We put our chairs out Friday night and by the time we put them out (after 7) almost all the spots were taken on top of St. Mary's Hill where we usually sat. We managed to find a spot big enough for 3 chairs. In the morning, we quite a few blocks to our spot. Dad eventually was able to park in some random lady's driveway which made the return trip a lot nicer since we were lugging chairs as well.
Either I am getting old or the Fish Day parade is not what it used to be. The first 20 minutes of the parade were politicians campaigning for office. Democrats and Republicans alike. We got stickers, can koozies, and pamphlets about all sorts of candidates. First of all, many people return "home" for Fish Day so many of these candidates are not even going to be on a lot of ballots. Second what kid wants to be handed political swag? They just want candy.
Okay so the campaign Unicycles were kinda cool
After we were done with the political part of the parade, then we had Corvettes and more Corvettes. Maybe if they threw candy I would be more interested in the Corvette club... I can go up to the bluff to see them after the parade if I just want to look at them. The classic cars were cool.
Floats.... hmm.. maybe 5.
Santa needs some cookies
You can't forget the fire trucks and construction vehicles....
Bands.... maybe 5 or 6. The Port Summer band was a lot smaller than I remember it being when I was in school.
There was no Waldo Apple but there was a shoe from Allen-Edmonds.
They saved the best for last... South Shore Drill Team. These kids are amazing.
For a 80 minute parade, there was a lot of dead time and it was not the spectacular parade I remember from my childhood. But hey I got bubbles.
After we got home from the parade, I headed downtown to meet Krystal and her family for a bit. This was a last minute plan when I found out she was in the parade. Apparently none of my classmates wanted to meet up but I'll hang with a sister any day in my home town. I picked up the shuttle in Saukville, which after a bit of Googling I discovered I was at the wrong parking lot, and headed downtown. Easiest way to go since you don't have to fight for parking and they are shuttle stops all around town.
Lunch options at Fish Day are quite simple.. Fish and Chips from whatever organization you want to support. Because Fish Day is known as the World's Largest One Day Outdoor Fish Fry, that's pretty much all you can find... that and apparently now chicken tenders. $7 for fish and chips... not horrible but it's usually 2 pieces of cod and a handful or so of cottage fries. Seating is always an adventure and we ended up plopping a squat on the grass by the rocks.
Once we finished our lunch and snapped a few pictures, Krystal and I caught up while her kids played at the playground. It was fun. It was strange that I didn't run into anyone I knew though.
As we were leaving, we left our mark on the chalk wall.
And sampled some popcorn from the popcorn store. The Mint Chocolate Chip is really good but I don't think I'd want a whole bag of it.
Now there is a lot more to Fish Day that I didn't do this year. Bands (meh.. not my thing anyways), Arts and Crafts (mom and I would have enjoyed this), the car show (the hubby would have did this), helicopter rides (not in my budget yet), running into people you haven't see in forever (apparently they missed the memo I was in town), and fireworks (sometimes we can see them in Saukville). There used to be water fights between fire departments now I think it's soccer club water fights or something. I remember an ice cream eating contest growing up. I don't think that is there any more... maybe there was some other kind of contest.
Even though I only had a small taste of Fish Day, it was enough for me. Sure if I someone to hang our with longer (and my cousins weren't in town) I probably would have been downtown all afternoon in the rain. I may be back again in the future but personally I'd rather hang out at the Babe Ruth Regionals, especially if Bowen is around.
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