Hi all! I'm Dave. I'm a recently-turned 69 year old Hokie, Class of '77. Came to TKP for French's thoughts on football and stayed for the fishing, golfing, and other threads.
I'm married, now 40 years. Mrs. Dave (who is the best) and I have two children. Our son (36), his wife, and our new granddaughter (who is also the best) moved from Winston Salem to Houston just in time to be impacted by Beryl. And our daughter (32) and her boyfriend live near here in Jacksonville. The "op" in "daveinop" stands for Orange Park, FL , which is where we were when I started getting on various VT chat boards. We currently reside in St Augustine.
About me...I was born in Chapel Hill, NC. My parents were depression era folks from a rural town in southern Illinois...their parents had small farms and various side jobs to make ends meet. Unlike many of their peers in the 1940's, my parents both went to college and both got their masters degrees. My dad was the first graduate student in the wildlife management program at SIU-Carbondale. My mom was a math whiz; creative, confident, musically gifted, and generous. She was working on her doctorate in math when I came along and interrupted things. I can trace many of my values, personality traits/quirks, and interests to both of them.
Growing up we (I also have a younger sister and brother) moved around a good bit. I the 1950's, my dad worked for state game and fish agencies in NH and NC. In 1960 he was hired by what is now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (spoiler, you will hear of this agency again) which required him to move around in order to move up. I went to 4 elementary schools, two junior highs, first 3 years of HS in northern Va (Fairfax); and graduated HS in suburban Portland OR. While dad was moving up the org chart, my mom taught school, counseled students, and/or sang in choirs in all of those places.
I was an introvert and slow to make friends so the moves were pretty tough. I don't really have a home town and can't name more than a handful of people I graduated HS with in Oregon. I knew nothing about VT when we lived in Virginia but several of my friends in NOVA were going there so I applied and was accepted...I would at least know a few people. First sporting event I ever saw involving VT was the NIT final...had no idea they were in it, just happened to catch the second half on TV. When my mom and I flew east to check out VT for orientation, I instantly fell in love with the place. Two months later I flew east with 2 suitcases and a box and moved into 310 Vawter.
Like some others, school had come easy for me so when I got to VT I had zero study habits. I also had a horrible roommate; he was older, heavy into drugs, and I stayed away from him and the dorm room as much as possible. Played LOTS of penny poker with the guys on the floor and my Fr GPA was awful. Second year began a turnaround; I had a great roomie on a physics scholarship (so he HAD to study). By my 3rd year I learned how to take good notes and study, and I managed to graduate with decent grades.
I had started out as a history major (thinking I might be an environmental lawyer...all that legislation had passed while I was in HS) but the degree had a foreign language requirement and that was a bridge too far for me; I just didn't have the interest or discipline to get there. So I switched over to biology and took every elective I could find related to wildlife, fisheries, and ecology. I had gone to college in a rebellious mode (particularly resenting the move to OR) and that I wouldn't do what my dad did. But then it was like, "who am I kidding, I like that stuff!"
Following VT, I went to graduate school in the wildlife management program at LSU for 2 years. In 1979, I was hired (mostly on name recognition) by the USFWS as a field biologist in Lafayette, La.
Just like VT, I started out my professional career slowly until I got my footing. As a biologist, I was never an expert at really anything; but I am a decent common sense ecologist (Dr. Giles' Systems Ecology class was boring to most...I loved it, made perfect sense!). That served me very well doing impact assessments of wetland development permits and Corps of Engineers civil works projects (I did assessments on some of the projects that ultimately failed...no surprise...in Katrina).
But also turns out I'm pretty good at developing and implementing public natural resource conservation policies, and not awful at running organizations. In 1985, my wife and I (oh yeah, I got married in 1984) moved from Lafayette to Annapolis where I was commuting to agency HQ in DC (and she was commuting to the Old Post Office building). The DC job was a unique rotational position where I staffed out budget initiatives, refined technical procedures, and drafted policies in different subdivisions of the program I worked in. It was also a huge opportunity to get visibility in front of upper leadership and in 1988 I was made Field Supervisor for east and coastal Texas located in Houston. It's a job title I would have until I retired 24 years, 11 months and 3 weeks later.
We absolutely loved Houston. Great people. Our office crew was like family and our two children were born there. But by 1996 we, as an office, had done everything I could think of, so it was either go back to DC or find another field job. Frankly, I resented all the moves we made while my dad chased his career and I was looking for a place where our kids could put down some roots; and I wouldn't have ridiculous travel demands. So in 1996, we moved to Jacksonville where I was supervisor for central and north FL. Professionally it was the same title but the subject matter was completely different and I was recharged. It was endangered species issues 24/7 and I was over the manatee, sea turtle, and FL panther recovery programs (and a few dozen other species). We had a great crew and did some very good things.
After I retired, the agency contracted with me for almost another decade to mentor and troubleshoot. In all, it was a very good gig for over 4 decades.
Switching gears to personal interests, I'm either really into something or I'm not interested at all. There is little in between. My hobbies are fishing (light tackle inshore saltwater); golf (been playing off and on since my teens); and playing bass guitar (took it up later in life). I also enjoy cooking.
Fishing...my dad gave me a fly rod when I was 7. I loved catching fish then; I love it now. It is as relaxing as it gets. There are probably 15 rods/reels on the wall in the garage. My wife says they all look the same. I can assure you they are NOT the same...even though they do, in fact, look the same. The boxes and bags of lures are also not the same...duh.
Golf: I think I like golf because I don't have to run fast, be real strong, or get run over. I played a lot of sports growing up but not at any noticeable level. I was always a year or two behind (see a trend?). In golf, I'm self-taught; only half a handful of lessons later on in life (they didn't take at all). In 2010, I was down to about a 4 hcp; then a series of injures put the clubs away (I have shitty tendons...most all of them). Started up again around the pandemic and am inching my way back to respectability.
Bass/music: Took up bass when golf went away. Also self-taught (I played brass instruments in HS so music isn't foreign), I play in a couple of pop/rock cover bands. Am I into it? I have 3 custom made basses/art pieces on the wall next to where I'm sitting right now.
Cooking: Nothing sophisticated but I'm competitively good at a few Cajun classics and I also like to mess with the grill. Many years around great cooks in south Louisiana and Texas was a good thing. My wife is an outstanding baker. She takes great care measuring stuff; I do not.
To close, I have no big surprises to announce or curveballs to throw. Wife and I have built/bought a new house every time we moved; that was fun. And we do have a 12 year old tabby cat...you guessed it, she's the best.
Ask me anything!
Comments
What are you most proud of from your career?
And of course, what's the most almost arrested you've ever been?
Definitely can empathize SOMEWHAT since my first 8 years were similar as a USAF brat but WAS fortunate enough to pretty much grow up in Richmond after my dad retired. I too was shy (and I thought) introverted...but in the last few years realized NOT actually introverted.
A friend told me -and this was confirmed by my counselor- Being shy and being introverted aren't the same thing, although they may look the same. An introvert enjoys time alone and gets emotionally drained after spending a lot of time with others. A shy person doesn't necessarily want to be alone but is afraid to interact with others.
Also- Extroversion and introversion refer to where someone gets their energy from. The difference between an extrovert and an introvert is extroverts are energized through socialization and collaboration, whereas introverts receive energy from alone time or in social settings with much smaller groups.
In that light, I am actually somewhat extroverted and remain SOMEWHAT shy but far less than
I used to be. I get in my own head in a negative way when I'm alone with my thoughts for too long.
Do you resent or regret the moving a lot? Or do you treasure and appreciate the variety of experiences? For me, it is the latter.
I got to see and do some really neat stuff that many don't. But as an example, as beautiful and cool as Oregon is for someone with my outdoor interests, I hated it. And I've literally been all over it...worked one summer setting up remote snow pack sensing stations to estimate runoff for ag purposes. It is spectacular, and I didn't want to be there.
I have no lifelong friends and I resent that. Every time I was in position to step forward in my social group, my dad hit the reset button. So I'm very close to my sister as we are a year apart and she's in the same boat. My younger brother came along late enough in dad's career that he only really moved once.
Re introvert/extrovert I usually fish alone and I don't have a regular golfing partner. I'm very comfortable doing those activities alone; even enjoy it. But I am also now comfortable in a social setting, and I think that's a learned behavior from being in a leadership role for so long. Do I get energy from collaborating in a large group? No. A couple of people? Sure; I can buy into the theory of three.
Yeah- I'm 6th of 7 kids and same as your younger brother- only one move after school started (well technically two but the first was 3 months into first grade and that wasn't a big deal(I didn't have to do kindergarten so I hadn't really starting making any friends yet).
re: rocket's Q's
1) We had grossly a disproportional number of our folks go on to leadership positions all over the country...even leadership positions in other agency programs (which pretty much never happens). In terms of the mission, I think all but one of our listed species was trending toward recovery. And we had a great work environment. If you were competent, confident, and creative, our shop was a great place to work; I gave folks a lot of latitude. But if you needed a lot of care and feeding; not my strong point.
2) I got in an argument with a gas station owner over him screwing me out of a car wash I bought. The expiration date is the current date, NOT the day before! I said I was calling the cops. He said he was calling the cops. I said, great! Cops came. They said I was right but couldn't do anything, told me I needed to let it go...and the cop was right. So for the price of a car wash, the station owner missed out on about 200 fill ups in the 10 years since.
So I love to cook and bake. I also never measure when cooking except when making Indian. However, I measure meticulously when baking. I embrace the dichotomy, Mr. Vtmemory just shakes his head.
Favorite Cajun dish and what is your best competitive dish if they differ?
Baking is chemistry. Screw up the ratios and it goes bad quick. Cooking is art.
first of all, how dare you
second of all, cooking is ALSO chemistry it's just that i can dip my finger in it and see what it needs as it goes.
the biggest difference between "cooking" and baking (air quotes on the cooking because baking is cooking) is process -- in baking, you get one shot at it. if your dough isn't right and your proportions are wrong and you didnt bring your stuff up to room temperature and you put it into a cold oven blah blah blah -- it is basically impossible to go back and fix it.
for cooking, it's mostly an open vessel and you can adjust as you go -- easy to go up and down in temperature, easy to stir, facilitates addition as you go, so forth
If you can Bob Ross your way through it, it's more art than science. If you have to get it right the first time, it's science. Fight me.
Eat my shorts, you engineer!
When I was at Tech, Civil Engineers were required to take Dynamics (since dropped as a requirement). I explained to the professor, my goal is to be a civil engineer if my structure has become a movable body, I have already been fired and the $100,000,000 lawsuit is coming.
eh. I think it's good to understand what can happen, so that you can design it not to happen. I think dynamics is useful to understand, even for a civil engineer dealing with fixed structures. For instance, a classic problem used in dynamics is the washing machine. Understanding the forces applied to a fixed structure by a dynamic load can be really important for designing that fixed structure appropriately.
Yeah, but forces of on a fixed structure are covered under Statics and Mechanics of Deformable Bodies both required classes.
Jeesh!
Again, statics and mechanics of deformable bodies are both required classes for civil engineers.
Thanks for that clarification. Glad that is so. I'm an EE.
I love shrimp etouffe. If I'm just cooking for me, that's what I make.
My Cajun red beans are better than Justin Wilson's (since I started with his original recipe and then deviated from there!) and are as good as you'll ever have. However, my wife doesn't eat it and our kids don't like beans it so I only make it for parties. It also takes quite a bit of time.
Gumbo is what our family and friends ask for. It's better than what you can get at any restaurant; not because they don't know how but because they also don't have the time to develop the flavor. A group of 5 of us from work teamed up to win the gumbo competition at the Galveston Bay Festival one year. That was a blast!
Best gumbo I ever had was a turtle gumbo (yes, there are people who trap and eat turtles) made by an old guy in a work trailer in an oil field near Houma. He had the key to a gate I needed to get thru to get to a proposed well location I had to check out. After he made sure I was legit (feds in govt trucks weren't particularly welcome...probably still aren't), he invited me in to eat lunch. It was truly amazing; I'll probably never taste anything like that again.
I rarely measure when I bake, gross 1 part 2 part is enough for me, but I mainly bake pies pr cookies where I know the feel of the dough to know what's off. Drives people nuts when they ask for a recipe.
What are you favorite dishes to cook?
Recipe plz
that means I'm going to have to find it, lol!
Inexact measurements are fine!
Okay, inexact is all I have. I found my original and I don't make it that way anymore, lol
Here goes:
Etouffe' means "smothered", usually with some kind of vegetables and a sauce to glue it all together. I've had etouffe' with the veggies cooked down to the extreme, veggies with a bit of a crunch, and everything in between. I've had complex versions and I've had just shrimp and onions.
I use the classic Cajun trinity of diced veggies: a large yellow onion (e..g., Tx 1015, Vidalia, etc); bell pepper (if you like bitter, go green. I like a little sweeter...red or yellow. I've actually made it with banana peppers when I had a bunch I'd grown...worked great); and then celery. Proportions are optional. My ratio is 2/1/1 with onion as the featured veggie. I add a heaping tsp of diced garlic and a can of Rotel tomatoes. The Rotel is the only spice I add; so you can use hot or mild Rotel; and you vary the amount...a half can or whole can. You can drain the juice or not drain the juice. I'd start with a full can of mild, drained. If it's too hot, serve it over more rice, and keep some garlic bread handy. If it's not hot enough, you can always season with hot sauce. The veggies get cooked down in butter, or if you prefer, 50/50 olive oil/butter.
Cooking the veggies: personally, I like it when the onions are clear and have begun to brown. That way the veggies have some substance but aren't crunchy. But if you have a picky person to feed who isn't wild about the veggies, cook them down to an unidentifiable paste; there's less volume but it'll still taste great.
Once the veggies are done, you have to decide how you want to make a sauce. Some classic Cajun cooks will make a little bit of moderately browned roux (flour and butter browned together) and maybe a little chicken stock. Other traditionalists will just use butter to deglaze the pot after they've browned the vegetables. If they are making crawfish etouffee, they might use the crawfish "fat". There are also shortcuts which are every bit as flavorful; maybe even better. I've had etouffee with golden mushroom soup as the sauce; it's good but it can be a bit salty...probably works better with crawfish. I've used either cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup. I've used a little bit of chicken stock and added a hint of corn starch to get a glaze. But the last shortcut option, and you can use this as a base for a killer low fat gumbo...and I use in any number of dishes...is Tony Chachere's Creole Instant Roux mix (you can easily find it online). It is simply dry browned flour (probably either baked in an oven or microwave). They say it has salt and garlic powder; can't prove it by me. Mixing it with any liquid (water, wine, chicken stock, etc and always add wet to dry) and bringing it to a simmer for a few minutes cooks the flour so you get an authentic functioning roux.
The easiest way to get a great sauce, and certainly what I do when I'm in a hurry, is cream of chicken and a little dry roux mix to give it some color. So (and I think this is what is in the photo) with the veggies where you want them...like half-ish cooked down?...add a can of cream of mushroom, like a pound and a half of peeled/cleaned fresh shrimp, some dried parsley (heaping tbs) or fresh chopped if that is your thing, and maybe a smallish splash of Worcestershire sauce (and really, you can leave this out if you want, especially if all you have access to is imported previously frozen shrimp...they are going to be salty anyway... actually don't ever use those, just wait until you can do it right; or maybe find some frozen crawfish tails at a seafood market; or scallops and/or crab...crab etouffe' is magnificent). Bring that all to a simmer (while stirring enough to keep it from sticking) until the shrimp are cooked. And they'll finish Real Quick! If the liquid is bubbling, the shrimp are done (I NEVER bring boiled shrimp up to a full boil). So we're talking simmering maybe a couple of minutes? You can see when the shrimp are done, and they'll keep cooking when you cut the heat. Also when the shrimp cook they are going to add moisture and help thin the soup. The simmer will also cook the dry roux so it will look good and have no floury flavor.
Then you can cut the heat and lid the whole thing. Let it sit for 20 minutes...at least?
Traditionally served over white rice with a garlic bread on the side.
Any Q's?
Good Luck!
oh, if you like pot pies, shrimp etouffe' makes a great filler
Shrimp etouffe pot pie sounds WAY better than chicken pot pie
For my liquid, instead of chicken or other broth, I take the shells from the shrimp or crawfish and put them in a pot, just cover with water. Bring to a strong simmer for 5 minutes. The point is to melt the fat, not boil off any water.
Strain the liquid and reserve, adding after the veggies are cooked and roux is incorporated. Stir in and bring to a boil, then add your meat.
I'm never confident in what's on the shells...how the shrimp were handled on the boat and everywhere from there to market(s)
Yeah, that's valid. I do it anyway. The level of flavor is just too enticing.
Oh, I'm sure it's wonderful!
so you use shrimp stock instead of chicken stock lol
Interesting. I usually sauté the shells in the butter for a few minutes and remove before cooking anything else to get more shrimp flavor. Shrimp butter is amazing. But they were head on I leave the shrimp heads in the whole time to for a garnish and to crunch on and suck out the flavor, so I may not have the best taste.
Thank you! I'll have to try the roux mix. I usually just make a roux, but then I often don't let it darken enough because of time and burning the vegg. I don't add the peppers until the onions and celery are well cooked, and serve over cheese grits for a N'Orleans style shrimp and grits instead of the traditional rice. If I have okra coming in from the garden I add that as well, so a real mash-up, but my wife won't order shrimp and grits out because she likes mine better.
i haven't forgotten
What's your favorite sound?
What's your guilty pleasure?
If you're going to watch a Hokie football game at home on the TV, what's your preferred time slot and why?
If you could remove one thing from existence in the world, what would be? It could be a person past or present, a thing, an emotion, .....anything.
1) a low E on my bass...sounds like a B-17; laughter is a close second
2) Bluebell home made vanilla (gold band) ice cream
3) 8PM; no distractions, I don't have anything else to do after that and I can just yell at the TV
4) Fire ants are near the top of my list but I'd say cancer...I hate cancer. I would have said hate, but then I couldn't hate cancer.
Uncovered and turned on my grill Saturday, about the same time I hit the power button my foot was in a bunch of pain. Turns out fire ants had made a massive home in and under my grill cover which I was now standing on. Luckily only have like 5-6 bites/stings but they itch like crazy now.
ugh! i feel your pain
morning ritual
Throw the cat out and replace it with a loving, sweet doggie and your picture is close to heaven!
My question for you is this: Playing in cover bands pretty much always leads to having to play stuff you don't really want to play. Maybe it's been overplayed, maybe you hated it when it was new, whatever, but it's been requested or your bandmates love it so you suck it up? When I tried to play bluegrass, it was Rocky Top, in another band it was Free Bird and Sitting Here in Limbo in an acoustic band because our talented lead singer loved it. Anyway...
Leave my cat alone! She got dumped by the job site when we built the house, she's very social, and we kept her.
Actually we love dogs. I grew up with labs and my wife grew up with poodles and great danes. Our son's family has a corgi and our daughter has a pit mix that looks like a redbone, leaps like a deer and snaps like an alligator.
But right now we have Tivi the tabby. She's a good girl, she's in charge of everything, and that's just the way it is. : )
Sorry to offend your kitty love, Dave, but how about my question?
And to be fair, I've rescued a number of both dogs and cats in my lifetime, and even really liked a few of those cats, but our lives wouldn't have been as rich without the many dogs while only three cats really added anything other than vet bills.
EDIT: Sorry Dave, I should have read all replies before this post. I see you answered below, sorry!
What is your cats name??
Tivi
A commercial is born!
Love it! Do I need to teach her to talk?
Do you cook the fish you catch? If so, what are your favorites to cook, and how do you cook them?
Absolutely!
Targets are redfish and spotted seatrout.
Preps are grilled, blackened, fried, or a la meuniere
Re: Ifish
Our tag line is "the music you love, that no one else plays"...we don't do a song if you can hear it at every bar on King Street in St Aug. So we get a lot of requests that go unfulfilled...especially southern rock (because we don't do any). We also put a lot of thought into how our sets are organized; what comes first, what will hold the crowd, what is a good closer. And we have songs we do in E standard and others in E flat standard; you don't want to switch instruments every 2 songs. In terms of accommodating the crowd we are polite but not very flexible. If someone's child wants to hear their favorite that we do (little kids love Zombie) we'll move it around so they can hear it before they leave. But not much more than that.
I say I'm in "bands" because we have two formats, badged differently with slightly different personnel. Our basic "bar band" setup is guitar, bass, drums, and female lead vocal. Our 6 piece 80's format adds a male lead singer and keys. Both groups perform well and we play quite a few songs other bands won't. Our lead guitarist and lead singers are quite good and we invest heavily in our sound quality. We use quad cortex digital pedals, have a pro level reverb (eventide), and qsc subs, mains, and monitors. Everything runs through the board...no amps...and the mix is well thought out and refined. Finally we won't do a song if we can't adequately match (or sometimes improve upon) the original. When we play Rooster, the intro sounds just like AIC; the guitar solo in Panama sounds just like EVH. And people go nuts when they hear that kind of thing especially in the more casual settings. The biggest compliment we get is when people ask about our backing tracks, and we just smile and explain we don't have any.
Now, about sucking it up when I don't like a song... There are a few, but not many. And for me it's easier to play a song I don't care for when the performance is clean, the sound quality is really good, and the crowd gets into it. It's actually kind of fun.
There is a lot collaboration in picking songs and even if a song we all like sounds great but the audience doesn't respond, it still gets cut. There are only a couple of songs we keep just for us. And it's fun when you convince your friends to install a song and the audience loves it. I pushed for doing Hysteria (Def Leppard) with our soulful, powerful female lead for 2 years...winner!
That sounds like a fun set of bands to play in, especially with that nice PA and everything streamlined. I wish I could get in with a group of people like that here in Charlotte. I like my dad punk band but we're mediocre at best.
That's certainly the way to go and it sounds like your bands have a great formula. I was in an interesting trio for several years in the Charlottesville area that had a loyal following amongst the "hippie" crowd playing music nobody else was playing. We played 1/3 Irish, 1/3 Mississippi Delta blues, 1/3 a caplella, and were definitely unique in our approach. Was also in a flash in the pan cover band in Blacksburg called "Snag" (Sensitive New Age Guys) that made it to the stage during Steppin' Out and booked into 117 S. Main for the Saturday night of the festival, definitely a high light of my Blacksburg music scene that ended with a decent, but a little cheesy top 40 oldies band with a heavy dash of country that played regularly at the Moose, VFW type venues. We were popular with that crowd and for the first time in my life was actually making more money playing than I spent on harps and fiddle strings. That and the bluegrass band were forgettable, in between though, I was very happy with the groups, musicians and music I was fortunate enough to play.
I do envy you your being able to still play and enjoy the work it takes to play in a group and do it well. When I became a fishing guide, I could no longer keep up the comittment and be able to run my business and I've not been in an organized band since then, 20+ years ago.
Most memorable fish you caught and best fishing trip?
Favorite golf course you've played?
Re: 3rd Gen...I don't know why I can't hit the reply button!
Most memorable...first bass I caught by myself...I was second grade maybe?...Blackbeard Island, Ga...Johnson push button spincast rod/reel combo...on a lazy Ike (ask Ifish, he'll know what it is). I was afraid to hold the fish so I carried it on the hook a couple hundred yards to where my folks were, lol.
Best trip...easy. My brother in law and I took our aging dads to Port Mansfield, Tx. We wade fished the lower laguna madre and caught limits of nice trout and redfish as the sun went down and we couldn't see. My B-I-L's dad was from New Mexico and had never caught more than tiny trout and crappie. He had fish pulling drag for probably 2 hours straight. For me it was closing a loop because my dad taught me to fish and it was finally a time when I could give him a new experience. He'd caught some reds and trout...but not like that, lol.
Fav course...the Ocean Course at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Golf Club. It was scheduled to host the Ryder Cup in 1939 that got canceled by the war. It's also where Pete Dye got his island green idea for the TPC.
Ha Ha! I haven't heard a Lazy Ike mentioned in ages. I think in my life, I owned three of them. One, I got when my dad died and it was in his old tackle box, along with an ancient Heddon Creek Chub, one I bought and one I found while bank fishing. Never liked them, never learned to fish them, never caught a fish nor had a bite on one. Last I remember about them was pirating their trebles for other lures.
Best places to eat, drink, and see in Jacksonville?
My wife and I are going to be there later this month for a soccer game and it's our first time going to Jacksonville. We're staying downtown near EverBank stadium so the closer to there the better.
Jacksonville is a huge nothing special on the restaurant scene and I don't know anyone who goes downtown much if they don't have to.
That said, there used to be a nice restaurant (it has changed hands a few times) right by MOSH and there's a Ruth's Chris there as well. But I'd probably go just south of there to an area called San Marco. It's a bit upscale with small restaurants and shops. Safe and walkable.
Five points/Avondale is a short drive and is kind of like San Marco. It has several nice restaurants and bars. Iguana on Park (latin food) and Brick Restaurant have good food. Again, once you are there it's walkable and safe. Whits Frozen Custard has very good ice cream.
If you want some fresh seafood in a casual atmosphere I'd say Safe Harbor out by the ferry crossing in Mayport. It's
a drive but all the fish are right off the boat (it has a fish market); was on DDD a few years back; and their fried shrimp are almost as good as mine! My daughter and her BF go there with some frequency.
I don't drink but there are a bunch of Ale House-type micro breweries in the area. The beer and wine crew in my old office didn't have any trouble finding spots.
For sightseeing, I'd drive to the beach. If you want less developed go to Talbot Island Park to the north or Anastasia Park in St Aug.
You have a chance to go back in time and change any one thing about your life. What, if anything, do you go back and change?
I could think of a dozen events that I wish had never happened or played out differently, but the truth is things have turned out pretty well. We have what we need. My wife is my best friend, our children are super bright and have a strong set of values, and the people they've chosen to be with are fantastic. And then there's our granddaughter. Didn't expect that to ever happen but there she is!
I think what bothers me most are things I've said that weren't meant to be hurtful but upon reflection, almost certainly were; then never again having the opportunity to retract, explain, or apologize...can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. I won't get more specific than that but I hope I've gotten more thoughtful before speaking as I've gotten older.
This!! I've learned to bite my tongue (no not referring to the accident at age 8 but I digress lol) and to not reply quickly when I'm angry or hurt. As you note, things said cannot be unsaid...even if you apologize later. My mom told me her sister said something to her in her youth that was very hurtful. Even though her sister apologized afterwards and my mom did forgive her, she never forgot it either and even year later the pain was still there.
Favorite golf course?
Best round ever?
I mentioned the Ocean Course at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Golf Club above. But I've only played it twice...too exclusive and pricey. Favorite that I played regularly was Eagle Harbor in Orange Park (Fleming Island) before we moved to St Aug. It's a nice course ; nice diversity of holes; no gimmicks.
Best 18 hole round is +2. I've been -1 for 9 a couple of times and level par for 9 several times. All of that was regular tees and pre-injury.
Since I started playing again (an 8 year break...I think), it's +3 from the senior tees and I've been level par for 9 a couple times as well. But I play regular or senior now based on who I get paired with, so as not to hold up the group.
This morning I played the regular tees. Sucked on the front; +1 on the back (5 pars, a bogey, a double, and 2 birds). I'm getting there.
This has been pretty vanilla which is kind of what I expected...my friends say my favorite color should be khaki...which is appropriate, lol. I don't get worked up about a whole lot. So I'll throw a little more out there...
3 people living or dead? Nate Bargatze, Kathleen Madigan, and Brad Paisley (with his guitar). They'd all have to come over to my house. Laughter and music...it would be a blast.
dumbest thing? made the kill switch inaccessible on a boat I modified; went fishing by myself; was thrown out of said boat in the middle of a bay; played dodge boat while it circled; managed to make it out alive unscathed. ironically later in life was named to Florida's Safe Boating Advisory Council for 4 years (for manatee reasons)
last book I read? I read little but I think anyone in a leadership position (or really adult) should read AA's Big Book and should go to an open AA speaker meeting and listen to at least a dozen or so speakers tell their story. It is the rare person who never has to deal with alcoholism/addiction in their professional or personal lives. If I had done that earlier in life, I would have definitely been a more effective leader and better supervisor, and perhaps even a better friend and parent.
edit: welp, maybe I need to swap Brad for Bob Newhart
Any insight on manatee eating too much underwater grass? Or you think it is all just to poor water quality/nutrient runoff issues?
99.99% water quality; I think I said as much in USAToday last winter. Total failure by the state when they defrocked the Water Management Districts.
And they've missed opportunities to improve circulation
Wonder if, in your manatee work, you ever ran across a fellow named Jimmy Reed? He was working with them, maybe in Cuba? Last I spoke with him was maybe 15-18 years ago on the bank of the New River. I have no idea what agency/group he was working for or with, but figure you might have run into him since I know he was working in Florida as well.
I've met him; I'm sure he came by our office more than once. I'm thinking he was with USGS in Gainesville (and if not, contracting for them) at one point but more likely he was working with Buddy Powell (a private researcher that used to work for the state) when he was in Cuba. Buddy made a few trips down there. There weren't that many people working on manatees...the USGS Sirenia Lab, FWRI in St Pete, a few of the zoological facilities...
Jimmy is the brother of an old friend and one time housemate from the early 70s out in Giles County just after I was discharged from the Army and returned to Tech. I am not at all surprised you met him, but it's kinda cool that you have. I figured the manatee study community wouldn't be but so large.
you figured right.
The research community would get frustrated with me at times because I kept a firewall between the science folks and the policy decisions. But I did that so we could survive in court...and I thought it was the right thing to do. No predetermined outcomes; no fingers on the scale.
The Endangered Species Act requires use of the best scientific information in decision making, but it is a public policy document, not a science document. It can change anytime the public will changes. Staff would love to say "we're supposed to err on the side of the species!" And I'd say "no, actually we're not supposed to err at all."
You might be surprised at how few people there are that are skilled at both science and policy. I tried to get UF to make public policy a required course for graduate degrees in natural resource programs. It's hard to have a natural resources career without interacting regularly with government at some level.
Would you be interested in serving as Secretary of the Interior?
lol, I don't know why anyone takes those jobs
if you want to see cool stuff, catch fish, and actually make a difference; the best high level appointment in DOI is Assistant Secretary for Fish Wildlife and Parks. You get all the refuges and all the parks and the solicitors work for YOU! I had the good fortune to spend quality time with four of them [Glasgow (Nixon Admin), Harriman (Reagan), Berry (Clinton), and Bean (Obama). All were actually quite down to earth and helpful.]
And yes, like you, I have stories about each. We can save them for the fish board.
The captains for clean water at least seem to be trying to change how they discharge from Ockeechobee. Definitely is a problem for sure.
Yeah, that's been a huge problem/challenge forever. Corps will always put safety first...they have to...but I hope there is some success there.
IRL is not easy to fix, but there are more options, IMO. Could have at least reconnected Banana Creek when the shuttle program went idle. Two big culverts under the crawlerway and voila! Feds need to give more permitting latitude on the removal of the muck while State needs to cooperate better in the monitoring of the equipment work.
Until somebody loses an election on this, I'm skeptical of more than just some lip service. Need a governor that actually wants to get something done and doesn't mind a little criticism to do it; have to go back a few decades to find one of those.
Best and worst vacation experiences?
Vacation bucket list?
Best...Swans Island, Me in early October 1987. Lobster, crab, mussels, fireplaces, hiking, fishing. Son was born the following June, lol.
Bucket list...Iceland is up there. Ireland and Scotland are up there. I could be talked into a Patagonia trip.
edit: oh worst...Gatlinburg for Thanksgiving with my in laws, and my wife's siblings' families. The company was fine (except for wife's sister in law who is just a lot of work) but Gatlinburg was the opposite of everything I enjoy
So as a retiree - In hindsight, would rather have worked longer and had more $$$ than now, or retired earlier with less spending money than you have now, or do think you got it right for you? How did you decide?
For Kville
I think I got it right.
I had originally planned to work 3 more years than I did. But when ARRA was passed in 2009, they lifted the timing restrictions on consulting with your old agency. DOD had always had it, but none of the other Departments did.
Fast forward two years...FWS was refilling the statewide administrator position in FL and they wanted me to do it...but it would be in South FL. I told them I'd do it but it would have to be in Jax. They were adamant about the location so I convinced them to put me on the selection panel; then I would retire if they'd bring me back under contract to mentor and trouble shoot; as well as to provide continuity with public and private sector partners in some new initiatives we'd gotten started. They bought it and it worked out great!
So back to your Q, the contract work more than offset the earlier out and also gave me enough quarters to qualify minimal social security...I was original CSRS, not FERS, so I take a reduced amount. But it pays for Part B and a car payment...it's at least something.
How did I decide? I've been asked that many times by my peers and the answer I give is always the same...you have to be honest with yourself and know when you're done. And by "done" I mean no longer able to be effective at the level you need to be. Could I still do the job? Sure. But not at the level I expected it to be done. The people you serve in the office need and deserve all the support you can give. I couldn't do that any more; you can only take so many hits. And I'd had a great run. Also the deal I negotiated meant I could still be there for them in some capacity. I had keys to the building and an office, and I could come and go as I pleased...at my old salary level. When I went in for a day, there would be a line at the door. I still get a call once in awhile.
I've run into too many people whose job has become their identity, their sense of self worth. They fear retirement instead of looking forward to a new chapter. Very sad; very unnecessary, imo.
Visited St Augustine in May for my sister's wedding at The Lightner in the old pool, it was very fun. I stayed with family on the beach side (as did most guests) and spent my time trying every taco shop I could. I hitup Burrito Works on A1A twice, Osprey Tacos, and Mojo Tacos (brought home a large bottle of their mojo hot sauce).
I guess my only question would be which of the three above would you consider your favorite?
Of those, definitely Burrito Works. Mango Mango's is also good; very crowded, but good.
edit: if you find yourself down here again and don't mind driving 20 minutes, try Caps or Aunt Kates on the water in Vilano. If you are downtown in St Aug, The Floridian is good (pulled pork waffles...yum!).
Best fried shrimp near downtown is O'Steen's (but it's cash only).
Went to The Floridian first night after getting off the plane. I had the blackened fish and grits, they were wonderful.
We've been to NO and loved it, the food, everything.... Talk to me about Boudin, and if and how you use it in anything you cook.
Also,give me all the Andoullie....thoughts on that as well and/or recipies or ways to cook it we might not be aware of....
Gumbo VS Jambalaya......what you got?
The restaurant food in NO, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette is amazing. But there is no doubt a Cajun mawmaw in Abbeville or St Martinville that can outcook all of them. It's part of the culture and you pretty much can't beat it.
Boudin is essentially meat-heavy dirty rice in a casing. Never had any that didn't have liver as part of the meat component. So, do you like liver? All of the boudin I've ever eaten was unbranded and purchased at small country stores in rural south Louisiana; right out of a steaming crockpot or hitachi rice cooker on the counter by the cash register (and often sitting next to a jar of pickled quail eggs). I'd slice open the casing and spread it on a small french loaf; a quick po boy on the fly. I can take it or leave it. If you are a poor grad student it's very budget friendly and if you've been duck hunting freezing your ass off since before dawn, it's a welcome and readily available warm meal on the drive home (in that part of the world it's an expectation that country stores will have it). All of my Cajun friends would eat it more as a cultural ritual than because they just had to have it. (Cajun coworker: "I love boudin!" Me: " then why do you only eat it when I'm in the car with you?)
Sausage is a great partner with shrimp and chicken and is also in most red beans recipes (it will be in the beans or served as an option on the side) and that's how I've seen andouille used most often. I love it but most is too spicy for me, especially the older I get. Less common use? Dice it up and brown it with some bell pepper and onions and use it in ranch style scrambled eggs; or if you are doing a Cajun fried turkey for the holidays, grill some as a side dish for the turkey and/or use it as a component in your dressing.
How many cultures have a dish which combines chicken and rice...maybe ALL of them that have access to rice? Jambalaya is another Cajun "one pot wonder" that, like gumbo and boiled seafood can be done on a scale suitable to serve at a gathering. I think gumbo is the more unique but I love both. The key to jambalaya is the liquid/rice balance and inevitably, the rice ends up overcooked for my taste. It's delicious, but... Want a quick "jambalaya" that doesn't run the risk of the rice coming out in one mushy piece? Cook the rice separately using chicken stock as the liquid. Saute' cajun seasoned sausage, chicken and/or shrimp with some bell pepper and onions in a large skillet. Then dump the cooked rice in at the end to deglaze the skillet...
Here's some shrimp and sausage... Is it really jambalaya or just an imposter stir fry thing? Does it really matter?
No
Re:
This reminds me, when I was at Tech in 1983 my Dad became CO of the Kingsville NAS, a Navy pilot training base. For Christmas, my brother (who was going to Embry Riddle) and I went there from school. He flew form Daytona Beach with early AM arrival in Atlanta. I drove form the 'burg to get him, left late evening and arrived after red eye driving in Atlanta in my 1973 VW Squareback. I picked him and we swapped driving for the next 24 hours to Kingsville, TX. While on I10 deep in the swamps pf LA we stopped for dinner that night in who knows where deep in the bayou at some small gas station with a grill/restaurant and had jambalaya for dinner before getting back on the road. It was incredibly delicious. Great meal. Won't forget it.
Here's an image with same color of my college ride (not mine, but looked just like this) - that car did so many surf trips across the East and Gulf coasts:
My uncle had almost that exact car!
Your dinner could have easily been at Landry's Seafood (Gas and Diesel) just west of the Atchafalaya Bridge (the 20 mile bridge thru/over the swamp between Baton Rouge and Lafayette). Landry's is at either the Henderson or Breaux Bridge exit; and their food is great!
these are prized and well used possessions; the 1976 printings of both. Talk About Good was referred to as "The Cajun Bible" when we were there. There is a section in River Road entitled "How Men Cook" with even a few recipes from the hunting camps in the marshes and swamps. For example, the Sauce Piquante recipe starts with "8 chickens, turtle, squirrel, or rabbit; 40 quail; 10 lbs onions, chopped...", lol.
Dave - thanks for taking a turn!
I'll see if MasScott is going to give it a go-
you're most welcome! this is a great community