Our culinary expedition treks on. Amanda and Tim of Watsons Wander blog fame happened to be in the neighborhood, and they invited us over for her famous Company Potato and Roasted Pepper soup to go with some full-time Airstreamer fellowship. The soup was indeed excellent, as was Tim’s local brew, which though quite hoppy, pleased my palate. Kat and Amanda enjoyed a bottle of what we Mooringsporters call “Close duBose” chardonnay, and we had a fine time comparing notes on our ’99 ‘Streams. I didn’t mention how easy ‘99’s are to recognize (that was one of a very few years when Jackson Center decided to use fewer rivets to hold ‘em together). So far, so good, is all I can say about that; no aluminum has fallen off either of our rigs just yet. And I don’t use “fame” loosely: Watsons Wander gets nearly as many comments as we get site hits. Yeah, they bad! Joe Bob says “Check ‘em out twice.”

Yesterday we visited a Road Food 5-star café in Charleston, Dave’s Carry-Out. I ordered Michael Stern’s favorite menu item, the Shrimp Box with a side of stuffed crab. Dave was out of stuffed crab, but the shrimp were as good and plentiful as reviewed. I am curious about most things food, and South Carolina’s red rice was on the menu. It was my side with the shrimp. Red rice turned out to be jambalaya without meat. Good, for sure, but maybe not worth 40 words. Terry (Dave’s son, who now operates the joint) was fashionably late, and since he and he alone batters and fries the shrimp, his help didn’t open the door until he strolled up, swingin’ them arms behind, wishing everybody a hearty “Good afternoon”.   It was only 11:45, but what the hey!

No trip to South Carolina is complete without a plate of Shrimp ‘n Grits. Rather than drop $50 into Hominy Grill’s kitty, Kat ‘n I put together our own. Using Emeril’s recipe for “Spicy Shrimp & Andouille Over Charleston Grits” we knocked dem shrimps out of the park. That dish might be better than the fresh clam linguine, but don’t hold me to that. Each is what the late, great Richard Collin would grade as “A Platonic Dish”.

No-see-ums got in and ate me up beneath the sheets last night. Kat awakened unscathed. As with grizzlies, one need not be the fastest to escape; it is key to not be the slowest. When it comes to blood-thirsty bugs, I’m always the slowest guy in the room. There, with apologies to K. C. & the Sunshine Band (I’m Your Boogie Man) came my low country name.     Here it is, for your listening pleasure.

The title project is Kat’s effort to repay that nameless stranger who paid our bridge toll ahead of us in Pensacola. It was only a buck, but still quite the surprise. She wants to raise a thousand bucks for an animal shelter in the town we often visit for Christmas. And it won’t cost you a cent. Just vote for her idea at What Fuels Me. There’s a link to it here.  They may want you to log in on Facebook, but that’s a small price to pay. You can and should vote once a day every day until April 8. The top ten vote getters get a check for $1,000, but she’ll likely need several hundred votes to win one. After about 30 hours her project had 30 votes.

Anybody with so few friends should carry a gun.

Here’s Fuel Me:  (Links don’t work; gotta find a way to make this easy, and we will, when our IT Director shows up for work.  Hang in there; we’ll get it.)