Everyone loves a picnic...... especially should it take place near a waterfall , lakeside , beside a babbling brook or when possible....... by the sea !! Now I was born on the bank of a major New Brunswick river some 5 minutes upstream from the sea so outings in riparian settings were part and parcel of my early youth. In Summer my Mom would put up a lunch after Sunday Mass and we would drive down the Fundy Coast about twenty miles .... between Chance Harbour and Dipper Habour .....to a grouping of giant rocks with a small rocky beach which we lovingly referred to as McNulty Sands. We didn't bring along chairs as the multi-shaped bedrock with its grooves and plateaus provided all the sedintary backup we needed..... right down to the tabletop we spread our food out on. My Dad and I would gather up dry driftwood for suppertime when he would build a fire to boil water for their indispensable cup of tea. He would usually have a pint or two of Alpine ale also which he would stash away in the cold North Atlantic waters ......... to enhance the taste he said !!
More than often my Mom would simply sit there and read old newspapers , Reader's Digest or maybe even our parish paper , the New Freeman. Dad would roll up maybe ten cigarettes from his old can of ZigZag tobacco and then he and I would head out to the rocks near the outgoing tideline and cast for whatever was running that day..... smelt , flounder , tomacod ( harbour pollock ) , stray herring , etc .... might even go slumming to the bottom for eels.... just whiling away a pleasant afternoon !
So when I grew up and founded a family of my own this revered spot along the Fundy Coast became an annual highlight during our trip to visit Grampy and Grandmaman. McNulty Sands offered many more advantages and services than those I mentioned above . For example , in one of the pics above Kevin required immediate toilet facilities so I rolled three medium-sized rocks together forming a cavity where all three met... and BINGO ! ... a toilet is formed ! Should you desire seafood for supper you can always harvest enough periwinkles , whelks and mussels to feed a hungry knitting-club on the spot .... or walk around the point and dig clams in the muck , the mud and the sands of Little Lepreau Bay. And don't forget that huge garbage bag full of kelp we'd gather for garden fertilizer. God but I loved that haven !! We'll go back there again next Summer !!
Great family tradition, picnics on the beach!!! I miss those not living near the sea for so many years. My dad always had his little stove and kettle to make tea wherever we travelled - sea, river, forest, moor, the old cuppa was always welcome!!! Happy memories :0)
ReplyDeleteMy Dad always had the old Coleman stove along also with white gas in the trunk of the car but at the Sands outdoor fires on the beach were safe and the ashes went out with high tide. ..... the highest and most effective tides in the world . Glad to see you back and writing again , Chris. HUgs !
ReplyDeleteshades of "Keeping up Appearances".... :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL.... I was waiting for someone to allude to the word "riparian ".... thanks for dropping by !
ReplyDeleteI just read this interesting post & I sure could hear Mrs. Bucket (boo-kay) talking about a riparian meal she was planning. Not a word I had heard before or since ---- until now.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun those days must have been -- and still are. Thanks for sharing.
FYI
ReplyDeleteDefinition:[adj] of or relating to or located on the banks of a river or stream; "riparian land"
Thanks , Julie Ann... it also covers anything touched by tidal waters..... in passing the Latin word for riverbank or shore is "ripa ' !.... and yes , those were and still are great moments in my life. About five years ago I had an extremely interesting adventure just there. Fodder for a future blog maybe !!
ReplyDeleteVery nice post and lovely photos! =o) I too remember some very nice memories from childhood, when we took a basket with us to the sea or ocean. I always loved being near water. It's just something soothing with it.
ReplyDeleteIn NJ we had a law called Riparian Rights which deemed those shore lines to be the province of the State hence no one could build on them much less purchase them. Well, the real estate lawyers have ripped asunder that law so last I looked "they" could build and own within riparian areas but should their abode get blown down "we", the "other" citizens of that state were required to put up the money and make then "whole" again.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I'm surprised no one has put up a hotel on your little hide-away by the water. (c;
Most interesting law , Jim.... puts the burden ... as usual... on the people ! As for our little hide-away... well , it is really off the beaten track between Saint John and the US border..... almost no tourists for the moment , thanks be to heaven ! Very a propos comment ... have a great week , Jim ...
ReplyDeleteWe had a few special spots such as that around here too...the whole family used to come along we hiked up the 40 acre rock and under the canopy of the oak hickory forest was a babbling stream. We always took a picnic and in the small pools of water that formed on the rocks lived some rare plants and amebia's.!! Checking out that water under the microscope when we got home was always fun for my son...oh I but I miss those times~
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