Specials of the Day
04 December 2011 | East River Marine
Alex, sunny and a cold 2 degrees !
Another weekend, another walkabout and another driveabout to East River Marine to check up on our lovely Banyan.
Today had us doing a bit of an extended detour. We drove a little further and came in at Mahone Bay instead, where our first stop was to have some lunch at the Mug & Anchor, a local pub in the area. Quite a different experience arriving via sailboat in the summer, and arriving via highway by (almost) winter.
Lunch was the Special of the Day, a cup of Seafood Chowder and lobster sandwich. Sounded good, and well described by the waitress, but at $13 each, we found it way too pricey for what it was. Why is it that restaurant food is quickly becoming, IMHO, terribly and horribly overpriced for what you are getting ? Seafood chowder ? More like vegetables with a, oh my goodness, is that a remnant of could it be, seafood ? Lobster sandwich, meh, ok. With only that, nothing to drink, the bill was a whopping $35. Crazy. Yet the place was full, and the majority of the people were indeed ordering the Special. Go figure.
Both seasons found us exploring the streets with a sense of adventure, enjoying the hustle and bustling activity around us. All the shops were surprisingly open, catering to the multitude of Sunday drivers and Christmas shoppers milling about. We walked up to the Public Marina where we had anchored many-a-time these past few summers, and everything was strangely deserted; the wooden wharfs stacked up on land, dangling seaweed from the bottom, waiting to be returned to the murky water depths come Spring.
Back towards town, a terribly skinny Santa was busy selling Christmas trees and wreaths (and BBQ hotdogs to boot) at the abandoned Le Have Bakery stand. The horse-drawn-carriage (Mahone Bay Transit Company) was klomp-klomping down main street, carting passengers from one end of town to the other, with nothing but smiling faces aboard. There was even a strangely religious looking Santa playing a trombone at the intersection. Kinda cold for that I would think, and the sign up behind him was reading "Hugs for Free", I kid you not. Adventurous by nature, I didn't quite have it in me to venture forth for a free hug.
After a walkabout, read exercise, for the day, we settled in with some tunes and the side roads back to East River Marine where we were (more than) satisfied to (finally) find our boat covered in white plastic !! Dave hit the ladder with kiddish excitement, and we were happy to have some closure (for the next few months anyways), knowing that she is now completely ready to face the harsh reality of winter. These weekend trips to East River Marine were taking a huge chunk out of our weekend festivities.
Festivities and Specials of the Day. Enjoy yours. With love.