Underway is the Only Way

After many busy weekends, I finally got Betty back on the water on Saturday. So, of course, the air was light and fluky. I had hoped to sail past the Alexandria Waterfront Festival, but there simply was not enough breeze to get there. In 4 hours of sailing out of Gravely Point, I didn't get farther than the south end of National Airport. In fact, I had to use the pedal drive for most of the the return leg. Even so, any day on the water is good. I've been getting a lot of compliment on Betty, usually at the dock. But on Saturday I was overtaken by a Catalina 25, and then a ski-doo, and all the occupants were appreciative. "Where can I get one of those?"

I hoped to go sailing again on Sunday, but there was even less breeze. I did get a chance to go out to brunch with Sarah, Steph & Aaron. We went to The Evening Star Cafe, and it was excellent as always. I was pleased to hear Sarah liked it, since she & Paul have been looking for a place to succeed their neighborhood brunch spot back in New Orleans.

Not sailing worked out well, since it forced me to do something productive with my day. Specifically, clean up my bike after riding in the rain last week. It was a mess, but now it rides like a dream. Very satisfying work, too - stripping the bike down, cleaning, re-greasing bearings and chains.

And the cherry on top was free cake. Yes, free cake. Steph had made some, but she and Aaron are both out of town, so I did them a favor and took the cake off their hands. Chocolate. But you must have ice cream to go with you chocolate cake. None at the house, and I didn't feel like going to the store just for ice cream. So with Can-Do American spirit and frontier-style ingenuity, I made my own. Just like Davey Crockett.

• 1 Gallon ziploc bag
• 1 quart ziploc bag
• Ice cubes (about 2 trays)
• 6 teaspoons Salt (ideally rock salt)
• 1/2 cup Half&Half or light cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Fill the large bag with the ice and salt. Place the rest of the ingredients in the small bag and seal it. Seal the smaller bag inside the larger bag, surrounded by the salt and ice. Now shake it all for 5-10 minutes. Then remove the smaller bag from the larger, then open the smaller and eat the ice cream inside.