What a great weekend we enjoyed up here in the Northeast! Despite a cold overcast Friday, Saturday & Sunday proved to be what life in New England is all about. I was just coming off of a three day bout with a stomach virus, and not so a moving boat was gonna fly but turned out just fine! We spent a relatively quite weekend at our favorite local anchorage, "East Cove" in Fairhaven, and did little except enjoy the weather & the time together as a family.
Saturday we also attempted our first Sand-Cast Bass. We thought we had enough plaster of Paris for two fish, but we messed up the first batch and had to scrap it... In any case, we did manage to finish one, and it was lots of fun - and easy - once we figured out how thick to make the plaster! We walked the beach and collected shells and but them down in the "mold" we created in the sand with our hands, then poured the Plaster and let it harden. The result was a pretty cool looking fish (although I did pour the plaster in too quickly and messed up the shells)! Now that we know what we are doing, sorta, we're gonna attempt some smaller ones in a few weeks that can be used as paperweights of bookends...Thanks to Cap's efforts, we enjoyed our first seafood dinner (little necks) of the season on Saturday. JR was thrilled as this is his favorite summer fare. He ate
heaps and heaps of them, and each time the plate was full of empty shells, he'd take it to the side of the boat and throw them in, one shell at a time. To five-year-old, apparently, this is something really cool to do.He also tried some night fishing off the back of the boat, but wasn't very successful. Despite the fact he caught at east 3 dozen good size minnows in his new bait trap, he insisted he wanted to use the lure, so that's what he did, and didn't catch a single fish. He didn't seem to mind though, he kept casting it out, and reeling it back in...
heaps and heaps of them, and each time the plate was full of empty shells, he'd take it to the side of the boat and throw them in, one shell at a time. To five-year-old, apparently, this is something really cool to do.He also tried some night fishing off the back of the boat, but wasn't very successful. Despite the fact he caught at east 3 dozen good size minnows in his new bait trap, he insisted he wanted to use the lure, so that's what he did, and didn't catch a single fish. He didn't seem to mind though, he kept casting it out, and reeling it back in... 
JR spent lots of time learning to row his new fiberglass boat which we called "littlittldo" -pronounced "little it'll do". Our big boat is "Itlldo" so somehow this name seemed fitting. Cap picked this boat up for something like $50.00 off of Craigslist, and brought it how about a month ago. It looked like it had outlived its purpose decades ago and had numerous "issues" among a rotted out transom. Cap however assured me it had potential and would be perfect JR pride and joy. After it was done and ready to put in the water, JR's first words were "where's the motor?" We told him that once he learns to row it properly, we'll talk about a small motor. He seems fine with that, and it appears to have motivated him because he did enjoy just practicing. First with Cap showing him how, and then by himself (with the boat tethered to the anchored dinghy on shore). It's fun to watch him learn these things, and Cap admits watching him try all these things for the first time is like reliving his life growing up on the South Shore. Another good deal of JR 's time was spent finding crabs. The child loves them. His favorites are horseshoe crabs, but he looks for all kinds. Over the course of the weekend he had found and "explored" 6 different kinds: horseshoe, green, spider, hermit, and a few others. He and Cap took long walks along the beach both days in search of the crustaceans while I (quite happily)stayed behind and did some reading, and kept the dog out of trouble. Since I read somewhere that there are something like 4,500 different types of crabs, I have a feeling by the end of summer, we'll know a whole lot about them, if JR has any say in the matter.
In between beach time, we did lot of reading, eating, model building, game playing, eating, puzzle making, and enjoyed some plain ol' quiet time. Oh, and did I mention eating? Yep, that is one thing we do well in the summer - eat. In fact Cap & I were talking about it. We figure we eat alot more in the summer, but then again, we eat alot healthier. I usually plan out the weekend menu well in advance, and always have lots of fresh fruit and veggies. More than we normally have - which is considerable. Oh yeah, and don't forget all the fresh seafood. Now that I'm thinking about it, I suppose both Cap & I will have to do the beach walks with JR - just to keep the weight down. Heck, it's all worth it...all things considered! If you're not sick of beach and boating pictures yet, more from our weekend can be found at our Picasa Web Album
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