Cape Cod Just the Way We Wanted it To Be

Cape Cod. The words flow during a month like this, just like the days, counting down til the chill of fall. We spent a few glorious days on Massachusett’s fabled Cape, and it did not disappoint. We did the kind of puttering that defines true vacations, just being able to stop here and there and literally smell the roses in bloom up and down the storied curving peninsula.

We are lucky to have a close relative who has lived on the Cape for decades. So Mary can go down and set up her painting easel, and I can come along during these vacation weekends and enjoy the scene too. We took a road trip heading to the Cape’s tip…Provincetown.

Along the way we stopped at a marvelous beach called Longnook. We entered after passing teenage girls who were checking for stickers. We found out later that to even stop one’s car at this beach in Truro, you must have a sticker claiming you’re a resident or that you’re a vacation home renter. No permits or one-time fees, you just can’t go there unless you’re ‘from around here,’ or have paid someone to use their Truro home.

What do you get in such at exclusive beach? After the parking lot, there is a huge sandy hill that slopes down to the wide open beach. It was low tide and so we had about 100 yards of perfect sand, undisturbed by lifeguard stands, concessions or anything except nature. It’s just gorgeous.

A colossal dune with ochre and tan colors extended far in each direction–a wall blocking anything from disturbing its pristine nature. A sign said that a shark had been sighted here, and we dutifully posed for photos. After some beach walking we drove the rest of the way to the final town in Massachusetts–Provincetown.

It turned out that Senator Scott Brown was in town so every parking lot we tried was full. Even the parking attendants were floored, ‘we don’t know what’s going on but it must be something big,” they told us. We settled on parking at Stop and Shop, and after dutifully making a purchase, we left our car and headed for crowded Commercial Street.

After lunch, we strolled the wharf, and when we passed by the Bay Lady II schooner, we decided to hop on the 3:30 pm cruise out into the bay.

The captain barked out orders to his two crew members, indecipherable instructions about the mainsail and the foresail and the lines and the aft, and it was as nice as it could be when he shut off the motor and we stuck with sail power.

We passed by the tip of the state, Long Point, and out into the vast Bay. What  a day to be out there.  Summer is fleeting, but these are the things that create memories.