A Weekend with Family

Last week, my weekend began on Thursday. While Elizabeth Dixon was visiting with her sister in Colorado, I was visiting with mine in Atlanta. Sabra made sure I got to visit the places I rarely get to go, and I made sure she was too busy to text her younger daughter, who had flown across the United States.

The main event during the trip was a delightful lunch, hosted by Skippy, who had invited us to join her, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Winnie at the Swan Coach House on Friday. I had never been there, though I'd heard much about it. Because it is so well known, I had to try their headline menu items: the chicken salad, the frozen fruit salad, and the French silk swan.

Here's a photo of my French silk swan.
Isn't it lovely?

The meal was delicious, and the company was lots of fun. Our only regret was that we had not gotten together for lunch before. After a fantastic meal, we visited the restaurant's gift shop and art gallery before taking some photos:

From left to right:

Sabra, Aunt Winnie, Aunt Mary, Skippy, me

Afterward, Sabra and Aunt Mary were kind enough to indulge me in a trip around the block to Atlanta's famous historic landmark, the Swan House. I got some great photos there too:

But the Swan Coach House was not the only place I enjoyed a fancy meal. Sabra and Martin were fabulous hosts, taking me to other metro Atlanta hot spots, including Muss & Turner, Sip Wine, Blue Moon Pizza, and the Canoe riverside bar.

While at Canoe, the arrival of a group of lawyers interrupted our conversation with an unusually loud recap of the day's court case. Apparently the attorneys thought everyone in the bar wanted to hear about their exciting day. Sabra and I began to wonder: Would the lawyers be just as interested in our conversation? We decided to try an experiment, which turned into a game whereby we would pepper our bland conversation with interjections of more attention-grabbing lines, such as the following.

Nancy: What kind of wine is that?
Sabra: It's a Chardonnay I usually like to get here. Would you like a taste? And then when his daughter was ten years old, he discovered he'd be sterile since birth!

Sabra: Do you want to order dessert?
Nancy: Maybe. Let's ask for a dessert menu. Sure, she got a huge settlement from the malpractice suit. Then she spent it all on a boob job!

While we had fun trying to interrupt the lawyer-talk, they were to absorbed in their own conversation to take note of ours. But we did notice a man sitting to Sabra's left who seemed intrigued when we talked just a little too loud. After a short while, he moved from his original seat to a stool at the bar--right behind our seats. After we paid our bill, Sabra said in an unusually loud voice, "Come on. Let's go get you the help you need." As we departed, I looked behind me to see that man laughing.

So that was a lot of fun, and I hope Sabra and Martin will come to Savannah soon so we can try out the same game at some of our local spots. Maybe Rocks on the River? The Mansion?

I departed Atlanta on Saturday and drove to Augusta, more specifically, Clark Hill Lake, where the annual Remler family reunion at Laurie's lake house was already underway. I found relatives eating, drinking, relaxing, boating, jet-skiing, tubing, and generally having a good time. The most exciting news was that my younger son, Lawson, has maintained his lucky streak, not only winning the first night's game of Left-Right-Center, but also taking home the pot in Thursday night's craps tournament and Friday night's poker match. Poor Brian Remler, our family poker expert, tried his best to beat Lawson at cards, but when Lawson beat Brian's straight with five kings (he had a wild card), Brian had to tip his hat to the twelve year-old champ. Lawson came home with a red Solo cup full of cash. Way to go, Lawson! When you graduate, I'm taking you to Vegas!

I was not as lucky at Saturday night's game of blackjack, but I had fun anyway. I stayed with it until midnight, but eventually, I had to cash in my chips and go to bed. I left Lawson at the table, chips towering in front of him, and I don't want to know how late he stayed up beating the pants off his Uncle Brett. Based on the droopy eyelids this evening, though, I have a feeling the cows came home well before Lawson declared lights out.

What a way to close out the summer.

Beef: It's What's for Dinner

Several of my friends have gone vegan, and those who haven't avoid red meat. I've tried vegetarianism myself, but after a while, I long for the taste of a big, juicy steak. Fortunately, I'm married to a Big Green Eggspert, so I frequently meet my red meat quota. But tonight, we served a thick, juicy steak the likes of which we've never cooked.

Here it is raw. I put a large Vidalia onion next to it for perspective.

The Hugh Lawson Special Sirloin is only available at M&T Meats in Hawkinsville, GA. This savory slab is four pounds of succulent sirloin, seasoned properly and grilled to perfection (it takes a while. If you get one, be patient). We bought it during our Two Days at the Camphouse last week, and we've been dying to try it, but we knew the four of us wouldn't put a dent in it. So we called Jo Jo, Pop Pop, and Carol Ann to join us for dinner. Even with seven of us, we had plenty of meat left over, so someone will enjoy steak sandwiches or steak salad for lunch tomorrow.

Here it is cooked. Makes you want to run out and get one, doesn't it?

If you haven't been to M&T Meats, go at your earliest convenience. You'll find them on the Lower River Road in Hawkinsville, GA. If you need directions, just go to Hawkinsville and ask someone. Everybody there knows where it is.

Two Days at the Camphouse

Sometimes it's fun to spend a couple of days at the farm shooting guns, riding the Jeep, cleaning boats, riding the Jetskis, and slinging each other off the tube. So that's what Davis, Lawson, and I did this week. We punctuated the trip with one outing (I went to M&T Meats) and visits with family. We had dinner with The Claw Monday night and Harley's family Tuesday night. Hugh and BB joined us each afternoon, and we spent much time trying to stir up enough waves in the water to bounce Davis and Lawson until their teeth rattled or to generate enough momentum to sling them into the trees. I think they had a blast. The following videos paint a general picture. Although Lawson brushed with the branches once, we won't post that video here. Wouldn't want him to see himself on Tosh.O.

July 4th Crab Boil Remler Style

Independence Day wouldn't be the same without some fun in the sun out on Georgia's barrier islands. This year's boating expedition took us to Little Tybee, where a sunset excursion and wienie roast were the perfect start to the holiday weekend. Stephen had a little trouble lighting the coals because of the breeze, but with some help from Kelley and David, he got the fire started and we enjoyed a dinner of brats and watermelon.








The next day, Kelley and David hosted their annual July 4th party, which comprised of stone crab claws (thanks to Davis's expert crabbing skills), blue crabs, and low country boil. Nobody starved to death that night! And once our tummies were full, we relaxed on the dock to watch the Tybee fireworks. Can't get better than that.

Flag Day, 2011

Few families actually go out and celebrate Flag Day, but this one does. Big time. In fact, I've celebrated Flag Day all my life. This year was the 45th time.

In the past few years, we have celebrated the holiday with a trip to dinner in the boat. This year’s festivities did including boating, but in a different way. The day began beautifully. Sun. A nice breeze. Temperatures below 100. After Davis completed his work with his math tutor, we all boarded the Triton and sailed (well, motored) out to the sand bar between Tybee and Little Tybee. There we ate fried chicken, fished, swam, and enjoyed the sea life.

Lawson caught a shark! Davis picked up some jelly balls and a giant horseshoe crab for us to examine. I almost stepped on a sting ray (the almost part is key).

After about four hours in the sunshine, my skin began to complain, so we loaded up the boat and headed back for home, where Stephen cooked a delicious low country boil. The Whites and the Tuckers joined us, as did JoJo and PopPop. Stephen even baked a tasty chocolate cake! What could be better than that? Not much.


Here's hoping everyone had a great Flag Day!

More happenings in June:

Davis got a job. He works at the Bahia Bleu Marina, where he cleans boats, helps people pull up to the dock, fills gas tanks, and generally helps out. Last week he got to drive the fork lift! That was exciting. He enjoys earning his own paycheck, and we enjoy that he pays for his own gasoline!

Meanwhile, Lawson is in the rock tumbling business. Just before I left for Highlands last month, Lawson declared, “I’ve always wanted a rock tumbler.” Hmm. Well, I bit. And while at the Jackson Hole gem store, I purchased a rock tumbler and extra set of grit. Now he’s in business. Can’t wait to see what my new sapphire ring looks like!