Down by the Bay

     Last Sunday I drove through the Pine Barrens of New Jersey to the small shore community of Tuckerton.  Located on Main Street is the Tuckerton Seaport Museum, an interesting collection of  17 historic and recreated buildings on 40 acres of land, a working maritime village on the Tuckerton Creek that flows into Barnegat Bay.  With the intent to preserve the history and heritage of the baymen visitors can learn about boat building, watch decoy carving and appreciate the work of commercial fishermen.  The Museum complex is also home to the Jersey Shore Folklife Center and the New Jersey Surf Museum.

     But what I really went there for was to enjoy the Bayman's Seafood & Music Festival, just one of the many events hosted by the TSM.  It was June's monthly attraction that invites people to walk the grounds and see what they are all about.  Throughout the year the TSM hosts events like a Bluegrass & Barbeque Festival, a classic boat show and a two day lighthouse challenge where participants climb every lighthouse in the state.

     I made my way past all the vendors, selling everything from flavored olive oil, to pet breed door mats, to insurance, and investment strategies, and found the "big top" tent that provided seating for patrons who had just purchased any one of a number of freshly cooked seafood specialties.  Steamed clams, shrimp, scallops, crab cakes and fish and chips were all on sale at bargain prices.  For a mere $10 I walked away with a hot off the grill crab cake sandwich and a basket of french fries.  Later I went back to pick up a net bag filled with a dozen steamed clams for half that.  The food was all prepared by TSM volunteers and cheerfully served to the waiting crowd. 

     As I ate my seafood delights I listened to the band that had taken the stage under the tent.  They played so loudly that the further away I got, the better they sounded.  Finally by the time I got out to the parking lot their music was almost enjoyable.

     But what I found most interesting about the local seafood festival was all the food being sold out of a mega-food truck trailer that had been hauled up from Maryland.  The menu was five times as long and went to great lengths to emphasize that everything was from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, not the Barnegat Bay!!!  So much for the carbon footprint...