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The Rock Hall Middle School sixth grade took a walking field trip to the Chesapeake Bay to hear a presentation on the seafood industry.   The walk seemed very long yet it was fun.  We had an interesting time sticking together because cars were coming in all different directions.   Our walking and safety skills came in handy.  It took twenty minutes to get to the bay.  While we were walking we happened to see leaves falling on the ground and it got cold outside.   It was fun being outside doing something educational rather than being inside. The sixth grade field trip to the bay was a fun and educational experience.

Capt. Bill "EEL" Reihl met us at Cain's Seafood.  Oh yes, Capt. Reihl's son Ben is one of our 6th grade classmates. We felt many objects.  Some things felt very rough, such as oysters, barnacles, rocks, wood, and pilings.   The actual oysters, once out of the shell were soft and mushy. It had rained earlier during the day and the mud that we were walking in was mushy.   Another thing we felt was uneven, jagged, and lumpy edges of the the oyster shells and the barnacles.   Also, the liquid surrounding the oyster itself felt very slimy.  The oyster shell felt hard and tough. The objects we felt on our trip to Cain's Seafood helped give us a better feeling of the sense of touch.

Our noses took in many smells during our walking field trip to Cain's Seafood.  Some we took in were fishy, smoky, crabby, oily, and salty.  Some of the smells seemed aged and mildewy.  The salty smell of the bay water let us know we were at the Chesapeake.  The  smell of the salty water and air was so familiar and friendly.   We smelled  the freshness of oysters taken from the water to the shucking house.  The  steam of cooking crabs smelled like summer.   We also smelled a a dog marking his territory and a bloody fish.  The smells that we encountered kept our noses open.

Captain Eel and Ben gave us a very interesting presentation.  They showed us their oyster rig and told us the ins and outs of the seafood industry. The whole area was alive with action.   Ducks were quacking and dogs were barking.  We also saw wharf bugs crawling.  Captain Eel went on his boat and showed us how he used tongs when he oysters.  We also saw crab steamers.   Captain Eel has a crab pot winder.  We saw all types of equipment that are important to the waterman and the seafood industry.  When we came out of Cains building and walked on the rocks, the class went on the dock and saw eels in an eel pot.  We saw a fisherman who had just caught a twenty pound rockfish.  We were as excited as if he had caught a whale. The things we saw were to numerous to mention.

We heard many sounds while touring Cain's Seafood.  One of the sounds we heard were moving items such as, a conveyor belt humming, people chattering, the wind whistling, the geese  honking, the machinery clammering, crashing and banging.   These sounds made our field trip more realistic.

Our field trip was an excellent experience.  Capt. Eel and Ben shared a lot of new and important information about the seafood industry with us.  There were so many things that the students, whose parents don't work on the water learned.  The field trip gave us a chance to see that the seafood industry is more than just going to the fish market.  It showed us that the seafood industry is hard work that requires dedication.

The 6th grade would like to thank Capt. Bill "Eel" , Mrs.  Cheryl, and  Ben Reihl,   Cain's Seafood, and Mrs. Rhondi Howell, principal of Rock Hall Middle School, for making this field trip possible  .