July 4th at Crystal River

Loooooong time friends, John and Marilyn Samaha, have a wicked cool river house in/on Crystal River - north of Tampa about an hour and a half (okay... don't expect me to be any more detailed than that.... they don't call me "Rand McNally" for nothing, ya know..). Further, it is a happy confluence of good karma that the start of scalloping season coincides with the long July 4th weekend! For the uninitiated, "scalloping" is something akin to underwater easter egg hunting - only you're snorkeling about hunting sea life hiding in the grasses of the bay. When you spot one of the little devils you gracefully execute a surface dive, juggle the unhappy little feller into your mesh bag, return to the surface and attempt not to inhale a snorkel full of seawater. (This apparently is easier for some than others. And if you're wondering... I am an "other".) After filling the coolers full of scallops the real fun begins! An onboard assembly line of opening, de-gutting, and scraping forms - fueled by beer, Pringles and the promise of a mountain of garlic, butter and lemon nirvana. Once the hard work is done (finishing all that beer) we return to the house and flop in the spring to rinse off the salt water before making dinner, toasting our success and falling into a food coma.

Oh we've been doing this type of thing SO LONG .... Marilyn, Leslee & Betsy must have champagne almost immediately upon boarding the boat - like on the way to the marina for ice. The bonfire is of a magnitude to signal Cuba (kudos to Steve B. for the brilliant idea to add the bacon grease). We have food for hundreds and scallops by the dozens. Next year Betty has promised a sparkler routine that will "make you wet your pants". (We have had children - this is not difficult, but still... ) There is laughter, conversation, love and foil.

There will always be foil.