CAPE SAN BLAS, Fla. – We’re winding down the week – we leave Friday, headed to see family in the Lovliest Village on the Plains in Auburn – and this has been a great place.
In fact, let’s review, and feel free to offer your beach trip tips.
So, as the degenerate craps player said to the table worker, let’s roll.
Cape San Blas, Fla. / photo courtesy of Mrs. 5-at-10 Two thumbs up
I can highly recommend this spot on the peninsula off of the 30A side street that is 30E.
(Side question: Those stickers like ’30A’ or HHI for Hilton Head or the rest that clearly are just a “Hey, we took a cool beach trip” are puzzling to me. Are we to a place of isolationism and self-congratulation that we need to have “Hey, I’m cool” bumper stickers or a “Just got a promotion at work” decal on our cars? And don’t get me started about the family count off in college gear, Star Wars paraphernalia or what have you – especially the ones with two cats and a puppy. Goodness.)
Beaches are beautiful and sparsely populated. The always-awesome Gulf water is especially clear. The Bay behind where we’re staying – and where we fished yesterday – is awesome.
(Side note: The photo above is from the awesome eye and lens of the Mrs. 5-at-10 this morning of the 5-at-10 Jr. standing on the dock to the bay behind our complex. Stunning. Side note to the side note about the bay: The rest of the 5-at-10 clan was fishing; I, sad to say, was just casting. Sigh.)
And to make matters even better, well, we found it last night.
It, in that sense, for me is what makes beach trips good-to-great beach trips in the end. Because let’s cover the basics for a beach trip: Lots of time on the sand. Lots of time in the salt water. Castles. A couple of quick-read books. CoColas and sunscreen. Time with the kids and the better half. Rinse and repeat.
But for me, every beach trip ultimately hinges on IT, and it is that seafood place that will make you remember its name and check the box about being able to return to that locale.
Consider this one an absolute winner: The Indian Pass Raw Bar on 30A was dynamite last night. Excellent oysters. Shrimp was aces. Fish dip appetizer was spot on. It was very, very good. It was not Hunt’s, the old-school dive in downtown Panama City that was renowned for its oysters that was damaged and ultimately closed after one storm or another.
But Indian Pass was as close in terms of oysters as we’ve had in a long, long time.
We’ll be back.
Golf contest
We’re up and running in the Major Contest at the least Major Major this side of Major Frank Burns Challenge.
We have close to 50 players, but sadly the entry window has closed.
If you are looking for the public trends, well, you guys love some Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm. Brooks is very popular too, as is Bryson DeChambeau. (Side note: We’ve all wondered if Bryson’s ballooning with all that extra muscle was ‘aided’ with some enhancers. Here’s DeChambeau’s trainer categorically denying steroid use in the process to turn his player into Bryson DeChambuff.)
There also are some outliers, and these are the crafty picks that separate the winners from the contenders, if the random selections can post a top-five.
If Chaz Reavie is contending, DC22 will have a leg up on the field. JMac is riding with Tyrrell Hatton. Ernie’s got stock Im Sung-jae. Jules and TC linked with Tommy Fleetwood – a sneaky excellent call considering he’s kind of been out of sight out of mind for a lot of us. Spy backed Cameron Smith. Dawg747 would find it easier to get back into the 5-at-10 contest winner’s circle if Matt Kuchar cards a top-10. Same goes for Mark W. – a former contest winner – who got a sneaky steal as many – myself included – overlooked Patrick Cantlay this week. And SportsFan is riding the long-time 5-at-10 fav Jason Day, as does Sleepy Floyd, who likely will finish first or near the bottom with an entry that also includes the only pick of Sepp Straka in this cycle.
Interesting.
Also, we have three other 5-at-10 entries this time, making this the first contest that the entire clan is part of an event here, and the exchange was worth sharing.
The Mrs. 5-at-10 has Rory, Harris English, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson.
The soon-to-be-13 5-at-10 Jr. took Tiger, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson and Dustin Johnson. (When I asked if he knew he picked the GOAT of his generation and players 2-through-5 in order from the world rankings, he said “Of course.” When I asked why he didn’t take Justin Thomas, he said plainly “Because he went to Alabama, Dad. We never root for Alabama.” There’s no substitute for good raisin’ friends.)
The Lil’ 5-at-10 princess said, “I like Tiger.” And then, after a long pause she added, “Daddy, who else should I pick,” So I offered Patrick Cantlay as an off the board pick and Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed. She quickly added “And that Fickelson guy.” So she has Mill Fickelson (or something like that) to round out her five.
And before she was done, she said, “What about cousin Andrew, he’s a really good golfer, too.”
He’s not in the field this week, honey.
Go Vote
We have skewed somewhat abnormally political over the last few months as sports topics have lagged and even halted and political talking points have become historic.Some of you are not happy about that, and I understand that. But as long as your civil, no one will be silenced here, and I hope we can keep it as well-mannered between commenters as we have.
Hey, if you want to cuss me, fire away. Many of you have. But if we can’t type and read and respond with the most basic decency that we should afford all others – be them lifelong friends or newly met strangers – then this likely isn’t the place for you. There’s always Clay’s playground.
(Side note: Clay’s cartoon from Wednesday – the drawing of the Funeral Home sign running a “Back to School Sale!” was everything Clay is. Controversial, brilliant, offensive and down right near perfect newspaper cartooning/editorializing. You can hate everything he insinuates with that cartoon – and believe me as someone wrestling in the narrow gap of the clear need to try to open school and two school aged kids and worrying about their safety, the gamut of emotions for me are palatable – but the directness and simple genius are big reasons why the man has a Pulitizer on the wall in his TFP office. Forget a Pulitizer, heck, I don’t even have an office.)
Anyhoo, whether you’re far left or far right, leaning one way or the other, libertarian or neutral or anywhere else in between, today is one of the days you have your say in Tennessee.
Because while we can always try to encourage people to be civil when hearing or reviewing the opinions and views of others, if you do not voice those opinions in the place that truly matters – the voting booth – then you are making your opinion worthless, regardless of the nature of your point or how articulately you craft it.
The 5-at-10 clan voted early, and there are not a whole of contested races beyond the school board in Hamilton County (depending on district) and the Republican Senate primary to replace Lamar Alexander.
(Side question: How about that zaniness, huh, with that GOP dinner and the masklessness? Now there’s a Corona advisory for those that attended. Side question about the side question: We need to make masklessness a thing, right? It kind of has a lawlessness feel, no? Side question about the side question about the side question: What are some other excellent words with multiple suffixes. Side question about the side question about the side question about the side question: Is antidisestablishmentarianism the Michael Jordan of the prefix/suffix realm?)
I encourage you to vote.
This and that
– You know the drill. When TFP college football expert David Paschall writes about college football, we read and like Paschall’s prose on college football. Here he details how the two major Alabama schools have the two highest-paid assistants in the game. Man, it’s like they make a deal about college football in the state of Alabama or something.
– Tennessee signed Vic Beasley to fill its edge-rushing specialist role in the offseason, but the enigmatic former Atlanta OLB/DE has yet to report to Nashville. So, Titans and Falcons fans do have something in common – they are very familiar with the feeling of wondering when Beasley is going to show up.
– Speaking of the NFL, I think this is a cool promotion from Bud Light, which is giving away free beer to NFL fans in Detroit or Denver. The deciding factor is which kicker kicks the longest field goal this season and it started with a little Twitter back-and-forth between Detroit’s Matt Prater and Denver’s Brandon McManus. Good times.
– If you are Vegas – or just about any other brick-and-mortar gambling shop – this scares the chips from your pocket. (Or even your fish.) Almost 120 William Hill betting parlors across the United Kingdom will close and not reopen because of the Corona. Leaders at the largest sports betting – it handles reportedly a third of all U.S. sports betting as well as operating more than 1,500 betting shops in the U.K. – clearly see that the continued business model is online more than in house. Another industry transition that will mean fewer jobs post-Corona.
– You had to figure that, despite his announced retirement, when Antonio Brown was handed an eight-game suspension from the NFL for past transgressions signaled his desire to return to the field. Count me among those who believe the reward is worth the risk for Brown, who is a knucklehead who may have serious mental issues but extreme physical upside. Two things for that roll of the dice, though: Strong leadership in your locker room, especially at QB, and secondly, a need at WR for a team that has a chance to contend for it all. The first one about leadership and a QB that can handle it are clear. The second about need is too, but if Brown lands in a losing culture, he will become a monster issue. So, with that in mind, a place like Seattle or Indy or Green Bay makes a lot of sense.
Today’s questions
Lots of random questions throughout today’s 5-at-10 offering. Feel free to go back and pick and choose as you see fit.Although I am specifically curious about these two:Did you vote – early or today – in this cycle? (If you are out of state, it may have been a different day.)
What other cool words with multiple suffixes should we embrace?
As for today, well, Lucielle Ball would have been 109 today.
On this day in 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. One of the more life-changing moments in terms of weaponry in our history to be frank.
On this day in 1991, Tim Berners-Lee releases his crazy idea of something called the World Wide Web. Wonder if that thing took off or not.
David Robinson – The Admiral is a pretty boss nickname too – it 55 today.
As for a Rushmore, well, we’re going off the board here.
Because there are few showers better than the come-in-after-a-full-day-at-beach shower. Rushmore of showers – and be creative (and respectful, Spy).
And remember the mailbag. Go, and good luck to those in the contest.