LABOR DAY HOLIDAYS PAST

Everything has a season (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and I'm in the calm season.  But back a few decades ago my husband Gary, son Greg and I would trek from our home in Bowie, MD to Assateague Island every weekend and holiday beginning in April.  We lived in a very nice home in Bowie but purchased a used house trailer which we kept in a seasonal trailer park on Route 611 just a few minutes drive to Assateague Island.

We would make that couple hour drive in the International Scout with 4-wheel drive so we could drive on and fish from the beach on an isolated part of Assateague.  As you can see there are fishing poles located at the front of the Scout.

During the day we'd fish on the beach with friends or just by ourselves.  Hopefully we'd have a good fishing day and feast on our catch.  And boy what a joy it was to feel that tug on the fishing line.  In case you're wondering, yes, I baited my own hook and was great at casting my own line.  So guess I was a 'hooker' even back then tho I didn't own a Hartman.

We had friends who camped and lived all summer in a tent on Assateague Campground.  One such person was someone we met our first year in the area who was known even by locals as "Assateague Charlie".   Believe it or not Charlie was a Special Education teacher in the Baltimore area, but to look at him in the photo below he does look somewhat like a homeless person.

The Assateague ponies were always around.  They are used to seeing humans and as much as I love horses knew they are 'wild' and would never advance to pet.  After all, they are still not domesticated.

Labor Day holiday there was usually a canoe race in the ocean on Assateague, sign done by Gary.  You can see Charlie's canoe in a photo posted above.

In the evening everyone usually congregated at Trader Lee's, listening to the band "Picnic", having a few drinks and meeting up with friends.  That is Charlie behind my husband Gary, and Charlie's girlfriend.

The picture below was off season in November when son Greg and I went to say 'goodbye' to Assateague, for we were going to move to California the following month.

Lots of fond memories of that season but couldn't handle that now in this season of my life.  

So what have I been doing this holiday weekend?  Picking up over 200 pinecones just from the very front of the property.  There's more so will need to go out and pick those up today.  Oh, and I'll be hooking of course.

If you are in a different season of your life, enjoy it as you will gradually enter into other seasons in time.  Once I loved the big gatherings, noise, marathon shopping, travelling, all excitement and activity.  Now the calm is what I find most pleasant.  Happy Labor Day.

Saundra

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