2015 - Another Summer Season at Crosswinds B&B Suites

Summer looms large at the beginning of the season with all possibilities ahead of us in question form.  Will there be good weather?  Will the traffic be as bad?  Will the gardens do well?  Will sharks bother the swimmers?  It all unfolds day by day much as it does every year, but with the season's own unique memories that set it apart from other years.  I took a break from the blog this summer, but not from writing.  The book I started two winters ago about my husband's life is now finished, and aside from the original intent of it being a gift for his son, it's time to think about how best to make it available for others who've expressed interest in reading it.  

If Hydrangeas aren't the official flower of Cape Cod, they should be.

This summer's weather treated us well.  Compared to the raging tornados, record heat-waves, flooding and burning infernos across the rest of the country, Cape Cod remained a haven for mild beach days, with the occasional cloudy day to boost sales for the merchants and let the sunburns calm down.   July was an utter delight, August a bit more warm and humid, but never higher than the 80's.  Yes, we are spoiled.

Hibiscus is always the last to bloom, but worth the wait.

Likewise, the gardens did well-enough considering that minimal effort was put into them this year.  The perennials were a spectacular validation of previous years' hard labor, and we had tomatoes and cucumbers enough to share.  The lingonberry seed experiment, sadly only produced one sorry little sprout out of 36 seeds, and after googling images of lingonberry blooms, I'm forced to concede that it's probably a sunflower.  Not that I have anything against sunflowers...I was just hoping to start a new sideline for the lady who makes my beach plum jelly for the B&B.  In fact, we have so many unplanted sunflowers as a result of the many bird feeders, it suddenly dawned on me that I could liberally sprinkle them over the front bank along Route 6 next Spring and perhaps have an effortless floral show.    

Ron in the top hat in back

The B&B keeps us busy enough, but Ron was asked to participate in the Chatham 4th of July parade this year, driving one of our musician friends, who was recovering from hip surgery and couldn't do the long walk.  People with convertibles are very popular during parade seasons.  It was literally a blast, as in lots of trombones.  It prompted me to unearth my son's marching band trombone from the basement to get into the act in next year's parade.  Perhaps by then, I'll learn more than one note.  Meanwhile, we've enjoyed listening to our favorite local musicians in the Karoo's restaurant gardens, while indulging in the spicy South African food.  The Fleetian restaurant, also reopened with an outdoor, live music venue, and there were a couple of Monday night concerts on the Eastham green that enticed us out amongst our neighbors and lucky tourists who wandered by.  If it's summer on Cape Cod, there's music.  

One of this year's new photos

Photography exhibits were a part of my summer again, starting with the Cape Cod Five lobby in June, and following that with the coveted month of July at the Hope Chest again.  Most of my time this summer was devoted to keeping guests happy at the B&B, but my camera's never very far out of reach.  

Seal off of Coast Guard Beach in Eastham, MA

Sharks, you ask?  Well, yes there were occasional sitings, mostly preceded by seals, but nothing on the scale of the seven reported shark bites during one July week on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where my son just happened to be vacationing.  An IT and math major, he reasoned by statistical averages that he'd be fine to swim in the waters.  A big bump against his leg convinced him to come out, at least for a little while.  More and more of the returning sharks are being tagged by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, giving them the ability to monitor and report their locations.  The biggest news off Cape Cod waters that went viral was the short video that captured a white shark jumping out of the water to catch a seal, and missing.  Airborne sharks have been seen off South Africa, but It was the first time anyone had documented one off of Cape waters. 

Click here to see the video:  Airborne Shark Misses Seal  

After years of spirited town meetings and NO-votes for a proposed town water bill, last year, Eastham joined the rest of Cape Cod towns by approving a town water system.  This summer, we finally saw some evidence of the plan as pipes lined the sides of roads, and streets were closed temporarily to start the digging.  A picture of the new water tower under construction graced the Cape Codder, and I saw the first fire hydrant waiting to be installed.  It turned into a contentious town issue for awhile, and even though our property taxes were quietly raised this summer, it's at least nice to have neighbors at peace again. 

There are some places that are such visual landmarks, you would always know exactly where they were if you saw a picture of them out of context.  Just before the Mid-Cape Highway empties into the Orleans-Eastham rotary, there is a pond on the right.  What makes it so memorable is not the electrical wires that stretch from one end to the other of the middle of the pond, but the long line of cormorants that congregate on the wire.  These big, black birds adopted this space as their hangout for as long as I've been here, and probably a lot longer than that, but committees who monitor water quality, a big issue here, have determined that the bird guano is polluting the pond, and they must find a new 'hood, in which to hang.  The town of Orleans decided to throw a lot of money at some consultants to come up with an idea.  Their brilliant solution was, are you ready for this...noise.  Yes, that's right, on three successive nights, explosives were set off to encourage the birds to find a quieter spot for their meetings.  The predictability of this solution made me think for a brief moment about going into the consulting business, which seems like pretty easy money for coming up with simple-minded solutions.  I decided I just couldn't do it and keep a straight face.  As you might have guessed, the birds mostly left after the explosions, but have all returned, now that they got the coast-is-clear notice.  I'm just wondering if that $64,000 included a Plan B.   

Unfortunately, our summer traffic is almost as legendary as the delectable lobster dinners and gorgeous beaches.  This year wasn't any better or worse, from my perspective, although the relaxation CD's I put in my car turned out to be a big help for me.  So did staying home more and saving my galavanting for the more temperate Fall weather and quieter roads.  The rotaries always confound the newbies.  Last years' many meetings of town and state officials to discuss possible safety improvements for summer traffic came up with a center rumble strip through the town of Wellfleet.  It didn't keep us out of a long jam on the way back from The Fleetian one night, caused by an accident, and the ambulances and fire trucks have kept up the usual steady pace on the highway all summer.  There is some news about the traffic light that our neighbors have been requesting for decades at our busy corner.  I recently read that 4 million people visit Cape Cod's National Seashore each year, and our street leads to Fort Hill, the beginning of it.  The latest is that we will get a "pedestrian beacon" by next June.  This would help bikers and pedestrians, but still not cars.  There is still room for improvement in this "safety plan", in my humble opinion.    

But, there's so much worth getting out to see - Fort Hill, Eastham, MA

Although Labor Day is late this year, there has already been an appreciable difference in the amount of traffic at the end of August, as some schools start early.  Grocery checkers at Stop and Shop seem to be more relaxed, as if they've run the marathon and are coming into the post-Labor Day home stretch.  Many of them will be returning to college, or their home countries.  Summer heat is still holding on for beach goers on the last week of high season, but that too will no doubt ease soon and refreshing Autumn weather is welcomed in with a new wave of visitors. Summer guests visited us at Crosswinds B&B Suites from as far away as New Zealand, France, Germany, The Netherlands, China and Canada, and from the states of California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.  This is a very busy, little sand bar.  

Farewell to Summer 2015 at First Encounter Beach in Eastham