BOARDING

CALLING OF THE GRASS

GOING HOME

Not sorry to leave this place, but sorry to be leaving Cape Cod. Nice, though, that it's close enough to come anytime on a day trip. Sometimes we forget it's just a little more than an hour away ... with no traffic. And it's good to be "not at home" no matter where else it is. A change of scenery is good for the soul.

I'm always afraid what I'll find when I get home. A thousand pounds of junk mail, hysterical dogs, half a foot of matted dog hair, urgent messages on the answering machine, scary messages on the answering machine. What will be will be. I just hope that nothing awful is waiting for me. Please, let there not be something awful.

GARRY ARMSTRONG'S CAPE COD

I take pretty pictures. Garry makes art. 

A lifetime of John Ford movies have had their effect. 

His eye seeks out pictures that are more than pictures, that are evocative and elegant. 

Many are perfect right off the SD chip. 

Please, look, enjoy, and make your own evaluation. 

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER FIFTY DOLLARS

We have a timeshare. How we got boonswaggled into buying a timeshare I don't want to delve into. It will just give me heartburn and make me feel like an idiot. Suffice to say that however good it sounds, with rare exceptions, they are lying. They are making promises they won't and can't keep and you are going to wind up with a mortgage on nothing. Air. And you will pay a fortune for that empty promise.

Years later, we are still paying for that mistake. One of the things we usually do to try and not feel quite so ripped off, is go on an annual vacation. That way, at least we've gotten something -- not much, but something -- for our money.

This year, at Hotel Hell, it's hard to feel the money has been well spent. And yesterday, we got a call from the resort in Maine where we are technically owners to say they aren't getting the money we send every month to cover the annual maintenance fees.

But ... that money comes out of our account automatically every month. I know, I can see it on our bank statements, online, on paper. Anyway you look at it, the money gets taken out of the account by someone (everyone says "someone else" is doing it -- don't you love that?). So where, exactly, is it going? In all honesty, I'm less concerned with the mechanics than the bottom line.

We don't have spare money, so if that monthly payment is not getting to the Mountainview in Maine, then who is getting it?

Another mystery amongst the many mysteries which make my life so rich with meaning.

To brighten your day, today's pictures of Hyannis harbor are brought to you by Garry Armstrong, photographer deluxe. Whose pictures of the harbor turned out to be far more interesting that mine. Drat!

HYANNIS - THE INNER HARBOR

I admit I wasn't expecting the Cape to be quite so busy in mid October. I remember when the entire area including the Islands closed the day after Labor Day. One day it was high season. The next day you'd be lucky to find a restaurant that was still open for business.

Cape Cod is no longer a summer-only venue. It's commutable from Boston and open all year. And downright busy this time of year. Crowded.

The fishing boats are running full from the piers and everything is open for business. The transformation has been fast. It was just ten years ago when beaches and towns were deserted by the time the leaves were changing.

No more. So come on down. The weather's fine and with luck, you can find a parking space for free! On the Cape, free parking is as good as it gets.