Bay Cruise on the Steven Thomas, Part 1

There's a party going on right here...

This party was aboard the Steven Thomas. As almost everyone in Maryland knows, we had our big clambake on Wednesday. It was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Some 5,000 people were served all-you-eat seafood with all the trimmings in less than five hours, and it was all done by volunteers who were offered a ride on the Steven Thomas for a price a lot of us could not afford to pass up. Besides, after working that hard, everyone deserved a night out. I, of course, was running around trying to take photos for the newspaper of all those people cooking and eating. But my husband volunteered his time at the gate.

I almost didn't go on the cruise. I was tired. But then I thought I could use a break. Should I take a camera? If I did, I would feel obligated to share them with the newspaper (that would mean I would have to work). No. I would not go. But at the last minute, after rushing an assignment to the newspaper via email, I decided I would go. I took my camera, had a few beers, and enjoyed the evening. I even passed my camera around to a few people who enjoyed playing with it.

Since this was an organized event, there are people on the boat who were not volunteers. Some aren't even from Crisfield. They came for the fun, music, and to enjoy the beauty of the bay. By the time the cruise was over everyone knew each other. That is the way it is in Crisfield. It is easy to meet new friends. After all, Crisfield knows how to throw a party!

In the meantime, if you are headed to Crisfield check out the Steven Thomas web site and book your tour or individual trip.













Above, that's me in the center. It is nice having someone else do all the work.



Above, the handsome dude in the middle is Flea. I have known him for about 2 years and I don't even know his real name. Around here, people have nicknames. Flea keeps the parties kicking with a great mix of music. He also host our annual boat docking contest. Thanks Flea, for a lot of jobs well done. BTW: Nature Boy nicknamed me Hot Lips. Not sure why, but not having a nickname around here is like not belonging.





Hot Lips and Shag. Who took that photo? Pretty good job. As everyone knows, I never eat or drink  when I am on an assignment. It was nice to be able to be a regular person for a change.





Captain Steven Thomas keeping an eye out for crab pots and sea monsters.





















Looks like the sun is going down on both this little cruise and my day. I may post some night cruise photos tomorrow if I have time. In the meantime, if you don't see your photo here and would like a copy just shoot me an email and I will be happy to email you a copy. Stayed tuned for "Bay Crusie Part 2." Or not.

Crisfield knows how to celebrate!


Celebrate good times
come on ! - Let's celebrate
-
Celebrate good times
come on ! - Let's celebrate
-
There's a party going on right here

a celebration to last throughout the years.
So bring your good times and your laughter
too

we're gonna celebrate your party with you !

Come on now
- celebration
-
let's all celebrate and have a good time

- celebration
- we go celebrate and have a good time.

It's time to come together
it's up to you
watch your pleasure

everyone around the world
come on
it's a celebration.
Celebrate good times
come on
it's a celebration

celebrate good times
come on
let's celebrate !

We're gonna have a good time tonight
let's celebrate
it's alright

we're gonna have a good time tonight
let's celebrate
it's alright

baby
we're gonna have a good time tonight

let's celebrate
it's alright

we're gonna have a good time tonight
let's celebrate
it's alright.

Celebrate good times
come on
let's celebrate

celebrate good times
come on
it's a celebration.
Celebrate good times
come on
let's celebrate

celebrate good times
come on
it's a celebration.

Come on and celebrate - tonight
'cause everything's gonna be
alright.
Let's celebrate
celebrate good times
come on

let's celebrate
celebrate good times
come on!

Olde Crisfield Crab & Steakhouse Update

Click here for 2010 photos.

I have a lot of people visit this blog looking for info about the Olde Crisfield Crab & Steakhouse. I also hear a few grumblings about why it is taking so long to transform the old Side Street crab restaurant and tiki bar into the Olde Crisfield Crab & Steakhouse. Because good things take time.

Let's put it this way: if you were baking a cake from a box you could have it done in less than hour. However, if you were baking an 8 layer wedding cake from scratch, and adding all the fancy decorations, well...you get the idea.

Is there a time line? Yes. When it is ready. And that is good enough for me.

I got a peak at some of the work going on today and the owner was nice enough to let me photograph some of the tables. Wow! Take a peak. And remember, each table is being hand done by an artist flown all the way in from Florida. He is also painting walls and stools, and probably anything else that can't run away from him - this is not going to be a restaurant - it is going to be another Universe. And soon, you will be invited. So be patient, and keep your little faces scrubbed and your hair combed and be ready to be awed.

And the food? It is going to be out of this world. The owner knows how to please both your eyes and your stomachs. Oh, and I saw a lobster tank today.



Click this photo to be "wowed!"

These bar stools were made by hand and will all be hand painted like the ones you see.

And here is a photo of artist Johnny Castleseed. Johnny, if you have any extra paint left over, I could use a mural on my wall before you head back to Florida.

Friday "My Town" Shoot Out - Yard Art

As many of you know, I had planned on skipping this week's shoot out because of my schedule. As I was headed to an assignment this morning, and feeling bad about not participating (since I was one of the founders), I stopped in front of neighbor's yard and shot his cool collection of rock art and his Uncle Sam.

Crisfield is full of wonderful yard art. I mean, how hard can it be to drive around and few a shoot photos of people's yards? If you only knew my schedule.

Sorry I dropped the ball on this one - but I did participate! And our shoot outs are more about participation than putting up a bunch of photos. So I am still a "100 Percenter", meaning I have never missed a shoot out, and I have always posted on Fridays!






Thanks to Tommy Shore for his "Yard Art." BTW, Tommy always decorates his house for every holiday, be it St. Patty's Day, Easter, or Christmas. It is always a pleasure to drive by his house.

Below is Tommy volunteering his time at our recent J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake. Tommy is one of the many people who volunteer their time at events throughout the year. He also plays the organ at his church.

Tommy, why aren't you smiling? I only had time for one shot. Oh, I see. You are are trying to get to that bag of clams. Never interrupt a man trying to eat, especially when he is eating Eastern Shore food.




Oh, anyone looking for clambake photos needs to go to the Daily Times web site and look in the photo gallery.

It was a hoot! Kudos to the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce and to everyone who helped make the clambake a roaring success. Over 5,000 people were served all-you-can-eat seafood with all the trimmings and all the beer you could drink - in 4 1/2 hours! That has to be some kind of world record. And I promise, no one went home hungry.

Call the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce (see sidebar) to make your plans for next year. And maybe I will take your photograph!

Crisfield, Maryland Bay Photos

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over." ~ John Masefield

Yes. I have a sea poem with bay photos. But this is one of my favorite poems.

My time has been limited lately, and I will have less time over the next several weeks, but I will still be posting and visiting. I apologize. Also, after over six weeks of dealing with Dell, and having everything in my computer replaced, I am still having problems with random shutdowns (not reboots - shutdowns). Dell messed around so long they finally corrupted Windows (I got a new hard drive out of that) and even the in-home tech support guy was scratching his head after 5 visits. I had to call on my son, who is a Microsoft Engineer, to make a three hour trip to do a lot of cleaning up so I could find things. Dell finally agreed to send me a new computer but I have to wait until the weekend so my son can come down and move my files to the new computer. He also has me so high-teched-up I would not know where to start in order to get everything working again.

Another reason I have fallen behind is that all of my photos are stored in my main computer, so I try to use it as little as possible because the more it shuts down, the more chance I have of corrupting Windows again. I use my main computer for newspaper photos because I have dual monitors and they are both high resolution. My laptop is used to access my main computer when it is working and to send photos to the newspaper when I am on the road. Not the best for working with photos, but it beats running back to the house when I have a tight deadline.

I did managed to sneak in a little time on the boat this weekend. Here are a few photos for your enjoyment.























Crisfield. What a wonderful place to live!

Crisfield Friday "My Town" Shoot Out - Textures

“What interested me was not news, but appraisal. What I sought was to grasp the flavor of a man, his texture, his impact, what he stood for, what he believed in, what made him what he was and what color he gave to the fabric of his time.” ~ John Gunther

Crab Shanty, filtered.

I had planned on doing something special to go with the above quote but time is always my enemy, especially in the summer months. I have always loved that line, so even though it does not partner well with my photos, I decided to leave it.

This assignment comes from us in Linda in Canada. I don't have much for you, but I hope you enjoy my mix of filtered and unfiltered photos.


This is a drug dog at work. Animals have wonderful texture.

A wildflower field on a windy day, filtered.

A seafood dish with scrumptious texture.

Another seafood dish. We have lots of those in Crisfield!

A really filtered photo of the bay. Bagman, did you hack my computer?

A little textured fun from our annual Crab Derby race. See last post for dates. Be there!

I love the texture of old wood.

A filtered crab. Yes, I shoot lots of crabs. After all, Crisfield is the, "Crab Capitol of the World." Really!

Filtered crab shanty.

Little girls know how to "texturize."

Birds enjoying the sunset. Filtered.

Please note: I am not going to have much time for the next few weeks to participate in the shoot outs. If I can squeeze something in, I will. I will be visiting, though, catching up on missed blogs, and making posts.

ChefE has filled in for Gordon this week, and she has done a great job. So ChefE, if you don't mind, can you pick up my slack. And please stay on as one of our team members. Chime in anytime.