You do have a gift for writing...I hope you'll continue to share your experiences of the Coast and just stories of growing up....without a cell phone and a computer!
Yes, I had a great time growing up by the water. We'd go soft shelling at 11 PM when the tide went out, and walk for hours picking up the shedding crabs. My dad had a kerosene Coleman lantern that I was afraid of, but it sure threw the light. I only had to clean crabs once.... My dad thought I should learn and I cried so hard when I had to "kill' them, that he let me off that life experience.
I sailed a lot with friends at the local Yacht Club in early teens. My parents weren't that 'socially connected', but there was a junior sailing program. To get in, you had to "interview" with the caretakers of the Club....an old couple who didn't take any stuff off anyone's kids and would throw them out for misbehaving. All summer, practically every day, I'd be with my friends sailing....or crewing for the adults (mostly as dead weight). A few times, we'd get someone to sail us to Deer Island, right off the Coast, and swim back to the Club. It wasn't very far, believe me.
