The photo above is of sand, but the pattern could well be that of a sea shell, too.
 |
| Driftwood art. |
Cloud beasties. I see some pretty fantastic things in these clouds! :)
I did my annual trip to Cape Cod recently. I’ve been going
to the same cottage, the same week in September since 1990…with hiatus of
five years from 2005 thru 2009.
This year I had the opportunity to arrive at the cottage
in North Eastham a day early (thanks to the owner, Paul D.).
My days would normally have been filled with bike riding
and walking beaches, but with most days being either windy or stormy, I rode
only one day and walked only one beach.
I did get to Provincetown for my fudge and a walk on
MacMillan Wharf. I enjoy strolling Commercial St. and looking in all the store
windows. I stopped in at Cuffy’s and bought a nice fleece jacket for $15. And a
hamburger at Tatiana’s on Lopes Square. It was warm, and sitting in the shade
for me was a must. Lots of interesting people to watch, conversations to
over-hear, and squirrels and pigeons to shoo.
The storm that came through on Tuesday night had winds up
to 60 mph and lashing rain. The whole day had strong winds. Being alone in a
cottage…at night…in a howling gale…not fun. I was expecting the power to go out
at any moment and pleasantly surprised when it did not. By Wednesday noon the
storm had cleared the Cape but the winds never quit until Thursday.
In the meantime, the water heater decided it had had
enough and went out. It probably went out on Saturday night or Sunday morning,
but it wasn’t until Monday I realized I had only cold water.
As luck would have it, Paul D. and his wife were out of
town and would be back on Wednesday. I left a note on their door and proceeded
to heat water on the stove for washing up and doing dishes. Paul came over
around 6:30 Wednesday night and restored the hot water. The pilot light had
gone out and even Paul had a problem relighting it.
By Thursday it was much calmer and I was able to do my
usual walk out to Nauset Marsh inlet. It seems every year it gets closer to
Coast Guard Beach.
I also called a childhood friend of mine, Betty, who lives
in Dennis and left her a message.
Because there is no wi-fi connection at the cottage my
need for electronic connections caused me to be somewhat creative. In the
morning when I went for my Cape Cod Times at the Eastham General Store (4.5
miles), I stopped in front of the Eastham library where they have a 24/7 wi-fi
service. Then, around 3 p.m., I would head for Wellfleet and the Dunkin Donuts
(about 10 miles) for coffee and munchkins. I would use their wi-fi while I had
my afternoon pick-me-up.
On Friday, I had planed to ride the Cape Cod Rail Trail.
It was supposed to be the first day with much calmer winds. But Mother Nature
had other ideas. The day was windy and heavy overcast with a threat of rain.
No sense hanging around. Packed up and headed home.
Stopped to visit Betty on the way out. We haven’t seen each other in a few
years. We grew up together as kids and then we went separate ways, but in my
mind, have always been close friends.
So ends another vacation. Since
I’m retired, lets call it a week spent in another place doing different nothing
much.
