Picnic in the Park

Dateline: Galion, Ohio:

 Warm weather ousts the Winter that Would Not Leave; ushers in Picnic Season! 

 

I love picnics! In warm weather (even in not-so-warm-weather), I prefer to have lunch dates with friends at a picnic table. Parks are nice places to picnic, as are reservoirs, and nature preserves. Galion has a picnic area on Public Square that is a nice gathering place for outdoor meals, too.

So, what constitutes a picnic?

My earliest memories of picnics were during fishing trips to streams or reservoirs. The woman provided fried chicken (served cold), potato salad, cole slaw, and deviled eggs. Ripe cantaloupes were already peeled and sliced...a big juicy watermelon was kept cold in the stream or at water's edge. The meal was rounded out with potato chips and Kool-aid or bottles of pop. There might be a store-bought cake, too. Men had beer and maybe a nip or two from a whiskey flask.

By my teenage years the menu hadn't changed much except for taking hotdogs and hamburgers along to grill on public grill...BYOC (bring your own charcoal).

Our yearly family play-day at Cedar Point even included picnics. Feeding a carload of kids expensive park food was out of my parents' budget, so mom had the extra chore of preparing our food before the big day and poor dad had to lug the heavy coolers from the sizzling hot parking lot to the picnic area of the park. Our lunch-time break from the stimulation of going on rides and seeing shows was the welcome rest we needed. With huge appetites caused by running from ride to ride, sitting at the tables in the shaded picnic area tucked away from the long lines and other distractions, we shared our amusement park adventures while scarfing down the food.

These days some of my picnics are provided by The Colonel. Or a mission bell. Or a girl sporting red pig-tails and a wide grin. Why not? These picnics are usually spur-of-the-moment ideas when I am out and about and see a nice spot for dining al-fresco instead of inside a loud restaurant.

Mostly, my modern picnics are a hybrid blend of the two methods...part of the food is homemade, some of it from a deli or fast food place. It does not really matter.

What really matters is the atmosphere, the friendship, the freedom of being outdoors enjoying soft breezes, strong breezes, soft lulls of buzzing insects, strong energy traveling along the wind, birds giving a concert, squirrels providing the floor show...one never knows what will be encountered. And if the picnic ends by dashing to the car because of  a sudden downpour, the feeling of adventure makes it even more memorable.

The two pictures above are from a picnic shared by good friend, Alita. Now that she is retired, we try to meet up once a month to catch up on our families, our travels, and share our experiences of transitioning into a New Phase of Life.  We were at Aumiller park in Bucyrus, a lovely park with many picnic shelters, a Frisbee golf course, walking paths along the Sandusky River, a swimming pool, and, my most favorite feature, a carillon bell tower.

Our meal was the hybrid-type of picnic. The food was yummy, the table was pretty, the conversation was priceless. :)

How often do you picnic? What is your favorite picnic food? Your favorite picnic memory?

Marcheta *al-fresco