Fun in the sun

Hey everyone,

In amongst a lot of hard work these last two months, I have really been enjoying the height of the summer in Virginia. Perhaps I’m now a bit more accustomed to the temperatures being in the high 20s and beyond every day. I like the distinctness of the weather patterns over here. When it's sunny, the sun shines clearly, then the high pressure causes us to be lashed by immense humid rainstorms - rinse and repeat. How appropriate! :-) There's a reassuring rhythm to it.

STRAWBERRY PICKING

As soon as things started to get toasty, our thoughts turned to the something forever associated with summer: STRAWBERRIES! I have fond memories of going to pick your own fruit farms growing up in Lincolnshire, but hadn't been in decades (oh dear, I feel old now!). We took the traditional "hayride" (which actually features no hay, as I was slightly miffed to discover) from the farm buildings out into the field, and spent a happy hour or so crouched between rows of plants. The final haul was about 5 lbs' worth. I also picked up a jar of their homemade Sweet Surrender strawberry jalapeño BBQ sauce — not at all as weird as it sounds!

Arriving home with all this fresh deliciousness, it was only natural to want to cook something. Karen decided that she wanted to learn to make jam, and ended up producing what I can only describe as the best strawberry jam I have ever tasted. Since I miss my shortbread so much, I decided to make strawberry shortcake (recipe here). Interesting fact: over here strawberry shortcake seems to be something more akin to a cream tea with the jam substituted for fresh strawberries.

REMEMBERING THE FALLEN
 
This year, on Memorial Day, one of the two days marking the sacrifice of the country's armed forces, it seemed like we should do something to commemorate the occasion using our free holiday. We decided to visit Arlington National Cemetery, the nation's centrepiece for honouring the war-dead, less than ten miles from us, and just over the road from the Pentagon. I have to say  that it was a sobering experience, combining qualities of the UK's National Memorial Arboretum, the Cenotaph, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Normandy's allied cemeteries. Witnessing the changing of the ever-present honour guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns was a special moment.

BARBECUE DELICIOUSNESS

One thing inextricably linked with summer in the US is barbecuing, which for most is very much like back home (except without the need to wear coats, as on one memorable occasion back in 2009!). However, barbecue also has a second meaning here: slow cooking (for as many as 12 hours) using indirect heat and smoke (no open flames). This appears sometimes in the UK on the menu of American chain restaurants like TGI Friday's, in the form of ribs. However, there's so much more to it than that (brisket, pulled pork, chicken, sausage, etc.). Especially in the South, it wouldn't be too much of an exaggeration to say that barbecue is practically a religion!

Over the warm months, there is a whole barbecue "circuit" of events around the country, where professional teams of so-called pitmasters compete for prizes and glory in front of accredited judges. One such event is the BBQ Battle in Washington, D.C., which closes off a five-block section of Pennsylvania Avenue (the road between the Capitol and the White House).

At the event, you can sample styles of barbecue from across the country. These are split into products which use a "dry rub" of ground herbs and spices, and "wet" products, which are repeatedly basted in one of a variety of BBQ sauces (of which there are three basic kinds - sweet tomato-based, and tangy vinegar-based or mustard-based). Using a mentality of "divide and conquer", assisted by John and spelling friend Rachel, we were able to sample a respectable number of different options.

FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND

Since the Americans are kind enough to also let me have a long weekend to commemorate unleashing a can of whoop-ass on us at Yorktown, we decided to take our shiny new bikes (!) out for a whirl on the Mount Vernon Trail, a 14 mile long path along the Potomac River linking George Washington's estate Mount Vernon with DC. The trail has some decent gradient and nice views of the river. We cycled about 9 miles round (baby steps after all this inertia).

On the Fourth itself, we opted for a bit more of a relaxing time, taking a drive to a lovely sandy beach in the neighbouring state of Maryland, on the vast Chesapeake Bay. Then in the evening we joined church friends for a barbecue and fireworks in the nearby historic town of Manassas, famous for its role in the Civil War. It was a great display seen up close which, I think, even gave it an edge over D.C. last year.

For a moment, in amongst the ribbing of friends, I considered the seeming contradictions of a Brit celebrating his own empire's demise; but you know, this is my home too now, and I enjoyed that moment as much as anyone.

Happy belated 4th! Mark