East Coast Adventures

www.RocklandsFarmMD.com

Within a year of graduating college I had four of my closest friends wed which may sound overwhelming but it was actually quite exciting.

Now, four years later I’m still in this place of solo adventuring and figuring life out on my own; usually enjoying it unless I find myself in a rut thinking of how they all left me behind...ha!

One of the great joys of being single right now is that I am able to do my own thing completely almost whenever I want.

This translates into traveling for my job and visiting friends in far off places like Washington DC and Maryland!

I love seeing where my friends are at now that we’re not in the same college house studying and not studying, making chocolate chip banana bread and going on random adventures to Solvang, the Danish VIllage…

This last trip I saw Lindsay and David and their new hyper and perfect dog Sundance. They took wonderful care of me showing me Baltimore, our friends farm in Maryland, Eastern Farmers Market and last but not least…The Cherry Blossom Festival!
If you're going to this festival you should definitely grab bikes to bypass all the traffic and cruise around in the splendid Springtime breeze like we opted to do :)

Eating Crabs like a Marylander

Have you ever eaten soft shell crabs in Maryland?
This is far from your Alaskan king crab leg event out in sunny ole California...this is an experience to be had...

First things first, tables are covered with boards to protect the wood during hammering and layers of newspapers and cut up paper bags are placed on top.

Crabs are then placed in a big pile in the middle of the table for all to grab.

Well hello there, Mr. Crab. These crabs are seasoned heavily with a mixture including lots and lots of Old Bay Spice. In case you were wondering, celery salt is one of the first ingredients. This stuff is seriously intense, making your mouth feel on fire throughout the whole dining experience, which is why you have a beer there to keep you company.

Everyone has their own method of how they choose a crab out of the pile. Annie, Matt's sister, tries to get the heaviest ones since "they are usually denser and more moist." I just tried to pick the ones with the biggest claws...I think I'm forever in the "larger claws=better crabs" mindset from eating all that Dungeoness.

Matt went step by step through how he takes apart his crabs; very methodical and precise. He couldn't figure out why I kept getting shells in my mouth but I think I must have not been following the rules well enough...woops!

It's just common sense that you will drink National Bohemian Beer or "Natty Boh" (originally brewed in Baltimore, MD) with these beauties...

Tearing apart crabs with this much seasoning is a messy experience. Matt's mom was kind enough to lend me one of her work-out shirts so I wouldn't get this stuff all over my white blouse. I know, I know, who wears a white blouse to a crab eating party, right? It won't happen again, cross my heart.


It's a real social event, which is why I think I quite enjoy it. You chat, bang on crab legs, drink beer and have a merry time!

Maddie couldn't exactly join the party, though she probably would have been a fine crab eater.

Thank you Metzbowers for making my first Maryland crab eating experience one of a kind!

For the record, I ate 5 whole crabs! Yowza!