Happy 50th Birthday, Cynthia!!!

Friday night after work my partner was talking to her cousin Cynthia, who was celebrating her 50th birthday with a day-long party on Saturday. After her call was over, I asked about the party food. I don't know exactly what was said, but all I remember was "ribs and fish". All of a sudden it occurred to me that we could drive the 620 miles and surprise Cynthia (and eat some ribs and fish) and be back in time for work on Monday! Cynthia's husband, Roy, is an avid fisherman and I have been hearing about his fish dinners for years, but have never had one. An hour later we were on a surprise road trip- 620 miles to Panama City, FL!

The ribs were perfect- tender, smoky, toasty and saucy. There was also chicken, equally as satisfying. And then there was Aunt Doris' famous potato salad. The best I have ever tasted! I don't have the recipe- I'll have to ask Aunt Doris. There were potatoes and hard boiled eggs and real mayo but I couldn't figure out what else. It tasted super fresh and the potatoes and eggs were cooked perfectly.

Someone made this, I will definitely use the idea for a future party. Googly eyes are my favorite!!

Right about now, you might be wondering "where's the fish"? I forgot to mention that 610 miles into our 620 mile trip, my partner told me she wasn't sure he was making it!! I think she was afraid to tell me that the whole way, since it was basically all I was talking about. Well, that and the ribs...and surprising Cynthia (of course!). She finally got the nerve to break the news to me just as we were about to arrive. But, she mentioned, he always has a fresh catch, and he might send us home with some! Well, Cynthia was so surprised, and we all had so much fun and the food was so amazing that I more or less forgot all about the fish thing.

We drove home yesterday, in plenty of time to get to work this morning. We came home with all sorts of goodies- a beautiful folk art angel and a platter from Aunt Doris and Uncle Reese, some produce we bought along the way (tomatoes and Georgia peaches!), and ... last but not least... a cooler full of the most beautiful grouper fillets I have ever seen! THANK YOU, ROY!! The title for the next post you see will be "Fish Fry"... and the eggs.