Tuna and Mac Dinner of Champions, With Appearances by Salad and Lasagna

I got a bit excited about the opportunity to cook a big meal for everybody one night. Others contributed far more in the food department, but nonetheless I was happy to do a little too. Dad and I got excited about the possibility of tuna, and while not all of the Midwesterners among us were as excited, there were certainly a number of takers. Cuz K.'s fiance A. did most of the actual grilling. I just stood by and looked.

Uncle E. stayed out of it entirely.

I also made a spinach and tomato sauce lasagna, which I think turned out pretty well.

I've begun to add a top layer of panko to my mac n' cheese for an extra little crunch.

Tuna. Tuna. Tuna. We did some rather rare while other were far more cooked.

I also chopped up a not insignificant amount of tomatoes, red onion, corn and cucumber for a salad.

Final result? Pretty tasty plate.

Beautiful sunsets were also had.

Big Beach Day in Corolla, Outer Banks

Perhaps it was the third afternoon of our stay that saw the most consistent beach times for all the different branches of the family. I know I was there for a bit of time and managed to take a good number of photos of many of the kids and some of the adults. Though upon reviewing photos of the whole week I'd say that I was not properly diligent in capturing any proof of J., Cuz K., Aunt L., Uncle E., myself, or G. and A. from the kid crew. Alas. In any case, on this particular day the waves weren't too overwhelming to look at and were generally okay once you were in....but there was a definite pull of rip going on. At one point I made my way via boogie board to the sand bar where I saw many others catching slightly bigger waves. It wasn't altogether easy to get ou there, and after catching a few good waves and then one that smashed me to the sandy floor, I decided it was time to go back to shore. This proved to be slightly more complicated than I expected and put a kibosh on my own interest in going that far out again. Dad stayed closer to shore, though he said he also had not an altogether easy time when it came to extricating himself from the sea.

But for a while they were friends.

Baby R. is considered one of the most fearless of her four siblings.

She gets things done.

I'd say her older sister I. isn't without her fearlessness.

And the older girls really were immersed in water for the majority of this day.

Facing the great unknown.

R. and I. at perhaps cross purposes. And to think, a little over a year ago they looked more like this.

Q. and K. taking advantage of high tide. We were at the beach long enough that we had to move our stuff two times to avoid getting wetter than we intended.

Action shot. A.'s son W. was perhaps the most adept at this whole wakeboarding thing...but I never got a really good one of him in action.

Happy, sandy kid.

M. gave it a good college try.

I kind of made K. wave to me.

W. with his wakeboard.

Father and son, facing the world too.

The kids seemed entirely indifferent to the sand that eventually seemed to cover them head to toe. I guess that's good or else they wouldn't have been quite as happy about climbing up this slight dune/hill and just rolling around in sand for 20 minutes.

And that wraps up the biggest beach day and pretty much the majority of photographic proof we were even at the beach.

Dinners In The Outer Banks

Months and months ago a plan was created between a cabal of individuals. This plan involved much planning, consideration, exchange of money and hours in a car. The end result was a week in a beach house in Corolla Beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The cabal of folks responsible for this turn of events included my cousin K. and a number of other family members. I drove down from Philly on Sunday. It's really not a bad drive and I go down through Delaware, which is such a strange state in a way. Or at least along the portions of Route 1 and 13 that I've experienced. Delaware may be slightly underrated. There is a lot of nice country out there, and the beach is never too far away. In any case, I made good time on my drive and arrived in North Carolina in the late afternoon. I got in the pool for a bit and then it was time for dinner. On this particular night my cousins K. and M. and my cuz K.'s fiancee A. wrangled some less-than-optimal camp-style grills into cooking a bunch of chicken and tilapia. It was not an easy undertaking in terms of the quantity of meat to be grilled and the quality of the grills in question, but they persevered and the results were delicious. Add roasted broccoli, cornbread and a bit of collard greens and you've got yourself a meal. Or, rather, I had myself a meal.

The next day I think I was totally lame (in some people's opinion) and didn't go to the beach for much of the day. Instead I took up residence in one of the beach house's porches. Specifically in the hammock on the second floor porch, which had a view towards the sea (though we were about three house rows back from the ocean itself). And then, when I did go to the beach late in the afternoon I was too busy lying down and going in the water and reading to bother taking out my camera and recording any photographs. But the day ended with grilled barbeque pork chops (this time on the newly arrived gas grill) along with salad and roasted potatoes.

The croutons are the buttered French rounds I enjoyed in the country.

Oh and there were peppers in the tomatoes as well.

And then another afternoon Dad and I went to a fish market to inquire about soft shell crabs (none fresh) and ended up buying a pound of shrimp, most of which I consumed for lunch.

Then there was quality time around the pool with many a balloon made and exploded.

I brought some of the coconut rum I brought back with me from the Bahamas and we made all the children their first alcoholic beverage! Just joking! The kids got virgin pina coladas while those of us over 21 had the real deal. Sweet but tasty in moderation.

And then another day featured grilled asparagus. Cuz K. and A. held down that grill.

And while they were grilling and my aunt L. and cousin M. and so many others were preparing the rest of the meal, K. and I went to the turret/bird's nest of the house at his insistence, which I was happy to do both just to enjoy the view and also to make sure he didn't fall over a railing. It was way high up. While we were 20 people consisting of 8 kids and 12 adults but a house next to us and another just across the street seemed to be totally comprised of tan college kids, some of whom jumped off a similar height into a pool. Apparently no one died but those kids did seem to be forced to leave much sooner than they wanted to...for hours they were sitting on the bumpers a wide variety of cars with their bags backed, waiting for rides away from the beach. Let that be a lesson to everyone: you jump from a deathly height into a pool, you will be kicked out of the beach house.

That's a ways down. I think the dudes across the way didn't jump from quite this high.

Inside two sisters took over Cuz K.

And then we ate grilled asparagus and tacos...or in my case a burrito.

Christmas Drinks and Snacks

Christmas morning met us with many a present under NC Catherine and J.'s tree. To gird our spirits while wading through the process of opening such bountiful array of presents, we enjoyed mimosas.

Many a present was given.

I will allow that perhaps the present that most raised my spirits was this set of fire gloves that NC Catherine gave me. They are going to be super useful on camping trips and when I need to move a particularly stubborn log in any indoor fire. Very pleased was I. So much so I felt the need to point at myself and make this face while still very much in pajama mode.

Dad, opening what I think turned out to be...a jar of cornichons!

NC C. made a lovely breakfast cake with apricot glaze if I recall correctly.

And bacon, of course. After our very thorough and lengthy present opening start to the day, I don't really know what happened. I must have done something? Napped? Read? Can't be sure at this point. Whatever it was, I am sure it was productive and interesting.

As the hours passed J. and I put together two plates of snacks for pre-dinner time social hour with NC C. and J.'s friends the N.s. This involved a cheese platter that included tallegio and delice de bourgogne, and a plate of freshly cut apples and two different kinds of cheesey crackers/straws.

All within spitting's distance to a fire.

Our morning's mimosas were of the cheap-o champers variety...but for the evening we went a classier route.