The days are shorter, the air is cooler, and the students are returning to Boston. Tomorrow is Moving Day - September 1, the day that U-Haul vans and Ryder trucks clog the Boston streets to a standstill. It's worse than the everyday traffic jams caused by the usual double-parkers and UPS trucks... Fortunately, I don't have to drive in the city tomorrow. I don't even have to take the bus if I don't want to - I can walk to any one of three Orange Line stops. It'll be Farmer's Market Day in Copley Square, so that may well be my destination after work tomorrow.
Fall always makes me want to start new things (or resume old activities). I want to write daily entries in my blog as a way to stimulate me to write every day. Maybe I don't have all that much to say, but that puts me in good company with the vast majority of the other members of the blogosphere. Despair.com has a wonderful Demotivator about blogging: "Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few."
I've been thinking about my online audience. Who are they? Do I even have one? I link to this blog from my Facebook account, so there's an off chance that somebody occasionally reads it. Since nobody leaves a note, I can't tell. But if, in fact, my Facebook friends do show up here, at least they're people who have met me face to face.
I used to post on Open Diary. I still have a diary there, although I haven't actually posted since about January. I have a list of "friends" there, too, just as I do on Facebook. The difference is that I have never met most of those OD friends face to face. In many cases, I don't even know their real names. And that's fine - that's the way that particular forum is run. My own need - what I was and am searching for online - is a group of real-life friends. Everybody I met on Open Diary was content to remain a cyberfriend only, and I decided that there was more potential on Facebook.
I don't need any more make-believe friends. That's at the root of my problem with religion and churches, too. I like to know that there's somebody real out there, somebody who might actually want to spend face-to-face time with me.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 6
August 8, 2009
The boys arrived at about 9 Thursday night. I picked up two pizzas from the Box Office Cafe - a Pineapple Express (standard Hawaiian, ham and pineapple) and The Usual Suspects - meatball, sausage, pepperoni and green peppers. They were both delicious.
Friday was our only full day together at the Cape, and the weather was perfect. I realized that I had never brought my kids to the Cape Cod National Seashore, so that's what we decided to do. I wanted to go on the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail, which is near the Marconi Site, so we did both of them. They're in Wellfleet. The Trail is just about a mile long. We forgot bug spray, but a couple we met on the trail lent us theirs. The part of the trail that runs through the swamp is a boardwalk, so you never have to get your feet wet. After we completed the walk, we went over to Marconi Station, site of the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission. We saw a few seals playing in the surf below the site of the station. The view of the water and the dunes was beautiful.
In the afternoon, we went to the beach. It was the first time I've gone to Red River Beach that the parking lot was full. Before the boys arrived, I was usually going over in the late morning. We drove around the lot until a place opened up. It was high tide, and the water was fairly calm. We had a great swim - it really is more fun to swim with friends and family.
Today we had to pack up and be out of the rental by 10 a.m. It was another lovely day, not too warm or humid. After I turned the key in to the realtor, we were in no hurry to leave the Cape. We walked around the center of Harwich Port for awhile, then the boys decided they wanted to visit Earth House in Orleans. So we did. After that, we had fish and chips at Seafood Sam's (I had fish and onion rings). Then it was time to go home.
I thought the cats would be thrilled that I was home. Peaches was - he followed me in and out of the house as I unloaded the car, and then sat in my lap and purred. Zoe, not so much. She was probably too mad at me for leaving her alone. She's thawed a little bit, now.
The boys arrived at about 9 Thursday night. I picked up two pizzas from the Box Office Cafe - a Pineapple Express (standard Hawaiian, ham and pineapple) and The Usual Suspects - meatball, sausage, pepperoni and green peppers. They were both delicious.
Friday was our only full day together at the Cape, and the weather was perfect. I realized that I had never brought my kids to the Cape Cod National Seashore, so that's what we decided to do. I wanted to go on the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail, which is near the Marconi Site, so we did both of them. They're in Wellfleet. The Trail is just about a mile long. We forgot bug spray, but a couple we met on the trail lent us theirs. The part of the trail that runs through the swamp is a boardwalk, so you never have to get your feet wet. After we completed the walk, we went over to Marconi Station, site of the first two-way transatlantic radio transmission. We saw a few seals playing in the surf below the site of the station. The view of the water and the dunes was beautiful.
In the afternoon, we went to the beach. It was the first time I've gone to Red River Beach that the parking lot was full. Before the boys arrived, I was usually going over in the late morning. We drove around the lot until a place opened up. It was high tide, and the water was fairly calm. We had a great swim - it really is more fun to swim with friends and family.
Today we had to pack up and be out of the rental by 10 a.m. It was another lovely day, not too warm or humid. After I turned the key in to the realtor, we were in no hurry to leave the Cape. We walked around the center of Harwich Port for awhile, then the boys decided they wanted to visit Earth House in Orleans. So we did. After that, we had fish and chips at Seafood Sam's (I had fish and onion rings). Then it was time to go home.
I thought the cats would be thrilled that I was home. Peaches was - he followed me in and out of the house as I unloaded the car, and then sat in my lap and purred. Zoe, not so much. She was probably too mad at me for leaving her alone. She's thawed a little bit, now.
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 5
August 6, 2009
We never got thunderstorms here yesterday, but it's noticeably cooler today. It's been cloudy all day, with a couple of brief showers, so I haven't actually been to the beach yet, and it's almost 5. My main reason for forcing myself to go every day was to make the beach pass pay for itself. The next time I park in a lot, it will. If it's too cold and yucky to swim, I shouldn't feel guilty for deciding not to. Right?
I decided to drive up to Orleans this afternoon to visit Earth House, a hippie-New-Agey shop I used to love back in the late 80s and early 90s. I was delighted to discover that it hasn't changed all that much. Incense, crystals, bumper stickers of any description, hippie clothes and tee shirts (some tie dyes, really!). I walked in through a room of posters, which reminded me of the ones we used to decorate our dorm rooms with back in the 60s and 70s. The dressing room had Indian-print bedspreads, and the entire shop smelled of incense, that mixed-fragrance aroma that's typical of a lot of the old hippie shops and pagan/Wiccan shops I've visited more recently. I bought two long-sleeved rayon batik tops. They're the same style but very different prints: one's kind of a dark royal blue with large flowers in turquoise and olive and lighter blue; the other is purple print on a dark gray-teal background. I've spent all summer looking for some new tops, and I was so pleased to find these even though they were out of my size in the short-sleeved version. The saleswoman (short and heavy-set and very pleasant) was wearing one, and she helped me find these. I also bought some cone incense. I have my grandmother's old incense burner, a little cast iron pot that takes cones. The scent was called Into the Night and it smells very much the way the shop did – a combination of delightful odors.
I drove back down Route 28. Earth House is on Route 6A, and when I drove up to the route 28 intersection, the sign pointing north said Route 28 South, and the sign pointing south said Route 28 North. They weren't turned around, either. Route 28 starts just a short distance from where I was, and while it eventually turns north, it starts out going south and west across the Cape. I drove by Pleasant Bay and enjoyed looking at the water. By the time I was driving away from the center of Chatham, the inbound traffic was backed up for miles. I suppose the less-than-perfect weather was keeping people away from the beach. It was a relief not to be in the traffic myself.
The boys are coming down today. I just called and they're at my house, feeding my cats (who are very starved for affection!). One of them just texted me that they found a dead mouse behind my chair. YUCK!
Yesterday after I posted in this blog, I went down to the center of Harwich Port and bought a couple of books at Reed Books (yes, that's what it's called; the owner's last name is Reed). I walked by my realtor's office because I wanted to find out what this condo is going for – it's on the market, and the fact that my rental was so cheap made me expect the condo would be cheap, too. It is. $149,900. I didn't think you could buy property on the Cape for that little, especially stuff that's between Route 28 and Nantucket Sound. Yeah, it's about a mile from the beach, but still, it's the Cape! I'd buy it, but they only allow one pet. Oh, yeah, and I don't have the money. But if I did, and if I could bring both cats, yeah, I'd consider it.
The place where my sister bought the inflatable whale is now an art gallery. Oh, well.
Later I bought swordfish and took my daily swim. I went fairly late in the afternoon. It was still warm, but very windy, which made for some great waves to jump. Then it was time to grill the swordfish. But when I opened up the gas grill, it looked disgusting - filthy and unpleasant. So I ended up grilling the fish under the broiler. I didn't have any seasonings to speak of, so the fish was a little bland, but very good, with a nice light texture.
We never got thunderstorms here yesterday, but it's noticeably cooler today. It's been cloudy all day, with a couple of brief showers, so I haven't actually been to the beach yet, and it's almost 5. My main reason for forcing myself to go every day was to make the beach pass pay for itself. The next time I park in a lot, it will. If it's too cold and yucky to swim, I shouldn't feel guilty for deciding not to. Right?
I decided to drive up to Orleans this afternoon to visit Earth House, a hippie-New-Agey shop I used to love back in the late 80s and early 90s. I was delighted to discover that it hasn't changed all that much. Incense, crystals, bumper stickers of any description, hippie clothes and tee shirts (some tie dyes, really!). I walked in through a room of posters, which reminded me of the ones we used to decorate our dorm rooms with back in the 60s and 70s. The dressing room had Indian-print bedspreads, and the entire shop smelled of incense, that mixed-fragrance aroma that's typical of a lot of the old hippie shops and pagan/Wiccan shops I've visited more recently. I bought two long-sleeved rayon batik tops. They're the same style but very different prints: one's kind of a dark royal blue with large flowers in turquoise and olive and lighter blue; the other is purple print on a dark gray-teal background. I've spent all summer looking for some new tops, and I was so pleased to find these even though they were out of my size in the short-sleeved version. The saleswoman (short and heavy-set and very pleasant) was wearing one, and she helped me find these. I also bought some cone incense. I have my grandmother's old incense burner, a little cast iron pot that takes cones. The scent was called Into the Night and it smells very much the way the shop did – a combination of delightful odors.
I drove back down Route 28. Earth House is on Route 6A, and when I drove up to the route 28 intersection, the sign pointing north said Route 28 South, and the sign pointing south said Route 28 North. They weren't turned around, either. Route 28 starts just a short distance from where I was, and while it eventually turns north, it starts out going south and west across the Cape. I drove by Pleasant Bay and enjoyed looking at the water. By the time I was driving away from the center of Chatham, the inbound traffic was backed up for miles. I suppose the less-than-perfect weather was keeping people away from the beach. It was a relief not to be in the traffic myself.
The boys are coming down today. I just called and they're at my house, feeding my cats (who are very starved for affection!). One of them just texted me that they found a dead mouse behind my chair. YUCK!
Yesterday after I posted in this blog, I went down to the center of Harwich Port and bought a couple of books at Reed Books (yes, that's what it's called; the owner's last name is Reed). I walked by my realtor's office because I wanted to find out what this condo is going for – it's on the market, and the fact that my rental was so cheap made me expect the condo would be cheap, too. It is. $149,900. I didn't think you could buy property on the Cape for that little, especially stuff that's between Route 28 and Nantucket Sound. Yeah, it's about a mile from the beach, but still, it's the Cape! I'd buy it, but they only allow one pet. Oh, yeah, and I don't have the money. But if I did, and if I could bring both cats, yeah, I'd consider it.
The place where my sister bought the inflatable whale is now an art gallery. Oh, well.
Later I bought swordfish and took my daily swim. I went fairly late in the afternoon. It was still warm, but very windy, which made for some great waves to jump. Then it was time to grill the swordfish. But when I opened up the gas grill, it looked disgusting - filthy and unpleasant. So I ended up grilling the fish under the broiler. I didn't have any seasonings to speak of, so the fish was a little bland, but very good, with a nice light texture.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 4
August 5, 2009
I'm sitting in the Brooks Free Library in Harwich, accessing their free wifi. (Should it be spelled wi-fi? No, that looks stupid.) It's air conditioned, which is an improvement over the 89% humidity outside. The temperature's only 75, but the humidity makes it feel ten degrees hotter. (WeatherBug says five, but what do they know?) If the sun were actually out, it'd be even hotter.
Yesterday I managed to get a slight sunburn on my back and shoulders. I guess I should have re-applied sunscreen; I was on the beach for around 3 hours. Today I'll just make a short visit, or else I'll keep a tee shirt on. I've made a goal to swim every day, and so far I have managed to do it.
I don't know what else to do today. After I leave here, I'm going to walk around the center of Harwich Port, but that doesn't take long. It's not as large as Chatham, and the center doesn't attract as many tourists. But there's a great book shop with used books, and I plan to spend some time there. And I'll probably visit the (expensive) yarn shop. I should go down to the place where my sister bought the inflatable whale... (in the early 90s, when I was coming down here with my parents and my small kids). Maybe I'll take some more pictures of flowers. It's so beautiful down on the Cape, even with gray skies. I plan to retire down here eventually.
This is the night I plan to buy swordfish. That was always a tradition when I came to the Cape with my parents, both as a child and as a younger adult. I want to buy a chunk and cook it on the gas grill on my mini-deck. If it ends up raining, I'll cook it inside.
I'm sitting in the Brooks Free Library in Harwich, accessing their free wifi. (Should it be spelled wi-fi? No, that looks stupid.) It's air conditioned, which is an improvement over the 89% humidity outside. The temperature's only 75, but the humidity makes it feel ten degrees hotter. (WeatherBug says five, but what do they know?) If the sun were actually out, it'd be even hotter.
Yesterday I managed to get a slight sunburn on my back and shoulders. I guess I should have re-applied sunscreen; I was on the beach for around 3 hours. Today I'll just make a short visit, or else I'll keep a tee shirt on. I've made a goal to swim every day, and so far I have managed to do it.
I don't know what else to do today. After I leave here, I'm going to walk around the center of Harwich Port, but that doesn't take long. It's not as large as Chatham, and the center doesn't attract as many tourists. But there's a great book shop with used books, and I plan to spend some time there. And I'll probably visit the (expensive) yarn shop. I should go down to the place where my sister bought the inflatable whale... (in the early 90s, when I was coming down here with my parents and my small kids). Maybe I'll take some more pictures of flowers. It's so beautiful down on the Cape, even with gray skies. I plan to retire down here eventually.
This is the night I plan to buy swordfish. That was always a tradition when I came to the Cape with my parents, both as a child and as a younger adult. I want to buy a chunk and cook it on the gas grill on my mini-deck. If it ends up raining, I'll cook it inside.
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 3
August 4, 2009
I think I spent too much time in the sun today. I spent about three hours at the beach – it was a little hazy, but nice, with a good breeze. Then I drove to Chatham and walked up and down Main Street. I stopped at the cooking shop, the one I know has doughnut muffins under another name, and I got one – they call it a French breakfast muffin – and an iced coffee. See how tired I am? I can't remember the name of the shop. It's something like Chatham Cookery and Cafe. They didn't have rooibos tea. That might sound a little random. Let me explain: Earlier this summer I bought a box of Twinings rooibos tea, and my son and I started drinking it iced. It was delicious. So we went back to the Stop & Shop for another box. They didn't have it. They didn't even have a spot where it should have been. So we thought maybe we got it at the new Hannaford's that just opened where the Wild Oats used to be. Nope, they didn't have any, either. So I tried Shaw's. No luck. The day before I went on vacation, I walked down to Foodie's Urban Grocer near work. They didn't have Twinings, but they did have some organic brand. (I could get up and walk across the room to find out what it is if I weren't so tired.) I bought it, and I've been drinking it here. It's just as good. Anyway, I looked at the Star Market when I was there on Sunday, and I checked at the cookery shop, where they didn't have much tea to speak of anyway. I may make a pass by the Stop & Shop in East Harwich, just in case.
There's a clock with a pendulum over on the wall by the sliding back door. It's a battery-operated quartz clock, and the pendulum doesn't swing in rhythm with the clicking of the seconds. Annoying.
I stopped on the way back from Chatham at the natural foods store up in West Chatham, and got a loaf of When Pigs Fly Hog Heaven bread. It's got all sorts of good stuff in it, including cranberries. It seems a little odd to come to the Cape and buy the same brand of bread I'd have gotten back home, but if it's the best available, why not?
There's a strong breeze, and it's clouded over. I wish I had WeatherBug access here. Yesterday I changed my site to the Chatham airport, but of course, there's no wifi here. It looks like a thunderstorm might be in the works. Tomorrow (I remember from yesterday) the thunderstorm icon was up.
The hydrangeas have been spectacular. They're a Cape tradition; so many houses have them, and they're all in bloom, gorgeous blues and purples and pinks and white. There's a house on North Franklin Street in Lynn with a row of four blue hydrangeas in front of it; it would look right at home on the Cape.
I can hear chickadees in the back yard, and a chipmunk. There have been cardinals and song sparrows and goldfinches. This has really been a wonderful spot. Not a traditional Cape cottage, but still very relaxing.
I think I spent too much time in the sun today. I spent about three hours at the beach – it was a little hazy, but nice, with a good breeze. Then I drove to Chatham and walked up and down Main Street. I stopped at the cooking shop, the one I know has doughnut muffins under another name, and I got one – they call it a French breakfast muffin – and an iced coffee. See how tired I am? I can't remember the name of the shop. It's something like Chatham Cookery and Cafe. They didn't have rooibos tea. That might sound a little random. Let me explain: Earlier this summer I bought a box of Twinings rooibos tea, and my son and I started drinking it iced. It was delicious. So we went back to the Stop & Shop for another box. They didn't have it. They didn't even have a spot where it should have been. So we thought maybe we got it at the new Hannaford's that just opened where the Wild Oats used to be. Nope, they didn't have any, either. So I tried Shaw's. No luck. The day before I went on vacation, I walked down to Foodie's Urban Grocer near work. They didn't have Twinings, but they did have some organic brand. (I could get up and walk across the room to find out what it is if I weren't so tired.) I bought it, and I've been drinking it here. It's just as good. Anyway, I looked at the Star Market when I was there on Sunday, and I checked at the cookery shop, where they didn't have much tea to speak of anyway. I may make a pass by the Stop & Shop in East Harwich, just in case.
There's a clock with a pendulum over on the wall by the sliding back door. It's a battery-operated quartz clock, and the pendulum doesn't swing in rhythm with the clicking of the seconds. Annoying.
I stopped on the way back from Chatham at the natural foods store up in West Chatham, and got a loaf of When Pigs Fly Hog Heaven bread. It's got all sorts of good stuff in it, including cranberries. It seems a little odd to come to the Cape and buy the same brand of bread I'd have gotten back home, but if it's the best available, why not?
There's a strong breeze, and it's clouded over. I wish I had WeatherBug access here. Yesterday I changed my site to the Chatham airport, but of course, there's no wifi here. It looks like a thunderstorm might be in the works. Tomorrow (I remember from yesterday) the thunderstorm icon was up.
The hydrangeas have been spectacular. They're a Cape tradition; so many houses have them, and they're all in bloom, gorgeous blues and purples and pinks and white. There's a house on North Franklin Street in Lynn with a row of four blue hydrangeas in front of it; it would look right at home on the Cape.
I can hear chickadees in the back yard, and a chipmunk. There have been cardinals and song sparrows and goldfinches. This has really been a wonderful spot. Not a traditional Cape cottage, but still very relaxing.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 2
August 3, 2009
Here I am in the Box Office Cafe, drinking iced coffee and accessing their wifi. Technically I'm supposed to get half an hour of time, but it's mid-afternoon and the place isn't all that full, so I hope I'll be able to write about today before I have to leave.
I came down here for my breakfast coffee. They had Sumatran, my favorite. I brought it back to the condo to drink with my day-old meltaway, which wasn't all that great. I won't be repeating that experience (the pastry. The coffee was great.). Some things really aren't as great as they seemed when you were a kid...
I got my beach sticker and was on the beach before 10:30. The water was warm and silky. The sun was bright. A perfect beach day. I don't think I got a sunburn; with any luck, the sunscreen I slapped on actually worked.
Now, I'm down here by myself. The boys are in New Hampshire and my daughter is working in DC. I don't have a Significant Other. Everybody else at the beach seemed to be in groups of family and friends. But I didn't really feel lonely. I talked to some of my fellow swimmers, and when I was on the beach, I read my book. The beach was a garden of brilliantly-colored umbrellas. It was a time to savor.
I left the beach at around noon. Then I made my annual pilgrimage to the Chatham Jam and Jelly Shop. Yeah, I know I said it was overpriced, but I wanted some exotic jams for my English muffins that were on sale at CVS... I got small jars of ginger marmalade and peach melba jam. I had them on an English muffin with a salad for lunch. Delicious.
I've taken some pictures, but I think I'll wait for another time to post them. I really have overstayed my half hour...
Here I am in the Box Office Cafe, drinking iced coffee and accessing their wifi. Technically I'm supposed to get half an hour of time, but it's mid-afternoon and the place isn't all that full, so I hope I'll be able to write about today before I have to leave.
I came down here for my breakfast coffee. They had Sumatran, my favorite. I brought it back to the condo to drink with my day-old meltaway, which wasn't all that great. I won't be repeating that experience (the pastry. The coffee was great.). Some things really aren't as great as they seemed when you were a kid...
I got my beach sticker and was on the beach before 10:30. The water was warm and silky. The sun was bright. A perfect beach day. I don't think I got a sunburn; with any luck, the sunscreen I slapped on actually worked.
Now, I'm down here by myself. The boys are in New Hampshire and my daughter is working in DC. I don't have a Significant Other. Everybody else at the beach seemed to be in groups of family and friends. But I didn't really feel lonely. I talked to some of my fellow swimmers, and when I was on the beach, I read my book. The beach was a garden of brilliantly-colored umbrellas. It was a time to savor.
I left the beach at around noon. Then I made my annual pilgrimage to the Chatham Jam and Jelly Shop. Yeah, I know I said it was overpriced, but I wanted some exotic jams for my English muffins that were on sale at CVS... I got small jars of ginger marmalade and peach melba jam. I had them on an English muffin with a salad for lunch. Delicious.
I've taken some pictures, but I think I'll wait for another time to post them. I really have overstayed my half hour...
Cape Cod Vacation, Part 1
August 2, 2009
It all started when my New Hampshire vacation fell through. On Friday, July 15, my sons and I took a day trip to the Cape. On Saturday, July 16, I found out that their dad's sisters didn't think I was part of the family any more; I wouldn't be welcome at the family cottage after all. Not totally a surprise, I guess, just a rude awakening, since I didn't think any of them actively hated me. So I no longer had a place to go for the first week in August. I went up to bed, disgruntled, only to turn around, come right back downstairs and start to research a possible Harwich Port vacation. The economy still sucks, and I'd heard that there were still properties for rent even during the high season. I sent an email off to Commonwealth Realtors at just after midnight Sunday, July 17. That afternoon I received a response that I could rent this tiny condo in South Harwich for a total of $600, including the security/cleaning deposit. Not Harwich Port, exactly – but a lot closer to it than my living room.
After I agreed to rent it, I remembered that I had a handbell gig on August 1st – a 5:00 wedding – so I'd be arriving quite late. I was out of the church by 5 after six and pulling into the realtor's before 8:30 to pick up the key they'd left in their mailbox for me. It was still dusk then, which was good because, although I knew where the street was, I didn't know exactly where the condo was, and the only address I had was Unit 3. Fortunately I was able to recognize it from the picture.
I was thinking of it as “my little dive” - it looks like a converted motel – but it's much larger than I thought it'd be. Probably was once two motel rooms. It's close enough to Route 28 that I can hear the cars go by, but it's not that bad. I hear birds more often than cars.
It was very humid last night, and the place had been shut up for awhile (at least since that morning, maybe longer), so when I arrived it was stifling. After I moved my things in, I went back out to pick up a sub from the Harwichport House of Pizza (as I said in my blog from last fall, they're of the all-one-word school of the spelling of Harwich Port). I had not been running my air conditioner for the last half-hour of the trip, and when I got back into the car, the windshield immediately steamed up on the inside. When I turned on the a/c to clear it, the outside fogged up horribly. I couldn't see a thing, and it was dark by then. So I decided I wouldn't make any more trips outside.
Turns out they'd left me only a tiny amount of toilet paper, not enough to last until morning.
Well, I thought, I can use tissues – there's a box on the bureau.
With, as it turned out, two tissues left in it.
Now, they left me an extra roll of paper towels. But no toilet paper, and no tissues. I got out the little packet I keep in my pocketbook, just in case it became necessary. Fortunately, it didn't.
This morning, I was out the door before 7:30, and my first stop was CVS for toilet paper. I would have gotten tissues there, too, but I couldn't find them. My second stop was Bonatt's for a meltaway and a cup of coffee. When we vacationed here when I was a kid, Bonatt's was famous for its meltaways, a sweet pastry twisted into a horseshoe and iced with a kind of a streusel topping, as I remember it. The bakery was on the corner of Bank Street, and I remember walking under the fan when we'd walk from the parking lot into the bakery – the sweet smell of doughnuts and other delicious things was intoxicating. Mrs. Bonatt, the elderly proprietor, would give my sister and me bits of broken cookies. I used to love their bran muffins, too.
When my parents and my kids and I vacationed here 20-odd years ago, we tried them again. They'd branched out into fruit-filled, and as I recalled, they'd been delicious. So today I bought two meltaways, a blueberry one, which I ate this morning, and a plain one, which I'll have for breakfast in the morning. The coffee was adequate. The meltaway wasn't as good as I remembered. It seemed a little undercooked, for one thing, and it had an odd spice in it, something like lavender, I'm not kidding. I don't know how the other one will be by tomorrow.
Later on I went to the grocery store – I chose the Star Market (which is, of course, really a Shaw's). It was already crowded although it was only a little after 9. I picked up a few things, but not as much as I'll need for the week, probably.
The early part of the day had been foggy, but most of it had burned off by mid-morning and it was hazy, hot and humid. I decided to put off the beach until after lunch. Oh, yeah, I hadn't bought anything for lunch, had I? I ended up going down to South Chatham to visit the coffee shop the realtor had told me about, the one that she tought had wireless internet access. It did. It's called the Box Office Cafe, and it's kind of a mind-boggling place, well beyond a coffee shop. It's also a pizzeria, a sandwich shop, and it's open from 6 am to 9 pm. All of the sandwiches and pizzas are named after movies. They were posted around the room on fake movie posters. I ended up with an October Sky – I couldn't tell you what the movie was, and I'm here in my condo with no internet access so I can't look it up. The sandwich was cracked pepper turkey (oddly enough, we'd bought some from the deli at the Stop & Shop last week and I'd had it for lunch several times) with raspberry honey mustard, lacey Swiss (which I couldn't taste) on a toasted sub roll with Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions. I ate the entire thing, and it was delicious, although I wish I could have tasted the Swiss. I allowed the guy taking my order to talk me into ordering an iced latte to go with it. I had drunk about half of the iced latte by the time the sandwich was done. I brought it back here to eat; I didn't have my laptop with me, anyway.
By the time I decided to try the beach, it was mid-afternoon. I pulled into the Red River Beach parking lot at 2:45, and discovered that the attendant expected me to have a sticker. Or I could buy a day pass for $15. I had counted my cash before leaving for the beach, and I knew I had $12. So I went off to the Harwich Community Center, which was closing at 3, to see if I could a) find the place, b) get there before it closed, and c) actually purchase said pass. Well, I haven't lost my psychic sense of direction yet. I went straight onto Depot Road, knowing it'd connect with Route 39, and turned left, heading into Harwich. I spotted Oak Street right away and found the Community Center before 3. However, it turned out I needed to have proof of residence – that is, my lease. So I have to go back tomorrow morning.
Now, I was wearing my new bathing suit, the one I bought at least two years ago and still hadn't worn. Not only that, but one of my goals for this vacation is to get to the beach at least once a day. So I parked at the municipal lot in the center of Harwich Port and walked to the beach at the end of Zylpha Road. I'd chosen that location because it was on the list of public beaches the realtor had given me, and it was closer than Wyndemere Bluff. (it's one beach over.) The beach has quite a bit more sand than it did last fall, and the water felt like bath water; I was able to walk right in. I decided not to get my hair wet – I used to hate it when my friends would refuse to get their hair wet! - but I got in up to my neck. I immediately thought of my grandmother and my mother. I was doing it for myself, true, but I know Mom will ask, and I'll be able to say, yes, I went swimming, and it was great. I didn't stay in very long. It's not as much fun with no one to play with. I managed to leave my beach chair in Lynn, so I sat on my towel. I wasn't sure how well I'd do getting down to the ground and up again, what with the fake left knee, but I did fine. I sat and read for awhile. When I decided it was time to leave, I moved my feet and discovered my left foot had been bleeding. I don't have any idea when I'd cut it, and up until I noticed it, it hadn't hurt. It hurts a little bit now, but I hope it's not going to give me any trouble.
So now it's after 7:30 and I'm still full of October Sky sub. I think I'll have ice cream for supper. There's a place not too far from here, Schoolhouse, I think, and I'm planning to head out there soon.
It all started when my New Hampshire vacation fell through. On Friday, July 15, my sons and I took a day trip to the Cape. On Saturday, July 16, I found out that their dad's sisters didn't think I was part of the family any more; I wouldn't be welcome at the family cottage after all. Not totally a surprise, I guess, just a rude awakening, since I didn't think any of them actively hated me. So I no longer had a place to go for the first week in August. I went up to bed, disgruntled, only to turn around, come right back downstairs and start to research a possible Harwich Port vacation. The economy still sucks, and I'd heard that there were still properties for rent even during the high season. I sent an email off to Commonwealth Realtors at just after midnight Sunday, July 17. That afternoon I received a response that I could rent this tiny condo in South Harwich for a total of $600, including the security/cleaning deposit. Not Harwich Port, exactly – but a lot closer to it than my living room.
After I agreed to rent it, I remembered that I had a handbell gig on August 1st – a 5:00 wedding – so I'd be arriving quite late. I was out of the church by 5 after six and pulling into the realtor's before 8:30 to pick up the key they'd left in their mailbox for me. It was still dusk then, which was good because, although I knew where the street was, I didn't know exactly where the condo was, and the only address I had was Unit 3. Fortunately I was able to recognize it from the picture.
I was thinking of it as “my little dive” - it looks like a converted motel – but it's much larger than I thought it'd be. Probably was once two motel rooms. It's close enough to Route 28 that I can hear the cars go by, but it's not that bad. I hear birds more often than cars.
It was very humid last night, and the place had been shut up for awhile (at least since that morning, maybe longer), so when I arrived it was stifling. After I moved my things in, I went back out to pick up a sub from the Harwichport House of Pizza (as I said in my blog from last fall, they're of the all-one-word school of the spelling of Harwich Port). I had not been running my air conditioner for the last half-hour of the trip, and when I got back into the car, the windshield immediately steamed up on the inside. When I turned on the a/c to clear it, the outside fogged up horribly. I couldn't see a thing, and it was dark by then. So I decided I wouldn't make any more trips outside.
Turns out they'd left me only a tiny amount of toilet paper, not enough to last until morning.
Well, I thought, I can use tissues – there's a box on the bureau.
With, as it turned out, two tissues left in it.
Now, they left me an extra roll of paper towels. But no toilet paper, and no tissues. I got out the little packet I keep in my pocketbook, just in case it became necessary. Fortunately, it didn't.
This morning, I was out the door before 7:30, and my first stop was CVS for toilet paper. I would have gotten tissues there, too, but I couldn't find them. My second stop was Bonatt's for a meltaway and a cup of coffee. When we vacationed here when I was a kid, Bonatt's was famous for its meltaways, a sweet pastry twisted into a horseshoe and iced with a kind of a streusel topping, as I remember it. The bakery was on the corner of Bank Street, and I remember walking under the fan when we'd walk from the parking lot into the bakery – the sweet smell of doughnuts and other delicious things was intoxicating. Mrs. Bonatt, the elderly proprietor, would give my sister and me bits of broken cookies. I used to love their bran muffins, too.
When my parents and my kids and I vacationed here 20-odd years ago, we tried them again. They'd branched out into fruit-filled, and as I recalled, they'd been delicious. So today I bought two meltaways, a blueberry one, which I ate this morning, and a plain one, which I'll have for breakfast in the morning. The coffee was adequate. The meltaway wasn't as good as I remembered. It seemed a little undercooked, for one thing, and it had an odd spice in it, something like lavender, I'm not kidding. I don't know how the other one will be by tomorrow.
Later on I went to the grocery store – I chose the Star Market (which is, of course, really a Shaw's). It was already crowded although it was only a little after 9. I picked up a few things, but not as much as I'll need for the week, probably.
The early part of the day had been foggy, but most of it had burned off by mid-morning and it was hazy, hot and humid. I decided to put off the beach until after lunch. Oh, yeah, I hadn't bought anything for lunch, had I? I ended up going down to South Chatham to visit the coffee shop the realtor had told me about, the one that she tought had wireless internet access. It did. It's called the Box Office Cafe, and it's kind of a mind-boggling place, well beyond a coffee shop. It's also a pizzeria, a sandwich shop, and it's open from 6 am to 9 pm. All of the sandwiches and pizzas are named after movies. They were posted around the room on fake movie posters. I ended up with an October Sky – I couldn't tell you what the movie was, and I'm here in my condo with no internet access so I can't look it up. The sandwich was cracked pepper turkey (oddly enough, we'd bought some from the deli at the Stop & Shop last week and I'd had it for lunch several times) with raspberry honey mustard, lacey Swiss (which I couldn't taste) on a toasted sub roll with Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions. I ate the entire thing, and it was delicious, although I wish I could have tasted the Swiss. I allowed the guy taking my order to talk me into ordering an iced latte to go with it. I had drunk about half of the iced latte by the time the sandwich was done. I brought it back here to eat; I didn't have my laptop with me, anyway.
By the time I decided to try the beach, it was mid-afternoon. I pulled into the Red River Beach parking lot at 2:45, and discovered that the attendant expected me to have a sticker. Or I could buy a day pass for $15. I had counted my cash before leaving for the beach, and I knew I had $12. So I went off to the Harwich Community Center, which was closing at 3, to see if I could a) find the place, b) get there before it closed, and c) actually purchase said pass. Well, I haven't lost my psychic sense of direction yet. I went straight onto Depot Road, knowing it'd connect with Route 39, and turned left, heading into Harwich. I spotted Oak Street right away and found the Community Center before 3. However, it turned out I needed to have proof of residence – that is, my lease. So I have to go back tomorrow morning.
Now, I was wearing my new bathing suit, the one I bought at least two years ago and still hadn't worn. Not only that, but one of my goals for this vacation is to get to the beach at least once a day. So I parked at the municipal lot in the center of Harwich Port and walked to the beach at the end of Zylpha Road. I'd chosen that location because it was on the list of public beaches the realtor had given me, and it was closer than Wyndemere Bluff. (it's one beach over.) The beach has quite a bit more sand than it did last fall, and the water felt like bath water; I was able to walk right in. I decided not to get my hair wet – I used to hate it when my friends would refuse to get their hair wet! - but I got in up to my neck. I immediately thought of my grandmother and my mother. I was doing it for myself, true, but I know Mom will ask, and I'll be able to say, yes, I went swimming, and it was great. I didn't stay in very long. It's not as much fun with no one to play with. I managed to leave my beach chair in Lynn, so I sat on my towel. I wasn't sure how well I'd do getting down to the ground and up again, what with the fake left knee, but I did fine. I sat and read for awhile. When I decided it was time to leave, I moved my feet and discovered my left foot had been bleeding. I don't have any idea when I'd cut it, and up until I noticed it, it hadn't hurt. It hurts a little bit now, but I hope it's not going to give me any trouble.
So now it's after 7:30 and I'm still full of October Sky sub. I think I'll have ice cream for supper. There's a place not too far from here, Schoolhouse, I think, and I'm planning to head out there soon.
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