Coming In For A Landing, notes from the Watt

Morning found us calmly unaware

Noon burn gold into our hair

At night we swim the laughing sea

When summer's gone

Where will we be?

-The Doors, Summer's Almost Gone

Screeching down a waist-high line. 46th-47th Street, 9/2/2021.

      It was the first surf of September; the last surf of our summer season. Labor Day weekend coming up, school's starting, so pretty much summer's end for our resort town. We're not complaining though. The area becomes our quiet time. No parking issues, no crowded beaches or lineups. The number of memorable mid-week sessions have been limited this year, but this evening held promise. Hurricane Ida had worked it's way from the Gulf, across the Ohio Valley and was now a tropical depression, hanging inland off our coast, but giving just enough push to produce semi-clean, surfable thigh to occasional stomach high sets, even at high tide.

The Atlantic was a comfortable 80 degrees, with the humidity having cleared out enough for lower 70s temps on the beach. We hit up the 47th Street Break where the jetty seemed to divide the incoming enough to keep the shorebreak to a minimum. Tonight it had done it's job as the waves were breaking about twenty yards offshore. LWatt and Target were set back in their recliner chairs, chewing on M&Ms, and taking in the salt air. I paddled out into a mild southerly current. I had three others in the lineup with me. But, it was a chill crowd. After a few squirrelly attempts, I finally found a line and squeezed out a couple frontsides and lefties. The lefts weren't pretty (they never are), but came with quick drops that I managed to hold onto. Hitting a front just right always comes with that sound of rushing water as the wave folds behind you. Smooth night on the water that finished with a floater into the mush. Nice way to land the night. Wrapping the leash signaled the wrap up of the surf session, and we folded up the chairs, commenting on how nice the evening had been both on the beach and in the water. I'd call it casual stoke as we headed back between the condos and across the dunes.

     We tried it the week before, but it was not to be. This week was a change of luck...14th and bayside. There are few better places to touchdown and bring an end to the night than on Harbor Island and the Reel Inn. Covered in angler lore and full of locals, we took no issues in pulling up to the first high top table near a flatscreen. Football highlights caught my eye, with previews of the upcoming pro season. A hostess brought us the menus and a waiter, who seemed like he stumbled upon us by accident, took our drink order. LWatt was taking it easy this evening, however I had a Lot 3 IPA draft and the Target, in hopes of getting another cold one like the last time we were here, got a Miller Lite...can. Target quickly asked for a cup, yet our waiter seemed to walk away with that look of trying to remember what he was going to get. Dude...cup!

Finally, after Target's beer had warmed, he came over with a cup and took our order as well. We put in for the Maverick Wings, a combination of Old Bay and honey, the Mahi Fingers, and the Crab Pretzel. The pretzel came out covered in melted cheddar with a plentiful container of crab dip. Not bad, the pretzel was plenty hot, but the dip could have had bigger chunks of crab and the Old Bay dusting made it salty. The fingers...a tasty, crispy crust, but they seemed like fancy fish sticks. The winner of the meal was the wings. Really nice taste, and not overly messy considering the honey, but in this case the Old Bay got hidden a bit. Like finding position in the lineup...sometimes too close, sometimes too far, sometimes too much, sometimes too little. We can be a fickle Crew, but that's what helps us survive the Journey. As I finished my 2nd draft we hung out, talking about what our plans were for the long weekend; listening to music that was a hair loud, catching some football on the tube. Good friends, great camaraderie. Finally it was time to take off again. Next stop was the off-season...I better call ahead.  

THE RATINGS-
Beer: C- (Cups, Warm beer)
Maverick Wings: B
Mahi Fingers: B-
Crab Pretzel: B-
Atmosphere: B
Value: C+
Overall Score = 2.58