Well it is the second year in a row we could celebrate July 4th on Washington Island, WI with friends and family...what a blessing! We are usually home due to an annual Eglsaer July 4th picnic as Dave's family has three generations of family members that were born on the 4th!!But the last two years we hosted the picnic on the island. Only two brothers of Dave's and my brother could come , but we had 8 in all ,so a nice group to spend time together.
We flew up on Thursday as the weather was predicted to get too windy on Friday.
We got there in time to fish for salmon at sunset with our friend Mike and his guest Lloyd.
We caught two nice sized ones and Dave decided to clean and smoke them. He is getting really good at this so he cleaned them Friday a.m. and soaked them in brine for 12 hrs then smoked them in our little smoker for 7 hrs on Saturday. It almost tastes like baked ham now?! Later Friday morning we decided to go fishing for Bass with our friend Mike. He and his friend Lloyd came up to the island Wed. for the first day of Bass season and caught nearly 50 fish (although they could only keep 5 each- the limit) !! They were really biting in Detroit harbor as spawning there but many are too small or get off the hook. They have to be at least 12 inches to keep.On Friday they were not biting as much but we had lots of fun catching and releasing the little ones- but no 12 " keepers :( in the two hrs we fished).
On Friday night we decided to do a Bass deep fry with our fish boil outdoor cooker. It turned out great- oh so yummy! I peeled and cut up 4 lg baking potatoes for fries and we cooked the 10 bass fillets which were from Mike and Lloyd's wed fishing. Dave called a friend that deep fries fish and got his breading recipe..it is just equal parts of Aunt Jemima pancake mix( dry) and plain bread crumbs. We decided to cook the potatoes first as they would take longer than the fish. We did two batches of fries and two of fish. I just patted the dry mixture on the fish and in the fryer they went for just a few minutes, then laid them on paper towels to remove any excess oil and yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!It turned out great. Dave and I might just have to start Bass fishing as they were tastyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.I guess the season goes well into Fall so we just might try it ourselves!
Later Friday evening my brother Gary arrived with his friend Jenny arrived. We went for a beer at a local tap so Gary could see a few of his island friends. Gary has been coming up to Washington island for over 35yrs. He first organized a Milwaukee Sitzmark Ski Club camping weekend over Labor Day or the July 4th in the 70's and later owned a business on the island for a few years in the 80's, so he knows alot of people there.
On Saturday morning Dave's brothers John and Paul and their wives Holy and Rae arrived. We grilled out a nice lunch, played yard games like Bag-0, Croquet, and Boccie ball and got some nice sun. Later in the afternoon Dave's brothers and wives went salmon fishing with Dave and Gary, Jenny and I poked around the island( as we had fished togetehr Memorial weekend). We went to the American Legion fish boil to chat with people again( Gary ate too), drove down to the ferry dock and then to Jackson Harbor where Dave had put the boat in to fish. We also walked around a newly restored historically redone fisherman's house and ice shed that has alot of the ice industry tools(when islanders cut blocks of ice and made ice shavings from Lake Michigan frozen water to sell for refrigeration and fish packing- shipping).Then we stopped a a fairly new little pub and restaurant located next to the farm museum property, where this weekend the Pilgrim re-enactors were present to entertain all who came. This cute pub decorated in Christmas lights, all types of comfortable chairs and seating areas and an old rowboat for a bar, serves local and imported beers, wines and snacks( even sushi on Fri nights). They specialize in having open jam sessions with island and visiting musicians and we happened in on some of the the pilgrim re-enactors that were playing instruments and singing as well as a few local musicians. My brother and I ordered English Sparkling Cider while Jenny sipped her nice warm hot chocolate while listening to this small but lively group of musicians entertain the eager listeners. Later we all met back at the house to enjoy some chicken and corn on the grill, a birthday cookie cake for brother Paul's birthday and a nice campfire in our backyard fire pit . A lovely day all in all!!
Sunday morning most of us got up early to take the traditional photos with the fishermen and the two Salmon they caught (nice 11#'s each ) and then Dave cleaned and packaged the fish for them to take home. By mid-morning Dave's two brothers left for the ferry and to drive back to Milwaukee and Madison, as some had to work on Monday. Then Gary, Jenny , Dave and I headed off to church. It was quite a patriotic service, singing lots of traditional songs about America by the choir, and guest musicians as well as hymns sung by all. The pastor spoke of
the need to be proud of our heritage but to forge forward to make America less about greed and more about faith and people. It was a good time to hear this message altho a bit political in church for some I suppose. After lunch we grilled out again and then just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. I took my first harbor swim in the cold waters of Lake Michigan( about 62 degrees i think)...one of my most favorite summer pastimes. I just grab my fins and kick board and off around the harbor I go. Only this time I got a surprise as although my body got used to the cold water my lungs did not and rebelled with some serious weasing so I cut my swim short and paid for that mistake for the rest of the evening. I swim like this every summer but perhaps my age is catching up with me :( I have mild asthma but do not use an inhaler so had to use the old fashioned method of putting my head over a pot of steaming water with a towel over my head to breathe in the steam. It worked after about 4 steamings of 5 min each. over 2-3 hrs.( It is really just like a nebulizer treatment the Dr. would give you but with out any added medication.) I will try again this summer but maybe when the water warms up a bit more.That evening we picked up a par cooked pizza from a local island restaurant for dinner which we baked and ate at home and then headed over to the golf course on the island to view the nice fireworks display-- with not a mosquito in sight! ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The fireworks were beautiful!
On Monday morning Dave and I flew home and Jenny and Gary headed for the ferry as it looked a bit rainy and grey anyway. It was a delightful weekend and real blessing to spend time with friends and family. Praise God for the blessings he provides in our lives. We are blessed indeed!
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