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| This way to Fort Hill in living color |
After an intense season of withering heat, frenetic traffic and new guests every few days, October is the gift of the season. Cape Cod businesses have reported that in the last few years, business continues to increase and October now represents approximately 30% of annual sales. We don't have to do the math to know that while the middle of some weeks have quieted, guests are still taking advantage of the mild weather and weekend fall activities, like Wellfleet's annual Oysterfest, and have continued to flock here from the UK, Belgium, Germany, British Columbia, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, Texas, Vermont and Connecticut.
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| Chatham colors |
Autumn hues seemed to be slower making their debut this year and almost reluctantly bowed to the calendar to sprinkle Fall colors around before all the leaves fall. There's persistent talk of a cold winter coming our way, not to mention Hurricane Sandy, but so far both remain to be seen.
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| Brewster spirit |
Our sad news is that the Red Sox finished dead last this season. Of course, that means there's nowhere to go next year but up. The good news is that October 18th has become our "Green Independence Day". Crosswinds B&B is now solar-powered and connected to the national grid. There's even a website provided to monitor how much power we're producing at any given time and the related statistics. We are disproving Kermit the Frog's lament that "it's not easy to be green", but hope that Mitt Romney doesn't get the chance to add him to the unemployment list by doing away with PBS. Please vote Obama and save Kermit & Big Bird's jobs! (I bet you thought that our good news was going to be that the Patriot's are currently in first place standing in our division.)
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| Knowledge AND sun is power! |
Since sharks are becoming more a part of our reputation, the general consensus is that you might as well have a sense of humor and make a buck off of the unwelcome intruders. The latest evidence of this was a bumper sticker I saw this month, which used to read: "Chatham: a quaint drinking village with a fishing problem." The newer version reads: "Chatham: a quaint shark village with a seal problem." I also heard one of our local WCAI announcers call in to the local fishing show to relate his valiant struggle to reel in the big one, only to end up with just a fish head after a sand shark hijacked his catch. Meanwhile, sharks continue to be tagged and studied and are becoming just another Cape Cod icon.
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| Eastham domestic couch sharks |
With our son trading life in Kabul with taking up temporary residence with us, we're benefitting from the entertainment value of the strange, nocturnal habits of the single, 20-something male. For instance, we were invited to our first fire spinning demonstration by him and some friends. The beach is the perfect place for this activity and was another opportunity to photograph something one doesn't see very often. It was also interesting meeting his friends for the first time on a pitch black night having only voices to distinguish one from another. And, have I mentioned that a pinball machine now resides in the basement? Whoever said that getting old is not fun is perhaps not doing it right.
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| Boys playing with fire |
Remember to VOTE, no matter who your preference is!
The merchants of Chatham provide the big finish with their month-long competition for the best pumpkin display.
