Exploring the Cape pt. 2

The final stretch of road that took us to Provincetown was amazing. There was sand everywhere except for on the road. The streets of Provincetown were super narrow and I'm honestly not sure how people even get around there during the height of the summer. It was beautiful with a lot of old world kind of charm to it.

We ate our picnic lunch in the safety (and warmth) of the van before wandering down the boardwalk or pier or whatever it's called. A police officer stopped to show Joshua the siren on his cruiser.

We headed back to the car and watched a poor guy load wrestle a port-a-potty onto the back of his truck. The WHIPPING wind was NOT making it an easy task. Hearing Jake and Paul cheer him on with their British ways of saying things made it ten times more funny than it already was. 

The day was getting on and the car had grown silent. We'd seen all that there was to see and we were headed home for a quiet night with Hannah's parents. We'd gone from strangers to friends. The silence was comfortable and interrupted with bursts of conversation or snippets of songs that were possibilities for the reception. Joshua suggested several of his favorites. He knew the titles AND could hum enough of the beat that Jake knew EXACTLY what he was talking about.

 The first day of my trip couldn't have gone ANY better.

Exploring the Cape pt. 1

Getting to MA was an overnight expedition this time around. Normally, I try to catch flights that leave early in the day so that it's not super late by the time I make it to the east coast. It turns out that flying out after dinner, traveling through the night, and then arriving mid-morning the next day is actually really, really nice. I'm not sure if I had a unique experience, but from the way my trip went, I would highly recommend this kind of flying. I kept telling everyone that I felt great even though I was giving it a few days to see if things caught up with me. They never did. 

Airports are always entertaining. It turns out that they are especially entertaining in the middle of the night. I only slept on the planes, so my airport time was spent doing some major people watching. At one point, I was convinced that I was sitting feet away from Anne Lamott. I may have been, but after totally staring at her for the longest time, I changed my mind. People were doing laps. There was a lady talking at the top of her lungs on her cell phone. And then there was a guy who was on both of my flights. He was SUPER friendly and I think he made friends with nearly every person on the plane. He wandered around the gate chatting up whoever he made eye contact with. 

The morning after I arrived in MA, my friend Hannah announced that we were going to pile into the van to explore the Cape. There was a lot of rain, people were fighting sicknesses, and yet, the day was sunny and about as warm as it was going to get, so we needed to make the most of it. Hannah, Jake, Paul, Marja, Joshua, Finn, and I maxed out the mini van with plans to see Coast Guard Beach, The Atlantic Spice Co in Truro, and Provincetown. We took along a picnic lunch and headed out with the whole day ahead of us. 

I've known Hannah since I was 19, but had only met everyone else HOURS before. It was kind of hilarious being in the car with a bunch of strangers who also happened to be British. I kept finding myself tuning out their conversation because A) it didn't feel like it was my business to listen and B) it occasionally sounded like a foreign language. They were all super friendly and a day exploring the Cape was the perfect way to get to know everyone A LOT better. 

Coast Guard Beach was every bit as beautiful as I remembered it. Making our way out further onto the Cape was exciting to me. Especially since tourist season was still at least a month away. Things were deserted and deserted tourist towns make amazing places to explore. We took our time. We looked at what we wanted to look at. We weren't rushed or hurried along by other vacationers. We had almost everywhere we went allllll to ourselves. 

At Coast Guard Beach, Joshua (who is 4 1/2 years old) came over to me and pressed two sea shells into my hand. I tucked them into my purse. That little boy managed to work his way right into my heart over the course of our visit to MA. We played with his toys, making sure the "baddies" and the "goodies" were equally matched. We read books. We ate snacks. We played outside. And in short, we became fast friends. By the time the wedding rolled around, he was my little buddy. He even left his place at the front of the church during the middle of the ceremony to walk down the aisle and wave at me. <3 nbsp="" p="">

Back to the first real day of my trip...Hannah, Marja, Finn, and I chose to stay close to the cliffs to stay out of the wind. Jake, Paul, and Joshua headed straight for the part of the beach where the tide was going in and out. They got as close to the water as they could without getting wet. There was one point where Joshua ALMOST fell right into the ocean. He was being sooooo careful to follow Jake's lead, but the sand was mushy and it was a close call. Jake looked like a Nervous Nellie, Joshua was totally shocked, and the rest of us thought it was absolutely hilarious.

The Atlantic Spice Company is a fun little stop. I overheard one lady telling her friend that her Mom ALWAYS stops there whenever she visits. I can't say that I wasn't keeping my eye out for Mary Higgins Clark, just in case.

And there you have Part One...I've got one more post to share on this day and then a handful of others to cover the rest of my trip! We'll get through them.

Have you ever been to Cape Cod? 

His Name May Not Be George

July 30, 2016

Tomorrow marks the end of another July. I've been outside for just over an hour enjoying my dinner, a wander and watering session in my garden, and one last hour reading over one of the essays in a volume of essays by E.B. White for the first time. I'm two hours away from the place where I started reading this book and only a few miles from the little bookstore where I bought it several summers ago while on vacation. 

I came home from that vacation and put the book on the shelf because I wanted to save it for winter reading. Ever since that winter, I pick it up when the mood is right and read an essay or two. More often than not, I take the little book out to the bench that sat outside of our other house and now sits outside of The Queen's Cottage. Sometimes the weather is the perfect temperature - like tonight - and other times I'm pushing things. On those days, I bring something hot out to drink, pull my hood on, and wrap a blanket around every bit of me that I can. 

Even though I firmly believe in writing in books, this is one book that I haven't made a single mark in. Well, other than the short note I jotted on the title page to remind me of when and where I bought it. I haven't marked up this book, not because the words aren't worthy of interacting with, but because I almost always end up interacting with them in other ways. I stop and pause and savor and laugh and reread when I read E.B. White. After I'm done, I sit in silence thinking over what I've read a little while longer and then, more often than not, I head to my desk and write something of my own. Sometimes - like tonight - I write about what I've read. Other times, I write a piece on a topic that reading his words inspired me to tackle. When I'm done with all of that, I read snippets of White's piece to whoever happens to be around.  

It is fitting that this last essay by a man I adore should be about a place I adore, namely, Massachusetts. To make matters even sweeter, it's an ode to a writer he admired. E.B. White had  a way of seeing past things. In this case, he looked past the fact that one of his most treasured and well-read books was titled "Birds of Massachusetts and Other New England States" and that it dealt with a past-time that neither he nor I have taken up (though I have always thought it interesting). 

 
He observed, enjoyed, and learned from the skill of the author, one Edward Howe Forbush, especially when it came to the "rambling essays" that he wrote on each bird. Like White before me, I have found a writer whose work means more to me than it probably should. When I read "Charlotte's Web" back in second grade and then the other two of his books for children in fourth and fifth grades, I thought that was "it". I looked and looked for more stories by White and came back empty. I had no idea that he wrote pages and pages of words for the New Yorker or that volumes of these and other pieces existed. 

I own two volumes now and am always watching for others to add to my collection. Reading White at 7 and then again at 9 and 10 was just as sweet as reading his essays has been since I first discovered them when I was 23. I expect it always will be. 

His name may not be George, but he can write and I love him for it.

Another post White inspired me to write.

P.S. Please excuse the weird spacing...
Blogger isn't cooperating with me tonight.

When a Quiet Sunday Doesn't Help

August 28, 2010

I was bored for the first time in a LONG time yesterday. I had planned to read and rest and spend time with my family.

It turned out that my brother and sister made plans to hang out with some of their friends after church and my Mom just picked up a brand new Kathy Reichs book so that's been how she wants to use her free time for the last few days.

So...I read some blogs. I read a magazine. I tried to read my book. I wandered around outside. It was  nearly 90 degrees and I knew I would regret not doing SOMETHING outside. I thought about calling Jay to see if he wanted to go for a bike ride, but then it was pretty hot for that, so I decided not to. I called my other brother a few times and left him a witty voicemail because apparently he was busy too.

Do you ever have days like that? Where you find yourself without a single person to do anything with and then you realize that you have NOTHING to do.

It wasn't long before I started REALLY missing all of my friends in New England. When I did my student teaching, I moved to Cape Cod and was part of a great church. I met so many friends that make me consider dealing with New England winters because I enjoyed doing life with them so much....

When my family plans bombed out, I found myself wishing that...

Hannah and I would chat over breakfast and then call Shauna only to discover that Rachael was at her house already. We would head to that little seafood shop and grab lunch to eat on Coast Gaurd beach.

We'd go to Hannah's house and find her parents getting up the leaves that fell from the tree that day. We'd grab another sheet and a few more rakes and help them before the task become unbearable with the passing of another day and the falling of another ton of leaves.

Then Andrea would pop over after her shift at starbucks and we'd all watch a movie. Glenn would make the popcorn and Carol would ask us about our day and maybe she'd even have some ginger cookies ready...

I'm here and I truly want to be here, so very far away from Cape Cod and all of the people that I love there. But sometimes, I really, really miss it. Quiet Sundays don't really help with that.

Best Reads From the Summer of 2014

One of my favorite things to do that is basically cheap or free is to read. I'll give just about any genre a chance, but I am known to choose my books by the season and the cover.

Discovering new authors is always great and sharing them with my friends is always my next step, so I thought I'd share a little "best of" list with you!

"Women of the Word" by Jen Wilkin * * * * *

Aside from John Piper's book "Don't Waste Your Life", this one is the most influential book that I have ever read. It has CHANGED the way I study the Bible. After reading this book in June I started a study of 1 Peter using the step-by-step methods that Wilkin laid out and it has been one of the richest studies I've ever done in my life. I want everyone I know to read "Women of the Word"!

If you long to know more of God's Word or if you've known that your Bible study time could be richer, get this book. Actually, if you are still alive on this earth, get this book.

I'm serious. It's THAT helpful!

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"Navigating Early" by Clare Vanderpool (YA) * * * *

It was a Wednesday evening and I was filling in at the library with my Mom. Whenever it gets slow, I like to step away from the counter and look around. I look in my favorite areas and then I move on to the other areas that I don't tend to browse when I stop in to get books for myself. "Navigating Early" was on display in the young adult section and it caught my eye.

After reading the jacket I almost put it back thinking it sounded pretty "out there". Then I remembered that I'm an adult and I don't HAVE to finish every book I start. So, I checked it out and I was so glad I did.

This was one of those novels that left me sad to be finished with it. It wasn't action packed. It didn't have a mystery. There was no "love interest" as my brother likes to call that. It was just a story about two boys (one whose name happens to be "Early") who were facing the struggles of growing up and found themselves embracing a very unlikely friendship.

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"Summer of the Gypsy Moths" by Sara Pennypacker (YA) * * *

This was another book that I chose because of the cover and also because of the setting. I grew to love Great Aunt Louise and found the "drama" that the two girls who live with her found themselves having to deal with.

This book is funny and heartwarming and so bizarre that it was just perfect.

The very plot of this book is probably unlike any other book you will ever read. Somehow, Pennypacker makes it work. I'm eager to read more of her stories!

"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee * * * * *

It was just time that I read this classic. If you haven't read it yet, I'd invite you to put it on your list for this fall!

I always assumed that this book was about the black man who was wrongfully accused and given a sentence that was not his to bear. It turns out that this book was about so much more than that. I loved following Scout around and getting to really know Boo.

The world has changed so much and yet this book reminded me that some things always stay the same.

"Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein (YA) * * * *

This was by far the most "entertaining" book from my summer stack. I read it in one day because I had the time and I needed to get to the bottom of the game.

Mr. Lemoncello is like so many quirky old men that we have all known. He is the star of this novel and yet it is Grabenstein's genius that keeps you eager to solve the puzzle for yourself. It's the perfect book for any lazy day.

"One Thing" by Sam Storms   * * * *

This book will feed your soul. It will show you the importance of looking for the glory of God, but it will also define it for you and show you how to keep yourself gazing upon it.

You might devour "One Thing" or you might take it in in chunks like I did. However you read this one, be sure to have a pen ready to mark down the sentences that stop you in your tracks.

What were some books that you enjoyed this summer? 

Are you awaiting the release of anything new by a favorite author?