The family I am staying with invited me to join them at the beach for New Years. This is a family tradition going back at least 4 generations if not further. Same spot each year. Our carload camped for 3 nights while others camped for 4 or 5 nights. This year was a small showing of family members, as many of the husbands are currently working far out of town, the wifes went to join their husbands and some of the family are visiting their relative (my friend) in the USA.
Once this group of approx 25 people had their tents set up and the kitchen and lounge areas were set up, the little beach front was transformed into a village. They even collected shells and feathers to use for decoratation lining the walkways. It is done up big! Each generation has the unofficial head chef. Mirna continued to create delicious meals from her enormous pot. I learned how to clam, which provided dinner for one of the evenings. This beach reminded me of the beaches in Maine. Cold water and rocky. It was a relaxing environment. It gave me the opportunity to meet the extended family. They are like half the town. Everywhere you go, you will run into a cousin, aunt or in-law. They were all very welcoming to me and I feel like I have been adopted into the family.
Each night we gathered around the campfire or under the lounge tent for delicious food, a variety of local spirits, music and dancing. The kids grow up loving the place. Infact, we sharred a car ride with a 3 year old who was crying because we were not getting to the beach fast enough. When I was growing up, my family also would head out every summer to the beach for a week. I sharred stories of my beach experiences with the kids of when I was there age. Though I am not ready to come home, I did get a bit homesick.
