Vacation Day One

Today was all about just absorbing the feel of the sun on my back, the wind in my face and the sand under (and in) my shoes (it’s too cold for bare feet!).  I wanted to sit for hours on the beach and just read, but the wind was just a little on the chilly side – especially in the National Seashore, where the ocean was really kicking up.  Still, I managed to walk three beaches and make progress on three different books, so I’ll count it as a good day.

I slept GREAT last night – the beds here are just heavenly.  I may need to purchase the mattress covers they use.  According to brochures, one guest reported it was like sleeping on clouds, and it’s true.  In addition to the lovely accommodations, breakfast is always a real treat.  This morning, it was baked pears followed by herbed eggs and an apricot scone.  Donna and Byron had noted that I don’t care for blueberries, so they made the scone just for me (the other guests had blueberry muffins).  How nice to be treated like a queen!

After breakfast, I decided to do a beach tour.  Today is likely to be the best weather day of the trip.  I drove up to Wellfleet the check out Nauset Light Beach – I’d never been there.  It is just as spectacular as my favorite, Marconi Beach – just a little further south.  It was partly sunny, and the ocean was frothing with 3-4 foot waves.  I just love the sound of crashing surf!  After a long walk, I decided to park myself on the beach with my beach chair, my umbrella (silly, but I do get sunburned!), and a book.  I lasted about 30 minutes.  The wind off the water was constant and cool.  As much as I loved it, there are other beaches to try out…

    
Here’s a picture of the most famous lighthouse on the Cape –
Nauset Light, high on the bluff

     
Pictures of the sand and surf on Nauset Beach.

    And here’s me – walking on the beach.  🙂

Next, I drove over to Wellfleet, which is on the bay side of the Cape.  The town itself looked pretty much closed down for the winter still, but I found the harbor and decided to hang out there for a bit.  There was a little restaurant right across from the water called (creatively) Wellfleet Bookstore and Restaurant.  The bookstore was actually closed, but I had a quick late lunch of grilled ham and cheese.  Then I took my beach chair down on the beach in the harbor.  It was less sunny by then, but also less windy on the Bay side.  The temperature was in the low 60s.  I tired to read a bit, but had no concentration for some reason.  So I walked that beach – which was easier to walk because the sand was harder.  I heard some gulls fighting over their lunch, and they sounded more like cats fighting than like gulls.  I’m used to gulls having a high-pitched scree, but these were making low pitched sounds like I’ve never heard.  And yes, they were gulls of some kind, not ducks; I do know the difference.  There were also some folks doing some shell fishing (I think).  They were out in the harbor with those silly-looking hip waders.  They were out surprisingly far, so I guess it is pretty shallow where I was sitting.  And the tide was going out – by the time I left, some of the boats tied to buoys were sitting on wet sand.

    
The great expanse of sand at the much-quieter beach on Wellfleet Harbor.

After Wellfleet, I came back to Brewster by the Sea and hung out in the back garden reading for a short bit.  But sunshine not only makes me happy, it also makes me sleepy, so I curled up in my room for a brief nap.  About 7 pm, I decided to go see if I could find a light bite for dinner.  But driving up the road, I changed my mind and decided to check out the sunset on Paine’s Beach.  AWESOME!!   I wound up spending an hour and a half walking and watching the sun go down.  Worth giving up dinner for.  Wow.

   
Going… going… gone.

Last time I was up here, I decided to collect a rock every time I walk on the beach.  That way, if I’m stressed out, I can just pick up one of those rocks and bring back the feeling of the beaches of Cape Cod.  So far, I’ve collected four.  I picked up a small white and orange stone last night.  From Nauset Light Beach, I kept a long flat sandy-colored rock that reminded me of the beach itself, and it has striations on it that remind me of the froth of the waves.  My Wellfleet stone has a sad ending.  I picked up a beautiful glass-like pink and white rock, but it must have come out of my pocket when I pulled out my keys.  I replaced it with a similar-style white stone from Paine’s Beach, but I’ll always remember it’s just a substitute.  My “sunset at Paine’s Beach” stone is a multicolored flat stone with a lot of rust color in it that reminded me of the color of the sunset.  My goal is to walk a beach at least once or twice a day, so I should have quite the collection when I return home.