Last weekend we went to Fairlee Creek for a clam bake and bonfire. The weather forecast was rainy and 60 degrees but we have some diehard boating friends and 5 boats made it out for the festivities.
I had never been to a beach clam bake before so I was really excited to see how this was all going to work. It's really easy and I highly recommend you try it if you like seafood.
First dig a pit in the sand. It only needs to be about 8 inches deep.
Next, fill the pit with charcoal and light it. Give the charcoal some time to fully heat up.
Once the charcoal is ready, put some water in the pots and let the water heat up. I was really surprised by how quickly the water boiled sitting out in the open, especially since last weekend was so cold. The two end pots have only a few inches of water to steam the potatoes and corn. The middle pot was about half full of water. We used that pot for the shrimp, clams, and mussels. Adding old bay to the water is a great way to season the shrimp.
You can make life easier by putting the clams, mussels, and
shrimp in netting bags. You can do this while you wait for the water to heat up.
The potatoes and corn take the longest to cook. Put them in the pots first. They should be ready in about 30 minutes. The shrimp, mussels, and clams take only about 10 minutes to cook. You'll know
the shellfish are ready when they crack open.
I was a little late to the game getting a photo of the results. Honestly, it all smelled so good that I dug in before thinking about the camera. I did get a picture of the remnants of the seafood. Can't wait to do this again!
While at the festival we saw an unexpected reminder of the fact that we were missing the boat show. We only miss the show for really good reasons - like weddings. In total, I believe we've been to 9 of the last 11 shows.
We found a really interesting boat while touring around Newport. I had to take a photo from a bridge and wish we could have gotten closer. Is it a sailboat with the mast removed?
I'd like to add Newport to my list of places to live on a boat but think I will have improve my boating skills. Can you imagine navigating between these rocks to get to your mooring ball? Granted, it was a very windy day, and there are also marinas which I assume are easier to navigate, but the Newport boaters must be really comfortable with their boats.
Being slightly off season, we were able to dock right at the fuel dock. We were also the early birds so we had our pick of barstools in the shack with TVs. 
Red Eye's is hardly known for their cuisine and unfortunately some of the meals with lacking - steak covered in hot sauce is not the best preparation for a surf and turf plate. But the drinks were good and some of our crew participated in their own personal cornhole tournament.
And the local wildlife is friendly enough to eat right out of your hand.
I think we need to put Red Eye's into our general rotation.
