Unexpected, tales from the Watt

"Small waves remind you that there is much to be learned..." -SurferToday
Late cut-back on a thigh-high lefty. Holidays and 67th, 7/11/2019.

   When we set up this session a day or two before, Target warned me of circumstances that would become necessary should the event be less than epic. How bad the reparation? I believe Seppuku was suggested. DUDE! We are on the Maryland Coast in the heat of the summer. Unless we have a hurricane upon us (Barry is brewing, but too far southwest for now), it's usually flat, choppy, shorebreak, or some combination. Meager size waves at best. We have been as far from epic as one can get. I didn't blame the man. It's been awhile since there was swell of any kind of size. I'd been feeling the frustration myself. Last evening however, despite the sectioning break, Holiday's surprised. The beach was somewhat crowded with a Kite Loft sponsored Fly-in for the local Believe In Tomorrow House. The lineup was empty, though I had plenty of beachbreak obstacles with clusters of tourists and mini-tourists dotting the shore. This time of year we are pretty much forced to keep an eye out in front. As they lounged back in their chairs, Target and LWatt found themselves surrounded by similar obstructions from time to time, possibly obscuring the photo ops. Lounge chairs afford little flexible movement for pictures, though Target manages. Regardless, there were some tasty morsels here and there. Little tough to judge, but fun when in position. In the end, I didn't get that last ride in. A strong northerly current had pulled me down a couple blocks, so I called it. During the walk back I thought I could hear the sound of a blade being sharpened across a whetstone. Maybe just the waves against the sand. Shaking it off, I joined Target and LWatt for the trek to the evening's bayside bar.

Bayside village square.

   When I was tasked with the responsibility of putting together the list of potential new locales to critique. there were not a lot of major places in the OC that we hadn't yet hit. I realized we had to start looking at the peripheral. Target pushes that...find those hidden gems. One such was on an island plat of land separate from the main strip. Sunset Island could be found at the Bay's end of 67th Street. The nearly self sufficient townhouse and condo neighborhood was the address of our evening's dockage. Sanibel's At Sunset Island (aka The Landing), was a small corner building on the south point of the quay. Originally an exclusive for residents of the Island, this year was it's first open to the public. Large open dining area on a boardwalk lined beach fronting the Assawoman Bay was enticing, regardless we chose the less windy interior bar area.

No beer taps here, but a decent selection of self serve bottles and cans. Target and I grabbed our brews while our attentive bartender whipped up a Miami Vice, a combo Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri frozen concoction for LWatt. Forced to use 'em, plastic cups drive us crazy. We realize that the outdoor seating has sand...hence the reason for no glass (supposedly for insurance reasons), but hey now...we were inside...on the 2nd floor. C'mon man! After grabbing a corner seat looking out across the bay, we perused the menu and chose the Old Bay Wings, Rockfish Tacos (2), and the Turkey Club Wrap. The wings only came in a six count, however they were big and meaty, hot, and with one of the best tasting Old Bay rubs we've had this year. The tacos tasted ok, but needed more Rock and less roll. They tended to be more filler than fish. The wrap was very average. It looked like we made this one at home.

As I had mentioned...very small bar area. One TV accompanied okay music. More seating could be found outside along the 2nd floor walkway overlooking the pool and bay. The view was the attraction, featuring a full-on approaching lightning storm. We understood they occasionally have a small band, although the storm was leaving it to the radio this evening. An unexpected gem, Sanibel's would definitely be worth a later visit but it would have to be during the in-season months as this is primarily a summer dive. May be awhile. For now, I have stopped hearing the scraping sound of a Katana blade. I believe our Journey can safely continue.

THE RATINGS-

Old Bay Wings: A-

Rockfish Tacos: C+

Turkey Club Wrap: C

Beer, in plastic, no draft: C+

Atmosphere: B-

Value: B-

Overall Score = 2.63