In celebrating the Christmas 2016 season I’d like to point out two things to start this post.
First I need to give my wife, Tammy, credit for the beautiful Christmas tree picture that I’m using this year. During the time she and a friend spent in Charlotte, NC working with Operation Christmas Child they visited the Billy Graham Library. She took the picture of the tree there.
Second I want to thank all the readers that have passed my way to check out Patrick’s BBQ Trail. I never in my wildest dreams expected this blog to be this successful or as fun as it is. What a blast it would be to have more time to devote to it. So with thanks in mind I want to give a little bit of a rundown of this past year.
Year in Review:
As Christmas 2016 is upon us it seems like a wonderful time to reflect over the past year and to form visions for the coming year. By the time I get this posted most people will have pretty much finished their celebrations with family and friends. Now you’re probably looking at New Year’s activities.
For Tammy and I, and the BBQ Trail, this year has been a roller coaster ride with plenty of ups, downs, and sharp curves. We’ve made some new friends along the way and lost some too. So I’m going to highlight Patrick’s BBQ Trail’s year along with some personal reflections. Let’s take a look.
Early Start:
January 2016 started the Trail on a pretty good run. One find was Ronnie’s BBQ (http://www.patricksbbqtrail.com/ronnies-bbq-richmond-va/). What looked to be a small roadside stop turned into the most read post on Patrick’s BBQ Trail. We definitely got off to a strong start.
The first few months took us to 15 different restaurants from Virginia Beach, VA to Richmond/Petersburg, South Hill and Gordonsville, VA. We also traveled down into North Carolina for visits to Garner and Kenly. There were many ups and downs along this trail as far as the bbq goes. You’d need to look back in the archives to see the various stops. One real surprise was Stormin’ Norman’s BBQ (http://www.patricksbbqtrail.com/stormin-norman-bbq-kenly-nc/) in Kenly, NC. They were some of the nicest people you could meet, thus the phrase “Friendly Kenly”. I didn’t really expect my post about them to do that well with them being a small town local type business. Wow, I was wrong about that. They did very well and turned into my pleasant surprise.
Then Came Spring:
April brought us some more good stops. We made a return visit to Whitner’s BBQ in Virginia Beach, VA (http://www.patricksbbqtrail.com/whitners-barbecue-virginia-beach-va/). I made this stop against my will. We had been there before and didn’t care much for it so instead of writing a bad review I chose to just not do one. This turned into a game changer. I realized that the folks running these restaurants are human and subject to good and bad days just like everyone else. Our second visit was wonderful. From that visit I started to really think about what I write. I try not to be too negative and also try to bring out some positive. I always encourage people to leave comments that may differ from mine so that the restaurants get a fair shake.
Our real find in April was Scoots’ BBQ in Gloucester Point, VA (http://www.patricksbbqtrail.com/scoots-bbq-gloucester-point-va-revisited/). They had not been open long and were quite a nice find along the trail. We still make visits over there to see how they are doing. They celebrated their first anniversary this year and seem to still be going strong. My last visit I cheated and tried their seafood. Oh have mercy, it was wonderful. I love the seafood in Ocracoke, NC and usually compare other places to theirs. Scoots runs right up there with their seafood.
May brought us a pretty bad accident and took my Jeep, Brrezy, out of commission for a few months. This put a damper on Patrick’s BBQ Trail as well as Patrick and Tammy (http://www.patricksbbqtrail.com/brrezys-setback/). This turned into a long three months, ending with Brrezy finally being repaired but me losing all confidence in my service team. I had to cut ties with them and move on to another dealer.
Summer Arrives:
Summer took us to a mountain trip in VA and NC. Along with our rental Jeep we scouted out several new stops and greatly expanded the Trail. Starting our summer out was Stokely’s BBQ in Burlington, NC (http://www.patricksbbqtrail.com/stokelys-bbq-burlington-nc/). With all the good bbq we had eaten, Stokely’s brought the wow factor back. I even commented that to that date they would have taken first place if I had to choose. Sadly they are located 4 – 5 hours away from us. We do however plan to return.
The end of summer brought us our local gem, Carolina Son BBQ in Virginia Beach, VA (http://www.patricksbbqtrail.com/carolina-son-bbq-virginia-beach-va/). At last we had found the wow factor locally. Not to say that there aren’t other good places in the Tidewater area, but wow is better than good or even great. Tammy and I visit here often. We have been blessed with our new friends and their genuine love of serving others. A lunch or dinner here is like going home to family to enjoy a meal. I really love these guys, and their bbq too. I am glad that Carolina Son and Stokely’s are not close to each other. That would be tough.
Fall and Into Winter:
Fall slowed us down with an attempted vacation to Ocracoke cut short by Hurricane Matthew. But even with that we still managed a couple more good runs. One was to BBQ Connection in Bremo Bluff, VA (http://www.patricksbbqtrail.com/bbq-connection-llc-bremo-bluff-va/). This was a fun Jeep Ride into the foothills of VA off the beaten path. Though we didn’t get to meet the owner at this one the employees there were wonderful and so was the food.
Another fun trip was to Chow Down Café in Oxford, NC http://www.patricksbbqtrail.com/chow-cafe-oxford-nc/). I didn’t care too much for the trip there since we took the main highways and interstate. But when we arrived we were able to try out some more wonderful bbq along with meeting some really great people. The trip home was better. I stayed to the less traveled highways through some more small towns. Unfortunately, Chow Down Café has closed so we don’t get to make another trip there.
Final Thoughts:
So my final thoughts as we are in this Christmas 2016 season getting ready to start out a brand new year would have to start out by remembering the reason that we have the Christmas season to start with. The birth of Jesus and why he came to this world should be our first thought not only at this time of year but all year. Tammy and I have been truly blessed with some wonderful friends and family. Along the way we have been able to travel to different areas of VA and NC and enjoy some truly great bbq along with meeting some fantastic people. Some others probably wish we had never stopped by. Not all reviews can be great, they do have to be real.
As we move into 2017 I’m looking forward to trying out some new spots and revisiting some old favorites. There may be times when the reviews are not as close together as I’d like but the new places we’ll be visiting are further away from home. There are still a few closer ones to try but they are getting scarce.
In closing I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2017. I look forward to a fun filled new year. Maybe a couple of wedding trips will take us to some new places to explore. I’m still looking forward to a trip to SC to see family and bbq. Oh yes, we will make it a good year.
And so, as Tiny Tim said, “A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, every one!”
Author: Charles Dickens
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