The Pickwick family in The Pickwicks’ Picnic is heading out of the city for a special outing–a picnic! This article from the Atlantic, “The Seductive Nostalgia of the Picnic,” may make you hanker to plan an outing of your own; it talks of picnicking, its history, its logistics, its delights. Here’s a snippet:

In my youth, [the picnic] was still a thing. Upon the announcement that a family picnic was in the works, an anticipation of bliss took hold. What was so transporting about the idea of taking grandma’s hamper, with its chipped enamelware, and the fringed wool blanket that otherwise went unused in the back of the car, just to go eat in the countryside?

What are your fond memories of picnics past? I’ll share mine in a future post.