Monday, December 9, 2013

Blondie on the Cape

Blondie on the Cape


I found this blog that I wrote back in the summer of 2012. Not sure why I never published it but how fun to put it up in the dark, cold days of winter. It has sparked my imagination -- I hope it does the same for you. It fits neatly in between my other blog posts Blondie in the Reef, Blondie Along the Atlantic Coast and Blondie in the Pond. Please enjoy. I would love for you to follow my blog and leave a comment. I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday season.

As I am writing this I am on Route 6 in Sandwich, Massachusetts in a lovely part of the world called Cape Cod. We are in week 3 of our amazing and fabulous vacation that began in Orlando, Florida, then continued up the coast to Maryland to see my family and then to Cape Cod, Massachusetts for several days. Now we are heading to Maine for a week with great friends and their kids. 

Our time in Cape Cod was spent 
with our feet in the ocean.
Our time on the Cape was spent with our feet in the ocean, despite the cool early June temps. As Murphy's Law would have it, today, as were leaving it is supposed to be 97 degrees. Temps while we were on Cape were in the upper 60's most of the time and definitely not warm enough for this southern gal to disrobe and jump in the cold water.

We arrived four days ago midday and the sun was shining as a bonnie wee welcome.  So we quickly dropped our stuff off at the Sesuit Harbor Hotel, a quaint little place in Brewster, and headed to the beach.

I love the water, but I can't lie, I love being warm even more, and with the cool temps there was a zero percent chance of me swimming. At Crow's Pasture in Dennis Beach we parked the car and walked about a half mile to the beach through beautiful scrubby pine forest chock 'o block full of poison ivy with constant reminders for the kids, "Do not let any, I MEAN ANY, plant touch your body!" With last year's fiasco still fresh in my mind where Shorty got a month long rash from something and I spent the entire trip with hydrocortisone cream in my pocket waiting for the, "I'm itchy" to begin again. I was determined to sleep through every night without 'bug goo' at the ready this year.

We arrived at the beach and walked over the grassy poison ivy filled dune (no lie, it was all along the path) expecting to see the glorious Cape stretched out before us. To our surprise there wasn't a lick of the sea in site. It was low tide and an incredible view. The tide was at least a half a mile out, leaving small puddles warming in the sun. You could see the oyster beds exposed as we squished along in the sun warmed sand, all of us eager to get our feet wet in the salty water.
Oyster beds at low tide basking in the sun.

The dry crusty layers around my soul began to fall away as I got closer to the sea and were completely gone by the time I got knee deep in the glorious water. Dirtville was becoming a mere memory. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the shallow waves, my spirit soaring with the gulls in the sky. Sun, sand, and beach were the perfect tonic to the dry, dirty, and hot place I call home.  

The next day we went back to the same beach at high tide. This time the sun was hiding, the clouds taking over the afternoon. It hardly looked like the same place. We walked around the dunes to the part of where the cars can drive on the beach, with a permit.


The dunes were gorgeous!

Now as I write this we are stuck in traffic in Quincy, Massachusetts. I remember now what I didn't like about this area. There is no rush hour in Dirtville. Doesn't help that they drive like complete Massholes! 

The kids had a ball just digging in the sand and finding seashells. There was a tiny tidal creek on the back of the beach with water still heading out to sea. Of course I walked the entire length of it in the water. Small minnows skitted out of the way as my feet squished in the soft sand littered with shells and rocks. It was blissful to be in the water for so much of the day.
Me happy to be in the water all day!

Tidal creeks heading out with the tide.
After a few hours of poking around we packed it up and went to another beach where the whelk shells littered the beach ready to be added to our massive shell collection. This place was stunning with a small strip of beach and a hill leading to some amazing homes. The wind whipped up making us all wish we had another layer on. It didn't keep me out of the water though. It was surprisingly warm and delish.

I don't remember the name of this beach, but it had huge whelk shells.
We are slowly crawling through Boston on 93N. Man I miss the city. Wishing we'd left a day to explore my old haunts on our way to Maine.

After many good finds (sea shells) we headed out to Kate's in Brewster for some fried clams. The kids even tried it. "You mean that wasn't chicken?" The sun came out and we decided we had to hit another beach and I am so glad we did. Panes Creek Beach is an amazing place. If you time it right you can ride out the tide about half a mile on a narrow strip of water that flows at a good clip like a lazy river as the water is heading out.


Pane's Creek at low tide -- an amazingly beautiful place.
We hit it at low tide and walked the four inch to about 2 foot deep sections of the flowing water towards the beach. The kids enjoyed their new shovel and dug up the sea snails, hermit crabs, and clams.

The bright sun gave the water a mesmerizing shimmer (see video), and we walked for what seemed like forever to reach the bay. The sun was so low in the sky it made everything just a few shades more beautiful. If it had been earlier I would have tippy toed out to the sand bar that was another 500 feet or so out, not caring a bit if my pants were completely soaked. 


As it was my family almost had to drag me out of the water kicking and screaming, but they lured me away with the promise of a 'lobstah' dinner. I thought it would taste just as good in another hour, but the kids were hungry and would have become insufferable if I let my whims take over. I'm sure there would have been another sand bar just a bit further out and who knows how long I'd be in the water.

'Lobstah' dinner was waiting for me ...

Live Free or Die is the state motto of New Hampshire that we just entered, or as I like to fondly call it New Hamster. I had an amazing canoe/camping trip from NH to Maine years ago with the same friends we're meeting in Maine. Great fresh bread, Kahlua, and steak cooked on a dirty rock followed by the sounds of coyotes in the night...but that is another blog post for another day. Just paid a $2 toll with a $100 bill -- the guy is loving us! Only 4 more hours in the car. Whew, why did we decide to drive from Dirtville to Florida and then to Maine? Oh yea, I needed some time with my favorite coast, the East one.

Another day we went to Coast Guard Beach and enjoyed a windy and sunny day in the sand. Too bad the weather was still too cool to swim. Actually, I take that back. We found out the following week that a great white shark was spotted about 15 feet out in the water just where we were sunbathing. Very glad we didn't run into that guy! I supposed everything happens for a reason. 
Coast Guard Beach, visited by us and a great white shark!

I can't wait to get back to Cape Cod. Next time we'll come a bit later in the summer to get in some swimming and more water adventures! And a major bonus none of us got poison ivy so our days in Maine were itch free!

If you ever get the chance, you really need to spend some time on the Cape. In a lot of ways it is like going back in time. The small quaint towns and miles and miles of the bay and ocean to explore are heavenly. You will leave refreshed and your soul recharged. I know I did! Now for a blissful week in Maine. I fully expect to be knee deep in the icy water most of every day. 

KJ WATERS

I am a mom and a writer working on my first novel Stealing Time, that I'm hoping to have out this spring. It's a time travel thriller set in 2004 Florida during Hurricane Charley. Please check out my social media links below. 

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