Just some photos from our Thanksgiving….
Our Holiday
Local Faces
The Great Chicken Wing Quest Continues….
Last May I challenged Terry and myself to ride the entire Withlacoochee State Trail before the annual Rails to Trails bike ride in October. Didn’t quite make it–didn’t finish the segment from Ridge Manor to Trilby. Failure.
So now I have a new challenge. To eat at every restaurant in Citrus County that has chicken wings! And maybe a few places in Marion, Sumter and Hernando counties. That should be easier. No time frame involved. We can work on this goal for the rest of our lives!
Terry and I, along with a few friends, already started this quest earlier this year and even reported on our visits to The Cove, Coaches, Lollygaggers, and Island Bar and Grill. But we got sidetracked with all that bicycle riding. We want wings! This month we went to Skeets Smokehouse and Grill in Beverly Hills, Shamrocks in Floral City, and Beef o Bradys in Crystal River.
We stopped by Skeets Smokehouse and Grill on a Friday afternoon, right about lunch time. There was only one other table of customers! What! When I had a job where I actually got a paycheck, Friday was the day I went out for a long lunch. Has that tradition gone away along with all the jobs? Where was everyone? Perhaps it’s more of an evening place since I noticed numerous beer choices on draft. Which made me happy! Along with my mug of beer I had some really delicious tomato basil soup. Yum. And, of course, Terry and I both ordered wings.
My next visit was to Shamrocks. Poor Terry, the real wing lover had to stay home because this was a girl’s afternoon out! But he did get to watch the Bucs on TV and they actually won their game.
And our independent panel of judges were…
I LOVED Shamrocks. Since it’s right by the Withlacoochee State Trail, there were about a dozen bicyclists having lunch. Also bikers at the bar. A couple gave up their table so the six of us could sit together! A very friendly pub!
Next stop was Beef o Brady’s in Crystal River the following day. This is a family friendly chain and we’ve been to several of them over the years. A lot of bars in the area aren’t open on Monday but Beef o Brady’s is. Terry needed wings. And I needed another restaurant to check out.
Terry ordered two flavors of wings, garlic parmesan and honey bbq and said that the garlic parmesan was the better choice. The fries were good and crispy. I had a cup of baked potato soup which was delicious.
And now, let’s wrap this up, the service was good at all three places, wings were good, and we would go back to all three restaurants. But I’m going with the atmosphere and giving the win for this month to Shamrocks.
And the quest continues….
18th Annual Blues ‘n Bar-b-que in Old Homosassa
What a great weekend! While it started out a little damp on Friday, it ended up sunny and cool on Sunday. We hit the Shed Friday evening to see what was happening in the neighborhood and played a little cornhole with the neighbors on Sunday (the Goodyear Blimp flew over during our cornhole competition–think they were recording us for ESPN), We ate a lot of really yummy but ‘bad for you’ food all three days. (Diet starts today—again!) And on Saturday we made it to the Blues ‘n Bar-B-Que–definitely the highlight of our busy weekend.
Like I already mentioned, our weekend started out a little shaky with rain on Friday night through Saturday morning. Which kind of put a “damper” on our plans to ride our bicycles to the Blues ‘n Bar-b-que Festival. Terry had even figured out how to attach our foldable chairs to the handlebars on his bike. But we persevered– kept an eye on the sky and the Weather Channel and as soon as the rain slowed down to an occasional sprinkle, we threw a few umbrellas into the bike basket and we were off. Due to our “weather delay” we missed the first group but were able to enjoy the rest of the entertainment with just some occasional light rain.
Shortly after we arrived, The Eve Shaw Band took the stage. Eve Shaw has a powerful voice and put on a great show—a little rock and a lot of blues. Her backup band was The Mighty Past Tense which we’ve enjoyed listening to at the Shed. Eve and the Mighty Past Tense made a great team.
The next band up was The Cool Corporate Cats who performed a mix of jazz and the blues. Jim (Boe) Anderson is the Band Leader–and also the owner of the Olde Mill House Gallery and Printing Museum where the event takes place. In addition, Jim is the Nature Coast Friends of the Blues President and in 1995 was responsible for getting the Blues’ n Bar-B-Que started. After his set, Jim came through the crowd thanking us for being there.
The headline act and final performer was The Pitbull of Blues Band. They ended the show with a mix of rockabilly and blues. This group was so much fun and had everyone rocking.
The Homosassa Elementary Music Department is the beneficiary of the money raised by the Blues ‘n Bar-B-Que. The school is in Old Homosassa and the kids perform at various events in the community. According to the handout at the Blues ‘n Bar-B-Que, music is integrated into all classes and the department plans on buying an iPad with music classroom apps. In addition they’d like to get hand-bell chimes to teach the students to read music and understand rhythm.
We had a great day, the rain held off for the most part, the music was amazing, and the bar-b-que was delicious. Love that we have this high quality of entertainment right here in Old Homosassa. Next weekend is the Homosassa Seafood, Arts, and Crafts Festival–another popular event that gives back to the community.