Aw, shucks

Okay, so this is a late posting, just for you, Justin. Je t'aime, mon amour.

Jeanne, Justin, and I made a little day trip up to Tomales Bay to get some oysters. I thought it would be a nice little drive up Highway 1, where Jeanne and Justin could see what life is like outside of a LA suburb and why I like living here. We started later than we planned and, consequently, arrived later than we had intended to. We had packed all the necessities: oyster shucker, towels, bread, cheese, wine, beer, and a cooler with ice. We were ready to shuck.

We showed up at the Tomales Bay Oyster Company with gear in hand after being turned away from the Hog Island Oyster Company. We bought a big bag of oysters, a bottle of Tapatio, and a couple of limes. (I didn't think about preparing my own sauces beforehand.) We were set. Only there was a slight problem. We only had one shucker and I was the only one who knew how. Sure, I didn't really have a problem being Miss Shucker for the day, but I'm kinda slow at it and the last time I shucked a bag full of oysters I ended up with a sore arm. So, Jeanne and Justin got a quick lesson in oyster shucking. They picked up fast.

Justin wasn't a bad a shucker, after getting a little bit of supervision and positive feedback.

He, however, wasn't too good of an oyster eater. I've seen him grimace at various bivalves at dinner with my parents and wasn't sure how well he would handle eating live oysters. But, he always handled it in stride, taking a taste of everything, smiling, and saying, "Mmm..." when my mom would be like, "Eat. Eat." and drop food into his bowl. He tried again this time too. Shucking away.

It wasn't until we were packing our things up and clearing our picnic table when we realized that he wasn't doing too well. A bit too groggy looking, a bit too dazed. The windy roads, the raw oysters, and the lack of proper hydration were probably taking their toll. He had been such a trooper. We gave him some dromamine and I drove us home, pretending to know the way and nearly getting us run over by some tour bus.