#sunset grille

Saturday after Brent’s funeral had perfect weather. We loaded up the Jeeps and headed down to Assateague Island to drive on the beach. Brent loved staying on the West side of Ocean City. He’d always say, "There’s less riffraff out here.” It was true. The bars, restaurants and beaches had more of a local’s vibe and you wouldn’t get the shoobies and riffraff from the boardwalk. But he absolutely loved bringing the cars onto the OSV (Over Sand Vehicle) portion of the island to set up “camp” for the day. Assateague Island had also become my favorite beach over the years as well. This National Seashore is known for two things: 1. The beach that stretches from Maryland down into Virginia, and 2. The wild horses. That’s right. Wild horses graze, run, and walk all over your towels on the shore line. It’s really pretty and pretty annoying when you’re starving and all you want to do is eat your Wawa breakfast sandwich but can’t take it out until the horses move on. That happened to Brent and me last summer. 

You see the horses all of the time. As you’re cruising on the winding drive through the wetlands to the beach they’ll be hanging out in the brush and on the shoulder. You may be unloading chairs from your vehicle in the parking lot and turn around to see one watching you. I’ve witnessed people not being able to get out of the bathroom because there are a couple of them hanging out by the door. It’s entertaining. Below is a still photo captured from a video of Brent’s. You might recall him telling you about this sight - He caught one of the horses cooling off in the bay one day when he was down with his buddy, Josh from Colorado. He was so proud of not only capturing but witnessing this moment.

As I was packing stickers for the weekend down at the beach, in my head I was going through the spots that were necessary to tag. The two obvious ones were Teasers at Sunset Grille and Assateague. I did question at first how the hell I was going to tag a sticker for Brent at his favorite beach. But by Saturday morning, I already knew where I wanted to place it before we even left the house for the day. Just like I did, you’d probably think it would be difficult to get a sticker up at a National Seashore that wouldn’t be considered vandalism, harming the environment, etc. Remember, this isn’t a beach with surfaces, a boardwalk or trash bins. It’s a straight up beach. I recalled there being a pipe by the air machine as you leave the island. It had always been covered in stickers. We caravanned on over and I drove the Cream Puff (Jared’s Jeep) up to the entrance as Ryan and his family followed. While Jared worked on letting air out of the tires, I threw on Brent’s Thrasher snapback and walked over to the other side to scout out a spot on the pipe with Amy. 

Obviously, “Dean-A-Palooza Big Dawgs Last Meal” had already occupied the best spot on the pipe. I couldn’t argue with that sticker so I found a spot about half way down. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that some shmoe doesn’t come by and cover it up like they did to the “Fat Daddy” sticker. I will definitely be back to all of these locations to check up on them regardless. Ain’t nobody gonna treat #LiveLiveBrent like a Fat Daddy.

We spent a couple of hours at the beach. As soon as we got there, a dragon fly would not leave us alone. It settled and landed on Amy’s leg. She looked at me and asked, “You know what dragonflies mean, right?” I told her no and that I noticed this one wanted to hang out with us for some reason. She said, “They’re a sign of loved ones that passed.” I had no idea. I mentioned in my last post that I’ve heard different stories and signs of how a loved one is near but yeah...dragonflies are a thing. It hung around a little while longer and I noticed it fly into the passenger window of Jared’s Jeep. It landed on his hat and sunglasses and remained there until we left the beach hours later.

I spent some time alone out in the ocean that day. Tears were shed as I reflected and remembered spending hours out there with Brent in summers past. Floating. Chatting. Swimming in silence and taking it all in. But, on this day, the entire time I was out there, I felt completely and utterly calm. I’ve honestly felt this way for the last two weeks. I’m not sure why but I feel as if Brent has been giving me this sense of calmness and strength that I can’t quite explain. But then again, he always said I was one of the most even-keeled human beings he had ever met. He liked that about me but also would tell me it kept him guessing at times.

Jared was a couple of yards away in the ocean. I was so glad he came to the beach with us that day. Typically when we would go down to the beach houses, Brent and I would meet up with Kevin and Janelle who would also be down for several days at a time. We’d go out, get into a mess of shenanigans, always attend the annual Brewgrass Festival together and whatnot. But I had never had as much one-on-one time with Jared as I did this one weekend at the beach. I am so glad I did. He has such a positive and upbeat vibe to him. He made me laugh a lot that weekend. Brent adores his cousin. You know what? I do too.

Just for fun - this picture above is from last summer down at the beach on Assateague. At this point last year he had already started his treatment but we always made sure to make the best of those off days. We lotioned the hell out of one another that day. Brent also wore all of his UPF sun protecting clothing that summer. He flippin’ LOVED gear. He had gear for the beach, snow, mountains...everything. I think it’s safe to say we all know that about him and that he always had some of the nicest clothing when it came to being outside...okay, inside too. This was also the day the horses were trotting up and down the beach and the water was so blue! I don’t think I need to explain why this has become a favorite beach of mine anymore. 

Speaking of favorites...this brings us to our final destination in OCMD: Teasers at Sunset Grille.  Later Saturday night, Amy, Kevin, Jared and I headed over to “the horseshoe” which is a section of West Ocean City where several bars are located around the marina. Ps. If you want time away from the craziness of OCMD, definitely spend time over here. We stopped by Harborside for dinner and drinks. Harborside claims to be the home of the original fresh squeezed orange crush. Don’t know what an orange crush is? Pause right now, Google it, think, “That actually does sound really refreshing” and come back to continue reading. It’s a cocktail that is consumed regularly down in Ocean City. Anyway, this spot is almost always jamming and a good time with good tunes. We sweat straight through our clothes, slugged back some crushes and ordered some food. It was extremely humid that evening. It was so hot that Kevin had a Bud Light in hand. If you don’t know Kevin...he is THE beer connoisseur. He can probably talk about beer longer than a Phish set that includes "Tweezer” and not the reprise version half of you saw on the Baker’s Dozen Tour.  If a brewery has a can release, the average person will buy one or a couple but Kevin and Janelle walk out with seven...cases. Sorry I need to pause and just that Brent has some awesome cousins. So yes, it was Bud Light hot that night.

Every bar and restaurant on the marina has a wonderful view. As we sat there, we stepped out on the deck in hopes for a sunset and some fresh air. But we actually had quite the view of a gloomy storm starting to approach us.

Before we got too comfortable watching the clouds roll in, we walked over to Teasers. Also, had Brent been sitting there with us he would’ve rattled off the type of clouds rolling in. I’m not sure if he did that with everyone. But there would be times we would be driving and I’d say something about the shapes of the clouds and I’d get a response, “WelI, those cool clouds are actually Cumulonimbus clouds, Aisling.” Those are definitely some of the things I will miss.

I honestly cannot recall a time where we went down to the beach and did not end up at Teasers at some point. I don’t think I can emphasize it enough - Brent loved everything about this place. The ambiance is just always on point.  It’s an open air bar with a floating outdoor band stage out on the marina. I’ve actually ended up booking bands for some of my events from seeing them live at Teasers first. This place was also always great for a sunset. If Brent could, he would have had our wedding there. Ha, but I think it’s safe to say that any structured venue wouldn’t have been big enough for us. I mean, come on...you stood in that line that night. He was and still is a very loved individual.

As we sat down at the bar, I was again unsure where we would be able to throw a sticker up. I figured at the very least I could put it under the bar so it wouldn’t be taken down. But it turns out that there are stickers slapped up in a couple locations inside. I asked the bar tender for 3 minutes of his time, explained why we were there and asked permission to put a sticker up. The bartender saw the manager (actually I believe it was the owner) and told him what I was doing. I got up and stuck one right on the side of the cash register. It’s in plain sight where anyone on the left side of the bar could see it. This specific location was certainly the most important one on the trip and I know right now Brent is proud that I was able to get one up there for him. Actually, I take that back. He’s probably critiquing and saying I should’ve covered that one side of the cash register. Sorry, Uncle B.

As I was placing the sticker up, Jared got hold of the manager/owner. He told him where we were from, why we were there and why Teasers is such an important establishment to us. As I walked back to my seat on the other side of the bar Jared stopped me. The owner asked us to bring in a photo of Brent to be placed on the ceiling. I know that sounds awkward if you’ve never been to Teasers but inside of this dockside bar is a vaulted ceiling with different items on it. It’s like Billy Murphy’s Irish Saloon but...beachy fishing decor...in a sense. So the next time I’m down you bet a framed photo of Brent Patrick Evans will be hung in his favorite spot.

I’ve mentioned it before and I will mention it again, I am overwhelmed by the incredible support that I am oh so lucky to have. Thanks to Amy for being my personal photographer and beach bud for the weekend. As always, thank you to Brent’s family for such a special weekend down at their beach home.

White Marlin Open: Largest Bar Tab

Spectators flock to the White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Md. I had sidestepped through throngs of spectators to attend the White Marlin Open, in Ocean City, Maryland, labeled the “World’s Largest and Richest Billfish Tournament.” As I stood on the pier breathing pungent bay air, I was hoping to spot the qualifying White Marlin, Blue Marlin, Tuna, Dolphin, Wahoo, or Shark that could win big bucks.…