Cocomo's in Deltaville

Deltaville, VA. Located on the beautiful Rappahanock River and home to one of the neatest restaurants I have been to. Kathleen and I made the trip to Cocomo's to visit our good friends Joe and Ruch Kaufhold on July 18, 2009. It was a magnificient day. The weather was gorgeous and it was so nice to hang out on the deck of Cocomo's overlooking the marina and enjoying good food, drinks, and company. We also had the great fortune to see Joe and Ruth's good friends Dave and Vicki. And, on top of everything else, we got to celebrate Ruth's birthday. So after our wonderful meal, we had birthday cake.

Let me tell you a little about our dinner. We sat on the deck and decided to share some appetizers. We had tuna bites (wonderful pieces of lightly breaded and fried tuna), scallops wraped in bacon, coconut shrimp, and lobster dip. What a lineup. For my entree, I had the oyster sandwich which had so many fried oysters I had to eat some before I could close the sub roll. Kathleen had steamed shrimp and they were huge. I had to trick her into letting me have one, and the spice they used was spicy but not hot. It was like traditional Old Bay, but with a little something extra. It was just right. Dave and Vicki had eaten a big lunch and decided to have a salad and said they really enjoyed them. Joe, who is not big into seafood, had a Philly cheesesteak with fries and it was baked so the cheese was perfectly melted. Ruth had a steamed sampler that had crab legs, mussels, and shrimp. A real seafood dinner. Although Joe and Ruth wouldn't let me pay, the prices were extremely reasonable and the menu had almost endless choices.

Joe and Ruth are some of my best friends, and since they are the owners of Cocomo's I am a little bit biased, but it truely is a neat place to eat and enjoy the beautiful views. Go down and visit with them, they will definitley make you feel at home.

Fishing with Joey

A beautiful pond, great weather, and biting fish make for a great day on the water. Even if it is with Joey (just kidding). My best fishing buddy and I made a great little afternoon trip on July 6 to Amelia Wildlife. We set out to try and catch, well, whatever was biting. We loaded up the boat and made a trip to Powhatan Gun & Tackle to talk to the owner Lee Kramer. We know he would know where the fish were biting. He recommned going to Ameila Wildlife with some small minnows and we could catch anything from crappie to bass to catfish to perch. And we did. We had a nice afternoon fishing around the standing timber and boated 4 fish. 2 more broke my line on the way in. A really awesome way to spend the afternoon.

July 4th at the Lake

Holy Cow!! My wife got me good. My 40th birthday was July 3rd and my wife really pulled the wool over my eyes. She threw a surprise birthday party for me and I did not have a clue. I could not believe I did not figure this out. Now that I know how sneaky Kathleen can be, I am really scared (just kidding). What a wonderful wife she is to do all that work to get all those people together to celebrate little ol' me.

We traveled to the lake on Friday, July 3rd and met my parents and other family there. After putting the boat in the water and getting things ready, we decided to go eat at our favorite restaurant in Boydton. Well, it's actually the only restaurant in Boydton, but it is really good. As we drive by, I tell Kathleen that the place is packed and we might not be able to find a seat for all of us Newtons. So Kathleen slyly says, 'Well, we may have to get it to go'. So, we walk in the door and 35 people yell 'Surprise'. I could feel my face turning red with embarrassment. I did not suspect a thing. No wonder the place was so packed, they were there for the party. Duh!! As I looked around the room at the faces of our friends from the lake as well as a bunch that traveled 2 hours from Richmond, I thought how truly blessed I was with wonderful family and friends. I could not have asked for a better birthday. Thanks for making it awesome.

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying the awesome weather. We fished, boated, swam and enjoyed a great picnic with the neighbors. Ernie and company caught a 10 lb, 20 lb, and a couple of 2 lb catfish. We decided to let them go to fight another day. We did some extreme tubing, we wakeboarded and cruised the lake. It was a great weekend. A great way to celebrate this wonderful country we live in. God Bless the USA.

Ricky Pollock's High School Graduation

June 13th - A day of celebration. Ricky graduated with honors from Kechotan High School. We are so proud. He has completed one phase of his life and is ready to embark on another. Ricky has joined the Marine Reserves and will go to boot camp on June 28. After boot camp, he will do some additional Marine training and will finish in December. He has also been accepted to Old Dominion University for the spring semester and plans to start college following his training.

What a man he has become. We are so proud of all he has accomplished and thankful that he has decided to serve this great county.

Segway Tour of Richmond

On Sunday, June 7, Kathleen and I went on an amazing trip around Richmond. We took a Segway Tour and it was one of the neatest things I have ever done. Riding on the Segway was so easy, it only took a few minutes to get the idea and feel comfortable.

The tour started at the visitors center, at the Richmond Center, and went all over Richmond. A neat 2+ hour tour. The tour guide was very informative and also let us ride and have fun. A great way to see Richmond. We had a blast.

Memorial Day at the Lake

Memorial Day Weekend, 2009 found us at Buggs Island Lake. We spent a fun weekend with my sister and her family. It was strange not to have Mom and Dad there, but Mom was recuperating from her broken leg.

We spent a lot of time at the water. Usually Memorial weekend is a little chilly for swimming, but this year the water was fantastic. We did a lot of boating and water sports. My nephew, JW, is an accomplished wakeboarder and I am just learning. We had a great time tubing and enjoying the great weather. Our neighbor had his usual picnic and we reconnected with folks we hadn't seen since last summer. The fishing was a little lean. My brother in law, Ernie, only caught 2 catfish.

It was a great kick off to the summer and we had a great time.

Gettysburg

On Saturday, May 16 through Monday, May 18, Kathleen and I went on our anniversary celebration trip to Gettysburg, PA and Thurmont, MD. We stayed at a neat little place in Thurmont called The Cozy Inn. A old inn that not only had great rooms, but had a restaurant that served terrific food. But before we checked in, we went to the battlefield at Gettysburg.

Gettysburg. A place to reflect on our country's great struggle. The battlefield is truly holy ground. So many men fought and died there. It takes your breath away. The museum, movies, and tour are a great way to discover what happened on those 3 days in July, 1863. Kathleen and I spent 2 wonderful days learning about all the nuances that made this huge battle all that it was. Saturday was spent going through the museum exhibits and viewing the movie and the cyclorama at the museum. Sat evening we started the auto tour using a very well done CD audio tour that describes all the places on the auto tour.

On Sunday morning we finished up the auto tour and that afternoon we headed for Cunningham Falls State Park to climb Cunningham Falls. Well, it sounds impressive, but it was really a 1/2 mile hike up a very moderate grade to a beautiful set of falls. My type of mountain climbing.


On Monday we went to Catoctin Animal Preserve and Zoo. A very nice small zoo that had lots of animals very close. A great way to spend the morning.

9 Wonderful Years

April 29. Our 9th wedding anniversary. What a great time it has been.

We celebrated by going to this cute little restaurant in Carytown. Zeus Gallery Cafe is a quaint little place with lots of flair. The menu is gourmet but the feel is relaxing. The food was delicious. I had a perfectly prepared NY Strip steak with prosciutto mash potatoes and Kathleen had braised veal shank in a morel mushroom and black truffle sauce over pappardelle pasta.

We finished our celebration by watching our wedding video and reliving all the memories. It was amazing to see how the faces have aged (a little) and a little sad to see some of the faces that are no longer with us. What a trip down memory lane. We have been truly blessed.

Love is in the Air

Valentines Day. The day of love. A time to celebrate the love of your life. And a time to fight for reservations to your favorite restaurant. But not this year. With Valentines falling on a Saturday, we decided to go have lunch and beat the dinner crowd. We are so smart. We decided to try the Ipanema Grill, a fairly new Brazilian restaurant in the West End. The restaurant was beautiful, the meal was 1/2 price for lunch, and the restaurant was almost empty. But the food was wonderful. The gauchos brought us various meats on long skewers and cut it at our table. The salad and vegetable bar was delicious and the service great. We will be going back. We had a great time.

MLC opens on Broadway

Well, actually off, off, off Broadway. More like a variety show at Lakewood Manor Retirement Facility. But the More Like Christ (or Mid Life Crisis aka MLC) Bible Study Class rocked the house. The singing was beautiful, the skits hilarious, the talent was amazing. We had a blast.

Mark and Brenda Davis have been performing for Lakewood Manor for the past few years and they blessed us by allowing the whole Bible Study class to participate with them this year. We thank them for coordinating this event and I know the crowd enjoyed the show and much as we did performing.

Below are some pictures and links to some short videos.



Dave Yodel Man Video
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=007c2a61b6e7432bbad4

Maura I Love to Laugh Video
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=d350b4cd909bafd26540

Vik Singing Video
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e47de71be64a0fe36925

Caleb Rindercella Video
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=327c9c0cd625d07a8b9d