Vacation was, for the most part, splendid. Herewith, highlights and lowlights:
- The boys' fishing expedition: Enough blue fish to feed everyone on day one. Reports that bro-in-law caught a seven-pounder confirmed by photographic proof.
- Naps. Twice daily.
- Two- and three-pound lobsters for dinner with the best corn succotash. Ever.
- Job Lot, the Sass-back Oyster, and other venerable Chatham establishments.
- Being taught, ever so gently, that even sandwiches have their limits. It's true, they do. Ask Peggy.
- Revisiting Jonathan Dead Seagull, an old vacation friend who somehow always finds us at the beach.
- My sister, bless her gentle heart, deleting all 200-some photos of the vacation on the second-to-last day, freeing me from the burden of saving, organizing, or otherwise fretting over those pesky vacation memories. Thanks, sis! With my new-found free time, I plan to enroll in law school and apply for one of them openings on the supreme court. (Proof of the blue fish--revised weight of 27 pounds--also lost.)
- Off-roading in the ultimate Land Rover beach rig, complete with a 12-pack in the front cooler, fishing rods a-plenty, a 4-month-old Chesapeake Bay puppy, and enlightening talk of "fudgers."
- Squeezing four adults into a canoe built for two, then thinking we could take it for a spin in low tide. Downside: sloooow progress as we scraped along the pond floor. Upside: A loofah-like effect on our bottoms!
Really, though, it was time with family, away from daily realities and chores and duties. (Doodies!) For that reason alone, it could hardly have been better. Which put the slow and awful realization of what was happening on the Gulf Coast in even starker contrast. Heartbreak. Helplessness. Crushing. Despair. Love. Peace. Hope.
3 comments:
Interesting - you sort of take a guy's approach here... in the first bullet, the fish is 7 pounds. In the 7th bullet, the fish is now 27 pounds. What will it be tomorrow?! (sorry - was an editor in previous lifetime!)
Glad you had a good time!
Since the photos were deleted, there's no telling how big that fish was. Maybe by tomorrow estimates will put it at 127 pounds. And who could argue?
I saw the fish; it was an easy 28 pounds. Probably just a hair smaller than the 30 pounder that broke off my line just before we got it on the boat. Please note that the world record for a bluefish is 31 pounds, 12 ounces, so this is entirely possible. If only we still had the picture to prove it, right James?
Post a Comment