On our way here we were able to stop and see the wife of my friend who died . . . his widow now.
B and I were talking in the car along the way, and we wondered whether we were visiting her for her benefit, or ours. We didn't even know precisely why we were going. We just knew we had to.
We had a very nice afternoon with his wife and daughter as they showed us around their new condo complex (It's not officially a 55-and over community, she told us, but everybody who lives here is over 55). We reminisced about my friend, and she retold the story of how they first met at a meditation seminar, back in 1974.
And then B and I continued on to Cape Cod. Or, as I talked about in my July 6 post "Singing Past the Graveyard" we moved on with our lives, which we do as human beings. Or as the singer said about Clementine . . .
How I missed her, how I missed her
How I missed my Clementine,
Till I kissed her little sister,
And forgot my Clementine.
I guess maybe I feel a little guilty about moving on with my life. But I have to say, after agonizing over a multitude of decisions we confronted when moving and unpacking and settling in to our new place, it feels nice that today our weighty decisions involve whether we go to the Sea St. beach or the Bank St. beach. Do we go over to The Port for dinner, or get some corn on the cob and clam chowder and eat at home?
The house we're renting belongs to a former captain in the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve. There is a lobster trap on the ceiling, a ship's captain's table in the living room, a map of Cape Cod shipwrecks on the dining room wall. The pillows have pictures of sailboats on them; the bedspreads are festooned with anchors, the bookcase is filled with titles like Tales of the New England Coast.There is also a guide to International Naval Signal Flags on the wall, and so last night and this morning I've been learning the signal flags. I'm doing this from memory, so correct me if I'm wrong . . .
Alfa
Bravo
Charlie
Delta
Echo
Foxtrot
Golf
Hotel
India
J ... I forget J
Kilo
Lima
... and I'll learn the rest of them for next time. Ahoy there!
12 comments:
Oh, I love the Cape! I have so many fond memories from when my hubby and I would go there. We'd usually go the week after Labor Day. A little quieter, but the weather still wonderful. We rented the same place year after year, in Truro, near the rail trail. Just loved riding our bikes blissfully for miles without having to worry about car traffic.
One recommendation: The Box Lunch. Their Gilded Lobster Rollwich is to die for!
We haven't been down to the Cape in ages. The traffic became so horrid that we stopped going. But I do have fond memories of going down there every summer and wandering the rail trail, the beaches etc. Watch out for ticks. They are everywhere down there. Especially Race Point Beach.
Lovely place for a vacation. I do like the Cape.
I've never been to Cape Cod and need to make an effort to visit.
So many trips to Cape Cod in my lifetime. i was just there in April for a weekend to get away for a change of scenery. I have never been on the Cape during the sleepy time when most tourists are gone. I had always wondered what it would be like to live there year round especially during the long winter months. It was desolate and very quiet, so I will return to the Cape again as a tourist. It is a special place in my heart and calls to me at different times in my life. Enjoy your time there and hope you have good memories to fall back on when you leave for home.
I've come to the Cape several times after Labor Day, and Carole, you're right, the weather is perfect and the worst of the crowds are gone in September. I've also been here in November, and while there's a certain stark beauty to the place, it's a little cold and lonely for my taste. We're lunching with friends who retired here (there are a lot of retirees living on the Cape), and they love it ... but they also go away for about a month in the winter.
I've never been to the Cape, so I can only know it through others. You make the place you are staying sound very interesting. It amazes me a little that retirees would find Cape Cod a good place to live. I always thought it was very uninviting in the winter. :-)
Roberta.... I worked at Woods Hole for one summer more than 50 years ago. It was a lot of fun and I loved the Cape. The traffic was horrible then also. Perhaps it is worse now... perception is so important.
I have not visited the Cape but it sounds like fun.
Hi Tom! Glad to hear that you have planned some time away at the beach. I think after moving it is really important to get away and just "chill" a while because as you well know, moving is a lot of work. Plus, once you return you'll be able to appreciate all the new and good things about your new home. Enjoy yourself! ~Kathy
Juliett?
Like many of your other readers, I have never been to Cape Cod before...but it is definitely on my list!
Juliet
Post a Comment