Summer Picnics

I am convinced that our Michigan summers are the best summers anywhere. They are generally not too humid, nor too cold; they offer just the right amount of sunshine to make picnics, days at the beach, and backyard barbecues perfect pastimes.

My childhood family picnics are some of my most treasured summer memories. It seems like more people went on picnics back then. There were church picnics, company picnics, end-of-school picnics, reunion picnics, and family picnics. I remember many a weekend with my mother packing a lovely spread on Saturday night; the next day we would go on a Sunday drive to an area park to enjoy our family dinner. She usually had fried chicken, potato salad, carrot and celery sticks, deviled eggs, cut melon, cold pork and beans out of a can (not a favorite), and a yummy dessert.

We picnicked on family vacations, of course, and when it rained we would have our picnics inside the old woody station wagon. This was always a little chaotic with eight people: my parents, six kids (we always took our best friend, Sheila), a dog, and lots of luggage crammed in the hot, non-air-conditioned family vehicle. My mother had little individual baskets with our name written on a napkin tucked inside. She packed each one identically, so there were no arguments, from her front-seat makeshift kitchen. I remember each of us wanting to get our lunch basket first, for it took some time to get through eight lunches, and certainly the last one fed could easily get shortchanged an apple slice or potato chip! While these lunches were a little plain, they were clearly the highlight of the long, hot car rides.

Why not take your loved ones to a nearby park or beach with a basket full of yummy food? To make your picnic extra special, of course, bring along a pie!

Eat pie, love life.