Oyster Festival

We went to the Oyster Festival in Oyster Bay today. First time in years and years. There were food tents every 6 feet, and tents trying to sign people ellegible for Medicare up for various Advantage programs, and lotteries for cars. The line for Oysters on the half-shell was 30 minutes long... sigh. But the saving grace was the boats tied up at the pier. There was a classic wooden sloop, and a tugboat from the Coast Guard and a tugboat from the Merchant Marine Academy, and the then there was the fireboat. It is a classic built in 1931, named the John J. Harvey which was part of the NY Fire Department. I got to tour the boat, and of course the engine room was the most fun. Five diesel engines! Every hour or so, they turn on the pumps and pump 4000 gallons of water a minute out through their water cannons. Made a nice picture, especially when the little girl came out on the upper deck to watch.