Wallace's at the Greenhouse

When I woke up at 5:30, I felt much better and had slept well. After breakfast we took the dogs on a longer walk around the neighborhood. We can tell that both dogs are showing their age more because they no longer seem to want to walk for very long and are happier just making a short loop then going back to the house.

Mark has been considering a motorized fishing kayak, so we drove up to Riversport Kayaks to learn about available options. The dealer had several motorized kayaks from Old Town and other manufacturers. Some have dedicated built-in electric motors, while others have the capability of attaching a separate trolling motor. Still others were foot pedal operated with a motorized assist similar to many of the electric assist bicycles. We learned that all motorized watercraft in Florida are required to carry a state license even if they have a small electric motor. We asked about the motors that can use an internal GPS for Spot-Lock to hold the boat in one spot. The dealer didn’t seem especially impressed with the feature. He told us that the motor constantly worked to hold a position, which can quickly drain the battery. All the motorized kayaks are very heavy as well as expensive.

Chef Wallace

Back at the house we had deli turkey sandwiches with chips for lunch before going up to our bedroom to see what we needed to do to get a receptacle behind the wall mounted television in our room. Fortunately, there was a socket near floor level under the television. The cords for the television power and power for the Roku device hang down from the television. Unfortunately, the television is mounted on an outside wall meaning that we would have to run the wire up the wall through insulation.

Glazed pork ribs

We drove to the Crystal River Home Depot to get an old work electrical box, outlet, box cover, and a fish tape to pull the wire from the existing outlet five feet up the wall through fiberglass insulation to the new outlet. We opted for an electrical outlet with USB outlets in addition to the 110 volt plugs so the Roku could be plugged in without an adapter. We cut the opening in the drywall using the old work box as a guide then ran the fish tape up from the existing box to the opening and ran 14 gauge wire up to the television where ere installed the box and outlet. When we turned the breaker on everything appeared to work.

Mark enjoying his meal

When we finished the electrical work we cleaned up, put the tools away and showered for dinner. Cindy had made her birthday dinner reservations at Wallace’s at the Greenhouse Restaurant for the special event. We dressed up a bit and drove the short distance to the venue.

The meal was five courses, each paired with a wine from Boutz Cellars, a Paso Robles, California winery. Before each course Chef Wallace would explain the dish, the ingredients and how they were prepared. Then James Boutzoukas, the winery owner, would provide background on the wine paired with that course.

Mary with dessert

The first course was a crab cake on sweet potato, feta and whipped goat cheese with radicchio, heirloom tomato, pistachio, cucumber, and radish  served with a dill vinaigrette. The wine from Boutz Cellars Winery for this course was a 2024 Assyrtiko, The second course was roasted red pepper agrodolce and cheddar grits with roasted quail and a citrus glaze. The wine with the second course was 2022 Sunset Red. The third course was everyone’s favorite featuring guava sriracha glazed pork ribs with corn puree and Asian slaw. The paired wine was 2021 Sirah. The fourth course was braised oxtail and short rib ragout with wild mushroom, capanelle pasta, toasted pine nuts and Pecorino Romano. The wine for this course was 2021 Cabernet. The final course, dessert was a chocolate mousse that was a nice ending to a very elegant meal.

James Boutzoukas of Boutz Cellars

Mark and Cindy bought several bottles of wine especially since Boutz Cellars was near their home when they lived in Coalinga, California. The meal was a really fun way to celebrate Cindy’s birthday a day early. The meal was by far the most expensive meal we ever had, but we enjoyed it so much that it was well worth it.

Back at the house we chatted for a bit then turned in after getting a few things together for our visit to the Space Coast tomorrow.