Hisham’s reminiscing has prompted me to finally take action – all this summer I have been procrastinating making some family related entries. Vin’s family had several family-related occasions and I have been meaning to blog them. Rather than doing them in chronological order, I am going to organize it a little differently. In early August, Vin and I traveled to Maryland first to Bel Aire to visit with Aunt Joan and Uncle John, then to Crisfield to visit with Aunt Dolores and Uncle Dean. Our visit with Aunt Joan and Uncle John was short and amounted to a quick lunch with them, but stay tuned, there will be more on them in upcoming entries.
In Crisfield, Dean took Vin and I fishing. For the second year in a row, I went fishing with Dean and Vin, and guess what? For the second year in a row, the girl beat the guys hands down on fish fished! In the immortal words of Nelson (from the Simpsons), “eh-heeeeeh.”
Anyway, if you are a bit squeamish, better not read on. The fish pictures may be a tad graphic…
Here’s me, right off the bat, catching 2 (yes, folks, TWO fish at once on my double hooked fishing line)!!! Watch and cry, fishing enthusiasts! I don’t even really care about fishing! And they were both keepers! That’s Dean holding the line for me so Vin can take the picture.
[[image:fishing1.jpg:2 in one blow!:center:0]]
Here’s another angle of me with my 2 fish – ok, so I am gloating and excited at this point…
[[image:fishing2.jpg:2 Fish, anybody???:center:0]]
Here’s Vin, celebrating the fact that he FINALLY caught a fish (in the last 15 minutes we were out in the Chesapeake Bay in Dean’s boat), and it was a keeper. By this time, I had caught 3 keeper croakers, 1 small croaker that we threw back, 1 oyster croaker that was small and we threw back, jellyfish and like 5 crabs, all of which we threw back in. I think I have this right – I’m sure Vin will correct me if I overstated my fishing success!
[[image:fishing3.jpg:V is for Victorious Vin the Fisherman!:center:0]]
We’re headed back home now with our load of keeper croakers (Dean caught a couple of keepers, I think):
[[image:fishing4.jpg:The wake from Dean’s boat:center:0]]
Dean’s driving and Vin’s still happy about his catch:
[[image:fishing5.jpg:Vin and Dean on the boat:center:0]]
Random seagull:
[[image:fishing6.jpg:Hah! I am the real fishing expert! claims Mr. Seagull:center:0]]
Fish about to be cleaned, and Dean’s special electric knife:
[[image:fishing7.jpg:Fish about to be gutted:center:0]]
Here’s Dean in action, expertly cleaning the fish:
[[image:fishing8.jpg:Cleaning the fish:center:0]]
Boneless filets, ready to be eaten:
[[image:fishing9.jpg:How fresh does this look??:center:0]]
Finally, seagulls diving into the water to eat the excess that Dean through into the water for them while cleaning the fish:
[[image:fishing10.jpg:Seagull Action Shot:center:0]]
At any rate, Vin and I both had a fun time fishing and the entire visit with Dolores and Dean was quiet, peaceful, and a welcome respite from my usual crazy work day schedule. Stay tuned for Maryland – Part II where instead of fish, maryland blue crab will be the star of the show.
