Time Flies - Summer Of Shorebreak, notes from the Watt.

And I'm free, free fallin.' Yeah, I'm free, free fallin.' -Tom Petty
Shorebreak floater...nuthin' but sand. Holidays break, 8/19/2021.

    It had been a couple weeks. August was a month full of visitors for myself and LWatt, however we were looking forward to getting back. And, we were sure that the Target was feeling a bit stir crazy himself, waiting...patiently...maybe. At least until we finally showed up. I had watched the surf reports, checked the cams. At low tide, nice, clean waist high rollers. Hurricane Henri (pronounced Anrey), was creating a nice bump to our wave selection. Coming up over the 66th Street dunes we could hear the waves crashing against the shore.

No aerials today.

When the break came into view, my worst fears were realized...high tide, and waist-plus high shorebreak. This has been the summer of shorebreak. That and the fact that our timing as of recent seems to coincide with high tide. Regardless, I still insisted there was potential, so I charged in, sitting about 20 yards out. Water was a comfortable 75F, with light winds blowing onshore. Air was in the mid 80s. The wind kept the bugs away from LWatt and Target, but not the humidity. The only cure was for me to finish up the jam time so we could get our posteriors off the beach. I managed to slip into a floater but backed off before landing it on the hardpack, and while that gave me hope for an even better ride it was not to be. Time flies when the waves are breaking on the beach- much to LWatt and Target's relief. We called it a session, and headed inland.

     This evening's haunt was the new Tex-Mex Tequila Frogs replacing Ky West, a former Asian-American restaurant on 54th and Ocean Highway. Our last visit was in '13, eight years ago. Like I said, in this summer of shorebreak, time flies. As we saddled up to a high-top table we noticed the one big difference from previously was the place was much more crowded, which seemed to throw our waitress for a loop. She was dropping receipts, spilling salsa, losing track of our orders. We found ourselves keeping as much track of  where the next beer was as we were eating and judging the food. Speaking of, after Target and I got our first beers from their very limited selection, the three of us made our selections: Spicy Queso and Chips (which we asked to come out first), Shrimp Quesadillas, and Chicken Fajitas.

Our chips came out as asked (it was here the waitress spilled the salsa/pico). We made quick order of them and ordered a 2nd basket of chips. Soon after the fajitas and quesadillas came out with one of the bartenders. We were still waiting for the refill of chips and asked the bartender to check which he quickly brought to us. The chips and queso were average...what else can you do with chips and queso? The fajitas were fair; the chicken had good spice, but was a little dry. The shrimp quesadillas were the night's winner. Cheesy, and loaded with shrimp. The TVs were loaded with preseason football (finally!), yet loud "South Beach-Miami" overshadowed them. And when we finally saw our waitress again the tab came, whoa...lemme just say, it was a good thing the beer was cold. It will be a while before we pay this frog bar another visit...that is if it's still around. We survived another week...our Journey continues.

THE RATINGS-

Beer: C

Spicy Queso & Chips: C

Chicken Fajitas: B-

Shrimp Quesadillas: B+

Atmosphere: C

Value: D+

Overall Score = 2.29

Lowcountry Social, the Target's notes.

"There's one. That's ridable. Look, another one." -Wattman
Challenging the shallows of shorebreak, 66th and Holidays. 7/29/2021 

   There would be no waves, no surfing, and no beach time tonight. At Holidays the conditions were cool, windy, cloudy, and at high tide absolutely nothing to ride. However, this session featured an old gang member from the OCBZ days. It had been about three years since T-Roth last joined us, and he hadn't changed much at all. In town from the gator shootin' lands of South Carolina, visiting his parents, he rode shotgun with Wattman and LWatt, although I was sure that was not why they were late. Of course the Watt, who claimed to see potential, wanted to go out and take the chance to break a fin. But better minds prevailed. So, we decided to head bayside early for a little Lowcountry social to get caught up. 

"Macky's- more about the view and outdoor vibe." -H. Target
Well, hell yeah. Who's gonna argue? 54th and Bayside, 7/29/2021

    This evening it was 54th street and Macky's, a bayside beach bar. Upon arrival, the parking lot was full, which had me wondering about the level of service we would get tonight. Yet to my surprise they were fully staffed, and had my Leinie Summer Shandy on tap. Thanks to a Shandy, and a few Yuenglings, the four of us kept yapping about old times and what's been going on in life, thus it took a while to order. To my disillusionment, all drinks were served in plastic cups. Yes, it was a beach bar, but if its in a cup it could at least be ice cold. Mine was not. We flagged our waitress down...again (she earned her money tonight)...and finally put in our order of Rockfish Fingers, Dotsy's Delight Crab Dip, Traditional Meatballs, Jerk Chicken Strips, and a House Salad.

Our good service continued as our meal came quickly and was hot, which has not been the case most of the summer. The Rockfish Fingers were the hit of the night, however they came in rationed portions...only five of them and small in size. The crab dip had too much cream cheese and filler, and not enough crab. The meatballs, a surprise menu item that was an unexpected choice were decent. The Jerk Chicken was also fairly good, well seasoned, but a little dry. LWatt's salad was just an average side-salad. Macky's seemed more about the large plate entrees, view, and outdoor vibe than the bar food. With lots of flatscreens around the inside and decent music just loud enough to hear, the four of us enjoyed sharing friendship and good times. TR said it had been a while since he laughed so much. Soon enough it was time to say goodbye. TR always adds to our levity and we wished him and his family good health and safe travels. We look forward to our next social.

THE RATINGS-
Beer: C
Rockfish Fingers: B+
Dotsy's Delight: C
Traditional Meatballs: C+
Jerk Chicken: B-
House Salad: C
Atmosphere: B+
Value: C+
Overall Score = 2.47

The Crew...Good times, good times.