Food from the Sea

Seafood. Straight from the ocean. Nothing tastes so divine.

Family vacation to the north shore is more than laying on the beach and the four of us being impatient with each other, nonstop. We had our special moments involving Hannah losing her breakfast over the side of the boat, Leah being told repeatedly to “just go with the flow,” Dad holding onto the railing for his dear life, and Mom cussing uncontrollably as she climbed a steep ladder.

Food, as usual, was the focus of our time spent together. Fortunately the young man living downstairs was a friendly fisherman.

So, we ate sushi grade tuna, freshly delivered to our doorstep  lobsters, corn on

the cob, french fries and onion rings from the famous Woodman’s restaurant.

During our fishing trip, we happened upon a playful humpback whale who gave us quite a show. Safety was little concern as we sat in a 20 foot boat, watching a 50 foot whale, 20 miles out at sea, for 20 minutes. Note which number is the largest in the previous sentence.

The radio and fire extinguisher were the only elements of security within reach, but I was distracted by the once in a lifetime show and focusing on holding onto my breakfast (which I couldn’t).

We docked in the harbor after throwing back a sand shark, sea robin, and sun fish. We used all our bait in the process of trying to catch tuna and pollock. My family and I did not prove to be the best harvesters of the sea as I couldn’t sit in a rocking boat, Dad was impatient with the pollock, Mom would rather eat her avocado and cheese sandwich, and Leah couldn’t figure out how to reel in the line. So, we relied on the pros to supply our love for seafood. We sure appreciate our fishermen now!

I’m proud that my family spent time during their vacation to learn about where our food comes from and how it gets to our plates. The fishermen we met were sincere and proud of their work. Watching my Dad interact with the lobsterman and his son who delivered our four soft shelled 1.5 pounders gives me hope. Along with transparency in farming and building relationships with the people who grow our food, we must not forget the food we harvest from the sea. By trusting this young man to take us out on his boat, we are encouraging young people to follow their own paths even if they don’t come from a “fishing” or “farming family.”

Now, shall we admire our bounties the fishermen provided for us from the ocean, the corn that farmers grew on the land, and…well, the chef’s deep fried goodies we couldn’t finish the night before?