Aw, clam up!

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Who woulda thunk? :huh: Northeast Ohio is the clambake capital of the country...in September and October. <That link takes you to an interesting article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer explaining why clams rule during autumns.

When we lived back home, we could always find a clambake somewhere. Our first neighborhood had someone every September who was willing to host a 'bake at their house. Not always the same neighbor, but it pretty much rotated between four families between three streets. We'd all chip in; sometimes the host the heavy lifting (with neighbors' help), and sometimes we'd all kick in a bit extra so we could hire Euclid Fish to do the work.

If the neighborhood 'bake ended up on a day you already had plans, no problem. You could find a clambake or ten at a restaurant almost any weekend in September or October. One restaurant was normally closed on Mondays, but in season they would offer themselves up for a private 'bake Himself's office arranged one, and it was open to friends and family of employees. SIL loved lobster and clams, her hubby not so much. He stayed home with their daughter, and she tagged along with us. First came the clambroth. Next the servings of clams. Then a bowl of chowder, followed by the chicken/corn/potatoes/optional lobster, PLUS a side of spaghetti with clam sauce. At this point my dear SIL pipes up with "what's for dessert? Clam meringue pie?". Himself says it was the first time his sister got him to spew. :ROFLMAO:

After living in MA for a couple years, and enjoying the conviviality of our neighborhood and our annual summer Block Party, I suggested we do a clam bake in September. Everyone looked at me as if I had two heads! I guess when you live by clams, the idea of a 'bake is too ordinary. :)
 
people in massatoothsets are always more against things than they are for things.

they can't help it.
 
They weren't against clambakes. It's just that the season up here is earlier, something like August. After all, a lot of the 'bakes are shore dinners, cooked on a beach and eaten while sitting on the sand. Little tough to do in Octobrrrrrr. In OH, clambakes are the things of sitting around the wood fire and drinking adult beverages to stay warm. I know it's false thinking that alcohol keeps you warm, but tell that to some of my former neighbors. :ermm:
 
no, they just do things their way. clams aren't any better or worse this time of year.

they're just busy practicing their scowl and making sure their horns and highbeams work as all of the people who live south of them drive up to see the trees change.
 
no, they just do things their way. clams aren't any better or worse this time of year.

they're just busy practicing their scowl and making sure their horns and highbeams work as all of the people who live south of them drive up to see the trees change.


Clambakes in NE are beach events. Thus, done in the summer. This is not a commentary on the correctness or lack thereof of having a clambake in the Fall.

We're a parochial crowd. Go look at your own trees.

Our trees don't change, the leaves do. :rolleyes:
 
Clambakes in NE are beach events. Thus, done in the summer. This is not a commentary on the correctness or lack thereof of having a clambake in the Fall.

We're a parochial crowd. Go look at your own trees.

Our trees don't change, the leaves do. :rolleyes:

bt, we have clammers that work all through the winter, so we have clams available all year round. Unless there is a Red Tide. We don't need a clam bake. But I will admit, they are fun.

I just looked out the front door to my building and the tree whose leaves change to a beautiful red in the Fall, was still there, just like it has been for the past 15 years. The only change is every Spring it gets new leaves. :angel:
 
so, no one in new england has a clam bake anywhere but the beach?

where you have to get a permit for a fire, and then it's only allowed on certain beaches in restricted areas?

ok.
 
so, no one in new england has a clam bake anywhere but the beach?

where you have to get a permit for a fire, and then it's only allowed on certain beaches in restricted areas?

ok.


Actually, we have Clambake Beach. It's a long flat beach that is reserved only for clambake use. You have to make reservations well in advance. No surfers, sunbathers or anything else. It's only open two weeks a year (unless it rains). ;)
 
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lol. god would never make it rain there during the summer. that would really just be unfair.

you guys get those great white sharks, though.

i remember bringing my boogie board on a vacation to kennebunkport, once.

the guy at the hotel laughed when he saw me unloading it from the car, and asked what i had planned to use it for.

the next day we went down to the beach and didn't see a wave higher than 6 inches.

then i went into the water and as i got to about ankle deep, my feet turned purple and my testicles retracted up to my adams apple.
 
I "swam" in Lake Erie once. In the middle of summer. I didn't get warm for days.


We rented wave runners on Lake Huron when we were in Michigan. Thankfully, I was used to driving snowmobiles, it translated well. Other family members weren't so lucky. Dang, that water's cold.
 
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lol. god would never make it rain there during the summer. that would really just be unfair.

you guys get those great white sharks, though.

i remember bringing my boogie board on a vacation to kennebunkport, once.

the guy at the hotel laughed when he saw me unloading it from the car, and asked what i had planned to use it for.

the next day we went down to the beach and didn't see a wave higher than 6 inches.

then i went into the water and as i got to about ankle deep, my feet turned purple and my testicles retracted up to my adams apple.

From the north coast of Cape Cod northward, the water is useful for growing seafood, not for people. Seek the south side of Cape Cod for water you can stay in for more than an instant. The Gulf Stream warms it nicely.
 
For here in Mass., the water temp can range from 48ºF. to 65ºF. in the summer. Right now it is starting on the decline. The end of summer swimming is nearing. I still see swimmers though at the beach up the street from me. The beach is in a little cove protected except for a Nor'easter. Only once on my life have I ever seen Boston Harbor freeze over. You have to remember, this is not the Caribbean. :angel:
 
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i doubt bahston hahbuh could freeze over even if it were 30 below.

"oh i love that dirty water.... boston, you're my home".


actually, i've heard it's cleaned up a lot, much like the hudson river.
 
i doubt bahston hahbuh could freeze over even if it were 30 below.

"oh i love that dirty water.... boston, you're my home".


actually, i've heard it's cleaned up a lot, much like the hudson river.

It has been cleaned up. Now you can actually swim in it. And the Charles River was worse than the Harbor. Big kids now swim there. But if you get in the wrong place, you can find yourself out in the harbor on the way to Europe. The current in the river is very strong. :angel:
 
Clambake at your house? How do you do that?

Clambake for me is a beach event.

My sister and I used to go to the clam bakes they had at the Chelsea Yacht Club. Waaay to much food. I used to take home all the lobster shells and make a seafood stock for clam chowder.

One time my daughter who has one of those burners that they use for turkey frying, used it for a clam bake at her house in the backyard. That big pan can hold a lot of seafood. My niece did the same thing when her youngest graduated from college with his Doctorate in Ministry. Quite an accomplish since he did it all in 4.5 years. All her kids are geniuses. Her daughter has her Masters with three engineering degrees. She started her college career while she was in H.S. :angel:
 
ya see! i told ya so. i knew they all didn't just have clam bakes on the beach. it took a while, but they let their guard down.

lol.

people from new england just want you to believe the crap they make up so you stay away.


look, look, they're all scowling at me now.
 
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