Those of you who live in Chestertown (or used to) might care to know that Downey’s, the long-time purveyor of fried chicken along 213 between the two plazas, is no more. In its place, The Freeze, a burger joint which, according to local historian William Arrowood, hearkens back to Downeys’ predecessor, the Tastee Freez.

Our range of dining options in Chestertown is limited. When fresh blood is thrown into the water, we swarm like sharks.

We waited until we got hungry. Then we drove to The Freeze. Fortunately, it was open.

We walked in and surveyed the menu, which, as an added bonus, can be folded into a paper airplane when you’re done.

While Robbi and I contemplated the abundance of options, the kids danced.

Kato was happy.

Suddenly, the dance took a dark turn.

Then darker still.

Kato was sad.

Did I notice? I did not. I was consumed with big questions: what sort of sides to pair with my burger?

Moments later, it all became clear: lima beans (nod to health) and fries (nod to reality). I felt confident in my choice.

Kato was pleased with his selection as well, a large vanilla milkshake.

The food arrived. The moment of truth was at hand. In spite of all the other virtues of The Freeze (good place to dance and cry, good milkshakes), nothing else mattered if the burgers were not up to par.

I took a bite.

And friends, I was satisfied.

In case you want to continue your research, here is how the Freeze describes itself on its Facebook page:

Home of the “Big Freeze Burger”
Coke products
Improved Ice Cream: sundaes, shakes, cones etc.
Fried Chicken, Burgers, Steaks, Fries

I’m not sure whether they are claiming that the ice cream is “improved” since they opened or whether they are comparing themselves to some other competitor (I don’t remember whether or not Downey’s served ice cream.)

I think I had a Big Freeze Burger. And I think I added hot peppers (hot peppers are included when you say you want absolutely everything on the burger. Which I did, of course).

It’s my philosophy that “everything” is always superior to some subset thereof.

My fondness for Instagram continues. Sorry about that. Here are some more square photos with colors askew. Apologies to those of you who have already seen some of these in my Facebook feed.

Tree

Sprinkler

Red Tunnel

Green Tunnel

Propane

Fire Danger Low, Urieville Lake

Today I offer you the last in a series of “from the vault” posts from The Barnstorming. Today’s installment recounts the epic saga that is the act of getting dressed to go fishing. I will lead you step-by-step through the intricate 15-step process that leads from this:

To this:

Intrigued? Here you go.

We’re in Alaska. On the tundra. Fishing commercially for sockeye salmon. We probably look something like this right about now.

Here’s an old post from the Barnstorming with some maps of where we are, geographically speaking and some photos of the fishing process.

Lest you lack the patience to read the whole thing, here’s a shot of me with my quarry.

More tomorrow.

Here’s the deal. We’re on the tundra and off the grid. If all has gone according to plan, we are currently holed up in the Behr Family Compound on Coffee Point. We have likely arrived tired and hungry, climbing out of a five-person bush plane onto the gravel landing strip at Coffee Point. Likely, Bob was there to greet us with a rusted-out pickup truck in which all of us rode the mile or so to the cabin.

Here’s the cabin, our home for the next month or so.

It’s the main house, one of eight buildings (nine, if you count the outhouse) on the compound. If you want to get a glimpse of the rest, here’s a post from our old blog, The Barnstorming.

There are no paved roads in Coffee Point, no public water or electricity. We can charge our laptops with a diesel generator and run a water pump with car batteries, but we don’t have a phone or an internet connection. Which means we won’t be able to keep in touch with you in real time for the next few weeks. But we’ve scheduled a bunch of posts to go up while we’re gone.

Enjoy your warm days of summer. We’ll be enjoying the cool gusts on the bluff along the river.