Favorite Summer Memories

[FL Tink]

Well, As you know today is the first day of summer!
Growing up on the Gulf of Mexico, we spent our summers layin on the beach, fishing and eating great seafood. We walked 2 blocks to the beach everyday during the summer and baked ourselves with a mix of baby oil and iodine. OK who else did this? We would walk home EVERYday with NO shoes...jumpin from the hot asphalt to the grass with sand burrs back to the asphalt until we just couldnt stand it any more. Never occurred to us to wear shoes~

My mom had the hookup for fresh shrimp. We would get a call early afternoon after the shrimp boats were in and we would go pick up the best fresh gulf shrimp or oysters or crabs(depending on the month).
Cheap too. 30 count shrimp for 3 buck a pound those were the days I am tellin ya.
My mom made the BEST shrimp, crab creole gumbo.
For those of you who dont know...Creole gumbo is made with OKRA (yep said it outloud) and tomatoes...and cajun is made or surved with file' (a powdered spice made with sassafrass leaves) it is pronounced "fee lay"

So to celebrate the first day of summer, I have been cooking this gumbo all day!

Also all I have been signing the jambalaya song...which is totally burned into my brain.
Although it was first made popular by Hank Wms, I have never been a huge fan of his..but couldnt find a good video of a cajun band

YouTube - JAMBALAYA

Would love to hear of your favorite childhood summer memories!!

[FL Tink]

Here are some pics of the shrimp boats. They look so complicated. OH it really makes me miss home

[Nikki+2]

I'm from the east coast but out childhoods sound similar. I lived at the beach too and yep- many barefoot walks to and from the beach. I remember the very beginning of the summer was the "breaking in" time where your feet would burn up. Lordy we sure weren't worried about nice soft feet back then- we wanted them toughened up. I also lived right next to Mayport which is a fishing village. All the fresh shrimp you could ever want. Yum! I've heard the baby oil/ iodine combo but we used Hawaiian Tropic oil- no SPF of course.

[FL Tink]

Originally Posted by Nikki+2

I'm from the east coast but out childhoods sound similar. I lived at the beach too and yep- many barefoot walks to and from the beach. I remember the very beginning of the summer was the "breaking in" time where your feet would burn up. Lordy we sure weren't worried about nice soft feet back then- we wanted them toughened up. I also lived right next to Mayport which is a fishing village. All the fresh shrimp you could ever want. Yum! I've heard the baby oil/ iodine combo but we used Hawaiian Tropic oil- no SPF of course.

Yep..we prided ourselves on having such tough feet that we walk on anything by the end of the summer..lol
Now I cant wait for my spa pedicures!

[chattiesmom]

I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. I am a good bit younger than you are.... when we got our fresh shrimp straight off the boats it was $.50 per lb. for jumbo. I not so fondly remember that they were still alive and I had to help dehead and shell them for the freezer. To this day I do not like shrimp.

We always went tent camping in the Ocala National Forest at a place called Alexander Springs. I remember snorkling and coming face to face with aligator gars, canoeing, seeing the monkeys that had escaped from the filming of the Tarzan movies and feeding Pete, the alligator, marshmallows.

Alexander Springs

[FL Tink]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. I am a good bit younger than you are.... when we got our fresh shrimp straight off the boats it was $.50 per lb. for jumbo. I not so fondly remember that they were still alive and I had to help dehead and shell them for the freezer. To this day I do not like shrimp.

We always went tent camping in the Ocala National Forest at a place called Alexander Springs. I remember snorkling and coming face to face with aligator gars, canoeing, seeing the monkeys that had escaped from the filming of the Tarzan movies and feeding Pete, the alligator, marshmallows.

Alexander Springs

I have been there! it is so beautiful. I never knew about the monkeys and the Tarzan movies..that is wild. did you see any manatee??

[Nikki+2]

Originally Posted by chattiesmom

I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. I am a good bit younger than you are.... when we got our fresh shrimp straight off the boats it was $.50 per lb. for jumbo. I not so fondly remember that they were still alive and I had to help dehead and shell them for the freezer. To this day I do not like shrimp.

We always went tent camping in the Ocala National Forest at a place called Alexander Springs. I remember snorkling and coming face to face with aligator gars, canoeing, seeing the monkeys that had escaped from the filming of the Tarzan movies and feeding Pete, the alligator, marshmallows.

Alexander Springs

That is where I'm from! You were getting that yummy Mayport shrimp too! My husband grew up in Arlington (also where my grandparents lived) and I lived in Atlantic Beach and then Neptune Beach. I graduated from Fletcher and hubby from Terry Parker. Were you anywhere nearby?

[Nikki+2]

Originally Posted by FL Tink

Yep..we prided ourselves on having such tough feet that we walk on anything by the end of the summer..lol
Now I cant wait for my spa pedicures!

I know it is so funny. I live in flip flops so I'm constantly having to baby my feet to keep them presentable but back then we thought if you couldn't cross A1A barefoot you must be a "towny". So funny!

[jp4m2]

Ooohhhhh, your stories sound like heaven!!....I miss the running and playing tag in the corn fields...trying to swing up and touch the tree branches with our feet on a old tire swing, when we'd get off we'd have a black rear end!......swimming in the creek and catching crayfish.......I once wore rubber boots to the creek and scooped up a lot of tad poles in it, I don't know why , maybe I didn't want to walk home barefoot, but I put my boot back on reeeally slow so I could get my catch home safely, well they where not moving when I emptied my boot out at home ......Sitting by a fire toasting marshmallows.......

alright! alright!...I gotta stop it sounds like I was living in Mayberry...lol

[paulapoo]

We had a pool growing up, and being so close to indianapolis, we had a big race party every year. I remember setting up a little stand down by the road to sell the veggies that we grew. We lived way out in the country. I remember catching crawdad's in the creek, lightening bugs, fresh veggies, dark tanned skin and bleached out hair, softball games and "stawberries" on our legs from sliding into base. We lived near a drive in and could see it from out back yard, we always tried to figure out what the words were. The soothing melody of the cicada's. I remember the sound of our pantry door slamming, and summer jammies after a bath. Wonderful memories.

[chattiesmom]

Originally Posted by Nikki+2

That is where I'm from! You were getting that yummy Mayport shrimp too! My husband grew up in Arlington (also where my grandparents lived) and I lived in Atlantic Beach and then Neptune Beach. I graduated from Fletcher and hubby from Terry Parker. Were you anywhere nearby?

WOW! What a small world. I grew up in a subdivision just behind Mayfair village which was right between Atlantic and Beach Blvds. right where they separated! We were just down the street from Arlington. I graduated from Wolfson.

[chattiesmom]

Originally Posted by FL Tink

I have been there! it is so beautiful. I never knew about the monkeys and the Tarzan movies..that is wild. did you see any manatee??

We took several canoe trips down the spring run -- when you got about 10 - 15 miles down it was really wild - that's where they filmed the original Tarzan movies with Johnny Wiesmiller. Monkey's escaped and formed wild colonies. I remember canoeing and seeing alligators that were as long as the canoe. Seeing them slither off the banks of the spring run and swimming in the water. It was awesome and very scary!

[red98vett]

Originally Posted by FL Tink

Here are some pics of the shrimp boats. They look so complicated. OH it really makes me miss home

oh man - I've been replaying summers in my head all day - my parents are leaving in for the Rhode Island beach I grew up on next Tuesday for 2 months & them leaving has me reliving my summers there - I want to go with them so bad

What a coincidence you posted this.....I've been remembering all the things we used to do back & I did the same thing with the Iodine and Baby Oil - right up to a few years ago BAD ME !! ...

then there was all the times my husband and I would go to Galveston, Feeport or Rockport here in TX, (before we got the girls) - he loved to fish and I LOVE the beach (but Texas beaches kind of suck)

I miss the good old days.

[mypreciouspups]

Oh my hubby is from the east coast of Canada.. and he would appreciate this thead.. he was on the fishing boats and went from there to join the military.. again that was when he was getting all seafood pretty darn cheap if not free... today he will not pay the big prices for it.. I enjoyed your thread..

anne

[MeganS]

Oooh boy...this is gonna be longggggggggggggg.

Seeing as I'm from Jersey, most of my favorite Summer memories have been down the shore. Days on the beach, BBQs on the beach, going down the shore for a week every year (and renting the same house every year - just off the beach). I LOVE the ocean so much it's incredible.

Also, down the shore, my best friend, Jess, has been coming with me for 2 years. It was a new thing, I don't even remember how I got around to inviting her cause it's always been just a family thing. But now we have this thing where one day out of the week, Jess and I will go to the street in Lavalette where all the little shops are, and we'll go in and out of shops, then go to Subway for lunch followed by Baskin Robins. It's so much fun.

And also, my brother and I are BIG TIME crabbers. We don't eat the crabs, but we've been crabbing forever. My cousin Donna and her hubby Ed (Ed is like our cousin cause he's been in the family since I was like 3) have been taking us crabbing since we were really little. A few years back, Kevin and I got our own cages and now we go very often in the summer - and when we're down there for the week we go every day.

My old friend Keelen had grape vines in her backyard, and we'd spend hours eating the grapes right off of the vine. There was nothing like it. I miss her so much - she and her mom moved about 3 years ago because her father was abusive, they didn't tell anyone, just up and left.

Walking around my old town for all hours of the night was fun too. I have 2 really good friends - they're my "fristers" - and those are Jess and our other friend Emily. My old town was VERY small (about 1 sq. mile with a couple thousand people) and very safe, so we'd be out until late at night just walking around and talking. Those were the best - so simple yet so...fun.

Lightening bugs!! My brother and I used to catch them and put them in the grill to save them haha. Tonight we had the missionaries from our church over (I'm LDS, and in my church men serve a mission for 2 years when they turn 19 *and women have the option of serving when they turn 21*). Well there is one Elder who I just love. We had them over tonight - they're both from Utah and they have never seen lightening bugs. So we were eating dinner and the one Elder who I love (though I love both of them, this guy is just really special) was standing at the door and he sees lights and he was like "Are those those fire ball light up bugs?" My brother and I started cracking up and we ended up outside with 2 19 year old guys catching lightening bugs. This thread came at the perfect time because I was JUST thinking about how much I loved catching lightening bugs when I was younger.

My old neighbor and I used to have camp outs...one time we slept on the trampoline all night, another night on her porch.

I loved playing with the dogs in the summer. Especially Rusty. He'd get outside baths in the summer and that resulted in a wet dog and wet Megan! and he LOVED to eat those wishing flower things. There was a giant field (part of a park) by our house that had a lot of those wishing flowers just when summer was starting, so Rusty and I would go to the park and he'd run around eating the flowers.

4th of July is the best!! My old town has a HUGEEEEEEE parade every year. Followed by fire works at night. I kid you not, in a town with about 7000 people, there are EASILY 20,000 that come out for the 4th of July.