Demarcation

What is it about taking a long drive that really makes it feel like you are on vacation? I’ve actually been on vacation since Thursday, but the last four days were filled with errands and chores and typical weekend activities rather than vacation fare. Now that I have traveled over 400 miles, I truly feel away from it all.

The drive up was lovely – easy driving, variably sunny day, great music. Once you get into New England, the road seems a little like a highway to heaven… trees on both sides of the highway, and glimpses of rivers and sound from the tops of the bridges. The sky is so big and beautifully blue behind huge puffy white clouds that seem to tower into the stratosphere. I shouted out my countdown of states… New Jersey! New York! Connecticut! Rhode Island! Massachusetts!  And at last… Cape Cod!

Along the way, I hopped off the highway at Westport, Connecticut to get some lunch and managed to wind up at a terrific beach on the sound. Next time, I’ll have to remember to pack a picnic lunch! Connecticut has a 9/11 memorial in this park – a landscaped outcropping that serves as a “living memorial.” In the ground on either side of the memorial stone are rows of stones with the names of all of the Connecticut residents who died in the 9/11 attacks. As you read the dedication, you are facing out towards the New York City skyline (not visible today). Quite touching.

  
 I think seeing this butterfly is a good omen!

Donna and Byron Cain, innkeepers at my perennial favorite, Brewster by the Sea B&B, bought another property just down the road, and I am staying there – at the lovely Captain Freeman Inn. My room (the Barnstable) is tucked away in the back of the second floor and promises to be a cozy hideaway. Byron was excited to show me all of the beautiful details of the Inn, and the property is just beautiful – old and stately (built in 1866!) – I can’t wait to explore it more.

  
Check out the cozy reading porch… perfect for blogging and getting in a few more chapters before bed.

But this is what I came to see… sunset on Cape Cod Bay. Personally, I need no other proof of the existence of God than a sunset on the beach. Just breathtaking.