Back on the Cape

I have arrived safe and sound, and better still – in time to have a picnic dinner on Paine’s Beach…

The drive up was a fabulous way to bring the curtain down on what I’ve left behind and to bring the curtain up on a great vacation.  What more do you need for that interlude than a red car, a sunroof, a beautiful spring day, loud music on the stereo, and smooth sailing, traffic-wise?    And nothing like blaring old John Denver tunes to put you in a good mood: 

“On the road of experience, I’m trying to find my own way.  Sometimes I wish that I could fly away.  When I think that I’m moving, suddenly things stand still.  I’m afraid ’cause I think they always will.  And I’m looking for space, and to find out who I am.  And I’m looking to know and understand.  It’s a sweet, sweet dream.  Sometimes I’m almost there.  Sometimes I fly like an eagle, and sometimes I’m deep in despair.   All alone in the universe, sometimes that’s how it seems.  I get lost in the sadness and the screams.  Then I look in the center, suddenly everything’s clear.  I find myself in the sunshine and my dreams.” 

Well said, John!  I was certainly “in the sunshine” today.  And looking in the center and reconnecting with your dreams is the whole point of vacation!

On the drive, I was noticing the color of the trees in bloom – every shade of green, and yellow-green, and gold, and orange-gold, and red, with a few pink and white ones, too.  In Connecticut, 95 North skirts the shoreline, so there are tantalizing glimpses of the Sound and lots of rivers and inlets, all of them sparkling and blue in the sun.  Then in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the trees became more creamy yellow, punctuated with a lot of scruffy evergreens that grow hardy in the sandy soil. 

My rooms are just great – a tucked away and comfy suite.  The stair is a bit steep, but well worth the climb.  There’s even a little overlook to the common room (that I can close off with a couple of double doors).  The bed is so high, I’ll have to take a running leap to get in!  But it looks grand. 

Best of all – Paine’s Beach is still magic.  I dropped my suitcases at 5:30 pm, and then drove down the road to pick up a sandwich to take to the beach.  First, a long walk, then a picnic dinner, a little reading, then some more walking and quiet time to contemplate the sunset.  It’s so quiet there – no sound except the lapping of the waves, the cries of the gulls, and the sound of the wind blowing past your ears.  It got a little chilly as the sun went down, but I just pulled out a stadium blanket I have in the car and hung out some more.  I think I have some windburn on my face, but it was worth it.  See if you don’t think so…