Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 128

It's the last night at the beach...

...and I'm fighting sadness at having to leave this very wonderful fantasy world and return to the real one, so I am going to keep this entry quite short.  I have greatly enjoyed my time here, and I wish I could stay another month.  I feel lucky, though, to have been able to come at all.

I live the vast majority of my days at a jagged intersection of exhaustion, guilt, and inadequacy.  Each year here, I achieve moments of peace.  I cherish those moments more than I can express.  

I so love this place.

I already look forward to returning next year.

A cake too far?

It's beginning to look like the second CaBobcake was a cake too far for our team of eaters.  With the BobCake itself, two CaBobcakes, and the SmiBobcake, we may have exceeded what we can consume.  After tonight, we still had these two chunks of cake.

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Of course, the worst case result is that some cake goes home with us, but, still, that would be an eating failure on our collective part.

In other news of the beach, at a local thrift shop we discovered this store within a store, the Man Cave.


We're not even going to talk about the weapon Kyle is brandishing.

Ah, the weirdness that is the beach.

Sunset sometimes says it all

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Yes, yes it does.

A new cake enters the house

At lunch today at my favorite local restaurant, where I eat lunch every day it is open, I was surprised and honored to see the specials board feature a new sandwich.

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Last summer, they created this sandwich's predecessor, which was quite tasty.  This year's version was even better.

Thanks, Bob and Rose, for this treat.  I greatly appreciate it.

While running errands after lunch, we encountered a drive-through restaurant I had never seen:  Speedy Weenie.  Who could resist such a place?  Not I.  After a conversation with the young woman stuck in the small hut revealed that they were out of the pimento cheese bacon dog, I settled for a Diet Coke and a t-shirt.  I will wear it proudly. 

For dinner, Sarah made her justly famous 7-P pasta.


This huge bowl of cheesy deliciousness fed us all multiple helpings and looked afterward as if we'd barely touched it. 

Sarah also baked us many trays of incredibly tasty butter rolls.


The CaBobcake is still with us, but it is losing ground to our slow but steady attack.


We learned a while ago from Bob and Rose, who are both from Maryland, that Maryland has a state dessert:  the Smith Island Cake.  We also discovered that Bob knew how to bake this eight- to fifteen-layer beauty.  Armed with this knowledge, we had no choice but to order one from Bob.

Today, we picked up the first SmiBobcake. 

From the outside, before you cut into it, the SmiBobcake appears ordinary enough.


Okay, we had cut it once, but as of this shot we had yet to remove a piece.

Once you see a slice, you realize how amazing it is to encounter a normal-height cake with so many layers. 


Boy, was it yummy.  Part of the reason the CaBobcake is in such good shape is the damage we inflicted on the new SmiBobcake.


I will be surprised if either cake makes it to Friday.

And the Bobcake falls

Tonight's dinner was pick-up Chinese from a local hole-in-the-wall joint that produces surprisingly decent basic food.  The quantities are also huge.  Check out this architectural construct of beef lo mein.

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That is a small serving bowl, by the way, not a standard bowl.

As today's headline proclaims, we polished off the Bobcake this evening. 


Ah, the Bobcake, we knew him well.

The second CaBobcake is all that remains of Bob's baked delights.


Never fear, though:  Tomorrow, we pick up a special treat from Bob.  More on it in Tuesday's blog entry.

Beach life can be simple

Wake up.

Walk two miles.

Splash in pool.

Brunch.

Buy some supplies.

Read.

Hang out.

Catch end of World Cup.

Hang out.

Get haircut.

Splash in pool--and sit in hot tub.

Forage for dinner among leftovers.

Watch multiple movies.

Read.

Blog.

Sleep.

Beach life is often best when simple.

In news of the Bobcake, its end is now in sight.

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The second CaBobcake is faring a bit better, with just over half remaining, but it, too, shall fall.


Our weights, alas, are more likely to rise.

As they do, here at the beach.

Beach life can be weird life

Earlier tonight, a group of us headed to a local volunteer fire department's station for an evening of regional professional wrestling.  We're not talking WWE here; oh, no.  These matches came from a small regional promotion.  We learned about them from a hand-painted sign we spotted on the side of the road.

As you can see, the setup was a far cry from Madison Square Garden, where the WWE holds some of its biggest events.

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We nonetheless had fun watching both the matches and some of the more enthusiastic members of the crowd.  A few of the wrestlers were clearly beginners, but some, including these two, put on good shows.


Back at the house, our own combat continued, as we assaulted the second CaBobcake.


Yes, it's standing firm against our onslaught, but we are many, and we are determined.  

The Bobcake is attracting more attention through its Bobcakely majesty, so we are moving through it more quickly.


I do believe we have a shot at finishing this year's Bobcake in record time.

Such are the excitements of beach life.

The first cake to fall...

...is CaBobcake #1, which we finally finished late tonight.

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The battle raged for over two days, and several paid a dear price in blood sugar spikes, but in the end, we triumphed.

Of course, this was but one battle; the war continues, with a fresh CaBobcake awaiting us.

Speaking of the cake wars, we are gaining ground on the BobCake, with over half of it now down our collective yaps. 


As you can see, though, it is not going quietly into the cake good night.

And now, to read, and then, to sleep.

Beach life update and lesson

After lunch today, a group of us stopped by a local shop to check out its wares.  As we left it, we noticed that another nearby shop offered an intriguing combination of products:  wine, art, and yoga.  We decided we had to visit it.

Right outside the store, we found this rather horrifying mermaid; Sarah did her derpiest expression while posing with it. 

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From this mermaid and the shop's exterior, as well as from the odd variety of products it sold, I entered it quite certain it was going to be a place in which I found only ironic amusement. 

I was wrong.

Though a little of the art was of the grade-school variety, much of it was interesting, and the jewelry was quite lovely.  The woman who made the jewelry was working there, and she was not only talented, she had great taste in music.  We ended up buying three pieces of jewelry and quite enjoying our time in the store.

I took this trip as a reminder that any time I am stupid enough to feel superior, I deserve a boot to the head. 

Back in the house, we ended the day with a good chunk missing from the Bobcake


and a bit over half of one CaBobcake down our gullets. 


Yes, we have a lot of cake work to do, but we're up to the challenge. 

Another day at the beach.

The Bobcake arrives!

Today, the Bobcake arrived.  For those who don't follow this blog, the Bobcake is a huge, dense, rich, insanely delicious chocolate cake that Bob makes for us each year.  This cake is so big it has a name and may soon get a zip code.

In the past, we've also asked Bob to bake for us his wonderful carrot cake, the CaBobcake, a creation that weighs almost as much as the Bobcake but takes up only half the space.  When we last encountered a CaBobcake, we consumed it in about 28 hours.  This year, we're embracing the notion that the beach is an "and" place, not an "or" place, so we asked Bob to prepare two CaBobcakes. 

Here we see the cakes preparing for their ride home in the back of the rental van.

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Note the quiet dignity of the Bobcake--and the fact that it's almost as wide as a car seat. 

From above, right before we cut into it, the Bobcake looks like a giant chocolate battleground. 


The CaBobcake, on the other hand, could almost pass for a light, fluffy desert, did we not know just how dense it truly is.


The question before the house is simple:  Can our hearty band of adventurers consume the entire Bobcake and not one, but two CaBobcakes, or will the cakes carry the day?

Ah, the challenges of beach life.

Stay tuned for updates in the humanity vs. Bobcakes battle.