Another tease of Spring weather meant coffee and a cigar on the deck. I was in the mood for a lancero, a desire that often arises when I'm looking for an afternoon smoke, usually with coffee. As with this day, those situations often include some acoustic blues coming from the outdoor speaker.

The 2024 camping season is off to a great start. We spent the weekend at Cave Mountain Lake campground in the Jefferson National Forest. It's our 3rd trip there. No hookups and large, private campsites with no ell service at all. There are restrooms and showers available.

Friday night was clear and cool, with a low in the mid-40s. We spent the night catching up with friends who were camping in the neighboring site.

On Saturday morning, we went birding around the campground to contribute to Global Big Day. We bagged 20 species, including a lifer with a Northern Waterthrush. After lunch at the camper, I took a 25-minute drive to a trail head on the Appalachian Trail to do a fairly easy 4.5-mile hike. I forgot to download an offline map for the trip, which was an issue since we had no service at the campground and I needed to navigate a few country roads to get to the trail head. I'm an old who learned map reading in school, and I keep both a Rand McNally and Virginia back roads map in the car, so I navigated the old way. It was fun, and there was a sense of accomplishment on getting there after using a paper map that you just don't get from Google Maps. While on the trail, I met Viking Man, a through-hiker who was not through-hiking this year. He is doing 172 miles to celebrate turning 72 years old. I’ll repeat that because it is so damn amazing.

He is doing 172 miles of the Appalachian Trail to celebrate turning 72 years old.

Some afternoon rain chased us into the camper for a couple of hours before dinner. After dinner, we hung out around the campfire with our friends.

I have one maintenance issue after winter. The cassette toilet won't flush, so I get to do camper maintenance this week. It's not a huge deal as a cup of water works just well. After doing some YouTube research I think it's either a fuse or the water pump. I'll know later this week when I have time to look into it. I upgraded the battery and power center last month so it’s possible that something was missed in the power converter swap, but simple is more likely, and I’m thinking the water pump didn’t survive winter.

I didn't realize how much I missed camping over the winter. I need time in the woods. Next is VA Beach for Memorial Day weekend.

I decided to dig deep in the humidor for something to smoke on a recent evening. Pulling out the bottom tray where I had put cigars "for later" led me to a Fratello DMV Virginia. I have just two left from the original 2018 release, and looked forward to seeing how the cigar had aged.

Many folks assume a dark wrapper means a cigar is strong and full bodied. The assumption is often incorrect. Admittedly, I am guilty of an opposite assumption, that all lighter colored cigars are mild and boring. It's true that Connecticut wrapper cigars can disappoint me, but that's not a universal truth. For one such case, meet the Blanco Liga Exclusiva de Familia Connecticut Robusto.

I enjoyed a fun "Italian" dessert after dinner this week. I had the urge to enjoy one of the Toscano cigars I brought back from Italy last fall. An espresso seemed fitting to go along.

The Toscano Antica has a strong wood fire aroma even before lighting. The flavors when smoking bring to mind smoky BBQ with some sweetness added in. Despite the rough, dry appearance the burn has no issues and gave about a 40 minute smoke. That was plenty of time for a couple of double espressos.
I do enjoy these cigars on occasion. Fortunately Tuscano packages them for export and they can be had, rather inexpensively, from many online retailers.

I enjoy coffee with a cigar fairly regularly. It's usually as part of an afternoon pick me up. Although often craved, having the time to linger in the morning is an infrequent pleasure. (Though that schedule restriction will soon be a thing of the past.) 

Another Friday evening and I opted once again to have a cigar at the brewery cigar lounge. Though I have beer, cigars, and even whiskey at home, the change of pace and chance to chat with other beer and cigar fans prompted my visit.

On Tuesday Facebook reminded me that Buddy Guy was playing locally Wednesday evening. My wife had to work early Thursday AM so she was not interested in attending. So I went alone.

Buddy Guy was freaking amazing. The dude turns 87 in July and he still shreds. It was my first time at the Carpenter Theater in Richmond. It's a very cozy 1800 seat theater that is pushing 100 years old.

This morning I had a blues radio station playing on YT Music, and a banging tune titled Poor until Payday came on. I stopped what i was doing to listen, then favorited the tune so I could investigate further over lunch.

Over lunch, I pulled up the band's profile on YT Music, Reverend Peyton and the Big Damn Band. The band title is a bit of a joke I think, since they are a trio playing vintage instruments, including a washboard. Anyway, Poor Until Payday is the title track from their 2018 album, so I played it. The entire album bangs. I then went on to their 2021 album, Dance Songs for Hard Times. It also bangs. Then I went way back to 2012 to their debut album. It's another banger.

The genre is officially country blues. They also have some rockabilly vibes with gospel influences. What ever they are, they bang.

That is a lot of words to say I bought two albums today from a band I had never heard of at 8 AM this morning.

I remarked on Instagram that just making it to Tuesday can be cause for celebration. It was hyperbole, but I did feel the need to sit and relax after a day of work frustrations. 

Kicking off the weekend, I grabbed a dusty bottle of Hardwood Bourbon Barrel GBS from a dark corner  of the basement. I didn't see a date on the caged and corked bottle, but it's at least five years old if not more. I wasn't sure what cigar to pair but I had an urge to smoke another El Centurion H-2K-CT by My Father Cigars, so that was the selection.