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| Together, again! |
I must have once said that I like surprises because our boys, Doug and Sean take great pleasure in producing them for me whenever they can. As if Sean's surprise appearance after three years in Afghanistan wasn't exciting enough, he somehow talked Doug into coming back from Virginia for another visit and offered him up like a prize after dinner one night. Once again I stood staring, mouth open, speechless and totally delighted with their delicious deception and their pride in pulling it off. Labor Day weekend suddenly became much more than just the last hurrah of summer and the house resonated with happy noises.
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| Just act naturally, boys... |
Our Red Sox have had a pretty tough year and considering their pitiful showing this summer, it's not as difficult to switch gears to football and dig out our Patriots apparel. I even hear there are seats available at Fenway for a change. But now that the seasoned officials are out of the act and everyone is groaning about the unprofessional calls of the substitutes, I must say football is off to an odd start. I heard last night's game described on the radio today as "the perfect storm of utter incompetence." I'm still trying to learn the rules and this isn't helping.
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| Who said there's no kids in Eastham? |
For 35 years, Eastham has held its annual 3-day Windmill Weekend festivities and we chose to volunteer again at the raffle booth while enjoying some of the activities. Despite some rough surf from Hurricane Leslie, Saturday morning was sunny and gorgeous for the sand castle competition and we stayed as long as we could before hurrying back to greet a B&B guest. We were rooting for the all-kids group who paid tribute to the now infamous Cape Cod Bear who visited earlier this year. After fashioning a very fat bear lying on its tummy with time to spare, they decided to add a mermaid lying underneath the bear. Their cooperative enthusiasm and creativity got my vote, but the woman with the terrapin race and big starfish took 1st. Oh well, kids, just like the Red Sox there's always next year.
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| Sand Competition at First Encounter Beach |
In the afternoon we claimed a spot on the town green to listen to our friends in the Chandler Travis Three-O on the bandstand while watching Leslie's cloud show above and enjoying the pungent smells of grilled meat, onions and pickle relish.
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| Ever wonder what the inside of a windmill looks like? |
By Sunday, drizzle had overtaken the area, but it wasn't enough to discourage either the volunteers or the participants and the parade and games went on. Unlike many fundraising events that are held on the Cape, these festivities have no agenda other than to bring the community together for a small town good time and many people put a lot of effort and planning into this joyful event.
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| Chandler Travis & musicians du jour |
Part of being a landmark location in a small town is occasionally becoming the topic of discussion, especially when people are giving directions. So far, we are known as "the B&B at Fort Hill", the place with the blue sailboat in the yard, and now the house with the new solar roof panels. By next summer, I also hope to be known as the place with the front bank full of roses, which we've been working on diligently this summer. But until then, the shiny new panels, which can be seen for quite a distance will no doubt raise many questions and comments all winter.
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| New roses & new solar panels |
For the most part, Cape Cod looks like a snail trail on the northeast side of the United States. Not much to compare to say, California or Florida, but yet we're totally self-contained with everything we could possible need. It's not unusual to hear someone base a decision on whether something is across the Cape Cod Canal, or not. It's not usually crossed without really good incentive, i.e. "are you kidding, that's over the bridge!" There's something very comforting about that small separation between land masses, like a moat around a castle.
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| Patience rewarded-last year's half price find (hibiscus). |
One of our favorite parts of refreshing the B&B rooms for the next guests is to read the comments written in the Guest Books. There are messages in French, German, Korean and mostly English. Some are humorous and others are beautiful prose. Here are some of our favorite abridged ones:
A guest from Australia wrote: "We stayed at Crosswinds for several days in late October and it was a joyous experience. We traveled by car some of the time, by bike (on loan from our hosts), and on foot (we brought our own). The Studio is a delightful place to stay. It comprises a spacious bed/living/dining/kitchen area and a bathroom which you can get really clean in. When we arrived and often when returning home, we'd find that the muffin fairy had visited. But, despite how good the accommodation was, it was eclipsed by the hosts. Ron & Andrea were (and probably still are) utterly delightful. It's a sad thing about traveling like this that you meet people whom you'd want to be your best friends..."
"Beautiful area out here. Very relaxing (especially coming out of Boston traffic-those drivers are INSANE!"
"The weather, eh, but loved the cottage and gardens. Felt like home or better than our small, messy NYC apartments."
"Better than any crappy hotel/motel! We will be back next year. Thanx for everything!"
"Ron & Andrea are the perfect hosts. They let us know they were around if we need anything, stocked the fridge with goodies and left us to do our thing. They have the place set up with everything you need. Literally, everything you need. I really dig this place and would go back in a hot second. Five stars!!
September brought guests from the UK, India, Germany, Boston & western MA, Brooklyn, NY, VT and very special family guests from Charlottesville, VA.
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| Thanks for the visit! - Dale & Gene in P'town |
