Stories From Behind the Beach: It Ain't Easy Being Cheesy

"You were never the same way twice, I'm falling in love..."
                                                           -Blue Rodeo




  I was wrong.


  I know, Constant Reader, as you will no doubt remind me, I am often wrong.  The frequency of incidents of my demonstrated wrongness is depressing and occasionally alarming.

 Yet, I continue to point it out, Constant Reader, because if I don't, I know you sure as hell will.

  I have the emails to prove it.

  This time, though,  I was wrong about something important.

  I was wrong about food.


  More precisely, I was wrong about cheese.


   Until quite recently, I hated most cheese.   Couldn't stand the smell, the texture, the taste, any of it, all of it, whatever.
   Cheddar?  No thanks.
   Colby?  I'll pass.
  Muenster?  Yeahno.
  Limburger?  See above.
  Et Cetera, on down the list.

   I didn't start eating cheese on pizza until well into my 20s, when I discovered that the mozzarella-esque cheese on most pizzas is essentially flavourless topping glue.

   So, with my aversion to most curd-n-whey related foodstuffs well and firmly established, I saw little reason to wander into...

 

    ...Until the owners invited me to stop by and check the place out.

     Yale and Jenny Lowery  love Port Dover.  Originally From Guelph, Jenny moved to North Carolina, where she graduated from high school and went on to college, graduated from Appalachian State with a marketing degree, met and married Yale, then bounced around North Carolina and Tennessee before moving north to Canada.  Mostly in that order.

     While living and working in Brantford, the Lowerys made a trip to Port Dover one summer day a couple of years ago, and that was it.

    They'd found home.  They knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives living in Port Dover.  The couple found a house, settled in, and lived the life of normal sane people, commuting to work at corporate jobs in Brantford every day.  Life was good.

    Then, one day, in September, 2013, Jenny decided she needed some cheese.

    And everything changed.

    Jenny is an admitted "cheese nerd."  Combine her love of cheese with her love of her new hometown, and she's not  driving to the grocery store to pick up a package of Kraft Singles.

   Nuh-uh.

   She's keeping it real local, and real tasty.

    She stopped into her favourite (and only) local cheese shop in downtown Port Dover.  While making her purchase, she started talking to the owner. She learned that he had decided that the cheese business wasn't for him, he was selling the business and starting over...
... in Australia.

    A few conversations and negotiations later, Jenny and Yale dove headlong into the world of the retail entrepreneur.

     If  you're a local, I know what you might be thinking:

    They bought a specialty business, in downtown Port Dover...at the END of tourist season?


    Hey, we don't always get to pick the timing of our opportunities.  But, we can determine what happens after.


     Jenny and Yale aren't complete greenhorns.  Jenny has a solid marketing background, Yale has a solid sales background, and both aren't afraid to work long and hard to achieve their goals...

... and it is paying off.


    In their first six weeks of business, with little advertising or fanfare, they are ahead of their sales projections.

    Walking into the store, it is easy to see some of the reasons why:

    It's a small space that doesn't feel cramped.  It is clean, uncluttered, organized, but inviting.

   The case in front of the owners is the "Canadian" case:  All local cheeses, all the time.  Norfolk's own Jensen Cheese is represented, along with Gunn's Hill from Woodstock and Bright Cheese from, as the name suggests,  Bright, Ontario.
     The case to the right is filled with cheeses from around the world: Stilton, gouda, swiss, brie, camembert, mozzarella, romano...

   you name it, they've likely got it. And if you name it and they haven't got it, they'll get it.

      They don't just sell cheese- The Dover Cheese Shop also sells cheese accessories, like cutting boards and brie bakers (at $8, a seriously good deal.  Need a quick gift this holiday season?  Stop in, pick up a brie baker and a wheel of brie, and Wha-bamm! You are a hero with discerning taste, my friend... and change from a $20.)....

 ... And a selection of snack foods from nearby farms and suppliers, like The Cider Keg and Barrie's Asparagus .

   
   Kettle chips, teas, salsas and dip mixes, all of  it available right here on the....

   "Okay," Interrupting Constant Reader interrupts, "We get it- the place is clean, has lots of selection, yadda yadda, big deal-  any big supermarket is like that.  Why should I shop here?"

   Because a supermarket has never made me enjoy cheese.



    With an overview of the store and it's origins out of the way, Yale started pulling out cheeses for me to sample. I held up my hand  and dropped the bomb:

     "I don't like cheese."

    Jenny didn't miss a beat.

    "No problem.  Everyone's palate is different, Yale's favourites are different from mine.  Everyone has different tastes. Try this and let me know what you think."

    Okay- I'm here, they're nice folks, I'll try it just to be polite.
      I popped the proffered sample of Bright's four year old cheddar in my mouth
     Not bad.
     Not bad at all.
 
     Much better than I expected any food that was four years old to taste.

      Next  I sampled a really nice Wisconsin produced gouda/swiss blend with a little touch of Merlot added- nice smooth, mild, a great sandwich cheese, I thought.  Then Jenny introduced me to "dessert cheeses."

      Mango and Ginger Stilton- Off the chain!  What a great  flavour combination.

 See, here's the deal:  Yale and Jenny have an enthusiasm for cheese which is infectious.  They are cheese evangelists.  From the moment you walk  in the door, you start to understand and share their passion.  If you are standing in line to buy a pound of cheddar, the Lowerys are going to ply you with samples of any  number of cheeses, and every cheese has a story.
    You aren't leaving with just the cheddar, and you have enjoyed the experience, and you will discover cheeses you never even knew existed.  Like this one...

   okay, you might want to pour yourself a drink and sit down...

    ...Ready?...

   

    Chocolate Cheddar.

    It.  Is.  Amazing.


    Yeah, I'm digging this cheese thing now.


    Need a cheese tray?  No problem, The Dover Cheese Shop can build you a custom cheese tray, and short notice orders are no problem.  They will even put it on your tray- THAT is a brilliant idea.  I am not one to worry overmuch about aesthetics, but when SWMBO puts out the Tiffany silverware and the Wedgewood plates, nothing spoils the "Ain't we fancy" mood than a big ol' plastic tray of cheese in the middle of the table.

   Next spring, The Dover Cheese Shop is going to do something really, really clever:

     They are planning to offer "Boat Baskets."  Call ahead and they will prepare a picnic basket for you to pickup and take with you to the boat. It is a brilliant concept for provisioning daytrips, especially with guests you want to impress.


   Do yourself a favour- stop into The Dover Cheese Shop.  They're open Wednesday through Sunday  at 318A Main Street, just down from Stoney's Hardware.  Check 'em out on facebook too.

 
 

A Sad Passing

    "Never very good at goodbyes..."
                                    -Elbow

  Another Dock dawg has crossed the bar.  George,. the reliable, lovable canine crew of The Instigator  has passed away.  Our condolences to James, Brooke, and Bronx.  May George ride the bow  with his big goofy grin and ears pinned back forever.

Shakedown Weekend

     "Break down, take down... you're busted."
                                       -Bob Seger


      


     Judging by the fairway traffic, last weekend was the first real weekend for many of the boaters in the marina.  Saturday dawned overcast and rainy, but cleared in the afternoon, and Sunday started hot and sunny and stayed that way, perfect for the Long Point Bay Yacht Club sail past.

    (The Marina hosts not one, but TWO, official yacht clubs- LPBYC and the Cliffside Yacht Club.  Both are good clubs with nice folks, and we appreciate the fact that both clubs are courting Docksters this season, advertising their events at the head of the Dock, for example.)

     Hundreds of boats left the marina on the weekend, many for the first time this season, which meant that not all of those hundreds returned under their own power.

     Friday night, James and I engaged in our usual good-natured "stinkpotter vs. blowboater" insult-a-thon.  He doesn't get the attraction of sailing.

That's okay.

I don't get the attraction of four-digit fuel bills.

That's okay.

 We always agree to disagree and continue to share beers and tools and advice.

    Saturday evening, SWMBO and I dinghied over to dock 2 to check out Gavin and Sylvia's new ride (more on that later).  While enjoying the sunset, I notice, out of the corner of my eye, a big -tired Ford truck quietly slinking out of the marina.  Shortly after, SWMBO and I return to the dock and notice that a) James' truck is gone and b) his boat is not in it's slip.

 This requires further investigation.  I grab my camera and walk down the Dock, and look across the basin toward the launch ramp.

    Hmmm, that looks like...

...zoom...

...ruh-roh!

 "Stupid boat!"

   ...and The Instigator returns to Dock 6, albeit on the wrong end of the Dock...

     ... at which point, we get the story.

Travis and Candace and James and Brooke roared over to the beach in their pair of Thundercrafts...

...   and only one roared back.

      As the sun was setting James throttled up and the engine purred, but the prop was still.  The smell of burnt rubber filled the air, and the diagnosis was quick- a destroyed coupler.  The Instigator was dead in the water.

     A quick phone call to Travis summoned his prompt return, and The Instigator endured the tow of shame back into the marina.

     James is nothing if not resourceful.  As he was being tugged back in by a quietly gloating Travis (enjoying the fact that he is the tower not the towee this time), James was working the phone, lining up shop space, getting parts ordered, and planning a quick turnaround.

    We commiserated, we felt his pain, and I helpfully suggested that if he had a mast and sails he wouldn't have needed a tow.

     I am going to pay for that.

    Sunday afternoon SWMBO and Finn and I headed out into the light breeze.  Leaving Port Dover in our chuckling vestige of a wake, we headed East..

... passing the US Steel works and the Nanticoke Generating Station.

  Lousy day for passage making, but a nice day for baking and bobbing with no particular place to go.

and reading...

...and snoozing.

   Then turning for home as the sun started to set and the wind died.

  Yeah, the sails are dirty, and the brightwork needs work, but we've got lots of time.

   As we were returning to the marina we were stunned by a second rare event of the weekend.  First, James under tow, now, what is this?

Rick and 20th Hole have actually left the Dock!  And the marina!    And then returned!  Unassisted!

   This is like the Transit of Venus, Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster all rolled into one!
   
     "Talk the Dock!" Lin us, follow us, or just tell your friends.

First Wet Week-End of 2012! Part Three.

                      "But their beauty and their style went kinda smooth after a while..."
                                                                                                   -Queen


   Saturday night the usual suspects were in attendance, and it was obvious that the game has been amped up a little:






  A portable Beer Pong table.

  And the Tiki Lounge Auxiliary Power Unit.

  Generator usage is often controversial in marinas and moorings, with the "peace and quiet and serenity" side often muttering dark imprecations against the "air conditioning and TV and ice maker" crowd.  On the Dock, it ain't all bliss, but by and large we respect each other.  The generator is down the Dock and downwind from the early-to-bed-early-to-rise crowd,  keeping everyone happy.


  James' friends Ray and Brenda dropped by, allowing James to demonstrate his mad mooring skillz.

  "Look!"  he says, "I made a sailboat!"

      Okay, I can kinda see it.


       Monday, weather-wise, was a repeat of Friday, Saturday and Sunday:  lots of sun, lots of heat, little wind.   


      SWMBO and I and Finnegan J. Smalldawg  cast off, to bake and bob and use up some old diesel if nothing else.  The beach was busy,  and some serious earthmoving was taking place to the West:

    
        We rolled out our genoa,  and loafed along at a leisurely 2-3 knots, experimenting with jib car position  and sail trim.

        It was definitely a spinnaker day, and we saw some beauties, but only managed to capture one image:

      Returning to the dock mid-afternoon, I settled in for some serious lounging and boat watching while re-reading a Harlan Coben novel and sipping a rum and coke.

      Yes, I can multi-task with the best of them.

     I was turning a page when the sky darkened and a shadow passed over Whiskeyjack.  I look up just in time to see this boat come past:

    Holy windage, Batman!  She may not bee the longest boat in the marina, but this Carver has some definite height- those may be the longest fender lines I have ever seen.

     



     Monday night SWMBO was working, so I decided to take a solo cruise and try to find some wind.  I also had to touch base with Andy and Yvonne from Tempus Fugit regarding some canvas work and to see the new mainsail they DIYed, so I decided to cruise down the dock to see yvonne's parents Jim and Marianne to see if they could pass on a message to their kid...
    It's the Dock Six telegraph, and it works.
    Really well.
    How well?
    Look at what boat happened to be mooching a slip on the Dock!

  I got the chance to converse about  my canvas concerns and get up close and personal with the new sail.  More on that in a later post.

   Meanwhile, Jordan was waking up Saphira,  and just like me, having no joy with no wind.

  We still put more than 15 miles on Whiskeyjack's log this weekend just puttering around, and nothing broke, nothing disappeared and everyone had fun.  If this continues through the rest of the season, we won't be unhappy.

      Thanks for taking the time to check us out.  Please feel free to "Talk the Dock!"  Link us, follow us, or just tell your friends.

First Wet Week-End of 2012! Part Two.

    "I want something else...."

            -Third Eye Blind

    As the sun set on a great day on the Bay, Hilary spotted  flotsam that looked... intriguing.

    Bottom-feeder that I am, I seize every salvage opportunity.  Hey, the worst that could happen is the lake gets a little cleaner.  The best that could happen?

    I watch Storage Wars .  One man's trash, et cetera.

    Unfortunately, my results are more like Barry's than Dave's.

   Anyjunk,  Hilary and I decided that we'd circle back and snag the interesting floater.  If nothing else, we rationalized, it made a good MOB (Man OverBoard) drill.

    So we circled.

   And then we circled again.

   And again.

  Finally, we snagged the debris, claiming as our reward a...

  

...truly messed up wakeboard.

  Which, when we returned to the Dock,  we contributed to the decor of James'  Tiki Lounge.

    More on the Lounge later.

    Sunday dawned hot, humid and still, and the Annual Load-out and Installfest continued.  After reconsidering the limited viewing range of our chartplotter over the last few seasons, I finally bit the bullet and relocated the unit from the  bulkhead to the cabintop, and added a gimbal for good measure.  Now the helmsperson can keep up to date on course and speed and stuff from anywhere in the cockpit.

  Now, the big news.

Our dinette layout was great for playing chess, but not conducive for watching a movie, or entertaining more than, er, us.

 
  Remember the Crap/Stuff Extravaganza ?
  Measure up some (s)crap, cut, glue, screw, staple, curse, swear, bleed, recut, rescrew,  and...

  ... A little bit of work creates a lot more accommodation flexibility.  The vestigial horseshoe settee and small table makes more seating possible, while a quick fold makes the big table appear for more eating/workspace.

   And we'll wrap up our most excellent weekend with Part Three later.

Come on back and check it out.  Meanwhile, "Talk the Dock!"

Dock Check

    "I'm a romantic fool..."
      Martha & The Muffins




    I stopped by the dock last week to get some pictures.  With Inky's passing, the April 15  Marina Opening Day passed unnoticed and unremarked.  Now I am playing catch-up.

Our amenities are installed :

The water level is higher than I expected, given our virtually snowless winter.

  At the time these pictures were taken the dock population was looking a little sparse.  Since, Rick has dropped in 20th Hole for another season,  James and Brooke have berthed The Instigator, Travis has snagged the slip next to James, Jim and Marianne expect to be splashing both boats this week, Jordan's boat Safira is ready to get wet now that Tempus Fugit is in the water over on Dock Two, Hilary's boat has arrived from Sarnia and is awaiting rigging and launching, Eric has repainted After School and built a new dinghy (more on that in an upcoming post) Jack is still deciding which boat is going to get wet first this year, JD has booked his slip, no word on Mark and Erica, Ralph and Julie and Gavin and Sylvia will be back rounding out the Siren fleet, did I miss anyone?

 New flotsam has appeared since last fall:

  I wonder if there is a tractor attached to that tire?

Soon,  we'll be home soon...

   New sailboat on the Dock.

   Travis'new ride:

    A recycling bin in need of rescue.

  True to form, we on Dock Six end up with the hoopty dock cart.

    Meanwhile, downtown Port Dover receives some attractive new signage:

   It's going to be a great season!

Tying Up Loose Ends, Volume Two- Out Like A Lamb

                "You just slip out the back, Jack..."
                                        -Paul Simon






      When we last left the Power (Drinking) Squadron, sundowners were being downed, grills were being sparked up, and laughs were shared well into the night.

      Oh, what a difference a week makes.

      Saturday morning, September 24:  A beautiful day-  the sun is shining, the temperature is mild, and JD is heading out.
Uh, wait, dude, the lake is THAT way!

    Ohhhh, he's not heading out, he's PULLING out.  Dude, it's not even the end of the weekend, let alone the end of the season!  Oh well.  See you next year, JD.

     Following close behind is Mark.  Is it something I said?

   Okay, well at least James is still hanging in and hanging out, right James?
   James?
   His slip is empty.

  So, which members of  the regular cast of motorized misfits remain?  Rick and the 20th Hole, Greg and CocoBliss, and Jim and Marianne and 2 Cant Anchor Us 2...


  And ALL of the sailors.

  Just sayin'.


  Thanks for taking the time to check us out.  Please feel free to "Talk the Dock!"  Link us, follow us, or just tell your friends.