Monday, March 22, 2010

Off-Road Driving

Above is a shot of Hills Bay taken from a moving vehicle my favorite stretch of highway leading off/onto Gwynn's Island. You can see there is not much separating the road from the water. One false move and you're overboard.

Below is a story about one such false move, relayed by Mathews County native and long-time friend of mine, Bayman.

"The road along the "river shore" on Gwynn's Island is CBW's favorite drive. (Mine too.)

It offers gorgeous views of tranquil blue waters, an endless canvas of sky, seagulls, clouds and as witnessed at Blogfest, some of the best sunsets you will ever see.

The road, however, can be treacherous at times. Cars have been known to be blown off the highway by wind during winter storms, when the road was covered in ice. I have seen the spray from the crashing waves go clear across the highway.

My favorite story about this road is set on a nice summer day. It was told to me by a friend who is no longer with us. Some alcohol was involved in both the telling and the hearing of this story. The names have been omitted to protect the innocent.

The island is home to numerous "come heres" during the warmer months. The majority was from Richmond. They had cottages, or a boat at the Islander Marina.

One day, a carload of young men, we'll say from Richmond, though we may never know for sure since my friend is no longer with us, was traveling along the river shore. Out in a yard was a very pretty Gwynn's Island native, enjoying the summer day in her bathing suit. She was bending over in her yard, tending to a rosebush or some other gardening project. The young men must have thought she was doing a very nice job, as they completely lost track of what they were doing. Their car sailed over the bank, and out into the tranquil, shallow waters. Hills Bay had claimed another."

Bayman--much like Mathews Mark--has more stories than Uncle Remus, and hopefully he'll share some more soon.

For now, I'm going to share a couple of pictures of him. Here he is giving a come-hither sort of glance.


Below is what he looks like while reflecting on things, such as the state of health care in America, or how many packs of Best Value chicken wings (grilled to perfection over charcoal) are needed to feed a bevy of Blog Fest attendees.


Thank you, Bayman, for your stories, your world-famous chicken wings, and most of all your kindness and friendship. Please send me wings stories any time. How does tomorrow sound?

If anyone reading has any chicken wings grilled to perfection stories about Mathews they'd like to share, please send them to ChesapeakeBayWoman@gmail.com. And don't forget the hot sauce.

17 comments:

nativedevil said...

Bayman, I think that was CBW that they saw! She could certainly cause a wreck!!HAHA

Ann Marie said...

I can't share many.... I would end up in jail.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

ND-If they went overboard after seeing me (esp. here recently), it would have been out of fright. (But thank you for saying that.)

AM-You can always write anonymously. The names can be changed to protect the not-so-innocent.

big hair envy said...

LOOK AT BAYMAN!!! He's such a cutie;) I'll have a half dozen wings, please.

CBW - You do not give yourself enough credit. Men half your age would crane their necks to get a glimpse of you!! Cougar.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

BHE-Yes, he is, and btw half a dozen is way too few. You'd better order a dozen and a half, they're that good.

I almost choked with laughter on the cougar thing. Still laughing.

Daryl said...

Let us not overlook how he cooks a frozen hunk of salmon to perfection! And he's hot ..

VW: resupe ... yup he has a great resupe for basting those wings

Unknown said...

Oh that picture of the clouds and water!!

Is Bayman making his award winning wings this year at Blogfest? I'm a wing lover!

Don't tell anyone but I think that come-hither sort of glance is what caused Grandma J and Chesapeake Bay Mother to jump in the hot tub....not sure, just sayin. :))

Unknown said...

Just read BHE's comment. The label Cougar had me spitting coffee.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Grandma J. - It made me spit out coffee too - I emailed her and told her so.

Daryl-He can pretty much make everything taste good on that charcoal grill.

CB Kids are on spring break this week. We are going to visit Baby Sister for the day. Wish us luck.

Meg McCormick said...

Hi, Bayman! *waves* Great story. Looking forward to seeing you this summer.

Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades. said...

Hey Bayman! Wings?? How did I miss those??
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Mental P Mama said...

I think he looks like he wonders how many BC Powders Mental P will be needing come Blogfest....Love me OUR Bayman!!!

actary= the exact count of BC Powders needed for the whole Blogfest weekend...

Diane said...

Aww... Bayman! There's a familiar face! I'll take one each of those burgers and dogs you grilled last year! And the stories that went with them!

Country Girl said...

I've seen you lately, CBW and rest assured, you could still cause a wreck.
You know, that doesn't sound so good after reading it back . . .

wv: creal. Keeping it real in a creepy kinda way.

Anonymous said...

I sympathize with those boys. I had a similar accident as a child. I was riding my bike home from grammar (elementary) school and was watching the middle school girls play tennis- ran into the back of a parked car. Damn.

BLeeBob

Meg McCormick said...

@MPM: BC Powders will cure whatever ails ya. Bayman knows this and so do I.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

BleeBob- Ouch (but the visual is very amusing).