Cape Cod Day 4 - October 10 2010

Vacations make me act in the most unexpected way, like after a restful nights sleep to awake at a much earlier time than I normally would drag myself out of bed at home. The unexpected is that today at 7am (california time 4am) I could no longer lay in bed, even willing myself to fall back to sleep. My little curtains were open and the morning sun combined with the fresh cool air, beaconed me outside. Jeff was very tired and as I left the bedroom dressed in my red pJ's with with hearts patterned over them, a white t-shirt and black vest he said 'don't be too long'. My intention was to only walk the short distance down the road to the beach, sit for a bit on the steps leading to the water and then return. As I started to walk the chilly ocean breeze met me face on and i felt strangely alive and loving the morning. Where is the person who hates mornings? I had not walked but a few steps down the road when I became aware that I was not the only one awake. The area has a large population of squirrels and I watched their antics for some time before moving on. They ran on the ground, jumped on to tree trunks and ran at top speed straight up, then back down, from the ground I watched them maneuver their bodies nimbly through the ever present hydrangea bush that grows like a weed here. From flimsy branches of hydrangeas they jumped on to fences and scurried across the pickets holding their long bushy tails up as they ran. There were birds in every bush singing morning songs. Nature was up with animals playing in their own play ground and I was lucky enough to glimpse it for a few minutes.
I stood atop the flight of stairs and as I looked on the sand was memorized by the simple yet beautiful picture there. The shells, seaweed clusters and seagulls, the ripples of the sand still yet damp from their recent formation. I walked down the dozen or so wooden steps being careful not to slip on the recently deposited sand from other early morning beach walkers, turned left and started walking. I walked to the next set up stairs to the street walked up them and along the road for a short block, a right turn, another right and then back to the beach. As I walked the beach i did things that all people do, I bent and picked up shells, I knelt down to get a better look at the seaweed laid out in beautiful patterns on the sand. The wet sand the backdrop for the deep olive green of the fronds, each dimpled with a delicate pattern. I felt like a kid as I picked up the perfect fan shell, no broken edges rough on the outside and glistening clean and shiny on the inside. I walked for about 15 minutes and started back, had a moment of anxiety when I wondered if I could find the right set of stairs that would take me home. On the way back I paid more attention to what was at eye level rather than on the sand and I saw Cape Cod that is so often photographed. It was the spectacular shoreline so different from any other I have seen. The distance from the waters edge to the large boldered retaining wall is quite narrow, less than 100 feet. The sand is so fine that when you walk on it it feels smooth, not gritty. The smell of the ocean is clean and fresh with only a mild hint of the salt that it is appealing. I am not beach person and never thought the beach to be a very nice destination. But here, on the Cape, I could get used to the beach life. Nestled amongst the rocks were huge rounded bushes of blooming white daisies occasionally interspersed with single stalks of a lavender colored flower that I have forgotten the name of. Grape stakes are used to make 3 foot hight fences to control the movement of sand and these added to the delightful picture. Some of the fences stood straight and erect, other sections had fallen, laying on the sand all adding to the peaceful picture. I walked back to the house wanting more of this morning to continue.
Today was Sunday so the 6 of us went to church (Marvin and Dee have joined us and are staying in town) at 9:30 for Sacrament and then we left to tour for the day. Our first stop was the Heritage Gardens in Sandwich. They were nice with many old and established trees, but the beauty of the garden was not in bloom. The garden had hundreds if not thousands of Rhodadrendon bushes, all in bud. Some of the bushes were at least 20 feet high so I can only imagine what the grounds looked like in full bloom. I told Jeff that you can't have fall colors if you come in the spring. There was a nice Art display and car museum that we all enjoyed before leaving.
Our driving tour on route 6A -the upper most road on the Cape - started in the town of Sandwich and meandered along country lanes lined with trees just starting to change color. We went underneath the natural canopy created by the trees and I loved seeing the leaves being whipped up the wind and seemingly dancing before us before settling on the ground. All along the scenic byway traditional Cape Cod houses could been seen with there grayed silver shake outsides, white trim and most often black shutters. It is a beautiful drive with changing vegetation, from lush green to inlets from the ocean lined with reeds and grasses. We drove through the small towns - really just a few shops, of East Sandwich, Barnstable, Yarmouth Port, Dennis ending in Brewster and then driving south back to Harwich Port. We had dinner at the Hearth and Kettle which was quite good. Back to the house where Jeff fiddled with Marvin's GPS system a hot chocolate while watching the tv show The Amazing Race' and now: I am going to bed.