I guess I didn't get enough of the hot weather during the office picnic. Wow was it hot! So after sweltering in Camden for 4 hours I get the brilliant idea to travel to Hoopers Island, MD. I think I was hankerin' for some serious seafood which I was told by a very reliable source that it could be found at Old Salty's. It did not disappoint. I've eaten many crabcakes in my day from the delicious to the mundane to some that should have been ashamed to call themselves crabcakes. Old Salty's are the BEST so far. Yes, it's a long way from no where but I find that part of it's charm. We sat by the window waiting for our supper, watching an approaching thunderstorm. I was so torn-sit and enjoy the most succulent crabcake ever or grab the camera and try to capture some of mother nature's handy work. My stomach won! By the time we finished our supper and headed out we felt those first lucious, fat drops of a summer rainstorm. Undaunted, we headed south into the "teeth" of the storm. I'm very glad the road had guardrails because this storm had arrived at high tide and there is very little room for any extra water anywhere on the island. I felt as if I were driving on a washboard that was getting sloshed from both sides. So very exciting though! I saw this lovely piece of driftwood wedged into the guardrail but Jim threw a fit when I wanted to stop and get it for the garden.
We continued south until we arrived at a little church that I remembered from a prior visit, I parked for a bit and I decided to take this opportunity to mux around with depth of field settings on the camera. (plus every time I lowered the window for a shot, I got drenched! ) I first focused on the rain splats on the windshield then I changed up and focused on the loblollies in the distance. It's neat to see the same view from two different perspectives...kinda like life! Never assume you think you know what the other person is seeing!
I was hoping to get some sunset shots, but the weather did not cooperate. That lovely storm brought it's pesky, immature friends and it continued to shower off and on until dusk. I was lucky enough to get what I consider to be one of my better shots of an overturned boat. I drove by this crab packing house and something told me to stop. I got out of the car to take pictures of some crab baskets that I thought were kind of interesting but as I went to get back in the car, this great old boat caught by eye. It was flipped upside down and was at the edge of a parking lot, as if abandoned. I was intrigued by the reflection in the puddle and the bright green grass in the background. I would have taken more shots but low places that hold water bring lots o' skeeters and I didn't want to be their supper!
After snapping those shots I walked a little further down towards the dock area where all the real boats sleep. Water was sloshing over the pilings and I could not resist standing in it and letting it lap around my ankles. I love looking at those boats all lined up and I wondered if they owners had had a successful catch that day, and I thanked those watermen for the fruit of their labor. It is not an easy life and not a lot of reward for such hard work. Many are descendants of the first settlers on the island so I guess the way of life is in their blood. I'm glad there are places like Hoopers Island still near by, where life is a little slower, the work a little harder and the sights and sounds are second to none.
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