Hi families! We are continuing to have a blast on this trip, and have so many fun memories to catch y'all up on!
Day 6:
Today, we battled through the heavy rainfall we experienced earlier in the evening, and despite waking up wet, the crew managed to pack up camp in high spirits (a yummy breakfast helps) throughout the rain and prepare to head to our next campsite. We had a blast on the Cape, and were ecstatic to make our way to the North Shore. Before we exited the Cape, we made one last pit stop at the local Goose Hummock outdoor store and fly shop! The boys explored around the store, checking out all sorts of fishing items and apparel. They had the opportunity to use their spending money and pick out some flies and souvenirs for the trip. Once we wrapped up, we began travel day to our next campsite, Winter Park Island. After passing alongside Boston and learning about some important monuments, we finally arrived and got camp set up to reward ourselves with a yummy lunch. With torrential downpours and high winds working against us, the guides and group came together and came up with a fun and exciting resolution to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Around 5 pm, we went to a fun entertainment place nearby. We started our arcade bonanza with an hour and a half worth of bowling and watching the thrilling end of the Switzerland vs. Colombia World Cup game! Wow, what a game! For bowling, we split into two lanes, and each lane was competing and having fun against each other. The smiles on their faces really proved to us how wonderfully flexible this group was. After bowling wrapped up, we headed back upstairs where everyone ran around the arcade having a ball. We played arcade games for over an hour, including our guides Gavin and Jack's very, very competitive games of air hockey! After we wrapped things up at the entertainment place, we blared some fan favorite tunes in the van on the way back to camp. Luckily, at this point, the rain held off and the boys' tents were fully dried out. We cooked some very tasty burgers underneath the nearby pavilion for dinner, and called it a night. After a long day of travel and fun games, the boys were fired up for tomorrow's long day of fishing on the charter. The wake-up was for sure going to be an early one, so we wrapped things up quickly and hit the hay, marking the end of a very joyful day.
Day 7:
Our final day together was a full on blast — such an awesome way to cap off our trip! After a 4:30 am wakeup call and a quick breakfast, we hopped into the van to drive less than a mile over to the boat docks located right next to our campsite. We then met our amazing charter guides at 5 am to get a full morning's worth of offshore fishing! There were three boats, so we split the boys up into different groups, and by 5:30, they were ready to hit the water with big excited smiles on their faces.
We guides were jealous getting updates from our team on the water because all the fish they caught were ones they were going to remember for a lifetime. To call it an epic day would be an understatement. Each of the boys was at least able to land one monster striper with multiple fish breaking the 40" mark. The pictures do most of the talking, and help capture the epic day of memories they had together on the boats on the North Shore. Around 11:30 am, the guides picked up the crew from the boat docks, and we headed back to camp for a quick lunch and laundry pack-up. The rest of the day consisted of many different moving parts for end of trip cleanups, but luckily the boys handled it smoothly, and we were able to end things off on a great note. After doing some much-needed laundry and cleaning out the van, we did our flagship community service project cleaning up the local beaches that feed into the oceans that make our fishing spectacular. The boys rallied behind the cause, split up into teams, and competed to see who could get the most trash.
After taking a dip in the ocean to celebrate, we traveled to the famous Woodman's restaurant, located in Essex, Mass. The group was thrilled to finally be eating at a restaurant again, and after a pile of fresh fried seafood and some ice cream, we piled back in the van and drove back to camp. The banquet was a great way to debrief on the trip as a whole and enjoy one last meal all together. In our final van ride together, we jammed out to some classics that have taken over this trip, especially "California Gurls" by Katy Perry! We then had one final talk and hangout as a group, handed out our trip rewards, before some of the boys who live near the local Boston area were picked up by their parents. We are upset this trip has come to an end, because honestly, we couldn't have asked for a better group of kids. Despite things that were out of our control (wind and heavy rains, etc.), the crew remained persistent the entire time with a smile on their face. I am confident they all had a blast, and can't wait for them to let y'all know all about the trip!
It's been a pleasure getting to know these young men over the past nine days. We have been able to see their progression as independent anglers, outdoorsmen, and most importantly young men. We hope that each and every one of them has a (minimal phone-time) summer full of time outdoors with friends and family making memories fishing and enjoying what it's like to be young, wild, and free of many responsibilities.
We hope we left a positive impact on your kids, because they sure as heck did with us.
Until next time,
Tight lines and good times —
Jack, Gavin, William, and the team here at Lillard Fly Fishing Expeditions.
