Sunday, September 07, 2008

Where I have Been

What better place to be this time of year - at my house on the Cape. No, of course it's not really my house (see "Gone Fishin'" in the archives for my last trip up there) This time I was able to invite some friends to go up there with me for a few days. Pete met me in Providence on Thursday and we drove out to the Cape. Todd, his wife and baby got out there by Friday night. It had taken several months of planning to get all of us in one place for a long weekend- with work schedules and house rentals intervening. But the extended Labor Day weekend was the perfect time to be up there- and not as crowded as you might think.

I described the house a bit before, but I may not have made clear just how comfortable and well put together it is. It's relaxing just to be there and there is always a nice cross breeze - I didn't miss A /C at all. It's kind of unfair to compare the Cape to the Jersey shore, but we all do it because we've spent time there too. What you notice immediately is that there are trees on the Cape. Try finding a tree outside of the Pine Barrens in New Jersey. Trees near the beach - what will they think of next. You also notice that development has been well planned - the houses are much more spread out and they look like they belong (mostly). When you are at the house or the beach or out on the water you can feel like you are in the wilderness, but within ten minutes you can be shopping at a huge supermarket stocked with anything you can think of. Of course there are plenty of nice restaurants too- no big chains on the Cape (at least not in our area) well, except maybe for a few Dunkin' Donuts- this is New England, you know.

I got to spend some more time on the beach this trip. The water is cold at almost any time of year (in the mid 60's when we were there) but it's still a great place to relax and watch the gulls and piping plovers. We walked to Nauset Beach form Dad's house a few times and also got a pass to a "private" beach from our friends Dick and Linda (No, "private beach" doesn't mean nude beach, come on now)

We also spent a lot of time hanging out at the house, cooking and doing jigsaw puzzles. I was more than happy to not fight the traffic and crowds in Provincetown- I don't need any souvenir T-shirts or sea shells or scented candles. It's hard to do any big trips when you have parents of a little kid with you. There are all the naps and feedings and making sure they aren't destroying the house - and the kid is a handfull too. Actually the little one was very good and a constant source of amusement- especially when he tried to eat the furniture- thank God he doesn't have any teeth yet.

We did actually get out for some productive, sporting type outdoor activities, mostly due to Pete. Pete likes to do things on vacation, you know like biking and hiking and swimming. This is most surprising to people who think they know him, because many weeks he doesn't even leave his apartment except to get coffee. One great thing we did was go clamming. Dick and Linda showed us the way. Dick showed me where to buy a clam rake and bucket and Linda showed me how it was done. I am still amazed that there are any clams left anywhere, but we actually found plenty- especially Linda who has the magic touch. With the clams we found and the ones Linda gave us the day before we had them for dinner twice. I guess maybe I was surprised because I haven't actually seen too many fish up at the Cape- I knew there must be some seafood up there somewhere.

I'd have to say that besides the grill running out of propane mid-sear (I still say charcoal is the way to go) that every thing was close to idyllic. Good friends, good food, good weather, beer, wine, gin, a great cigar for me sitting out on the deck watching the stars come out. What more could you want- besides staying longer next time?