Washing away the cobwebs

“Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.”
~ Dee Hock

Experts say that taking time off allows your mind to process all that you’ve been cramming into it, and to noodle through some of those nagging questions you haven’t had time to ponder. So when I go on vacation, I try to leave plenty of space for good old-fashioned vegging out – and a rainy day is a perfect excuse to do just that. Of course, sunshine is a good excuse for it as well, which the last several days have proved! But for some reason today felt like a true veg day.

I think everyone on the entire east coast got something of a drenching over the last few days as a front comes through bringing up remnants of tropical storm Andrea. I managed to squeak in a long walk on the beach this morning – a little cool and breezy, and occasionally drizzly, but peaceful nonetheless.  I headed down the road a bit to walk on Paine’s Creek Beach. The storms over the last few years have changed the contours of the beach a bit –  the parking lot is completely gone and the homes along the beach seem a lot more exposed than before.

Paine’s Creek Beach.
  

After the long walk, I stopped to browse at the Brewster Bookstore and eat some lunch at the Marshside restaurant. Afterwards, I took a drive for a bit to indulge my real estate envy.

The rain came in earnest by mid-day so I spent the afternoon reading on the porch. It was chilly, but I made it cozy with my light jacket and a throw blanket fashioned from a beach towel. Today, I finished Zig Zag: The surprising path to greater creativity and made additional progress on Networked: The new social operating system – both interesting reads that gave me lots to ponder.

All you need for reading – a comfy spot and a restful view.

“A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.”
~ Robert Orben

I’ll be leaving the Cape tomorrow all rested and refreshed. Between the stunning beach walks, the stimulating reading, and rain to clear away any lingering cobwebs – I would call this a successful vacation so far.  I have another treat in store visiting the Connecticut Lombardozzi’s overnight on Saturday, extending my vacation for one more day.

I’m hopeful the rain will break early enough to allow for one more long beach walk. That would be icing on the cake!

“Total physical and mental inertia are highly agreeable, much more so than we  allow ourselves to imagine. A beach not only permits such inertia but enforces  it, thus neatly eliminating all problems of guilt. It is now the only place in  our overly active world that does.”
~ John Kenneth Galbraith