms, the Rogue's notes.

 

Seven Seas Lagoon. Waterway to and from the Magic.
"Tomorrow will be better as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life."

                                                           - Walt Disney

     Disney's Magic Kingdom. Animal Kingdom. Basically... The Kingdoms. The next three days. Starting and ending with the Magic Kingdom. The biggest, and most exhausting of the parks in terms of what is to be done. To get done. The wish list, so to speak. Yeah. Mine was sizable based on memories to be relived. That I wanted my grandkid to experience. Was that so bad? Really? Maybe? Okay, I digress. Honestly, the place suffered from A.G.E. But, most rides- nostalgic, and pretty cool. Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Pirates, Big Thunder, Hall Of Presidents, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Pan the Man, TRON Lightcycle, Speedway. To name the tops. 

Main Street USA, 3/25/2024.

"In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room."

Thar be Pirates!
"Take what you can, and give nothin' back!"- Barbossa 

Enter if you dare!- the Haunted Mansion

Hatbox Ghost

Classic - Disney Speedway

"It's in the Game!" - Tron Lightcycle.

Iconic Space Mountain

Mainstreet ablaze and representin'.

     In between, the Animals. And the Kingdom in which they lived, Animal Kingdom. Pandora's Banshee- a highlight. Everest's Yeti. Kilimanjaro's safari of Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Hyenas, Gators, Flamingos. A land of Dinosaurs. Carving through the exotic sometimes drifting, sometimes charging. Eyes wide open. 

Tree of Life, centerpiece of the Animal Kingdom. 3/26/2024

Hallelujah Mountains- Pandora's floating islands,
Home of the Banshee.

Expedition Everest

Kilimanjaro palms.

Land of the Dinos

     

     Started the mornings with a slice of  Sofrito's Cuban sammie. Florida mainstay. In the MK, we got us the DFB celebrated Cheeseburger Spring Rolls. Found right outside the entrance to Adventureland. The Spring Roll Cart (original, right?). Seasoned ground beef, plenty of melted cheese, and zesty pickles wrapped up in a crispy wrapper. A spicy mayo aioli for dippin'.

In Pandora, the Satu'li Canteen offered Cheeseburger Pods (sense a pattern here)- ground beef , ketchup, mustard, pickles and cheddar. Homemade veggie chips on the side. Washed back with Pandora's own Hawke's Grog Ale.

Hawke's Grog Ale. A

Wheat beer collab with

Terrapin Beer Co. specially

for the Mo'ara Valley. Limey

tint. Thin white head. Grassy

aroma with hint of apricot.

Biscuity taste, lite, spicy

hops. 5.3% ABV. 18% IBUs.

Combined with the meal

and atmosphere, gave it a

B rating.

The best meal of the Kingdoms- the Nomad Lounge. Right outside the Valley of Mo'ara on Discovery Island. Hands down. Bangkok Wings, Chicken Satay, and Skewered Shrimp. Exotic drinks. Nice! The most fun at a meal - our breakfast at 'Ohana in the Polynesian Resort. Family style eggs, sausage, island fried potatoes, fresh fruit, mickey & stitch  waffles, fresh squeezed juice, and coffee. Gotta say, the food was meh. But, yeah- dining with Mickey, Stitch, and friends- you forget the rest!

Loungin' it Nomad style on the river.

Clockwise from top left:
Leaping Lizard- Rum
Grenadine Cocktail
Boto-Rita- Tequila
Tempting Tigress- Bourbon

Bangkok wangs.

'Ohana at the Polynesian.

Her favorite Hawaiian!

"I've been up against tough competition all my life.
I wouldn't know how to get along without it." -Walt Disney
The Leader of the Kingdoms... Magic.