Listening Post: Three to get ready
Few things are more stressful than getting ready for vacation. Clearing the desk at work requires the feverish reflexes of a weasel on Five-Hour energy drinks, and planning the itinerary is a task only equaled in complexity by the D-Day invasion, or a North Korean parade.
But it finally all falls into place, or the clock runs out–one of those–and it’s time to go. Except for a few odds and ends, like writing this post from home, because I ran out of time on my last day at work, and it’s too hot to think about packing the car–the tiny, tiny car–with everything we said we were going to bring.
It’ll be great. We’re going to stay at the world-famous Tamelife Sanctuary at Wellfleet on Cape Cod. There we will join other pale doughy members of our species at the rich unspoiled feeding grounds and its pristine habitat of groomed beaches, pleasant bistros, and well-stocked bookstores. I shall not Facebook, neither shall I Tweet.
Wellfleet, it turns out, is a popular NCPR destination. Both Radio Bob and New Media Bill recommended renting a bike near the Marconi monument and pedaling 26 miles to Provincetown. Clearly, we have different definitions of the word vacation. I think I will sit and look at the ocean a lot, and hydrate frequently. After a few hours, I may write a poem about looking at the ocean. If I feel sufficiently postmodern, I might even write a poem about writing a poem about looking at the ocean. Or I may just take a nap.
In any event–no Listening Post next week. But I’ll be thinking of you. Then I’ll take a few deep breaths, look at the ocean some more, and stop thinking altogether.
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Enjoy your well deserved rest. All reader/listerners look forward to your return two weeks today. No extension permitted.
Sounds perfect to me! Enjoy!
Enjoy!
A lovely image – sitting and looking at the ocean as the waves roll in, hydrating at will – and not thinking.
What a great vacation. Growing up we spent every summer in Wellfleet with my grandparents. My favorite backshore beach was Newcomb`s Hollow. Best beach on the bay side was Duck Harbor. On a clear day you could see the monument in Provincetown. If you want a hike away from the hordes Great Island is perfect with lots of opportunities to just sit and watch the water. There are several fresh water ponds between the backshore and the bay. Our favorite was Great Pond. Don`t know if they still have the weekly square dances Saturday night in the parking lot behind the town hall. If you are there for the 4th of July the town fireworks were a delight and the parade was worth seeing. Charlie Bean, a gentle soul the community looked after who lived next door to my great grandmother, was in the parade every year. I expect he is long gone. I also envy you your chance to have fried clams with bellies, not just the frozen strips we get here. If you like raw oysters, Wellfleet oysters are some of the best. My grandfather had a license for digging them so we always had fresh oysters. Enjoy your vacation.
Not to inject “rails to trails” political debate here, but this reminded me of one of our family’s favorite vacation events, when we rented bike’s to ride a few miles on a former rail line on Cape Cod, near Wellfleet. It was a long time ago. Our daughters, now in their mid/ late twenties, could both fit in one of those kid trailers towed behind my bike. I remember it was a gorgeous day. The girls rode and laughed. We stopped and swam at a lake far from any motor access. We stopped again and bought sodas at a little store that must have catered mostly to cyclists like us, and then rode back.
We just talked about this adventure the other day with the younger girl, who must have only been 3 or so at the time, but still remembers it.
You can solve all of your problems by not going on vacation.
Remember, Dale, the NCPR gang is clearing your desk and organizing an all-staff, 24/7 party in your office while you’re gone. We’ll try to pick up the empties and chip residue before you get back.
Not to be fussy, but…it seems inapropriate to compare preparing for a vacation to the D-Day invasion.
Have a great vacation!
Have a great vacation and I’ll be watching for that new poem. We are vacationing in Vermont, awaiting the birth of your great niece #2 anyday.
Heard you were at the Wellfleet Drive In Theater Sunday. That was where I first saw 2001: a Space Odyssey.