Going to Sammys

We are going to Sammys beach ! I remember hearing those words as a child and it was always like hearing,you won the lottery. I loved going to the beach.
Sammys Beach is in Gardniers bay off the eastern end of Long Island. Going about four or five miles in the opposite direction would land you at Main Beach, the Atlantic Ocean.
The bay was my favorite. You could swim,dive,float around,dig for clams and fish. No need to worry about the big waves knocking you down,no undercurrent and no where near as crowded. Besides that, Sammys beach was ours ! You know how you have a place that you consider your stomping ground ? Sammys was mine and you had best not intrude upon it. If you did, my posse and I wouldn't play with you and probably not even be polite ( until Mom caught on anyway). I knew every inch of that beach,from the parking area down to the waters edge.
Mom would take us in the afternoons after her housework was done. Dad worked a night shift and needed to sleep so out of the house for us. Was alright with me. Most times we took a small cooler with a couple of drinks in it and maybe a sandwich or two. I always had my inner tube ( came from a tractor so it was a big one ). Mom brought the " Coppertone " and a magazine. I think we used the suntan lotion once or twice but after that it wasn't needed. We would be as brown as Indians. We were tanned deeply with no concern for skin cancer and all that. Blissfully ignorant !
The number one safety rule was, no swimming for a half hour after eating,you will get cramps and die ! That was a hard and fast rule. I have since learned that this has no basis in fact but is an old wives tale. It is so ingrained in me  however, I still wait the required time. That's the stuff the head doctors talk about. Mom messed me up. LOL
I remember one time my father coming to the beach. It was hilarious seeing him in bathing trunks. With the exception of his arms,face and neck he was as white as a sheet. I was impressed with his swimming ability. I remember him saying, " I'm no Johnny Wisemiller, but I can swim bub." That's when I learned who Johnny Wisemiller was.
Dad never did anything on a small scale. Going to the beach with him was no different. We took several coolers,two shovels,blankets,beach chairs and the umbrella ! I was feeling like those tourists up to main beach ! It was quite a spectacle.When we got all this equipment down on the beach the real work began. With Dad around there was always work to be done. Under his direction we began to dig a pit. Not too deep and about six foot in diameter. Well,that wasn't too bad but we weren't done. We were then instructed to find large rocks to line this pit with. Rocks about the size of a football were preferred. That took some time to accomplish. I was wondering if we would ever get to swim. Not yet, gather up the firewood. A lot of firewood ! I did discover new places on the beach and in the dunes. Finally, when enough had been gathered we were paroled long enough to go play.
Dad started a big fire. I wasn't quite sure what he had in mind,it was warm enough out, but maybe he was cold. He kept adding wood to the fire. After a good while the flames died down and a glowing bed of embers remained. Then Dad called to us kids. Gather up the seaweed ! NO,not that dry stuff,the green stringy kind in the water. Doing as we were told,a big pile was soon collected. Then Dad did the darnest thing, he threw that seaweed right on those hot rocks and coals.Hissing and popping noises filled the air along with a plume of steam. Once the full blanket of seaweed was in place he opened those coolers. Into the seaweed he placed corn on the cob, fish that he had wrapped in tin foil, some vegetables and a few lobsters ! We also steamed some clams.
That was by far the most delicious food I have ever eaten. It was a lot of work but worth it. I had heard of a clambake and it was my first one. As it turned out, it was also my last one. Before we left the beach those rocks were scattered back around,the coals disposed of and the hole filled in. Leave it like you found it ,was what Dad said. It was a long exhausting day but one of the fondest memories I have.