Lots of Cape photos and anecdotes on the first page of CMI, with just a couple of musical interludes. :-)
 Please scroll low. See y'all soon. N ♥
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A Good Fit ♡

Photo Credit: Cousin Nicole

That was fun, Honey. Let's hook up on the beach again... real soon. Love You.

♥

Random Reflections

Reflecting Mambo

When you hang out with a camera, it seems that everything witnessed is capture-worthy. We have so many gorgeous shots from the Cape. I'm considering putting together a book by Blurb, a printing service I've not yet tried. Though happy with blog2print for CMI and Shutterfly or Apple for photos, this new-to-me outfit seems to lend itself beautifully to photo collections with story lines. Here are a few more favorites: 

Beach compatibility begins under the umbrella...

Joe's Marshlands

Can never get enough of crashing surf
and distant horizons... 

My Guy

Mads 'n' Moi 

Bon 'n' Dale Stealing A Quiet Moment 

If only they could speak to their journies...

Interlude

Bob Ritchie At His Best 8/17/11
Photo Credit: Kevin Ferguson
 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts 

So, in case you're bored with all the suggestive Neil Diamond lyrics and titles, I thought to tell you about Kid Rock. I'll return to the Cape, shortly. Diversity is the name of the game, here, and always there's a bad boy of rock 'n' roll on our eclectic list of musicians-to-enjoy. I'm not so sure Kid is quite as bad-ass as he tries to come across, though. He's got a lot of qualities I'm pretty fond of, but let's talk music.

He's mega-talented. Mega. Writes, sings and plays every instrument on the stage. Does all of the above well.  Gives his all, in concert. Doesn't skip a beat, no pun intended. Covers multiple genres, but I'm still callin' it R 'n' R. Interesting variety of band members, with a wide range of race, gender, age and body types represented. I liked that. Awesome sense of humor and fun. It's not every day a guy turns f'ing forty. Hey, "Bruce Springsteen's 62 and the Stones are almost dead." :-) We didn't sit, all night long. That's a good thing. An entertainer... grabbed the crowd from beginning to end. Can't say that about many musicians. But, there's a downside...

His crowd (13,000 last night) makes Dylan's pot-smoking audience and U2's alcohol-indulging following all look tame, by comparison. The lawn is one thing... but I'm talkin' under the pavilion. A lot of real bad-asses, though the woman directly in front of me squashed her joint, when I said to her, "You're killing me. Are you putting that $$%%##@@ out anytime soon?"  And we won't talk about the harder drugs being consumed to our right, where a brawl almost broke out. Be warned. Um, security?

All said and done, I maintain that our Bethel Woods is the most exquisite venue of all. Though still a few kinks to work out - security being numero uno and exiting traffic coming in a close second - I must say that we are a lucky county to have such an amazing place. And for the record, our relatively inexpensive, face-value seats were fabulous. Section 100 is dead center. 
A great show, last night.

Signs

Hungry gulls, hungry Joe in sil-

houette and the moon indicate that it's time to leave the beach. We used to regroup for dinner out or at one of our temporary residences. Now? We stay on the sand till dusk and dine separately, somewhere in the vicinity of nine p.m. 

A much better plan. 

The beach is borrowed. We need to absorb its very essence. Clearly food for the soul.

If I Were A Carpenter

 Beach debris. Or, is it debris? The boys felt it nec-

essary to haul driftwood, find rope, and tell the world, 

"We were here."

"A Theme That Is Timeless" nd

Neil Diamond pals will clearly understand. BE and the BEach... inseparable... affording each of us a poet's eye, as spoken to so eloquently by Mr. D. 

Ah, BEauty. Wonder what Jonathan is thinking. 

Captures of painted skies have endless appeal, with a mind in constant playback. I didn't tune into my iPod once... yet the music was as clear as a bell. Go figure. Well, you know.

"BE... As a page that aches for a word which speaks on a theme that is timeless-While the one God will make for your day" nd

"It doesn't get any funner than this!"

Wellfleet mornings are for exploring. There are so many nooks and crannies to be discovered. 

One excursion took us to Lieutenant Island, a place only accessible during low tide, when the wooden bridge isn't covered by water. Gorgeous spot. As we crossed to return, a mother and her kids were jumping off the wooden bridge, into water that was about six feet deep. I said to Mom, "That looks so fun!" She replied, "It doesn't get any funner than this!" Then, her one son said to me, "I'm jumping now - you can get out of the car and watch." "Ah," said I, "my best invitation of the day. May I take your picture?" A resounding "Yes!" came my way, as he jumped.

Gifts ♡

At the beginning of our holiday, Joe found a starfish, washed up to shore and drying in the sand. He gifted it to me; I was so thrilled, though yet unaware of the extent of star population!

Y'all met Adelina last year... the sweetest child... clearly an old, beachcombing soul. For hours on end, she'd wander the shoreline, delving into the goppiest seaweed to produce living starfish of varying sizes. Some were no larger than my pinky nail! She'd place them in a transparent sand pail that had been outfitted properly to simulate a fish's environment. It was fun to observe their silhouettes, as they wriggled to the side walls. At the end of the day, she'd bid them a fond farewell and set them free. 

An intrigued and intriguing child, when asked what her favorite interests are, she replied, "Reading and writing." I doubt not that her first novel will include stories of beach beauty. Maybe she'll gift me a signed first edition, to go with the shell she gave to me? "Nicki, I found this for you... it reminded me of a heart." It's a treasure to be enjoyed in conjuction with thoughts of a favorite beach buddy.

While Big Sis was charming the fishes, comical Baby Bro was busy building rafts for an imaginary voyage and racing up and down dunes, obviously there to be conquered. With wicked cuteness, a wry sense of humor and an arsenal of knock-knock jokes, one could not help but be enamored. 

 Ah, children - the greatest gifts - stars all.

♥ H'art Me! ♥

Remembering

Here I take a little break from Cape stories, though Elvis  did entertain us to and from the beach, via his wonderful Sirius station. Thirty-four years, this anniversary. Done way, way too soon.
♥

Entourage

Personify The Beach and we become its guardians. Precious, you know, and a treasure to protect for future generations. We quickly hooked up with our T-cousins and picked up, right where we'd left off - gotta luv those Stop & Shop reunions! :-)

Most need time to acclimate to all that crashing sound, sand and salt. Not us. "What did you do?" ask friends, who simply cannot fathom eight-hour stretches of time away from technology and tourist attractions, aka shops. Hey, we're prepared! Lots of Numbers 15-to-50 and adequate umbrellas. The rest is G-d given, and we were blessed with a beautiful week, save for one day. Not to worry. We played "Tourist" till the guys were drenched to the bone. We don't fold easily.

It was delightful to spend time with K, N and M. Individual chats with each once again demonstrated that outer beauty is easily identified, but the unique inner variety needs to be discovered and mined, like precious gems. Great girls. When B's brother and family joined us, it got even better. Their two children are equally gorgeous, as you might recall from my raves of last year. Classic beach bums, we all blend well.

Beach Home, Sweet Home...Dunkin' In Hand

Up, Up 'n' Away

We were in for a treat, shortly after our departure on the sixth. It was barely daybreak on a cloudy morn, when we spotted a gorgeous hot air balloon. We felt quite colorfully inspired, and then... two more appeared in a sky that was trying to paint itself blue. 

It was a nice trip from then on, and we landed at the Bourne Canal welcome kiosk in what seemed like very little time. We relaxed for a bit, praising ourselves for an early departure and timely arrival on the Cape.

You don't want to know about the ensuing traffic, from the Sagamore Bridge on. A moot point, now, the ridiculous two hours to Wellfleet, where we checked into our immaculate cottage. Then, it was a rush to Race Point to get our four-wheel-drive permits. Next, we hit Herring Cove, at the very tip of Provincetown.

Beach loves were abun-
dant. The blend of grasses, roses and hips, otherwise known as beach tomatoes, posed for a favorite shot. So pretty... and SO wild, unlike similar varieties, cultivated for our gardens.

A stop at the even-wilder bathhouses (use your imaginations - it is, after all, P-town) produced a view of the surf, as it climbed the stairway to the dunes.

Not a pretty evening for a sunset, we left to fortify our-
selves with dinner and sleep. We'd need energy to watch crashing waves, for hours on end. Yes, the next few days would bring us to Head Of The Meadow and Race Point beaches, on the National Seashore. Thanks, JFK, for that signature, fifty years ago this month.
It felt good to be back to pristine shores.

Hello Again

Photo of 'n' by Dominique

While I spread the word on the Cape by
wearing my bright red Team shirt, Domi
took care of the Hawaiian Islands. I've
got goosebumps, thinking of how kind
people are, in holding special thoughts
for Michelle. Giving thanks.♥ 

We're back, after a fantastic week spent on old Cape Cod. It was great to bond, once again, with our favorite cousins. Tons of photos to sort through. Even more thoughts to organize. Lots of stories to tell. But till then, won't you please send out positive vibes for our pal, Michelle. She's needing them, right about now. 
♥ Nicki

Gazillions x's 41---We Love You, Honey xoxoxo

The Yankees Win ** The YAN-KEES Win!

Glory Days

So, a couple of weeks ago, Hunter went to his very first Yankee game with Daddy Christian. Boys' Day Out was a huge success. We received a very happy phone call and (personal) photo, and... the Boys Of Summer won. With each pitch that Hunter successfully caught last Saturday at Minne, he demonstrated  Catcher Russell Martin's slide. Kids are so impressionable! Now, our Little Man has two Yankee idols. Russell has joined the ranks of el Capitano, with a play that won a little boy's heart.

Gosh, ya just gotta luv the Yankee tradition. Seems like just yesterday that I was a kid who raced home from school to watch the World Series on TV. They were afternoon games, way back when. Then, a heartbeat later, we took Brian and Christian to their first game. The old Stadium. "We'll meet at the bat," became the mantra, when we'd meet our grown Christian at games. And then there's that other (link) Christian. You remember him, right? Well, just look here, at where kindness and selflessness can get a soul. He did the right thing. He's feelin' the glow. It's a win-win.

There's another winning mention, in this here Yankee update. It's the HBO special, "Derek Jeter 3K". Watch it! You'll be astounded, I promise - even if you're not a NY fan. Have tissues handy, for those sentimental tears. 

Win-Win.

Baby Loves Me...

...yes, yes, she does, Cherry Cherry. nd

Kerplunk

Redefining Bird's Eye View

I Only Wanted To Play

Ike got into a bit of mischief, today. He quietly asked to go out. I say "quietly" because if there's an animal in the yard, he usually goes nuts at the door. You know - the old hunting genes kick into play. So, no need to investigate, prior to opening the slider. I let him go and returned to my chores. Next thing I knew, there was loud squawking coming from the Great Wild. I looked out just in time to see him being attacked by two robins. I quickly called him in, grabbed my camera and headed back out. In the grass was a juvenile bird, evidently the victim of failed flight. The parents soon rescued him, and resumed lessons. Whew. That was a close call... for both the pooch and the young 'un!

Shades Of

Morphing Rain-Glow Hydrangea