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Post by inger on Oct 2, 2023 16:52:53 GMT -5
In the unlikely event that anybody cares, a few notes on our sojourn in mysterious Prince Edward Island, with side stops in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. PEI is justly noted for its mussels, oysters and lobsters. Over 80 percent of all Canadian mussels and oysters come from PEI, and they are usually highly-prized in good restaurants here too. We had lots of those, and you know they had been alive about an hour before we consumed them. Almost worth the trip by itself. PEI is by far the smallest Canadian province -- it's only the 23rd largest island in Canada, and has a population of about 150,000. That compares to the city of Toronto alone with 6.3 million. I don't think they will be re-locating any MLB franchises there. In fact I could come up with no baseball site to visit -- only three Prince Edward Islanders have played major league baseball, known only to their families. Other than seafood, by far the biggest tourist attraction on the island is stuff related to the children's novel "Anne Of Green Gables." Neither my wife nor I were fans of this, but my wife found that dozens of her friends were completely into it and waited breathlessly for pictures of the home or anything related to Anne to which they responded with lots of hearts and thumbs up. Whatever. A lot of cool old lighthouses and nice hiking trails -- the Confederation Trail covers the entire island, plus it's flat with a lot of scenic overlooks, so we spent a fair amount of time doing that. We went out on a flat-bottomed oyster boat to dredge up some Malpeque oysters (their best.) PEI is also famous for potatoes, and they are indeed outstanding -- we spent an hour or so in the Potato Museum, which not only has every bit of minutiae you would ever want to know about potatoes, but also holds the world's largest statue of a potato. Big-time stuff. The capital, Charlottetown, is a charming little port town of about 42,000. We really enjoyed staying there -- waterfront restaurants and pubs all over, and good local beer (even though I am not a beer guy, if it's what is made locally, I'm there.) Not what you would call a world-class destination, but good for a quiet getaway with cheerful locals who readily admit to being 50 years behind the times. We just need Manitoba and Newfoundland to have all the provinces, even the Yukon. Although honestly they are not priorities at this point in life. It would be a stretch for me to convince my wife to go for a long weekend in Winnipeg. I absolutely love Mussels pipps! I would have been in heaven. Any kind, white, red, you name it. Glad you had a good time hiking and visiting the sites! Damn, I feel like having some Mussels right now. Even the Potato museum sounds good right about now lol. I also live in a potato Mecca. In fact, the Alamosa Potato Administration has an office less than 15 miles from us… No mussels here though. Even the muscles are getting less defined… 🤓 |
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Post by inger on Oct 2, 2023 16:55:09 GMT -5
In some of the places you can watch the boats delivering the catch directly to the restaurant. Like candy when they're that fresh. And you can hardly drive a mile without coming to a roadside potato stand. I guess the soil just has the right nutrients. You know where else they grow potatoes so delicious that you immediately can tell that you are dealing at a higher level? Peru. I thought it was because of volcanic elements in the soil, but there haven't been any volcanoes on PEI in at least a few million years, if then. Phosphorus. That seems to be the most desired soil element… |
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Post by rizzuto on Oct 2, 2023 20:22:36 GMT -5
In some of the places you can watch the boats delivering the catch directly to the restaurant. Like candy when they're that fresh. And you can hardly drive a mile without coming to a roadside potato stand. I guess the soil just has the right nutrients. You know where else they grow potatoes so delicious that you immediately can tell that you are dealing at a higher level? Peru. I thought it was because of volcanic elements in the soil, but there haven't been any volcanoes on PEI in at least a few million years, if then. Phosphorus. That seems to be the most desired soil element… White Phosphorus was the key to Sherlock Holmes solving the case of "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Of course, the Brits love their potatoes as well. |
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Post by inger on Oct 2, 2023 20:48:46 GMT -5
In some of the places you can watch the boats delivering the catch directly to the restaurant. Like candy when they're that fresh. And you can hardly drive a mile without coming to a roadside potato stand. I guess the soil just has the right nutrients. You know where else they grow potatoes so delicious that you immediately can tell that you are dealing at a higher level? Peru. I thought it was because of volcanic elements in the soil, but there haven't been any volcanoes on PEI in at least a few million years, if then. Yum. I went to a seafood place in Charleston, SC likee we that once. I had a shark filet from a fresh catch, and shrimp right off the boat as well. My belly could have popped… |
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Post by kaybli on Oct 2, 2023 20:59:46 GMT -5
In some of the places you can watch the boats delivering the catch directly to the restaurant. Like candy when they're that fresh. And you can hardly drive a mile without coming to a roadside potato stand. I guess the soil just has the right nutrients. You know where else they grow potatoes so delicious that you immediately can tell that you are dealing at a higher level? Peru. I thought it was because of volcanic elements in the soil, but there haven't been any volcanoes on PEI in at least a few million years, if then. Yum. I went to a seafood place in Charleston, SC likee we that once. I had a shark filet from a fresh catch, and shrimp right off the boat as well. My belly could have popped… Surprised you would even try shark. |
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Post by inger on Oct 2, 2023 22:18:41 GMT -5
Yum. I went to a seafood place in Charleston, SC likee we that once. I had a shark filet from a fresh catch, and shrimp right off the boat as well. My belly could have popped… Surprised you would even try shark. Nice white flaky fish with a mild taste is right down my seafood alley… This was breaded on site too… |
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Post by pippsheadache on Oct 3, 2023 5:37:00 GMT -5
Phosphorus. That seems to be the most desired soil element… White Phosphorus was the key to Sherlock Holmes solving the case of "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Of course, the Brits love their potatoes as well. Your literary allusion jogged my memory -- I don't know if you caught any of the post-match presser after we got our quadrennial Euro beatdown in the Ryder Cup, but I thought of you when Rory McIlroy mentioned how he had been reading the "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius to help stay focused during his matches. He even noted the influence of Stoicism on his approach to life. Not that I have closely followed the thinking of Rory McIlroy on any subject other than maybe Greg Norman or Caroline Wozniacki, but I would not have suspected that from him. Bobby Jones read Plato and could quote Elizabethan poets, but he was the exception to almost every rule. |
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Post by rizzuto on Oct 3, 2023 19:49:15 GMT -5
White Phosphorus was the key to Sherlock Holmes solving the case of "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Of course, the Brits love their potatoes as well. Your literary allusion jogged my memory -- I don't know if you caught any of the post-match presser after we got our quadrennial Euro beatdown in the Ryder Cup, but I thought of you when Rory McIlroy mentioned how he had been reading the "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius to help stay focused during his matches. He even noted the influence of Stoicism on his approach to life. Not that I have closely followed the thinking of Rory McIlroy on any subject other than maybe Greg Norman or Caroline Wozniacki, but I would not have suspected that from him. Bobby Jones read Plato and could quote Elizabethan poets, but he was the exception to almost every rule. Bravo! We've lost the wisdom of the ancients, who seemed to understand the human condition more than any subsequent generation. As you probably know, Marcus Aurelius wrote "Meditations" for himself and intended for the manuscript to be destroyed after his death. It was not a work meant for others to read. Luckily, some contemporary decided it was too valuable to dispose. Likely some poor bastard that gave a damn about those irrelevant wastes of time - history and thought. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Oct 3, 2023 20:03:11 GMT -5
Your literary allusion jogged my memory -- I don't know if you caught any of the post-match presser after we got our quadrennial Euro beatdown in the Ryder Cup, but I thought of you when Rory McIlroy mentioned how he had been reading the "Meditations" of Marcus Aurelius to help stay focused during his matches. He even noted the influence of Stoicism on his approach to life. Not that I have closely followed the thinking of Rory McIlroy on any subject other than maybe Greg Norman or Caroline Wozniacki, but I would not have suspected that from him. Bobby Jones read Plato and could quote Elizabethan poets, but he was the exception to almost every rule. Bravo! We've lost the wisdom of the ancients, who seemed to understand the human condition more than any subsequent generation. As you probably know, Marcus Aurelius wrote "Meditations" for himself and intended for the manuscript to be destroyed after his death. It was not a work meant for others to read. Luckily, some contemporary decided it was too valuable to dispose. Likely some poor bastard that gave a damn about those irrelevant wastes of time - history and thought. As luck would have it, just today I decided to re-visit The Iliad. Maybe the only positive side effect of the Yankees not being in the post-season is more time to focus on things like that. At some point you realize that if you are planning to re-read something the time is now. |
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Post by rizzuto on Oct 3, 2023 20:38:28 GMT -5
Bravo! We've lost the wisdom of the ancients, who seemed to understand the human condition more than any subsequent generation. As you probably know, Marcus Aurelius wrote "Meditations" for himself and intended for the manuscript to be destroyed after his death. It was not a work meant for others to read. Luckily, some contemporary decided it was too valuable to dispose. Likely some poor bastard that gave a damn about those irrelevant wastes of time - history and thought. As luck would have it, just today I decided to re-visit The Iliad. Maybe the only positive side effect of the Yankees not being in the post-season is more time to focus on things like that. At some point you realize that if you are planning to re-read something the time is now. With nearly anything revisited, you can never step into the same river twice. Please let us know about your revelations upon completing the re-read. |
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Post by kaybli on Oct 4, 2023 13:23:08 GMT -5
Geez, that emergency alert scared the crap outta me.
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Post by pippsheadache on Oct 4, 2023 13:40:24 GMT -5
Geez, that emergency alert scared the crap outta me. I knew it was coming, so I was just irritated. My message was in Spanish, so for all I know the emergency was about a giant meteor that was about to crash into the Earth. We should be so lucky. |
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Post by inger on Oct 4, 2023 13:41:07 GMT -5
Geez, that emergency alert scared the crap outta me. It’s even a bit more scary that we didn’t get one… except in the boob tube. Our cell phones remained silent… |
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Post by inger on Oct 4, 2023 13:44:42 GMT -5
Geez, that emergency alert scared the crap outta me. I knew it was coming, so I was just irritated. My message was in Spanish, so for all I know the emergency was about a giant meteor that was about to crash into the Earth. We should be so lucky. Made me break out into laughter. Always makes Ruthie want to know who said what, and then I have to tell her where the people that said it live… And then there’s often “Is that a new guy? I don’t remember hearing about him before.”… Sometimes questions that are not the kind I can answer. “Does he have kids?” I wonder where these questions come from… |
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Post by pippsheadache on Oct 4, 2023 13:55:01 GMT -5
As luck would have it, just today I decided to re-visit The Iliad. Maybe the only positive side effect of the Yankees not being in the post-season is more time to focus on things like that. At some point you realize that if you are planning to re-read something the time is now. With nearly anything revisited, you can never step into the same river twice. Please let us know about your revelations upon completing the re-read. I'm sure my non-academic mind won't discern any revelations. Since by now I at least know who the players are and what the outcome is, I can just enjoy the beauty of the verse and let the long-haired Achaeans ply the wine-dark sea and greet the rosey-fingered dawn. I enjoyed the 80-page introduction as much as the actual epic because of its explanation of the history of the work and its importance to Greeks going back to at least the sixth century BC. It definitely has staying power. Since most things can be related to baseball, having gone through book two, I see similarities among the Greek characters to the Yankees of the Bronx Zoo era. Agamemnon is Billy Martin and Achilles is Reggie Jackson. I guess Zeus would be Steinbrenner. I'm thinking the cool-headed advisor Nestor might be Willie Randolph. Haven't come up with Thurman or Guidry yet, but give me time. One reason I'm re-visiting it is that we will be spending much of the winter in Greece, with a few weeks in Turkey as a chaser. We get at least as much guidance from great literature as from travel sites for our journeys, although of course we use those too. We both adore Greece but have never before had the chance to spend this much time there. Another incentive to retire and stay in shape. Another glass of Ouzo, if you please. |
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