Eating local while out of town

Well, I have been meaning to post on here since I got back into town Monday, and guess what, here it is Thursday morning and I am finally sitting down to the computer.  I forgot how time-consuming returning from vacation can be:  all the unpacking, the clothes washing, attending to info pile-up, and getting boys ready for school!  Anyway, I think I am feeling somewhat under control of things (using the term somewhat very loosely)  As I said in my last post, I have been visiting with my sister, her family, and my parents in the charming town of Beaufort.  My sister lives in Montana, so it is always a big deal when she comes home b/c we only see each other twice a year.  She has two boys herself.  We all stayed at my parents house- yes, if you do the math, that is six boys under the age of 10 under one roof!  My parents are very brave and patient people!  As customary in our family, we like to prepare meals and all eat together.  Being my sister lives so far from the ocean now, we like to indulge her with as many meals from the ocean as possible!  Our Friday evening meal was a dish called Frogmore Stew.  For those of you reading this not from around here, no, it does not actually contain frogs.  It is named after the small community it originates from, Frogmore, which happens to be located in Beaufort.  In the stew goes shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes.  Fresh local shrimp for the stew- cooked til just pink!  As customary, we lay out newspaper on the table and just dump the stew right on the table for eating.  Eating fresh local shrimp not only taste better, it provides jobs and income for local shrimpers who have been supporting their families for generations by shrimping.  Then, on Saturday, what we all had been so anxiously anticipating, an oyster roast!  The oysters were harvested from the pristine May River which is right in Beaufort County- salty and delicious.  You really cannot beat standing under the majestic oak trees overlooking the river eating oysters that were just freshly harvested and steamed to perfection!  Add that with a toasty outside fire pit going and the company of great family and friends- absolutely wonderful!  As an added bonus, my uncle fried some local fish he had caught- what a feast we had!  We are so lucky and blessed to live in an area that sustains such an amazing diversity of delicious food.  However, we must always keep in mind that in order to sustain this diversity, we must support local harvesters, and above all care for our environment, especially our rivers, lakes, and oceans!