Picnic Pleasures

For a no-cost getaway that’s relaxing, peaceful, sociable, free of life’s worries, and entails a good meal to boot, consider the simple picnic. It requires little planning, and can be a break in the routine that you’ll remember all year.

It might be lunch at a local park, morning coffee and rolls on a boat landing, or an early dinner by a stream. Or maybe just jump in the car with a backpacked meal and explore until you’re hungry and find a nice spot to relax. The idea is to get away, relax, and talk or daydream, free of stress.

Picnic baskets were the thing once, but a backpack can be easier to carry and some are now designed especially for picnics—with compartments for food, thermoses, plates, flatware, all of it. To picnic in its simplest form, just throw together some sandwiches, cold drinks, napkins and such, and away you go. Or, your outing might involve a three-course meal on a day trip, stopping for an ice cream cone on the way home.

Either way, here are some tips to keep the picnic full of fun, not stress:

Food rules on a picnic, so bring the best. Avoid selections that are messy, spoil easily, or are best eaten hot. Chicken, beef, and cold cuts make great sandwiches. Fresh fruit is a nice side dish (Dole now offers pineapple chunks, peaches, and tropical fruit in lightweight, unbreakable 24-oz. plastic jars). Crackers, chips, and nuts also make great snacks and side dishes, as do celery, carrots, or fresh sugar snap peas if they’re in season. Salads wilt easily however, and mayonnaise spoils quickly in heat.

Bring plenty of cold water, soda, or juices. If you have no insulated pack for these, then bring one or two reuseable cold packs along to keep everything cold. If you plan a long drive before meal time, keep your food and drink in a cooler until you’re ready to eat or transfer it to a backpack.

Bring along a simple aid kit to deal with sunburn, headaches, cuts, mosquitoes, insect bites, and the like. In the event of bee stings, bring along a sharp knife to scrape across the bite and pull the stinger out before the venom empties. A cold compress of baking soda and water also helps. Prepare for wet feet in a stream, or a sudden thundershower. Dry socks and plenty of napkins are worth having.

A paper tablecloth is a nice touch for a picnic table, or bring along a blanket to spread on the ground. Kimberly Clark makes lightweight, disposable blankets called Neat Sheets, which are ideal for picnics.

Pack your foods in plastic containers such as Gladware, which seal tightly to survive weather, falls, and water better than aluminum foil or plastic wraps. Grapes, plums, and other soft or crunchable items can all go in these containers.

Finally, remember to bring out what you brought in. Take along one or two plastic bags for trash, which you can bring home or dump at the nearest garbage bin.

Zack Thomas has taken his four children on many a picnic, and enjoyed each one.

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