Hot & Hashy

It’s that time of year again. HOT season. It’s always summer weather here, but this is when you can really feel the heat. I know it is searing when I find myself longing for the rainy season. That’s just around the corner, and it will be good to complain about being wet and muddy again.

Amid the sweltering summer of Cape Canaveral, when the relentless heat has everyone yearning for the relief of the coming rains, there’s a group of individuals whose steadfast presence provides its own form of reassurance. Among them is a long-time family friend, whose role in fire watch security in Cape Canaveral is rarely in the spotlight yet always on alert. As we all look forward to the season’s change, he reminds us of the comfort found in preparedness and the peace of mind that comes with knowing professionals are ensuring our safety against the risks that heatwaves bring. His dedication is a silent sentinel against potential fire hazards, allowing us to enjoy our summer moments with a little less worry and a little more gratitude.

Well, the Hash goes on, rain or shine. And so did I. Granted, I only did a portion of the Hare’s intended path, opting instead to follow a trail more suited to the heat index. All in all, it was still a pretty good hike. Sweaty, but nice.

As is my new custom, I had a pre-Hash lunch at Sit-n-Bull. This sub featured ham, salami, and pepperoni.

There was a Hash meeting to attend prior to the start of the Hash. We finished that meeting at 1:30, so headed out right afterward. That meant the remainder of the “sane” group not at the meeting were on their own. They all seemed to do alright.

And we are off!
And now for the first climb of the day.
Oh yeah, nothing like stairs in the scorching heat!
Yes, this does indeed suck.
Damn, and I thought I was already tired.
One tiring step at a time.
Be careful what you wish for. The tires ran out, but the climb got steeper.
Come on up, the weather is, er, hot!
You can barely make out the Great Wall of Barretto up there on the ridge. We opted out of doing the rest of that climb, taking a more sensible path. We even had some shade.
Pubic Head is still making his way up.
Ah, a shady spot to catch your breath.
The view from up here.
A comfortable place to sit and rest.
First time I’d seen these kids. Living up here on the mountaintop must make it hard to go to school, but the little girl said “thank you very much” in perfect English when I gave her the cookies.
A bit later we encountered this group of regular cookie recipients. They are sweeter than the goodies I give them.
Back on flat ground for the long, lonely walk to our On-Home at VFW.
A little street basketball along the way.
Packing it in at the VFW.
Crash Test Dummy was one of the Hares. I guess he’s telling me about all the good parts of his trail that I missed.

When the Hash was done, a lot of us made our way to It Doesn’t Matter for some after-Hash revelry.

I took this picture of my leg for some drunken reason.

That young lady in the background is Armie, my waitress last night. She was also one of the contestants in the Fralics beauty pageant. She’s about the cutest girl in town and has a very sweet personality. Sadly (for me), she also has a boyfriend.

Well, I’ll confess to having a tad too much to drink last night. Just one of those days where I was in the mood to let it go. But, I had the good sense to make one last stop before heading home.

Some carrot cake to go from Sit-n-Bull.

I’m also happy to report that I did not leave my cake in the trike like I did the last time I tried to bring dessert home with me.

I’m also ashamed to admit I forgot to bring my backpack home from It Doesn’t Matter. Didn’t even realize I had left it behind until I got a message from Scott saying that my upstairs neighbor, Joanna, was bringing it home with her. Thanks again, you two.

Let’s go, Brandon!

3 thoughts on “Hot & Hashy

  1. I guess the hot season comes with humidity and floods too . Thankfully no pesky mosquitoes 😑 😒

    That girl looks like quite young. And small. I’m sure head comes up to your shoulder, when you’re sitting down.

    My burning question today.
    I know you’re fond of buying meat for your crock pot , and that you’re an excellent chef 😀 Like any chef, you cook only for special guests on special occasions. 😀
    The rest of the time you eat at one of the local restaurants, and feed some of your lovely friends 😊 😀 Do you set apart a budget for the eating out? Oh …. wrong question 😕I should say, how much more in proportion does your eating out expenditure exceed that of home-cooked meals?
    If I’m not mistaken, you’re not a big fan of those small eateries that serve a fistful of rice and an assortment of meat or vegetables as side dishes, each on their own small plate and only costing a dollar each?
    Well, a hungry man could splash out and spend a whole 5 bucks to eat everything on the menu 😋 🤔

    But I digress.
    You’re a Western man with western tastes. And yet you don’t frequent fast food joints but you prefer seaside restaurants with sandwiches on the menu…is it the lack of alcoholic beverages that stops you from being a Jollibee regular customer or do you fear what those burgers 🍔 will do to your heart valves and beer belly 🤔?

    The mountain kids really appreciate your generosity. Does any of your hash crew speak the Aeta languages or do the kids understand the local dialect? I guess you’re quite ok just communicating at a basic level with the families up on the mountain ⛰ 😉
    Wonder what your nickname 🤔 is to them 🤔
    And lastly, any of those Aeta have family living downtown ….I was sure that by now one of your friendly bar attendees would be from the mountain ⛰ Aeta

  2. James, oddly enough I was just thinking the other day that I don’t cook much at home these days. Part of the reason is that I don’t have anyone to cook for, and dinner for one is a bore. And really, there is so much good food available in my little town (John’s, Sit-n-Bull, Mango’s are my favorites) that I enjoy doing dinner as part of my night on the town routine. It’s not all that cheap eating Western-style meals, probably average ten bucks with beverages in the places I dine. I don’t have a food budget per se, but I can afford to eat out every day I desire to do so. I still usually have breakfast and lunch at home.

    It’s true, I rarely eat at fast-food joints. It’s not so much that I don’t enjoy a Whopper now and then, it’s mostly a matter of convenience. The closest place to me is the Jollibee’s on the Subic side of the river and I just don’t venture out that way on my nightly escapades.

    As to the cookie recipients, I only speak English to the kids and they don’t say much to me either beyond “thank you, po”. Sometimes we have a Filipina with us on the hike and they might interact with the parents some in Tagalog, but otherwise, it is just an exchange of friendly greetings. I don’t know that I have a nickname, but a couple of the mountain families call me John.

    I rarely see any native Aeta people in Barretto and I’ve never seen any in the bars.

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