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Remembering our clam bake.


scout6

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Watching an episode of This Old House that showed how to do a beach clam bake.  It reminded me of our UnRally where our dinner was a clam bake.  Good memory, even with all of the rain.

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Joe Frickin' Friday

Here's a reprint from my "Head East" ride tale:

 

=====================================================

=====================================================

=====================================================

Down the hill near the big picnic shelter, preparations were already well under way for the evening's clambake, catered by a company from Maine:

 

2009-08-head-east-045-L.jpg

 

 

In this photo a wood fire is burning underneath a large steel tray holding a few inches of water. In racks above the water – inside the plywood enclosure – is about 450,000 pounds of soon-to-be-delicious seafood. When the plastic top bows upward and puffs of steam start coming out, the staff knows that things are starting to cook:

 

2009-08-head-east-046-L.jpg

 

 

While the food slowly became delicious, we amused ourselves with beer, conversation, and of course the obligatory motorcycle maintenance. In this shot, Richard (Benicia_GT) was in the middle of a throttle body synch:

 

2009-08-head-east-047-XL.jpg

 

A short distance away, a Harbor Freight tire-changing stand was present, and it pleased me greatly to see that it had been fitted with my world-famous Mojoblocks:

 

2009-08-head-east-048-XL.jpg

 

 

A little while later, the food was done cooking, and the mysterious plywood enclosure was opened up to reveal a great big pile of Delicious:

 

2009-08-head-east-049-L.jpg

 

2009-08-head-east-050-L.jpg

 

 

Bags of mussels, clams, corn-on-the-cob, and of course, scores of lobsters:

 

2009-08-head-east-051-L.jpg

 

 

The hungry mob stared and salivated, but somehow managed to maintain order and stay out of the caterer's way while they unloaded the treasure chest.

 

While the catering staff prepped the serving line, the rest of us had one last thing to do. We gathered at the foot of the hill for a group photo. Here's a photo of Shawn's carefully groomed ear, with Jamie and Roy visible in the distance:

 

2009-08-head-east-052-L.jpg

 

 

Shawn's carefully groomed ear is seen here in profile, while Jamie barks directions at the hungry, salivating mob from up on high:

 

2009-08-head-east-053-L.jpg

 

 

Jamie is seen here asking if anyone knows where Shawn's carefully groomed ear went:

 

2009-08-head-east-054-L.jpg

 

 

Roy did an excellent job with the group photos and the many others he took during the event. Here's one of the group shots he took:

 

2009-08-head-east-055-L.jpg

 

 

Once the photo shoot was done, the hungry mob perambulated over to the shelter, where the serving line was ready to dish out some really amazing food:

 

2009-08-head-east-056-L.jpg

 

 

I was somewhere in the middle of the line, and it was getting difficult to be patient as I saw tray after tray of magnificent seafood float by, and more and more people sat down and started devouring the goods:

 

2009-08-head-east-057-L.jpg

 

 

Eventually I reached the serving tables, where an enthusiastic catering staff loaded my tray with so much food that it almost folded in half:

 

2009-08-head-east-058-L.jpg

 

 

Each person got a lobster, an ear of corn, some potatos/onions and a roll. Stop drooling, you, there's more! Note also the top-heavy bucket of clams and mussels, with a big ol' cup of clam chowder sealed in a cup right behind it, flanked by a small cup of melted butter.

 

OH, it was good. Damn good. I had vague, distant memories of not enjoying clams and mussels from the shell some time in the past, but I dug in anyway, and they turned out to be fantastic. And the lobster? Hey, is there any way lobster could not be delicious? It was awesome.

 

But the biggest surprise for me was the corn. I love corn on the cob, always good stuff. But this was something special. See, somehow during the steaming process, the “seafood” essence from all the other stuff in the box had seeped into the corn, and it brought the experience up to a new plane of delicious. A chorus of angels sung in my ears with every bite, and I cried a little when it was all gone.

 

After dinner the conversation and beer both resumed full flow. At one point I left the noise of the picnic shelter to talk to Masako on the phone. Eventually I needed a place to sit down, but with no chairs nearby, the ground seemed like the best choice. As it happened, I found a new perspective on Raaaaaan's GS:

 

2009-08-head-east-059-XL.jpg

 

 

The UnRally brings together people who don't normally see each other at “local” events like Torrey or BRR. No matter where the Un is, several people invariably come from the far side of the country to attend. Jamie (KMG_365) and Leslie (Les_is_More, AKA “Mama Hoon”) rode all the way from San Diego to get here; I hadn't seen them since spring Torrey 2007, and I spent a good part of my evening talking with them about all sorts of things.

 

Later on in the evening, a special event took place. Some time ago a bottle of Very Impressive Whiskey (valued at $175) had been donated to BMWST by Gary (Carrotnc):

 

2009-08-head-east-060-XL.jpg

 

 

This evening, the Very Impressive Whiskey was being raffled off, with the proceeds to fund the discussion board's hosting fees.

 

A lot of people entered, but as Conner McCleod once said (actually he said it several times), “there can be only one.” The winner was Lester V (in the white shirt), here flanked by Armando and Mama Hoon while Paul (SAMSAR) looks on:

 

2009-08-head-east-061-L.jpg

 

 

Actually, BMWST.com won pretty handily, too: the raffle generated approximately $400 in funds, enough to defray site hosting costs for the better part of a year.

 

:clap: :clap::clap: :clap::clap: :clap:

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Thanks for posting these, that was my first UN.  I vividly remember the spirited ride back to PA with RogerA and ooPEZoo.  I also gave Jamie and Leslie a tour of Maine and had pizza with my mother.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
On 3/24/2020 at 1:08 PM, Joe Frickin' Friday said:

Here's a reprint from my "Head East" ride tale:

 

=====================================================

=====================================================

=====================================================

Down the hill near the big picnic shelter, preparations were already well under way for the evening's clambake, catered by a company from Maine:

 

2009-08-head-east-045-L.jpg

 

 

In this photo a wood fire is burning underneath a large steel tray holding a few inches of water. In racks above the water – inside the plywood enclosure – is about 450,000 pounds of soon-to-be-delicious seafood. When the plastic top bows upward and puffs of steam start coming out, the staff knows that things are starting to cook:

 

2009-08-head-east-046-L.jpg

 

 

While the food slowly became delicious, we amused ourselves with beer, conversation, and of course the obligatory motorcycle maintenance. In this shot, Richard (Benicia_GT) was in the middle of a throttle body synch:

 

2009-08-head-east-047-XL.jpg

 

A short distance away, a Harbor Freight tire-changing stand was present, and it pleased me greatly to see that it had been fitted with my world-famous Mojoblocks:

 

2009-08-head-east-048-XL.jpg

 

 

A little while later, the food was done cooking, and the mysterious plywood enclosure was opened up to reveal a great big pile of Delicious:

 

2009-08-head-east-049-L.jpg

 

2009-08-head-east-050-L.jpg

 

 

Bags of mussels, clams, corn-on-the-cob, and of course, scores of lobsters:

 

2009-08-head-east-051-L.jpg

 

 

The hungry mob stared and salivated, but somehow managed to maintain order and stay out of the caterer's way while they unloaded the treasure chest.

 

While the catering staff prepped the serving line, the rest of us had one last thing to do. We gathered at the foot of the hill for a group photo. Here's a photo of Shawn's carefully groomed ear, with Jamie and Roy visible in the distance:

 

2009-08-head-east-052-L.jpg

 

 

Shawn's carefully groomed ear is seen here in profile, while Jamie barks directions at the hungry, salivating mob from up on high:

 

2009-08-head-east-053-L.jpg

 

 

Jamie is seen here asking if anyone knows where Shawn's carefully groomed ear went:

 

2009-08-head-east-054-L.jpg

 

 

Roy did an excellent job with the group photos and the many others he took during the event. Here's one of the group shots he took:

 

2009-08-head-east-055-L.jpg

 

 

Once the photo shoot was done, the hungry mob perambulated over to the shelter, where the serving line was ready to dish out some really amazing food:

 

2009-08-head-east-056-L.jpg

 

 

I was somewhere in the middle of the line, and it was getting difficult to be patient as I saw tray after tray of magnificent seafood float by, and more and more people sat down and started devouring the goods:

 

2009-08-head-east-057-L.jpg

 

 

Eventually I reached the serving tables, where an enthusiastic catering staff loaded my tray with so much food that it almost folded in half:

 

2009-08-head-east-058-L.jpg

 

 

Each person got a lobster, an ear of corn, some potatos/onions and a roll. Stop drooling, you, there's more! Note also the top-heavy bucket of clams and mussels, with a big ol' cup of clam chowder sealed in a cup right behind it, flanked by a small cup of melted butter.

 

OH, it was good. Damn good. I had vague, distant memories of not enjoying clams and mussels from the shell some time in the past, but I dug in anyway, and they turned out to be fantastic. And the lobster? Hey, is there any way lobster could not be delicious? It was awesome.

 

But the biggest surprise for me was the corn. I love corn on the cob, always good stuff. But this was something special. See, somehow during the steaming process, the “seafood” essence from all the other stuff in the box had seeped into the corn, and it brought the experience up to a new plane of delicious. A chorus of angels sung in my ears with every bite, and I cried a little when it was all gone.

 

After dinner the conversation and beer both resumed full flow. At one point I left the noise of the picnic shelter to talk to Masako on the phone. Eventually I needed a place to sit down, but with no chairs nearby, the ground seemed like the best choice. As it happened, I found a new perspective on Raaaaaan's GS:

 

2009-08-head-east-059-XL.jpg

 

 

The UnRally brings together people who don't normally see each other at “local” events like Torrey or BRR. No matter where the Un is, several people invariably come from the far side of the country to attend. Jamie (KMG_365) and Leslie (Les_is_More, AKA “Mama Hoon”) rode all the way from San Diego to get here; I hadn't seen them since spring Torrey 2007, and I spent a good part of my evening talking with them about all sorts of things.

 

Later on in the evening, a special event took place. Some time ago a bottle of Very Impressive Whiskey (valued at $175) had been donated to BMWST by Gary (Carrotnc):

 

2009-08-head-east-060-XL.jpg

 

 

This evening, the Very Impressive Whiskey was being raffled off, with the proceeds to fund the discussion board's hosting fees.

 

A lot of people entered, but as Conner McCleod once said (actually he said it several times), “there can be only one.” The winner was Lester V (in the white shirt), here flanked by Armando and Mama Hoon while Paul (SAMSAR) looks on:

 

2009-08-head-east-061-L.jpg

 

 

Actually, BMWST.com won pretty handily, too: the raffle generated approximately $400 in funds, enough to defray site hosting costs for the better part of a year.

 

:clap: :clap::clap: :clap::clap: :clap:

If I won it again I would still share it out with the crew.  Stay safe out there folks. 

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