2019 - AUGUST-Where DO All the Teaspoons Go? & THE PREQUELS #11 - August, 2010

No matter where you are, water's not far - Orleans Town Cove

Only on Cape Cod could you read this sentence in the newspaper:  "A Brown Booby hitched a ride on a Provincetown whale watch boat two different days this week."

This is a Brown Booby, just in case you were wondering.

I will never quite get used to becoming part of the sightseeing as I look up from my gardening to find cars full of people crawling slowly down the street with eyes fixed on our yard and what I'm doing. Should I at least be wearing a Welcome to Cape Cod t-shirt?  Should I give them the Cape Codder bent-arm salute? [see below] Or, is pretending not to see someone staring at you when you're covered in dirt and throwing weeds reasonable etiquette?  I'm still not sure after ten years.  One morning this month, we woke to the sight of an old, converted school bus parked on the street in front of our mailbox.  Not wanting to seem like a campground to our incoming guests for the weekend, we debated whether to call the police or the National Parks Service to assist them in finding a more appropriate resting spot.  I ultimately decided to just walk over to see what was going on and told Ron if I wasn't back in five minutes to come look for me.  It turned out to be two young men on a camping adventure from upstate New York, and when their camper overheated, they stopped and walked to the nearest gas station to buy some coolant, which they were adding when I approached.  We had a nice chat and they were soon on their way, hopefully telling their friends at home how friendly the people on Cape Cod are.    

The Cape Cod Salute

Okay, the thing about summer traffic on Cape Cod...YES, here we go again...is not just that it's like Boston rush hour all day, especially when it's not a good beach day, but that it's predictably UN-predictable.  Vacationers have their own code of driving ethics I call "Hey, I'm not from around here" [that's the polite version] that seems to free them from employing the common sense they would hopefully use at home.  C'mon, we've all done it...you don't know where you're going and the scenery is new and enticing, maybe you've never even seen a rotary before, or your country even drives on the other side of the road, or it's just plain hot and you're tired of people honking and glaring at you and you want to find your hotel room.  We get it!  So we drive defensively in the summer when we have to go out at all, watching for the most common errors, anticipating the worst, letting people go in front of us, hoping they'll do the same for someone else.  We must not be unique for a beach resort, but it was a survival skill I had to learn when my car and I washed ashore.  

The vegetable garden is waning, but not before it provided this little green duck to the collection of oddball veggies I've grown:  

The 'cucumber duck'.

With immigrants becoming a major part of current news, I thought I would share a little Cape Cod immigrant history that I just read about in the Cape Codder, written by Don Wilding.  Our nation tends to forget that just because a ship full of pilgrims arrived on Cape Cod 400 years ago and formed a settlement in Plymouth, that to the native tribes already here those Mayflower pilgrims were considered unwelcome immigrants.  But, they weren't even the first ones.  

Many writings tell of visits from Norsemen over 1000 years ago, such as in 1004, when Thorvald Eriksson was stranded at Provincetown, although he referred to it as 'Checquocket'.  There are also tales of Viking visits to our town of Eastham, which they called 'Wonderstrand'. There is evidence of Portuguese fishermen landing on the Outer Cape a couple of hundred years before the Pilgrims.  Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano is often credited with discovering Cape Cod Bay near the end of the 15th century.  Bartholomew Gosnold is given credit for coining the name ' Cape Cod' during his voyages in 1602 and research shows that before Gosnold the name was 'Cabo de Baxos', which is Castilian Spanish for 'Cape of the Shoals'.  

A local historian, Perry Strassburger, was quoted in 1948 as saying, "I offered a 16-pound ham to anyone who could lead me to a New England authentic Norse relic.  No one claimed the ham, so my family and I ate it."  

It must be very difficult to be an explorer these days.  It seems all the good spots have already been claimed and named, and there still doesn't seem to be much mutual respect for either the people who got there first or the ones seeking a better life.     

It's little surprises like these that make up for all the petty annoyances.  

Cape Chronicles #11 – August, 2010
Halfway through High Season

An early-August Canadian high pressure system brought some relief to much of the nation, including the Cape, knocking temperatures back to what used to be considered balmy.  While I still favor the crisp, dry air I’ve grown so fond of, our B&B guests continually write in our guest books about the perfect beach weather they’ve come here to enjoy.   Having reached the mid-point of high season, the Cape is at full capacity and we are turning away weekend weather-watchers who hope to book at the last minute.   Had we been able to purchase our home a summer earlier, we might have suffered through a chilly, rainy summer with fewer bookings, so we celebrate our timing and keep the grumbling about heat and traffic to a bare minimum. 

The Guest Report:
On a happy note this month is the arrival of both of our sons for a visit.  They’re probably the only visitors we have who come just to see us and not Cape Cod.  We enjoyed dinner and mini-golf at Arnold's and the visits were all too quick for us, as are all treasured times.
   

As one travels around here, it’s impossible not to notice that 9 out of 10 people are wearing something pertaining either to Cape Cod or the Red Sox.   And, it’s not just tourists.  Locals also sport the T-shirts, caps, hoodies, etc. that proclaim their approval of where they are.   You can tell locals by the more specific logos of the local establishments they patronize, i.e. Mid-Cape Hardware and Ron’s personal favorite, Fisherman’s Supply t-shirts (In Cod we Trust).  Regardless of the variety of the uniform, it seems to say, “We’re here by choice and really happy about it”.

Our August Eastham Chamber of Commerce meeting was hosted by Nauset Kennels and Ben & Jerry’s, a combo we couldn’t resist attending—animals and ice cream.  It’s always interesting to meet business owners, compare notes and catch up on seasonal gossip. 

It had to happen sooner or later, and we had our first disgruntled guests this month, although through no fault of our own.   They were told, by our rental agents that we were right off of a main road, but after checking in, from NYC, no less, they said they couldn’t stand all the road noise.   After 2 days, they relocated themselves to what they hoped would be a quieter retreat from the New York hustle-bustle that had them so frazzled.  Before them, a couple from CT enjoyed a fabulous week in the same unit.   Richard, a retired engineer, said he was in heaven just relaxing while Delores attended one of the conference classes. 

A mom and 16 year-old daughter from the Boston area, enjoyed their 1^st trip to the Cape to visit with friends.  I particularly appreciated their testimonial on our website, in which they described us as friendly, helpful, but unobtrusive.  It reassured me that we had found a good balance.

A couple from New Hampshire followed them with an adorable 1 year old with an irresistible, toothless grin.   We enjoyed watching him toddle around in the front yard while Dad took pictures.     

In a very labor-intensive weekend for us, we then broke most innkeeper rules and agreed to rent to a couple for a single night.   It was her first trip to the Cape and they thoroughly enjoyed the getaway.   With a little extra work for us this year, we hope these favors will pay off in the future with repeat visits.

A couple from Western MA brought their bicycles and kayaks and made the most of a weekend visiting friends in Truro and getting more exercise in 2 days than I probably have all year.  Their friends in Truro convinced them that winter was a lovely time to visit, and when I showed them the gas fireplace in the Cottage, they seemed to agree that it would be a great idea.

A couple from Philadelphia came for a weekend to attend a wedding of friends in Provincetown.  We didn’t see much of them, but they wrote that they had a great time.

Another couple came to attend one of the conferences and relax.  They borrowed our bikes and also took advantage of the walking trails in Fort Hill.

A single man from Silver Springs, MD, who also came for a conference spent a day in Nantucket visiting a museum named for one of his ancestors, and went whale watching another afternoon.   An avid gardener, he was thrilled with the variety of landscaping and the birds and butterflies it attracts. 

Just as we thought our Studio was going to be vacant for one of the nicest weekends all summer, we got a knock on the door at 8:30 p.m. from a couple from Montreal who saw our Vacancy sign.  With the help of our trusty English-to-French translator, we negotiated past the ‘no pet’ policy to make an exception for their little dog, Mineaux, and again achieved full house.  They spent the next day and well into the night in Provincetown, getting sunburned and enjoying the sights.   They made an excellent choice, as P’town is very dog-friendly, and I’m sure Mineaux made many new friends.  Sadly, he left his footprints behind on the rug which would not come out, and that is the last time we'll break our own no pets policy.

A woman from Winston-Salem, NC made a late decision to attend a conference and got lucky finding room with us.   A friend from Albany joined her for a couple of days.

Our last guest in August, was our 'phantom guest'.  We never actually saw her.  Her parents, who were staying down the street at the very upscale Fort Hill B&B, paid for their daughter’s 2-night stay in our Cottage and picked up the keys.  I’m sure they spent most of their time out together and we only hope she enjoyed her room.  
  

The Wildlife Report:

Ron’s newest ‘pet’ is Eric the Red, a tiny, very hyperactive, red squirrel.  We actually caught him in the Have-A-Heart trap once, but Ron released him because he has a notion that red squirrels will keep the gray ones away.   I don’t know if that’s true since we haven’t seen any grays in awhile anyway, but he’s certainly a lively addition to the outdoor menagerie.   The hummingbirds continue to call us their summer home, which is quite a compliment since many people say they never see them anymore.   A new mosquito magnet is keeping the bugs at bay.  And, the new flower garden I’m cultivating has been host to some tiny frogs who leap out of the way as I weed.

  

The Garden Report:

We were sitting on our back porch with our friend, Ray, when squinting at the tall trees across the street he announced that they were starting to turn color.  I thought he was surely mistaken, but as I drove down Route 28 to Chatham the next day, I saw 2 maples that had not only started, but were mostly a rich, golden-orange color.   At the post office, I overheard a conversation about whether it was going to be a warm Fall, or a cold one.  Though we are still mid-summer, there is a subtle shift to the inevitable transition, which seems to respect the calendar more so up here. The Golden Rain Tree in the front yard, which holds the swing, is full of pale greenish-white, Asian-looking seedpods.   The tall purple plumes in the cottage courtyard have been a welcoming sentry through most of July and August.  Garden centers are having sales to move out their stock, of which I am taking advantage as I continue to build a perennial garden around the perimeter of what used to be a doggy yard.  Ron has coaxed a carpet of green grass to cover the bare patches in the middle, and by next Spring we hope to have created yet another lovely spot to enjoy. 

Consigning Women:

As promised, the tourist season has fueled a surge in buying at the consignment shops and my inventory is thankfully beginning to thin, especially on cloudy days when the shops replace the beach as entertainment.  I have learned quite a bit about what is likely to sell in the shop and what doesn’t, although it’s by no means a true science.    As a result, a friend and I held an end of season yard sale to clear out our surplus and make room for new collectibles.  With few exceptions, if it didn’t sell, it returned to the Treasure Chest Free Shop in an endless recycling loop.
  

I attended my first annual meeting of the Orleans Community Exchange, where I volunteer and consign.  There is nothing quite so entertaining as small town politics and I was not disappointed.   The purpose of the meeting was to vote on the By-Laws, which a committee had been working on all summer and to elect a new Board.  The meeting began with the Board declining to approve the submitted By-Laws, which led to an animated discussion, followed by the resignation of the entire Board, followed by an impassioned plea from one of the members to keep the goal of raising money for local scholarships in mind instead of petty personal issues.  The nominating committee then reported that nobody wished to run for next year’s Board, so nominations were taken from the floor, and a new Board was appointed anyway.   One of the members once told me that if you didn’t come to the annual meeting, you could find yourself appointed as a Board Member, and I thought she was joking.   It was an intense 2 hours which put a nearly 70 year old institution dangerously close to closing, but then rallied thanks to some cool heads and well-spoken members. 

It doesn’t take much to back traffic up, and the collision of 2 mini-vans Sunday at the corner of the next road up from us had the roads crawling along for hours.  Thankfully, I only had a few blocks to crawl, and I took the opportunity to actually see what was down each driveway; who had a water view,  a house built in the 1700’s, and garden-peeping.   The roads are so curvy, it’s impossible to see very much detail while driving, or you could easily end up off the road.  Perhaps that was the cause of this collision.  And speaking of road-running, I am proud to report that after eight months of following written instructions, I had a major breakthrough this month.  While taking the more scenic route into Chatham instead of the boring but supposedly quicker Mid-Cape highway, I suddenly felt my brain synapses firing overtime as I began to make connections between the cross streets.  I finally started connecting many dots between where I am and where I want to be and what’s in the middle.  It was a proud moment.

Once again, the season and activities are about to shift.  It still feels very much like summer, but there’s a finality in the air as schools are about to start, taking a huge part of the population off of the rotaries and back home to process their pictures and share vacation memories with their friends.  I’m looking forward to autumn surprises on the Cape and more time to explore.

Another luscious sunset at First Encounter Beach in Eastham