up WAY too early and thinking about dinner out last night (really OUT)

Last night out to dinner with friends at Archer's on the Pier in Rockland, a wonderful place to eat outside overlooking the water. Dinner was great but...

1. We were indeed outside on the deck, but were seated in the boiling sun (not that I am complaining about sun). You might think the owner would get those drop down mesh screens for the awning that would keep the patrons out of the heat ... oh sure we could've gone inside (no one in there!). By the time my hubby & I arrived (a few minutes late), everyone else was seated so asking to move the whole group was not a viable plan. One whole side of the table was hot and in direct sun (we were 12 people ... seated at a long table and at both ends). Grrrr. Everyone complained to each other but no one did anything, including me so I bear responsibility too. The server did not offer to move us. My friend Michelle and I were positively dripping. The ice melted so fast in our water glasses it was not even cooling the water. I was exhausted from the heat by the end of the meal. Never again will I sit in that kind of environment. I will sit inside or in shade only — not 2.5 hours in direct sun. UGH.

2. The tip, since we were a large party, was figured on the bill for us and, lo and behold, was figured on the TAX as well as on the food. Hmmmm. It added nearly one percentage point overall. Since when is that how it works? And the tip was also on the alcohol portion of the bill. I think if we go there again we would ask for a separate bill for the alcohol. I tip on alcohol only when I am at a bar. I do not believe the tip for last night is getting shared with the bartender, so what??? we are tipping the waitress for bringing drinks she did not mix to the table from a few steps away?

But really, the food was great. The view over the harbor was great. We heard music live from the Blues Festival at the Harbor Park. The conversation was good and lively.

Today I am off to a picnic at Round Pond. I will bring my hat and my little old-fashioned folding fan, wear sunscreen, and stake out a spot in the shade.

Stay tuned.