Budges big blog of bbq food and life

Welcome back to the blog, it’s been too long between posts. While I haven’t been blogging quite as much lately I assure you I have been hitting the “bbq trail” so to speak and working on bbq. I’d also like to welcome the Holstein general store as the newest purveyor of budges bbq spices. Check it out, they have everything to do with bbq/ smoking there as well as some real good pulled pork sandwiches.

Back to Beefsgiving, I’m always thinking, looking for cool bbq recipes. After combing my bbq cook books and some bbq sites I came up with the answer. Why not make my variation of a Tulsa torpedo? After some careful thought I think I came up with a winner. Here’s how it goes.

You will need a lb of ground beef, 1 lb of ground sausage, a full pack bacon, a kielbasa sausage, some breakfast sausage and a bottle of budges original rub. Place the ground beef in a large freezer bag, roll it out so it’s flat and uniform. Do the same with the sausage in a separate bag. Cut the sides out of the bag. Place the sausage on top of the hamburger. Now either dice up the breakfast sausage or simply squeeze it out of the casing as I did and place on top. Sprinkle liberally with budges rub then with aged cheddar cheese. Place the whole thing on top of some parchment paper. Place the kielbasa on the lead edge. Slowly pull the parchment paper up while you roll the mixture around the kielbasa. Continue till fully rolled into a log. Make sure the ends are tucked in. Now wrap the torpedo in cellophane and refrigerate for a minimal of 2 hours or overnight.

Next we need a bacon weave. Lay out flat strips of bacon equal to the width of the torpedo and weave bacon strips in between the laid out strips till you have a full bacon mat. Roll the torpedo up inside the bacon weave and skewer the weave to the torpedo. We are ready for the smoker.

Preheat your smoker to 300f, I used a mixture of mesquite and cheery wood to give the smoke a strong/ sweet flavour. Sprinkle the torpedo with budges rub and place on the smoker. I wanted to get the bacon cooking quick and the fat rendering which is why I started smoking at 300. A half hour in reduce heat to 250. Continue smoking till the internal temp of the torpedo reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat and let rest. After 15 mins slice and serve with your fav bbq sauce. Consequently you can baste the torpedo with bbq sauce 5 mins prior to pulling off the smoker. I suggest a pan of smoked beans and a green salad for sides.

So there you are, a lot of work but it tasted great.

Enjoy and happy “ Beefsgiving”

Till next time. Fins up!

The ground beef and sausage after being rolled out with breakfast sausage sprinkled on it

Who doesn’t love a good road trip?

After multiple days of family Christmas it was time to kick back and hit the road, destination? St Louis MO. Why St Louis? Visit my side of the family and of course, the food! Oh the food. Time to do some bbq research!

December 27th we are a little late getting going but better late than the next day. A stop over in Gary Indiana overnight ( isn’t there a crime show or something about Gary?) and the next morning we are good to go.

Dec 28th – this is the best scenery of the trip. Once we get through southern Chicago and the 2 million trucks on that stretch of highway it’s an easy and scenic drive paralleling the old Route 66 that ran from Chicago to Californian on interstate 55. Joliet, Kankakee, Bloomington and the home of the 16th president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln, Springfield Ill. You could spend days or weeks in this area exploring all the dedicated museums, monuments ect to him. Lincoln of course was assasinated after the civil war by southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. We are through Springfield and on the home stretch to St Louis. I merge onto the 270 loop, cross the Mississippi and we are in Missouri. Ahhh I can taste the Kansas city type bbq already.

The food scene in St Louis is very diverse. Everything from Mexican to italian to German to Bbq. The city has its own distinct pizza. Known as St. Louis pizza, basically a thin cracker style crust, covered with provel cheese ( cheddar, Swiss and provolone). Gooey butter cake and frozen custard are also St Louis staples. Did you know St. Louis style ribs were invented here? Basically side ribs trimmed straight. Or St. Louis style. All these foods are good but, I’m here for two reasons. Mexican and bbq!! Bring it on!

First stop, because of its close proximity to our accommodations ( haha my sisters house) is Mexican. Our restaurant of choice is El Magueys in the valley in Chesterfield. An old favourite. This place is awesome. $6 16 oz margaronas ( a margarita with a bottle of corona stuffed upside down into it) or for a more moderate $4 you can get a regular margarita. Ciara and I go full experience ( margaronas) Chloe and my niece Jana go for the straight margaritas. Next the food, I order the enchilada plater, burittos, tacquitos and tacos round out the orders.

Day two

Todays the day! Sugar fire bbq, this place has been on a ton of food shows. Bobby flay, diners drive ins and dives, pit masters ect. But first we visit, do a little shopping ( I of course hit a place with smokers and assorted bbq accessories for sale). Quick lunch at our fav fast food joint ( sonic burger) one of the only true drive in type food places that you park , order and an attendant brings your food to your car still . The chilli dogs are crazy good here, as is the ice cream. The girls do a little more shopping and it’s time to hit Sugar fire. It does not disappoint. I go for smoked wings, beans, smoked cheesy potatoes. Jacquie does the brisket ( which I pick from) we also have pulled pork, smoked Philly cheese steak sandwiches in the group. The food is outstanding. Great rub, tender, with just the right amount of smoke. This place is a repeat next time we are in town.

Day 3

We have a lazy morning then head to the outlet mall in chesterfield. It’s a gorgeous day. 10-12 c and sunny. Not bad for Dec 30th. I enjoy the sunshine while having a couple Michelobs at the courtyard while the girls shop. Mid afternoon we stop for drinks at the rock and roll sports bar in the valley. Very cool spot, basically a rock and roll themed restaurant bar with a ton of memorabilia there. Makes the hard rock look like it’s walls are barren. Next it’s off to Pappy’s bbq. Pappy’s is consistently ranked in the top 10 of bbq joints in the USA. Yes it’s that good! We order brisket, burnt ends and some pulled chicken to go with the customary accompaniments beans, corn, Mac and cheese ect. The brisket is probably the best I’ve had. Wow. Do yourself a favour and check it out. If you go though, go day time for 2 reasons. 1) safety as it’s not the nicest part of town 2) it will be sold out most likely if you don’t go by mid day.

Day 4 ( New Year’s Eve day)

We spend the morning hanging out ( and I clean up bbq leftovers lol). After lunch we decide to take off and head for home as the weather forecast is good. Once again we are on the road. The stay was of course too short and I didn’t get to a blues game but the bbq and Mexican was phenomenal. A short over night in Benton harbour Michigan and we are home New Year’s Day in time for the Winter Classic.

St Louis is known as the gateway to the Midwest. However I would venture to say it’s also known for its bbq and food scene. There literally is a bbq joint on just about every corner here.

Till next time. Fins up!

“ It was Christmas Eve, in the drunk tank. An old man said to me, won’t see another one”. The fairy tale of New York by the Pogues. Possibly the greatest Christmas song ever written.

This past week Pogues singer, song writer and frontman Shane MacGowan passed away at the age of 65. MacGowan was known to be somewhat of a literary genius. If your not familiar with his work think dark poet meets Celtic music. Shane was known for living his life to the fullest drinking heavy in his teens and continued for his 65 years. As a teen MacGowan received a literary scholarship, dropped out of school, formed multiple punk bands during the hay day of the London punk scene. Eventually forming The Pogues and toured with the Clash. While touring with the Clash the Pogues were noticed by Elvis Costello who produced an album for them. The rest as they say is history. He leaves behind a large body of work.

If our not familiar with “the fairy tale of New York” take a few minutes and listen to it or better yet watch the incredibly stirring black and white video which portrays 2 Irish broadway actors living in New York and reminiscing about the good old days and wondering if things are still good with each other. At times the language is fairly harsh lol but necessary to get an understanding of the characters. On the surface the song/ video seems very dark but if you listen closely and dissect, some parts are very uplifting ( eg you took my dreams from me when I first found you. I kept them with me babe, I put them with my own. Can’t make it on my own. I built my dreams around you..) Take a few minutes and check the song out.

A few facts from the song – the female singer ( Kristy MacColl) was killed in an accident after being run over by a speed boat in Mexico. – the song was originally written after Elvis Costello bet the band they couldn’t write a Christmas song. – the song went through multiple versions and took over 2 years to write. – the NYPD band shown in the video was the real NYPD band. They were reportedly supplied free booze for filming their portion of the video. While filming they ran out and demanded more booze or they wouldn’t continue filming. -recognize anyone famous ( beside the musicians ) in the video? Matt Damon plays the police officer. – recently nfl football players Jason and Travis Kelce covered the song for the Philadelphia Eagles Christmas album

The Pogues are a very cool band. If your not familiar I suggest not only checking out The fairy tale of New York but check out the song American body and Dirty old town to start with.

Now Black Friday.

I’ve written about Jacquie and my love of the city of Pittsburgh. Sports, culture, shopping and The Food!! This past weekend we were in Pittsburgh Black Friday shopping. I mostly go for the outing ( meaning beer and food) but I will say the deals that were available were the best we’ve ever seen. As jacquie said, she was pretty much being paid to buy shoes.

And what would a trip be to Pittsburgh without a little bbq at some of the local bbq joints and of course my very favourite sandwich!! Primantii bros . ( I might have gone there 3 times in the weekend lol) Unless you have had a Primantii bros sandwich you cannot fathom how good they are.

Start with bakery fresh thick white bread, add crazy good coleslaw, mounds of cheese, a huge stack of deli meat and finish it off with the best French fries I have tasted! Pure heaven. Of course all this is washed down with Pittsburghs famous “iron city light beer”. My beer of choice when in the “ iron city”. Needless to say it is also one damn fine sports bar.

Till next time. Fins up! Merry Christmas

This past August we got together with a number of our friends for my annual “big bourbon bash”. I believe this was my 20th year of hosting the bash. The theme of course is bourbon therefor all the food I cook for the weekend is either marinated or includes jack daniels in one form or another.

In the early day everyone brought their kids along for the weekend and it was utter chaos in some respects, but a ton of fun. Boating, fishing, swimming, having a few brews and of course a little bourbon. I think we peaked at probably close to 30 of us one year. As the kids have grown and are busy the bash has gotten smaller ( and quieter ) but the spirit is still strong. Mostly though the weekend is about catching up, great food and a ton of laughs. Like any good get together there’s a litany of stories we revisit every year. Some recollections stay the same, some are shall we say fine tuned as the years go by!

Here are just a few of mine.

1) when the kids were small I bought a new legend fishing boat. I loved that boat. It was a great boat, safe, reliable comfortable ect. One year a bunch of the kids decided to feed the local duck population from our dock. While not really paying much attention I noticed later that half the lakes duck population was in my boat. Ducks, bread and everything else that accompanies them in the boat. Rrrr what a mess.

2) one year the boys decided to have a whiskey tasting prior to walking over to our place for supper. Part of the walk includes a very large and very steep hill. After being late and seeing the condition they were in one of the wives asked “ how did you guys get up that hill?”. The response? “ what hill?” Lol Should have known. It just went downhill from there.

3) as a young lad a future radio station executive type decided it was his year to tackle Jack Daniels. Recognizing a chance to teach a life lesson his mother actively encouraged him. “ have another shot” “ that’s it? All you can drink” “ you wussy” lol. Fun and games became barfing on hands and knees later on that evening. Score another one for “Jack”

4) one beautiful warm sunny day the kids were all in swimming. A couple of the kids were out on a paddle boat ( not ours). This particular paddle boat did have a couple holes in it and leaked accordingly. After sometime of the boat taking on water it started to list to one side where the leak was. Instead of taking it back to shore ( or abandoning ship) they decided to stay on it as it sank lower and lower. Just before the boat was set to go down to the lakes bottom I once again happened to notice what was happening on the lake. One big yell to “ get off the god damn boat” and one classic line was born. “ I can only take so much stupidity in one day”!

5) Stomping Tom is always being played at one point or another during the weekend. Usually it’s your standards. Sudbury Saturday night, big Joe muffleraw, bud the spud ect. This particular year on a very hot and muggy Saturday night someone decided we would be better served listening to Tom while seated in Merv’s brand new Ram truck. 5 of us pile into Merv’s truck with poor Riley stuck in the back seat in the middle. Windows up, Tom blasting “Rita McNeil” as we sipped Jack in sweltering heat. Thought Riley was going to have heat stroke. Lol or maybe it was just Tom’s singing wearing him down. After enduring that with a smile we decided “ he’s alright” lol

Thanks for the 20 years of memories everyone. Here’s looking forward to many more. A few pics over the years from “ budges big bourbon bash”.

A thing of beauty. Smoked bologna on the bottom rack. Bourbon marinated beef dogs stuffed with cheese then wrapped in bacon.

Till next time. Fins up!

Feb 3 1959 is known as the day the music died. We lost Richie Valens, the big bopper and Buddy Holly that day but Sept 1 2023 will always be the day the music died for me.

James William Buffett better known as Jimmy has set sail. Jimmy was an American poet, a rock star, an environmentalist, businessman, author, pilot, an icon. Jimmy has inspired a way of life millions of parrot heads live by including me. From massive pre concert tailgate parties to playing benefit concerts for hurricane relief, the gulf oil spill ect to setting up a foundation in Florida to save the manatees. The man did it all.

This past Saturday morning I woke up to multiple texts that Jimmy had passed away the night before. It is truly a sad day for parrot heads, music and humanity in general. To honour Jimmy I set my pirate flag at half mast and played his music for the day ( that’s not much different than most days) while enjoying a couple margaritas.

Most people aren’t aware that Jimmy has strong Canadian roots. His grandfather was from Cape Breton. As a young man his grandfather signed up to work as a sailor and travelled the world. Eventually becoming the captain of his own ship and settling in Mississippi. Jimmy’s father worked for the army corps of engineers and was also a sailor. Hence one of Jimmy’s classic songs “ son of a son of a sailor”. Jimmy still has relatives in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and was known to quietly return frequently to fish, surf, play and explore. He was also know to do impromptu concerts on the Canadian east coast while visiting. As Jimmy was quoted as saying “ I have more relatives in Canada than I do in the U.S”.

If you aren’t aware of the whole Parrot head culture do yourself a favour. Go onto you tube and look up “tailgate party Jimmy Buffett show”. It will give you an idea of the happenings prior to Jimmy’s concerts. However the whole movement is about much more than just partying and concerts. It’s also about learning a slower way of life. Island style. It’s about family, philanthropy, good food and best of all, great music! I’ve seen Most of rocks biggest names but Jimmy’s concerts are in a class by themselves. You ain’t going to this concert to spectate. It’s a full experience.

I’m going to leave you with a few pictures from Jimmy’s New Year’s Eve concert 2016 in Nashville and a quote from Jimmy. In the song “ bama breeze he envisions the owner lulu ( which happens to be his sisters nickname) getting up on the stage at the fictitious bar ( purported to be loosely based on the famous florabama) and singing Lynyrd Skynyrds free bird, giving a toast to Ronnie and the boys”. After all the songs and toasts you’ve given to your fans Jimmy over the years this one’s for you.

Fins up! Sail on sailor. Thanks for everything.

Homecoming, it can mean different things to different people. If you live in Mildmay/Carrick it means a party, a very big party which happens every 10 years.

This past Civic weekend Mildmay-Carrick celebrated homecoming. A chance to catch up with old friends you possibly haven’t seen for years or possibly just enjoy the many activities and events during the weekend. To name just a few of them we have a pageant, classic car show, golf tournament, 2 hour plus parade, beard growing contest, children’s activities, bed races, food trucks, meals for suppers, breakfasts, road hockey tournament, beer tent, school reunions and entertainment.

The entertainment, WOW, great job by the committee. Daily there were bands or singers in the beer tent and at night there were bands on the main stage. Bands included Lulus road house, neon nostalgic, Little Rock and the Practically hip. The highlight for most though was a 30 minute pop up performance from Mildmay’s Owen Reigling to a jam packed tent. By all accounts there were in excess of 2000 people at Saturday nights dance plus close to 2000 for Friday, Sunday and Monday nights dances. ( isn’t there only a population of 1000 people in town?)

To all the volunteers who make this weekend possible Thank You! Years of planning, hundreds of hours and a ton of work go into it. Special shout out to Bill, Curt and Ryan the 3 chairs of the weekend. Well Done!

Sunday night when things usually start to go a little sideways if you know what I mean we decided to have a little fun with Budge’s Bbq rub and show you some of the evenings people and festivities. Here are a few pics to enjoy from the evening.

Sadly I am dedicating this blog to our neighbor Mack. Mack was the homecoming parades chair. Sadly he missed the big day but his hard work and spirit were present. Mack lived 2 doors down from us. When someone in the neighbourhood needed help, Mack was the first one there. Didn’t matter what time of day you drove by his place he always had a big wave and smile for you. A gracious host in the neighbourhood he always had a beer for you too. One night I walked over to give Mack a bottle of my bbq rub. You’d have thought I handed him the keys to a new truck. He was so pumped! A lot of people search their entire lives to find happiness. I think Mack had it.

As parrot heads say Mack set sail July 22nd 2023 just shy of his 27th birthday. From here on in when I drive by Mack’s I will always see his wave.

Next up Budges big bourbon bash weekend. If your looking for entertainment this weekend let me suggest playing a live version of Jimmy’s “ he went to Paris”. He went to Paris looking for answers……..

Had a picture taken with this young up and comer who reads the blog.

My favourite t-shirt of the weekend.

I found this crew at the dance Sunday night. Told you things start to go sideways

Welcome back to my blog.

August 2021, Pearson airport 4:45 am. It’s a warm, dark, breezy morning. Jacquie and I have exited the departure lanes from the airport. We have just dropped Chloe off in the middle of the pandemic. Travelling to a country she has never been for med school. With 2 suitcases of personal belongings, umpteen passed Covid tests, masks and her unbridled optimism. Knowing it will be sometime till she see’s family and friends she is on her way to fulfilling her life’s dream.

After a torturous quarantine (think lack of food, water and 100 degree heat with air not properly working). Her final Covid test is passed and she is free.

Semester 1 basic sciences is one of the most difficult and major hurdles for all med school students. It’s passed leaving a lot of her fellow students behind and she is on to semester 2. 2 goes by quickly and once again success. It’s spring and an upcoming visit from Jacquie and I with Greg and Vickie is on tap between semesters. Semester 3 ends in the fall and once again Jacquie and I are up for a visit. (didn’t think you were getting rid of us that easy did you?). Semester 4 goes quickly and she is home for Christmas. Plans are underway for a family vacation to help celebrate Chloe’s success.

Semester 5, it’s busy. So busy in fact theres only time for a few short FaceTime calls to plan the celebration with the family come the middle of April.

April 22nd the big day is here. 14 family members are on their way to the Barbados for 8 glorious days. Chloe’s time on the island (at least school wise) is over. She is understandably sad to go. Many, many new friendships have been made with people from California, Florida, Philadelphia, Michigan ect. Constant 30 degree plus weather, snorkeling, beautiful beaches, a love of the kind, easy going Bajan people and the outstanding food on the island are all high lites. Most importantly she has done what a large number of her classmates couldn’t. Made it through the 5 semesters of class room medical school. She’s half way there. Can’t say M.D yet but can we at least call her an M?

8 glorious days for the family in Barbado’s.

What an incredible time. Lots of beach days, catamaran snorkeling tour, island tour, swimming, the islands only craft brewery, watching the surfers at the world class Bathsheba beach, incredible seafood and just a whole lot of laughs.

Thanks everyone for the great 8 days.

Here are a few pics from our trip.

I would like to dedicate this post to my friend Duncan Mcphail. 20 years ago Duncan was the first person I met at our lake retreat. Jacquie and I weren’t there more that 5 minutes when we met Duncan. Pretty soon we were sitting on his deck having a beverage and being welcomed.

Duncan was the kind of person most of us aspire to be. Smart, giving with a great sense of humour. He could pull in on his Harley or his 68 Camaro looking totally retro. Then turn around and leave the next day for a council or mayors meeting to help right his municipality.

When you needed something he had it. Over the years we shared some great bbq, margaritas, Sunday morning church at our neighbor Charlie’s for a laker (Charlie was a retired stelco steel worker) and just a ton of laughs. Yes, a ton of good memories.

As parrot heads say “Duncan set sail in March”.

Till next time.

Here we are 2021, yes! Well at least i think yes. I have never been one to be fixated on the past so i’m not going to dedicate much space here to it. I’m going to call 2020 for what it was ” a piece of shit”. There, done. Lets move on to something a lot more fun. Bbq!

So Budge what did you cook for the modified holidays? Let me tell you. Montreal smoked meat! I love smoked meat of any sort, the chance to keep my JD barrel smoker going a little longer before it gets nasty out was too much to pass on. Just before Christmas i head to West grey meat market to purchase a packer brisket. The one i choose is 14lbs and is going to work out nice. I quickly trim the brisket up and apply my home made cure which is made up of sea salt, pink curing salt, crushed bay leaf, black pepper, coriander, sugar and cloves. I coat the brisket with the cure and wrap it tightly with cling wrap. Place it in an extra large freezer bag and toss it in the fridge. I flip the brisket every day and after 4 days its cured. The brisket then needs to have the cure washed off with cold water. Once this is done i place the brisket in a large pan with cold water covering it. Every 30 mins or so i change the water for the next two hours, pat it dry and apply the rub in preparation for smoking. The rub contains black pepper, coriander, paprika, garlic powder, mustard, celery seed, and a little crushed red pepper. On to the smoker it goes, i like to start my briskets hotter than your average 225-250 degrees that most people smoke at. I’m starting at 300 degrees for the first hour or so ( this helps any fat start to render quickly) then reduce the smoker to 250. Once i hit 170 degrees ( appx 6-7 hours) i remove the brisket from the smoker and transfer to v shaped roasting pan. Place an inch or so of water in the pan and cover with foil. I then place on the burners and steam the brisket for the next 1.30- 2 hours till i hit 190 degrees or so. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool and slice. There you have it. Fantastic montreal smoked meat!

I hope you enjoy the blog, my new rub is great on chicken and pork and not to bad on beef either.

As always “earls dead, cadillac for sale”.

Yes i am a pirate 200 years too late, canons don’t thunder there’s nothin to plunder i’m a over 40 victim of fate. A pirate looks at 40. I love this song and consider it Jimmy’s finest work. It’s an ode to Jimmy’s old friend Phil Clark. Seems Phil couldn’t find his calling in life and bounced around from bartending gigs to smuggling pot to being a mercenary back in the 70’s.

Canada day 2020, I’ve just celebrated my 56th birthday a few days ago. Time for reflection? Not really as i’m not much for looking back. But in this case maybe just a little. 56 not exactly a major milestone but i gotta think any birthday beyond 55 in this day and age you gotta be thankful for. So what do i reflect on? For some people they probably think accomplishments. And in my case your not far off. However i’m not thinking your normal profesional, material or whatever stuff. Not even close. And while its nice to get acknowledged at work or get ahead financially or win sports championships or have a nice car or house, in the big picture “what the hell does it matter”? You can decide for yourself.

Back when my kids were kids and not grown ups we would always take a midweek day off in the month of july. The night before i would tell them to call a friend ( invariably always Molly and Erica) and we would load up the old mini van first thing in the morning and take off for the beach. Flotation devices, chairs, snack, umbrellas, 8 changes of clothes, lunch ect ect the van was loaded. The entire day was spent at the beach doing all activities possible. Finish the day at sunset with a quick trip to McDonalds and the day was complete. Or the thousands of hours and miles spent going to hockey games, ball tournaments or track meets. The point wasn’t the outcome whatsoever. It was the time spent together talking, eating and being a family. That my friends is what i am most proud about in my life. In fact when i do decide to take a long serious look back ( well it won’t be that serious) monetary things or profesional wont even be a thought. But the thousands of quality hours spent with my family will be first and last.

As Jimmy sings “so much to see waiting in front of me i don’t think that i can go wrong”. That my friends is why i prefer to look ahead. I’m hoping to add to those memories that matter.

I will leave you a few pics to see how this pirate celebrated 56. As always, earls dead, cadillac for sale.

With all the doom and gloom in the world today I thought this would be a good time to write this. I hope the beautiful pictures of Aruba lighten your day.

Prior to the current mess that’s going on in the world Jacquie and I took off to Aruba for a week of blissful r&r. The locals in Aruba have a saying. “Is this your first time in Aruba? It won’t be your last.” While this is technically our second time in the country it’s our first extended stay on the island and I guarantee it won’t be our last. If you like warm people, beautiful beaches, 30c sunny days, North American standards ( quality drinking water from the tap ect) and an island full of gourmet restaurants, Aruba is for you.

When Jacquie and I head out on holidays we generally like to slow down and unplug. Which to us means the beach. Usually we are on the beach by 8:30-9:00 am and there’s a good chance you will find us there still at sunset. In between consists of a couple of good walks, followed by a swim, lunch on the beach ( awesome fish tacos and grouper sandwiches ) a couple of Pepsi’s and cranking out some tunes. Sometimes with our family but on this trip it’s with the love of my life. Does it get any better? Yes, you add a gourmet dinner at night usually on a patio overlooking the ocean. Repeat the next day and you get an idea of what a week of holidays with us looks like.

This year we have decided to switch it up slightly and spend one day touring the island on atv’s. Our gracious hosts for the island tour are Steve and Penny Eckensweiler. Steve and Penny spend a large portion of each winter in Aruba and know the island intimately.

Early one morning we pick up our atv’s and are off for a day of sight seeing, swimming, snorkelling and beers. Our first stop after heading out is the Casibari rock formations. Basically a couple of huge rocks in the desert, however the view from the top is outstanding and the cool little bar at the bottom ( casibari music cafe and grill) had cold morning beers. A good start to the day. Next stop the Arikok national park. A quick 15-20 drive and we arrive at Arikok national park. Wow! This place is stunning. Even if sightseeing’s not your thing the park is a must see. A quick stop at the visitors center to buy admission tickets and we are off to see the sights. Rugged, arid, hot are words that come to mind when describing the park. The trails are rough as we make our way to the natural pool ( a pool surrounded by rock formations and filled when ocean waves crash up and over the rock into it). We park our atv’s at the top of a cliff preparing to walk several hundred steps down to the pool. However I spy an enterprising local sitting in the back of his pick up selling beer. Ahh how do they make beer so good! Once we reach the pool we climb up over the rock face and slowly descend into its warm waters. This is very cool. I brought my snorkel gear to view the abundant marine life and it doesn’t disappoint. We climb the steps back up and away we roll on our atv’s. Next stop the Guadirikiri cave.

Outside the cave is a park ranger answering any questions we may have. He asks not to turn on any flashlights or the lights on our cell phones as to not disturb any life in the cave. It’s a quick hike to the main chamber which has an opening letting sunlight beam down on the cave floor. A fascinating spot and shortly we are in our way. Next stop Big Mama bar and grill on baby beach.

Our way to Big mamas is dotted with windmills, wild donkeys and the second largest anchor I’ve seen today. The anchor is dedicated in memory of all seaman. A quick photo-op and several minutes later we roll into the parking lot at big Mamas. This is my kinda place. Excellent food, cold beers and what a view. I order up a grouper sandwich and beers for everyone. After lunch we venture out to the beach for some swimming and snorkeling. Mid afternoon we decide to head to Charlie’s bar and restaurant in San Nicolas. What a place. 75 years old ( and looks it) friendly staff, the coldest beer I’ve had in Aruba and a local strumming the guitar in the corner. Maybe not for everyone but the amount of history here is incredible. I can just picture the sailors and oil refinery workers quenching their thirst here between bar fights 75 years ago. Quirky, eclectic and frankly very cool.

Last stop is the California lighthouse on the northwest end of the island near Arashi beach. The view from here is fantastic. It’s a long drive from San Nicolas on the south end to the lighthouse but also on the way to return our atv’s. It’s been an incredible full day. The sights, the snorkelling, the swimming, good food, cold beer and most importantly great company. A big thanks to our tour guides Steve and Penny .

On another totally unrelated topic thanks to Jimmy Buffett who airs past concerts on Weds and Saturday nights as part of his virtual cabin fever tour. It makes my nights go by much quicker and far more enjoyable for Parrot heads. Check em out on Margaritaville tv.

My next blog will cover how a bbq guy gets by with no bbq or smokers cooking his steak while living in a condo. As always “ earls dead Cadillac for sale”.