Deep Sea Fishing with Uncle Kevin

At the end of Pratt Camp Ian and I went out with Uncle Kevin on his fishing boat, on the hunt for some tasty Codfish.  I ended up registering for a salt-water fishing permit ($1) which covers me within 5 miles of the shoreline or something like that, but Kevin said we'd be farther out that that.  We went out to the West Cod Ledge.
View West Cod Ledge, 2012 in a larger map

The Captain and his First Mate.

You should have heard Ian giggling the whole way out!

I don't normally see the Portland Head Light from this vantage point!  It was neat!

Ram Island Light.

Getting down to business.

Getting lessons.

Mild course-correction.  "Watch those buoys.  That's where our fish are."

Once we reached there, the heave of the water started to get to me.  I left the fishing up to the professionals.

Ian danced the line for the bottom-feeders.

Literally a minute later, he had a bite!

He did quite a bit of the reeling in, but found it a bit tiring.

Look at that little cod!  We're in the right place!

Kevin thought it a bit small, so we threw him back.  (Little did we know he'd be the only cod that morning, and the rest weren't good for eating.)

Yeah.  So.  Um, the reason the next picture is from heading back in is because I couldn't keep my wits about me, and I got a bit seasick.  Yeah, it's true, but next time I'm taking Dramamine!

Isn't she beautiful?

Ian said he didn't feel very well either.  I thought he was sleeping, but he promises he "just had his eyes closed".  Riiiight.

The calm of Casco Bay.

Our Captain had nav charts, a GPS, a fish-finder, the works.  Fun to be at sea!

Kevin, Ian, and cousin Troy (Terena's son).

Kevin, Ian, and Joe.

Swabbing the deck.

 The next round of adventure was going up to watch the tuna boat haul in its catch.  Amazing.  They were holding a tuna tournament, and were going strong.  We watched them weigh in two fish, 248 lb, 78", and 299, 81".  Amazing.  Those are going to bring some good $$$ to the fishermen at sushi prices!

Ian's classic adventurous look.

Fish #1 on the crane.

Isn't she a beauty?

I should have had Ian take his shirt off.

They only take the fish off the ice once they buyer has arrived, then they put it straight into the shipping truck, on ice.  If it's high quality, it'll go straight to the airport to fly to Japan.  If it's okay, it'll stay in the US and go to New York or stay locally.

After weighing, measuring, and gloating, the buyer cuts off the head/tail/fins to leave a nice chub of tuna to take away.  The fisherman kept the head and tail.  As prizes?  To scavenge a bit of meat?  I can only assume.  A small sample was taken for testing at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.  Finding his cousins, no doubt.  Tough way to keep your genealogy.

Here's number two.  Note that when they pack it on ice, they  first cut out the organs and stuff the cavern with ice.  I guess that helps keep the fish fresher for longer.

The real crew.

The fake crew.  And yet, it was AMAZING to see such a huge fish, caught by rod and reel, and hauled into the boat BY HAND.  (To meet tournament spec, of course).  The state record for Bluefin is like 819 lb, and if anyone beats that record, they win the grand price of $50,000.  Otherwise, you settle for a paltry $6,250 and the price of the fish at like $30 a pound.

July 4th overview.

Ian's first Pony Ride on the Burlington town common.  He had on the right hat for the job.  Blake had a horse his size ready to carry him, but he refused to sit on the poor creature.

Much to Blake's chagrin, Ian also got to ride the train.  Blake got shortchanged due to age.

We went to see the lightning show at Wakefield.   It was awesome.  The fireworks were pretty good too.  Ian thought "they were spectacular"  (he learned some fireworks terminology by watching How It's Made), but Blake just scrunched his eyes closed.

Sometimes it's just tough to be two, isn't it?  We still had a great day.


Not my video, but glad someone put it on YouTube.  This was how much of the fireworks show went.

 Neat, huh?

Here's some stills extracted, for your pleasure, from around the 28 second mark.

And here's one of the finale.

I wonder if the lightning contributed to this preferred fireworks watching posture?  (Blake kept his eyes firmly closed... not asleep, though.)

Yeah, we lucked out that we were on our way to the car before the precipitation really started coming down.

Tooth #3!

Do you remember the feeling of sticking your tongue through the new gap in your teeth?  Well, Ian is forming those memories this week.  Again.  For the third time.  I (Dad) helped break loose the roots, then Ian did the last tug to remove the tooth from his mouth.

In our family, the Tooth Fairy seems to leave a little note for Ian.  This time, Ian wanted to leave a note for the Tooth Fairy, also.

Quarter #3, Baby!  He's pretty awesome.  Love that boy!

Give a boy a blueberry...

And he'll make a picnic of it!

Yes, they are berry lovers.

They face the task with much seriousness.

And roll the flavors through their mouths very patiently.

School's out for summer!

Well, today I sent my little boy to kindergarten....but when I picked him up, he was magically a first-grader. (Did I do a little happy dance when I saw that he was assigned to the first grade teacher I was hoping for? Maybe.)

Teacher gifts were brought in,

Sidewalks were decorated (thanks, Meghan!),

Moms were indulged at dismissal time,

Brothers and neighbors were happy to be together.

One of the major bonuses of living in a duplex is our neighbors. When we moved in, Jacob was 22 months old, and his sister, Catherine, was just a twinkle in her mom's eye. Fast-forward to today and Jacob is heading to second grade in the fall and one of our very favorite friends. 

We have loved Ian's elementary school--it's one of the last, true neighborhood schools where the principal knows each child's name by October. Make no mistake--we are thrilled for the summer to be here, but come September, we'll be excited for our next first grade adventure.

Joe's Other Favorites.

I thought I'd like to give a perspective too... even though a bit redundant.

Heidi was absolutely indispensable in helping our boys have a good time on the trip. 

I like how Blake's form of peak-a-boo is any time we don't have eye contact, we just have to regain the connection!

This wonderful woman was VERY happy to have a sentimental meal.  Unfortunate that the recipe is just not quite how she remembers it.

My boys join me at a reverent place.   Not fully acting reverent, but someday we'll talk to them more about this place.

The two treasured passengers.  Heidi and Nat get to do some very neat things together, don't they?

Blake found a cozy spot in Grammy's bed.  "Nammy.  Bed."

Catching a peak at his Auntie, no doubt.

The budding botanist.

The prospering patriot.

The cuddling cohorts.

The determined docent.

The fatigued and the friendly.

The tickled tourist on a significant staircase.

An original origination document.

My fantastic family members.