It's a tale of two brunches. Whilst sampling two local craft beers, Chris and Crystal recap going out for brunch on two Saturdays in a row, first to the underrated Pines Public House in Ocean Pines, and then to the magnificent Spain Wine Bar in Ocean City.

Topics discussed:

• Picking up purchases from an estate auction in Oak Hall, Virginia.

• When a server asks for your name, and remembers it.

• The Pines Public House is a sleeper brunch spot.

• Burley Oak's "The Brackish" oyster stout.

• Pines locals and Glen Riddlers.

• Roasting a whiny Karen.

• Jersey tourons shouldn't complain about things when they don't even know how to pump gas.

• Why don't we go to Ocean City more often?

• Baltimorons love Ocean City for some reason.

• A rave review of the "Bottomless Brunch" at Spain Wine Bar in OC.

• Evo's Salisbury University-themed "Bury Brew" light lager.

• The great Joe Wilson of the World Champion Squirrel Cook Off and the Cookin' Up A Story podcast is coming to Dorchester County's muskrat-themed National Outdoor Show; Chris's disappointment over not being able to go.

No, this one isn't about sports. Not much, anyway. On a super cold Sunday that happens to be Super Bowl Sunday, Chris and Crystal catch up after two weeks of brutal winter weather.

Topics discussed:

• The overblown snowstorm of January 2026.

• Panic-buying; what do people do with all of that bread, milk, and toilet paper?

• Caring for backyard chickens in freezing temperatures.

• When winter events (e.g., the Lewes Polar Bear Plunge, and Bethany Beach's Fire & Ice Festival) get postponed because the weather is too . . . wintry?

• Chris bought a watercolor of penguins that came with a painting of a clown, and Crystal is not down with the clown.

• John Dagworthy: Who he was, what he did, and why Chris is writing a book about him.

• The first Slower Lower sports report with Bret Elliott (who predicts a Seahawks victory).

• A call to John Barber about noteworthy Super Bowl halftime performances, plus Slower Lower vs. North Carolina weather.

• Recalling the last Slower Lower episode with Tyler Scott and Amber Kairos of Georgetown, Delaware. It's a good one!

Tyler Scott and Amber Kairos live in Georgetown, Delaware. They started the popular public Facebook group "Make Georgetown Great Again" in October 2025 to encourage conversations about issues related to the town. In episode 27 of the Slower Lower podcast, Tyler and Amber joined Chris and Crystal for an unfiltered conversation about the group and all things Georgetown -- the good, the bad, and the future.

Topics discussed:

• Georgetown is uniquely important to all Sussex Countians, because it is the county seat.

• The "Make Georgetown Great Again" group on social media; when and why Tyler and Amber started it, who can participate, the rules, etc.

• The group is nonpartisan and focused on local issues, and has been mischaracterized as right-wing and/or Trump-aligned due to its name.

• Georgetown's growing homeless population and related problems.

• Is or isn't Georgetown a magnet for homeless people from other towns, counties, and states?

• Where is the line between helping and enabling?

• Panhandlers who stand by an intersection for 8 hours are capable of working.

• Vagrants sleeping on the Circle during wedding ceremonies and prom photo shoots; Little League kids finding trash, needles, feces, and worse in the dugouts.

• Thoughts on the Shepherd's Office, the Pallet Village, and the Little Living cottages (aka teeny homes).

• Promoting recovery and responsibility vs. giving handouts.

• The upcoming municipal election; if there is a changing of the guard, what should happen next?

• The absurdity of journalists mischaracterizing or misquoting people in the age of long-form podcasts.

Chris and Crystal ironically recap a post-Christmas pub crawl in downtown Salisbury, Maryland, before discussing Dry January and other matters concerning the new year.

Topics discussed:

• Is the Georgetown circle a roundabout? Crystal says yes; Chris is horrified.
• An off-menu traditional breakfast at the Irish Penny.
• How you can drink multiple pints of Guinness in an afternoon without getting drunk.
• Dinner at Mogan's Oyster House.
• Dry January vs. Sober October.
• Booze alternatives including coffee, tea, kombucha, and mocktails.
• Chris's desire for more bars and restaurants to embrace Dry January by consciously stocking up on non-alcoholic beers and offering more mocktails.
• New Year's goals or resolutions.
• The great debate: Black-eyed peas or sauerkraut on New Year's Day?

Thank you to everyone who checked out the Slower Lower podcast in 2025. Here's to 2026!

What's better than a snow day? As snow falls outside, Chris and Crystal hang out by the wood stove and chat about snow days of yesteryear, as well as their 2025 Spotify Wrapped.

Topics discussed:

• Kids losing the joy of snow days due to "virtual learning."
• Slower Lower's "ice storm" of the early 1990s.
• Sledding behind a truck on a public road.
• Sledding in a laundry basket.
• Slower Lower listeners' top podcasts and artists.
• Chris's and Crystal's top podcasts and artists.

Returning guest Fulton Giebel joins Chris and Crystal for a very special, festive episode of the Slower Lower podcast. They sample a series of craft beers including Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2025, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA Aged in Utopias Barrels, and Troegs Mad Elf Grand Cru, and chat about favorite Christmas movies and songs as well as Fulton's recent hunting adventures.

On the last day of November and their four-day Thanksgiving weekend, Chris and Crystal talk about:

• The results of the 2025 Delaware Whitetail Open.
• Comparing Havre de Grace to Eastern Shore towns.
• Footsteps in an empty room at Bahoukas Antique Emporium.
• Maryland crab soup and "half & half" (Maryland crab plus cream of crab) at Coakley's Pub.
• More Maryland crab soup at Market Street Public House in Denton.
• A great breakfast at R n' R in Laurel.

• The Laurel Historical Society's special open house at Rosemont.
• Henry Progar and his paintings.
• Shifting from November into the Christmas spirit, and feeding the pumpkins to the chickens.

Chris and Crystal catch up three weeks into a busy November.

Topics discussed:

• Friendsgiving

• Deer hunting (Chris got a doe)

• A surprise neck roast

• Local autumn and Thanksgiving dishes including pretzel salad and baked pineapple

• Not feeling Halloween

• Savoring November instead of rushing into the Christmas season

Chris and Crystal recap a recent visit to one of their favorite local restaurants, and discuss local oyster (aka "arster") history and traditions.

• Oyster vs. Arster.

• Dinner at Henlopen City Oyster House in Rehoboth; the raw oyster sampler, fried oysters, casked craft beer, and more.

• A shout-out to another local favorite, the Lewes Oyster House.

• Opinioned (and potentially controversial) tips for eating oysters like a Slower Lower Delaware local.

• Delaware newspaper articles about oysters in the late 1800s.

• Oysters from . . . . Seaford?

• Historic oyster dishes including oyster sausage and squizzled oysters.

The Delaware Whitetail Open is an annual deer-hunting competition held in Gumboro during the November firearms season. Organizer and spokesman Kyle Brown joins Chris and Crystal for a conversation about:

• Why he decided to keep the event going after the passing of his father, long-time organizer and avid hunter David Brown.

• The first time Chris and Crystal attended the event in 2023.

• How and where to sign up.

• The adult and youth divisions.

• Various prizes totaling thousands of dollars.

• What a contestant is to do after harvesting a deer.

• Shout-outs to the Delaware Whitetail Open team, and several sponsors, including Kelly's Outdoors, Range Time, and 302 Yard Works.