Bergs, Not Just for Alaska Anymore

Perhaps you have seen some pictures of Cape Cod on the news in the past week. We have been on the news because of large ice chunks on the beaches of Eastham and Wellfleet. It's something that has not happened in about 80 years and it is very (VERY!!) cool!

Bobby and I went and checked out First Encounter Beach in Eastham today in the rain. We wanted to see it for ourselves!

It was awesome!!

The first group of pictures gives you an overview. We had to walk across a lot of snowy ice to get to the actual sandy beach.

Of course there were iceberg selfies.

Because I wore rain boots, I could walk farther out through the puddles. I climbed one of the 'bergs and took this panoramic. There were icebergs as far as I could see. Many of them were shoulder height and some were about 6 feet tall.

This is me on top of my iceberg.

Professional wakeboarder, Brian Grubb, visited Wellfleet this week and shot some pretty neat video.




Maybe winter wakeboarding will be the next tourist attraction on Cape Cod?

Sundays In My City

Winter storms have battered the coast for the past 6 weeks. Stories of erosion and houses falling into the ocean are common on the news. B and I ventured out to a few places over the past 2 days to document some of the damage and in some cases, beauty. These photos were taken on Lighthouse Beach in Chatham. Some of you may recognize the Beach Club's tennis court. Maybe they can have sand castle contests on it now? There was a Coast Guard boat checking out the seas (glad it wasn't me).

These photos were taken at the Chatham Fish Pier and at Scatteree Beach. We joked that the boat with all the seaweed in it was probably Brooke's dad's boat. It was.

These photos were taken at Nauset Beach in Orleans. That is Liam's Clam Shack from the front and back. Looks like the clams might be a little sandy this year. Also, the gazebo is on the edge of the parking lot (that is covered in sand). B is sitting on a bench that has a 6 foot drop on the other side of it.

These are some random photos of Chatham Light, B pretending she is on a balance beam and a clever way to hold up a new house in 50 mph winds.

More balance beam tricks from my trusty companion. 

Thanks for always tagging along on my photo hikes, B :)

Sundays In My City

Just another day on Cape Cod. No complaints here. K went clamming and brought home a bucketful. Her Dad brought in some lobsters.

K, her friend K, B and little R waving from the beach to K and B's Dad.

Yes, he pulled his 45 foot fishing boat up to the beach to say "hey".

Family, friends, sunshine and watermelon on the beach. You cannot beat it!

Happy Sunday!

Once Upon a Time Wednesday

Once upon a time Wednesday is about things from the past. There are many stories in my head that I want to share with my girls. The trip to Ellis Island, thank you very much Liberty Mutual, this summer made me realize that I had to get these stories documented. History is extremely important and fun!  Play along if you want!

Easter dinner was a typical family meal, but with guests, so the conversation was even more lively. You would think we would try to tone it down a bit when guests were around, but not this family. There was talk of the shelf life of milk, the lessons my brother has taught his future bride (how to dry off after a shower without getting the bath mat wet was one), how the song "He's So Shy" came on the radio and my sister blurted out how I would sing it (in my head) to the crush I had in HS and one of our guests' dog was having issues with his knee. His partner said that the dog was so small he couldn't even imagine where the dog's knee was! I actually had to start writing things down so I would remember all this juicy stuff.

The best tid bit came flying out of my dad's mouth, which leads to:

Once upon a time, when my dad was in his early 20s, he and his buddies would come to the beach in Falmouth (which is on Cape Cod for all you out of staters). My dad is a very handsome man and let me just say, he was hot when he was younger. Not in an incestual way, I am just stating the truth.  My dad and his buddies would come to Falmouth on weekends in the summer. Evidently, at 3:00, if you did not have a date for that evening you would go stand at the water line. All the people at the water line would check each other out and hook up for the evening.

I can't tell you how loud the sound is when 10 people's jaws hit the dinner table at the same time.

This, I guess, was the precursor to Match.com?

How did this word get around the beach?

What was it like standing there  checking people out while you were being checked out... IN BROAD DAYLIGHT!? I mean a bar is one thing where it is at least dark and you have clothes on, but the beach in a bathing suit?! Yikes. (OK, obviously I have a few insecurities).

Now the real question is, do they still do this on the beaches of Falmouth? Anyone know the answer to this or am I going to have to take one for the team and test this out?

Beach'n It

I realized yesterday that I have an age chart for going to the beach. I knew you would want to see it....

Age birth-20: Go to the beach with family/neighborhood. Maybe sit a little apart from them, but basically mom makes lunch and you are close enough to hear neighborhood gossip. Sunscreen: Coppertone spf4.

21-30: Go with girlfriends or boyfriends depending on the day. Still go in water and make the occasional sandcastle. Bring beer. Also bring first aid kit, especially after friend has run in with seagull while trying to pee in the dunes. Sunscreen: Ban de Soleil spf 4.

30-43: Go to beach with kids. Run around. Don't bother to bring book. Bring enough food for the entire beach. Don't bother laying a towel on the sand because it will have footprints on it in no time. Spend a lot of time standing ankle deep in water watching kids "swim".

Sunscreen: Cheapest at spf 8.

43-?: Yesterday marks the first time I went to the beach BY MYSELF. Girls went off with their Dad. I had the choice of cleaning the house or reading my book on the beach working on my savage tan (um, spf 30). Beach won out. Very weird laying by myself, eavesdropping on beach neighbors, waiting for an umbrella to launch in the wind and watching 20 something boys play rugby in front of me.

This new stage may take awhile to get used to...

I love the Beach (yes, even in the winter!)

Despite 2 days of frigid weather, Sunday turned out rather mild (relatively speaking). So I had my sister's dog, Bruce, take Gretel for a walk.

Haha, actually KK, B, Bruce, Gretel and I went for a romp on the beach. Bruce just likes to think he can drag Gretel around.

B and Gretel did a little dancing...


B, KK and Bruce did a little posing.


B and I did a little posing...


Then B went crazy and did a backbend....


and then couldn't get up,so I "tried" to help her, but wound up laughing too hard.



KK and Bruce weren't done with their posing yet....


Lest you all think I left K out of this fun, frolicking, beach time, she was at a horse party for the afternoon!

Keep in mind..... Santa (and B) are watching!!!!!

Catching up with Joyce!

How did it get to be Thursday already? Time flies when you have school looming on the horizon.

Yesterday, I had the great fortune to see a friend I had not seen in about 23 ish years! Joyce was down visiting another friend (yes, she has lots) with her 2 cute boys and we made a beach date (with my sister too).

Let me back up a bit. Way back when, I summered in Ogunquit, Maine and lived on a hill that ended as a dead end. Cut through a few trees at the end and it turned into a parking lot for the gift shop that Joyce's parents owned. 4 kids in their family, 3 in mine, we always had a good time together and they accepted us as the "summer kids". So we spent most of our tween/teen years hanging out, playing kick the can, going to the beach, working, sleep overs etc... We lost touch after we went to college, but through the Ogunquit gossip line,loosely kept track. Thanks to Facebook, we have reunited!

As Joyce walked through my house yesterday and looked at pictures of the girls when they were little, she said, "I feel like I don't know about a whole section of your life." And it is true and I was thinking the same thing about her. The great thing about old friends is that they know a whole section of your life that many people do not. They were by your side through all the bad fashion statements, the bad hair decisions and drama. Yet, they didn't run and hide or talk badly about you behind your back. It was funny for the girls to listen to Joyce, my sister Karen and I talk about the stuff we used to do. Yes, we were once your age, K and B.

I tried to take a pic of us off of FB, but could not, so no comparing from younger years to now. I'll just give you the now!

Me, Karen and Joyce

Joyce and her boys, me and my girls. Funny how we each got a blond and a redhead!

B showing the boys Uncle Davey's fishing boat. The boys were very impressed that it had "beds and a microwave!"

Prelude to Bill

So, we are just getting brushed by Hurricane Bill tonight, but B and I thought we would give you a little look at the calm before the storm (so to speak).

The view from what we fondly call "Hazel's Shanty" of the beach.

A seagull hanging out.

The gale warning flag at the Coast Guard station.

The sky was pretty cool. You couldn't see the waves crashing on the outer beaches due to the fog, but you sure could hear them!

I tried to picnik this and show you exactly where Hazel's Shanty is, but my dinosaur of a computer kept shutting down on the picnik site. VERY annoying! Anyway, toward the left of the photo there is a little gray garden shed with a white door and a little window. It is on maybe 1/2 tenth of an acre of lawn. It once was a regular house with about 10 other houses as neighbors. A storm came in the late 80's and decimated the neighborhood (basically the neighborhood fell into the ocean). My sister's husband's family (got that?) who own the land, put up a little shed and a few picnic tables. It is a perfect spot to sit and watch the water!

B's idea to take this picture of her walking in the water and it was a good one!

Someone's beautiful garden. No, definitely not mine. Since it is on the ocean, it could be killed off tonight because of the salt spray.

Should be a rocking and rolling time at the wedding I have to get to at 5:30 on the beach! Yee-ha!

Eavesdropping, again

I am so not ready.

I went to the beach today with my mom, B, my sister, her friend and friend's little boy. Great breeze, plenty of sunshine, great company. However, with my penchant for eavesdropping....we sat near 5 teenage girls. They were all about 14 and the reason I know this, is because they were name dropping all the soon to be freshmen I know in town. I didn't recognize the girls, but maybe it was because I am used to seeing them in clothes, not itty bity bikinis.

When they started talking about my nephew and his best friends, I stopped reading my book and just started listening. According to them, my nephew would think one of them was hot.

Much of their conversation had swears in it, one girl bitch slapped someone in school, one girl they know is scared of getting beaten up in HS, while they were thinking another definitely would. They talked about their weight and how one thought she was chubby (Um NO), one had to have ice cream every night (I wanted to be best friends with her), one boy tried to kiss one girl and she hadn't let him (that led to squeals and 'how come?'), so and so was drunk, so and so acted drunk- but never drank. Then the talk turned to piercings and how they wanted another hole in their ear or their belly button pierced. At this point one of their mom's wandered by to see what time her daughter needed to go to work. The girls were like, "So and so's mom, you would sign a permission slip for all of us to get our whatever pierced, right?"The mom said "NO". The daughter said, "Well I can still do it." That mom shot her the death look that I think I may need to start practicing because that was the end of that.

It was at that time that I scooped up 4 yr old W and pretended to throw him in the water. B wanted me to do it to her, too. A little hard when she is almost as tall as me, so we tried and fell over together. Oops.

I am definitely not prepared for teenage girls living in my house and I only have 3 years to practice the "do it or die" look. Maybe their current need to be within eyesight of me will carry over into their teenage years, LOL.

Friends 401 The Jellyfish Clip

Remember the jellyfish clip from Friends? Well, thankfully we did at the beach the other day. My friend Faith's, daughter got stung by a jellyfish.

I guess, it really burned and hurt. Faith couldn't pee on her daughter's arm, but was able to pee in a dixie cup. Then she poured it on J's arm. Ahh, instant relief.

Now you know. Sitcoms are good for you.