We enjoyed a great meal and really nice evening at the All-You-Can-Eat-Ribs Dinner last night.  There was a very good crowd and lots of delicious food.  The line for the appetizer table was already long when we got there a little after 5 o'clock, but there was plenty of variety,  from fruit to dips with veggies, deviled eggs, shrimp, and a variety of cheese/cracker combos.

I cruised over to see the ribs being cooked.  It looked like enough to feed an army.  What you see here is only a small portion of what was being grilled.  Tom (Dente) told me the meat had been steamed for hours before being put on the grill.  I never cooked ribs, ever, but I have a great appreciation of what it takes to "get it right."  Apparently the guys (Larry Rossi and Steve Larrabee shown here) know what they are doing because we sat with a couple from Texas who said the ribs were perfect, even by Texas standards.  High praise, indeed.  

I had a bit of everything and particularly enjoyed the ribs.  I don't eat a lot of meat these days, but the ribs had a really great sauce that was not too "hot" which made them just right for me.  Fred enjoyed everything, too, but said the big standout for him was the dessert table.  Well, actually, I liked that a lot, too.  I'm not partial to desserts as a rule, but I "sampled" at least four different items and could have gone back for more but didn't want to leave with a "sugar high."  

One of the really fun and totally unexpected moments at the party last night was meeting one of our two Ice Out Contest winners this year, eight-year-old Kelsey Phillips.  I was concentrating on my food when I heard a soft voice beside me saying, "Thank you for the phone call."  At first I had no clue what she meant, but her grandfather, Chris Wilson was sitting at the table right in back of me, and explained it was when I called Kelsey's home in Iowa this spring to let her know she'd won.  Then we had a good chuckle over how Grandpa Chris didn't tell anyone about having bought the tickets for his grands.  It was great to meet Kelsey - we had a celebrity at the dinner!

On our way to the supper, we noticed the big equipment parked at the rail-trail site in the village.  Work is progressing at long last, and while some of the trail may not be accessible for short periods during the work, by fall there should be some great stretches - perhaps most of it from Joe's Pond to St. Johnsbury - that will be in much better shape for walking and biking.  Bushes have been trimmed back and that alone is an improvement.  It's nice to see it evolving.