Clambake Saturday On Lake Erie's Shores

Siblings

7:49

It's 7:20 and overcast, as I look out the window of my sister's family room at Lake Erie, a gray vastness that seems to never end compared to a closed Chautauqua Lake.  It's a muggy 68º and we should have rain much of the day if not the next few days.  

Yesterday was another fun day, a traditional day actually, as our family has been having clambakes since we were kids growing up in the 1950s.  And my sister and her husband Rich have followed that tradition and have had fall clambakes since the early 1980s at their home on Lake Erie.  So yesterday morning for us was the usual kayaking and blog but then getting ready to drive to Euclid for the bake.  I did stop at the Transfer Station to get rid of trash and picked up 30 ears of corn for the bake.  We left at noon and Evie had made Mrs. Snavely's coffee cake, a family recipe for our breakfast this morning.  We stopped for gas at Love's and I had lunch, a chicken sandwich from Mc Donalds.

Clambake Master

A Yard With A View

A Bake For Thirty

We were the first to arrive at 2:30 although the sons and grandsons had been over earlier to help set up everything, the tables for thirty, the bake, the coolers with drinks, all that sort of stuff.  Like Evie, my sister Linda is a great gardener and her backyard is filled with flowers as it overlooks the lake, a perfect setting for a clambake. We sat out on their porch and talked until it was time to light the fire and get the water boiling before adding all the goodies, the clams, sweet potatoes, and chicken. My sister had everything ready so it was easy to get started. By 4:30, everyone had arrived.  This year it was children, grandchildren, the boy's girlfriends, and a few family friends. Three of the boys came home from college just for the bake. 

Antipasto

Shucking Grandsons

Great Granddaughter Molly

Dayton Grandson Vince And Girl Friend

O, Yea, Lobsters

The Coming Of Dusk

My nephew Pat, also a great cook, brought an antipasto, a huge board of goodies and we all sat around watching the bake, eating appetizers, and drinking beer.  Some played bean bag, others just relaxed and enjoyed the view.  It was fun for us because we had not seen many of the grandkids for a year because of Covid.  Around 5:45, the lobsters and corn were added to the bake as everyone enjoyed a cup of clam chowder or clam broth, sure to burn the roof of your mouth if you were not careful.

New Grandpa And Molly

Bean Baggers

Grandpa, Son In Law, And Molly

Grandpa And JP, A Senior At Miami

Clambake Dinner

Four of us made a mess of the kitchen as we had a heck of a time cracking open the lobsters and pulling out the meat for serving.  Once that was done, everyone loaded up their plates with grilled chicken, corn, and sweet potatoes, they went over to the bake to get their bag of clams.  Everything was great, of course, the clams tender and tasty, as was the chicken.  The corn was the best we have had in a while and a taste or two of lobster set it all off. My niece Kirsten always makes cheesecake for dessert and we also had a birthday cake because it was the birthday of my sister's oldest granddaughter, Claire, who is also a new mother. So everyone got to hold two-month-old Molly and get their baby fix.  It was fun catching up with the lives of everyone and we have made dates to see two granddaughters play college volleyball this month, one at Allegheny College, the other in Binghamton.  

Nephew Kevin And Son and Girl Friend, Wooster College Grads

Ice Hockey Fans

Around 8:00, it started to drizzle so everyone helped bring everything in and the buys broke down the tables.  We then realized that one grandson, Colin, who is spending a gap year playing hockey for a team in British Columbia, was on Hockey TV so many of us sat around and watched him play goalie as his team won 5-2., the miracle of modern communication. When everyone left, the four of us had the traditional highball, a paean to my parents, as we talked about the day and our wonderful families, the end to another great day. 

Sunday Breakfast With Brother In Law Rich

Sunday Morning At 10:35