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.