Vacations End

Today was the last day of my summer vacation. We had a great week together as a family and went out with a splash - literally! We held our annual BBQ on Saturday night, while there were a lot less people this year we enjoyed the ability to converse one on one with all of our guests. We enjoyed a clear evening with food, fellowship, FIRE, and a few fireworks. I am hoping to get some pictures from a friend who was diligent with picture taking (unlike myself) throughout the night.

We were able to perform all of our cleanup before going to bed and enjoyed a full nights sleep. We got up this morning and packed up a cooler with yummy leftovers from the BBQ and loaded all our swimming and fishing gear into the truck and headed for the ocean. We arrived in Rhode Island and decided to get a day pass to my childhood campground where we could swim, fish, explore the salt marsh and simply enjoy the last day of vacation.

Much like the cookout I failed to bring my digital camera so the only pictures I have were taken with my Blackberry but I guess they are better than nothing and I will look upon them with fondness in the years to come.

This is the first time the kids have ever fished in the ocean and were quite surprised when they found out we would be fishing with bait and not lures! As anyone who has fished with me knows I despise drowning worms and would much rather keep busy throwing a lure than sit in boredom waiting for some brainless fish to find my bait - but the ocean is a whole different beast. While I have caught some massive fish on lures in the ocean I actually enjoy fishing with bait (cut bait, eels, minnows, sandworms etc...). I find sitting on the edge of the water while basking in the sun with the sound of the waves, birds, and bell buoys the ultimate in relaxation.

The kids soon realized I was serious (I don't know why they would ever doubt my sincerity?) and in short order we were all pulling fish out of the water. I caught a couple of Snapper Bluefish, Alex caught a Black Sea Bass and all of us took turns reeling in loads of Scup(Porgy).

The crabs, snails and starfish(sea stars) were in great abundance; the sun was shining, the water was perfect for swimming and most importantly we were enjoying it together as a family. We stayed long enough to watch the sun sizzle into the ocean horizon and shortly after enjoyed watching the moon appear from the opposite direction and make its grand entrance into the sky above. The fish were still biting but the bait was gone and in the darkness we made our way to the showers. After cleaning up we made the journey home recalling the days events as well as the highlights of our past week.

P.S. > The literally going out with a splash comment earlier - in my feeble attempt to wash up before getting in the truck I slipped on the rocks and fell into the water! Thankfully it was dark enough outside nobody could see my face so I don't have to worry about future embarrassment when I pass by people on the street!