Annual Clam Bake

This past weekend Almost Home organized an annual clam bake at Fairlee Creek. Doug and I left Friday evening in order to make the most of our (potentially last) weekend on the water. There was much discussion about how we all love the many seasons of Fairlee Creek. There's the wild and crazy summer days and nights. Those are the days when anything can happen - bathing suits may come off, bands will play, and boats may collide. This weekend was the other side of Fairlee. This was the quiet, restful, and natural side of Fairlee. (Okay, okay, when bathing suits come off that is also "natural" or should I say "au natural.")

This is the time of year when you can easily get an anchorage spot at the beach. Check out the first image on this post to see how busy the beach can get during the summer. Since we were the first to arrive, we set both a bow and stern anchor. Hint: Use the stern anchor line as a tow rope for pulling the dinghy back and forth to shore.

The beach was clean and ready for us:

Friends were anchored in another part of the creek and we were able to visit with them for awhile. Then we had the pleasant surprise of friends we hadn't seen in a while.

Don't you love how their son gets to ride in the dinghy as it's being lowered into the water?

We built a bonfire for the five of us and spend the evening catching up on the summer's stories.


Doesn't this look like a perfect way to spend an evening?

The next morning, we scoured the beach for more driftwood. It was a cool morning and it felt more like a fall beach day in New England. I'm sure there have been a few bonfires already this year because the beach was picked through:

But, you never know what sort of "treasures" you may find along the way:

We were successful in starting a good pile:

And then we put the kids to work once they arrived:

The kids also built their own mini-bonfire. They built it in a clearing that wasn't visible from the "adult bonfire." Obviously, that wasn't safe (and a little too "Lord of the Flies"), so the parents made them move it to another part of the beach.

We had six boats and a yummy feast. If you are interested in how a clam bake works, check out my post from last year.

On a final note, who says the water around Baltimore is dead? Just look at what happens to a ladder left in the water around the marina: