The Next Adventure

Black sea bass season started on May 15. I signed up for a fishing trip with Rudee Tours in Virginia Beach. We checked in at the departure point at 7:30 am to find that most of the other fishermen/women were already on the boat. The boat looked full, almost all of the spots were taken. We departed right on time at 8:00 am, it took about 2.5 hours to get to the first fishing spot. There was quite a bit of wave action, I am not prone to sea-sickness but I did take an anti-seasick pill earlier in the morning just in case. The weather was fantastic, sunny and warm but not humid. The captain reminded us that no GPS enabled equipment including cell phones were allowed on the boat, to prevent secret fish locations from being captured. Most people obeyed and kept phones inside their bags to avoid having them confiscated. After what seemed like a long time (which I spent reading on my kindle on airplane mode), the captain got the boat to a stop and gave the green light to drop our lines wh...

Camped in the First Landing State Park near Virginia Beach four hours from home, a couple of days before a boat fishing trip. First Landing SP was originally the Seashore State Park at Cape Henry and was built by an African American regiment of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The park was rather quiet because it was a weekday. I had site 19 - large and very shady, which was nice since both days were sunny and rather hot. The site was not level, which may be a challenge for RVs, and it was close to Shore Drive which can be noisy although that did not bother me. Best part about my campsite was that it was very close to the restrooms and showers, and the boardwalk to access the beach. No spots for fishing, except from the beach, and I did not feel like standing in the sun to surf fish. There are a number of trails: I found out that they are in the other part of the park, across from Shore Drive. The trail center was about a mile from the campground, I was told that most people dr...

It's spring time, that means time to forage and harvest bamboo shoots. Did not have to go far, just walked up to the bamboo line in my backyard! Someone planted bamboo down in the easement area (before I bought the house), and the plants have expanded up to my yard, forming a dense wall of bamboo. I like the bamboo wall which provides all-season privacy in the back of the yard. But every spring, new bamboo plants will try to advance further into the yard. For years I have gone around the yard, kicked and broke the new shoots and threw them in the compost. Then about two years ago, a Chinese friend visited, saw the bamboo shoots and got excited about them. She said those were good eating and told me how to prepare them. Last year, I must have harvested hundreds of bamboo shoots from my yard and my neighbor's, sharing them with my Asian friends. This year, we marked the start of bamboo shoots season with a brunch on the patio, followed by a foraging session. There is some...