I am not cut out to be a fisher-woman

The sun is just about to rise... and several

lines of traps have already been hauled up and emptied, rebaited, and reset

This morning i got up before dawn to join greg conching (conking). i just watched and asked a million questions. i am not cut out to be a fisherman.

the conch pots (wooden cages) weigh like 65lbs and are baited with horseshoe crab parts and skate bits that smell very pungent. the traps are strung together 10 or so at a time and Greg has 15 lines of them.

he trapped a lot of conch (really channeled whelks) and some super big ones. small ones, sea stars, sea bass got thrown back- crabs got smashed as extra bait.

Greg took a photo of me during one of my naps :)

at 630am i was starving (just as Greg predicted) and over the entirety of the trip i ate every snack in my bag including some very old pretzels from previous hiking trips. i also took a few naps bc i am not up to snuff. greg took a photo of me in my spot on the cooler that i'll post soon.

The funniest thing was the giant fish Greg hooked. It was swimming upside down on the surface and Greg said it had air in its belly. Turned out it was choking on a giant fish it had tried to eat. Sorry sucker! Because now you are dinner for us!

totally zoom in on the lighthouse
to see the outhouse perched
outside of it :)

I learned a lot and enjoyed a day on the water... but it wore me out (that and staying up late to work on papers). i napped like a champ for 4 hours this afternoon.

While I was gone Aaron cracked the whip and worked on several assignments that he needed to finish up for his summer class. I am sure he enjoyed time with me out of his hair so he could get some quality work finished. 

going through the shallows trying to beat Greg's uncle in

Sandra and Greg took us out for pierogis at Patti's Pierogis nearby in Massachusetts. We met a whole crowd of their friends and basically took over the whole right side of the restaurant. Aaron ordered polish plate #1 that came with all these odd but tasty things that I have never heard of that he has fond childhood memories for. He got a cheese, a potato, and a cabbage pierogi. Greg, Sandra, and I ordered off the interesting part of the menu and it was a tough choice. I ordered the Bada Bing (pierogis stuffed with italian sausage and peppers); Greg ordered the Buffalogies (spicy chicken and blue cheese); and Sandra ordered something with a funny name that I cannot exactly remember with Hoggies in it because hers were stuffed with BBQ pork. They were all good and many more were on the menu. They even had a whole list of dessert pierogis that none of tried because we were all stuffed.

Afterwards we headed to a bar with a hilarious name that escapes me - the Slippery Seagull maybe? The atmosphere was good and the quality of the band decreased as time passed. People watching was excellent however so Aaron and I were amused.

After a late night drive thru stop for a vanilla milkshake and some greasy snacks it was bedtime for everyone.