Hampton Seafood Festival ... 2010

This past weekend was an emotional one for many.

Along with the 9th "Anniversary" (I personally don't think that's a proper word, as Anniversaries, to me, are in celebration of good things ... but for lack of a better word, I'll go with that one for now) of the terrorist attacks, many people said good-bye to their loved ones who are being sent - first to the midwest for briefing and training - and then over seas to assist in the troop withdrawal from Iraq (and other missions, I'm sure we know nothing about) ... in order to overcome this incredibly emotional time, we decided to head to the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival - for which I had won passes to thanks to some trivia from The Children's Museum of NH on their Facebook page.

Since Emily is way under 12, she was allowed in for free, and I had won four bracelets, we decided to invite 2 of our best friends - Ryan and Brandie.   Sadly, Uncle Ryan couldn't make it - he had to work, since they're putting the ice in at the arena, he couldn't find anyone to cover his shift :(.  We had a great time inspite of his absence and I *think* we're going to make this a yearly tradition, hopefully, he will be able to attend in the future.

You may be wondering why in the world would Amy want to attend a Seafood Festival, when in reality, she doesn't eat seafood?!  Well, it was something new and different that we've never taken part in, that we thought would be an exciting thing to try, and hopefully, if it all worked out, we'd have something new to do in the future.

Since we had the free passes, we decided to take the offered shuttle to the Festival, and "enjoyed" our first school bus rides since graduating from High School ... since Brandie and I partook (is that really a word?) in hockey, color guard, and a few other extra curricular activities, we took the buses a lot our senior year, to and from away games and what not.   It was Emi's first ever time on a school bus, and had it been not so crowded, I would have taken her picture.  She enjoyed it more than any child has probably ever enjoyed riding in a big yellow, over crowded, hot school bus.   And for that one reason, I enjoyed it as well.

(for the record people did NOT obey this sign!)

Once we finally arrived at the beach, we had to walk to the entrance tent, and get Emily her sticker, and have them put our bracelets on, and then - it was on to the Seafood!  Since it was so crowded, we decided to take turns carrying Emily so she didn't get swept away with the tide of people, or get lost in the shuffle.

Emi's very first ride on Daddy's Shoulders .. well, the first one she asked for :)

The Food Was Unbelievable.

There was food from like 30 different vendors, a beer and wine tent (which we did not enter.), foods of all varieties - more than just seafood.

Our Snacks for the day
Lobster Ravioli, Fried Clams, Fried Dough and Fried Scallops

For the first time - that I can recall - I actually tried a product with lobster in it - fresh lobster even.  And I liked it - a lot.  I ate every bite - with the exception of three .. the one I gave Mike to try, the one Emi tried, and the one she spit out.  (I think it was too hot for her, and she just ... instinctively ... opened her mouth to get it out and I wasn't fast enough to catch it before it hit the ground - so sad)

After we had eaten our fill, we decided to walk around some more, and check out what the other vendors had to offer.  We decided to take Emi to the "kids area" and see what that was all about ... but first - she wanted to play on the playground.

Her favorite was the Fire Truck :)

When she'd had her fill of the playground, and was ready to head back to the shuttle, she wanted to stop and play a game - for a dollar a draw, she got to choose a rubber ducky, and won a prize based on the size written on the bottom.   Her first and only pick was a duck dressed up like a princess - it had a "large" written on it, and she won a "large prize" - her choice was a Bugs Bunny Kite.  Because the ladies that were running the booth (again, thanks to the Children's Museum, as I believe it was theirs) thought she was cute, and were happy she was so excited to win, they also gave her a yellow Frisbee.    (I promise, pictures to come of her enjoying them too)

All in all we had a really fantastic day, and cannot wait to do it again - maybe even next weekend for the Prescott Park "Fishtival" ... we'll see.