Stormy Skies and Shell Fish

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Kim

So, today was my birthday…..not that I’m counting them anymore, you understand, but I still sure do love to celebrate them! hehehe My family – Mom, brother Kevin, and sister-in-law Lylace – took me to Joe’s Crab Shack in Henrietta for dinner. I LOVE Joe’s Crab Shack – used to make a point of going to the one in Fayetteville, NC when I lived in Sanford at least once or twice a year! I was a little disappointed in the appearance – the new versions aren’t as rustic and “beachy” as the older versions are – missed that ambience! But, the menu and food was just as I remembered it and it was AWESOME!!! I had the Lobster Daddy Bucket – a whole lobster, lots of crab legs, potatoes, and corn on the cob all steamed together with Old Bay Seasoning…..OMG!!! We had such a good time cracking and picking at crab and lobster…..except Mom – she’s not crazy about working so hard to get a little bit of meat, so she had a delicious looking seafood platter…..but, between Kevin and Lylace’s Steampots and my bucket, there was some wild cracking going on at our table….I kid you not!!! I had a new experience, as well – I have had lobster many, many, many times in my life – LOVE IT – but have never had a whole lobster served “as is” before!!! I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it – I knew to rip the legs, claws, and tail off, but wasn’t sure if there was any other part that was eatable…..I found out from the waitress that there wasn’t, so I dug in and ripped it all apart and chowed down! I kind of felt like Daryl Hanna in “Splash”, except that I didn’t bit in to the shell……although, I did give it a little kiss before I devoured it! hehehe But, the embarrassing fun came after we finished……the staff came to my table – I thought they were going to do one of those corny birthday songs, but they did something really quite different…..and fun!!! They got the attention of the other diners and announced that it was my birthday and that they were going to take me to Hawaii to celebrate – I had to stand up and they put a grass skirt and a straw hat on me and had me dance and play an inflated ukulele while they sang to me!!! What a riot!!! Sorry, no photos of that part…..but, here are some of the dinner itself:

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On the way home, we watched the sky to the north – it was the strangest color of gray-ish blue with the bright sun making it look like it was metallic or something and the autumn colors came to life against it! I knew I had to go see what the sunset was going to look like over Lake Ontario – I just knew it was going to be awesome!!!! So, when I got home, I fed the girls their dinner and let them out to take care of their business and sniff around the back yard for a bit. Then, I got them in and settled so I could head to Point Breeze! Along the way, the sky was getting more and more intense as an amazing backdrop for the fields and woods, but I didn’t want to stop and capture any photos because it was getting too close to sunset time and I didn’t want to miss it over the lake! Unfortunately, by the time I got there, it was raining and the sun was down just enough that it wasn’t the blaze of bright light that it was just seconds before, so the view wasn’t as intense as I had hoped…….but, I still got some cool shots of the stormy skies over the lake and I even captured a rainbow trying so hard to peak out through the rain and clouds!

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I was so lucky to get this shot of the rainbow and sun rays making their way through the misty rain and clouds!

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Although it was raining, the sun was still shining through enough to illuminate the lighthouse! But, that didn’t last — soon after I arrived and started taking photos, the rain became heavier and the sky got darker……the following few shots were taken through the rain as the sun began to set.

Such beauty amidst the storm……

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When I returned to town, the storm was still north of us, but it made an incredible backdrop to some of the historic sites in town. I couldn’t resist stopping to wander around and snap a few photos to capture that beauty…….the contrast between the strangely beautiful sky in town and the storm looming to the north over the lake was amazing.

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