The holiday rush of the city really got to us this year, and we wanted to be some place quiet.So for the days leading up to Christmas, we stayed on Cape Cod.
And quiet it was. Turns out Provincetown has chosen this winter to repave its roads and fix its sidewalks, so basically the whole town was dug up and closed to motorised traffic.
But despite the roadwork, many of the businesses remained open, catering to locals and to the occasional visitor.The result was the sort of insular pedestrian small-town atmosphere that has long ceased to exist under normal circumstances. People said hello to each other on the streets. The phrase "How are you?" was interpreted as a question, rather than a greeting, and detailed answers were given. Merely seeing each other walking, or cycling around the town center had created a sense of relaxed familiarity among everyone present, however temporary.
Even in the busiest, most hectic part of summer, what I like about Provincetown is how relaxed and unaggressive it is. Bikes, pedestrians, cars. Tourists, summer people, locals. Gay, straight, undefined. Somehow, all of these categories are simply combined, without being pitted against each other. They are separated by "and" and not "versus." It's a microcosm that does not reflect the reality of life elsewhere. But at least it shows that, in theory, it's possible for people to function like this. And in the off season, with everyone squeezed into the same couple of bars and coffee shops after hours, this became all the more apparent.
Last year I mentioned noticing more incidents of aggressive and inattentive drivers over the winter holidays in Boston, and this time around it seems even worse. First it was the rush of last minute Christmas shopping. Now I guess it's the post-Christmas sales. Soon it will be New Year parties. Whatever it is, drivers on the roads just seem so impatient and angry right now. Sure, they might arrive to their holiday parties smiling, saying all the requisite niceties and exchanging beautifully wrapped gifts. But what's the point, if for entire weeks leading up to this they are filled with such stress, that rage is boiling just beneath the surface? I couldn't even feel annoyed at the woman who laid on her horn and shouted when I took too long making a left turn the other day. Obviously something other than me on my bike must have been the real cause of her anger.So I try to be extra cautious on the roads. And I try to not fall into the stress trap myself. No big plans. No pressure. No stress. That's my plan into the New Year.
It seemed like a sudden change, from the brightness of the sand dunes to the darkness of a forest of strangely twisted and misshapen Live Oak trees. The change was startling and it took a little while for your eyes to adjust. But once your eyes adjusted, what they beheld was really quite magical.
I followed the trail through the Live Oak forest on to the Sea Camp Ranger Station and Dock. There was very little wind and the water was as smooth as glass.
It was getting late, close to 4 o'clock, so I followed the River Trail, where I was surrounded by tall, large Live Oak trees, back to the Dungeness Dock. Quite a difference between these trees and the ones at Sea Camp. As I was walking, I kept hearing something moving around in the underbrush. It took a few minutes but I finally saw what was making the noise.
The most common view I had was from behind as I watched it for a short time. It scurried around with its nose hidden in the ground, searching for the next delicious morsel. But for a few brief seconds, the Armadillo stopped and stood on its hind legs.
With my arrival back at the Dungeness Dock, my visit to Cumberland Island was nearly over. The sun was starting to go down and it was getting colder. Along with several other passengers I patiently awaited the arrival of the ferry. This time I opted for the comfort of the warm cabin area. It was standing room only inside but sore feet and legs were a small price to pay for a little warmth. 'Twas much better than sitting outside where it was cold and windy!
Getting there was the more challenging part, because large chunks of the route are uphill. We hadn't realised it before, but the Charles River Trail - though overall longer - avoids many of these hills, while the vehicular cycling route takes you right through them. No matter what anybody says, I do not recommend a heavy upright bicycle with limited gearing on hills for long distances, unless you have the stamina and leg strength of a hardened cyclist. The hills were bad enough, but the hills plus a killer headwind nearly did me in. I did make it though - soaked with sweat, bright red in the face, and without a clue how I was going to get the energy to cycle back! Oh, and Harris Cyclery was closed - we hadn't realised that their winter hours were 6 days a week only.
Thankfully, the sandwich place down the street was open, and we secured a table with a spectacular view of our bikes, partaking of their refreshments until I could muster up the strength to ride back. The return trip was considerably easier, though there were still some uphill patches.
In about two weeks I'll be going to Springfield, Missouri to attend the fourth reunion of the Descendants of Lysander and Lydia Robison Joslin (DLLRJ). Held every two years, the first DLLRJ reunion was in August .. in Springfield, Missouri. The picture at right is my mother and her sister, Pat, standing in front of "the wall" of descendants. Lysander and Lydia are my 3rd great-grandparents.
The is a repostfrom earlyApril . But as we roll into the fall ice season andthe winter of / I thought it worth revisting for those looking to buying new tools. I'll have a new Nomic/Fusion comparison up soon as well. And a new Cobra/Quark comparison. And finally, since so few have gotten to use the newest Ergoanother set of comments on that tool as well from some recent alpine climbing with it.
Forget the Fendi Bicycle. It has been proposed that the first Italian designer bike was invented by Leonardo Da Vinci. The wooden construction above is a model "Da Vinci Bicycle", from an exhibition of the artist's inventions.
A bicycle-like sketch was discovered in 1974 during the restoration of the Codex Atlanticus and attributed to Da Vinci. Conferences were held about this discovery; academic articles written... until 1997, when the sketch was proven to be a 20th century forgery.
I was speaking with an Austrian friend who rides a bike and works in advertising, and she raised the topic of marketing in relation to "bicycle culture." She finds it interesting ("and very American") that so many bicycle enthusiasts today employ a "strength of character" narrative, instead of an "increased utility" narrative when discussing their interest in cycling or attempting to promote it to others. This way of relating to cycling has never been popular in Europe, but has now become more so - due to an American cultural influence, she believes.
With the dark clouds came strong winds, rain and snow.
A close-up view of the mountains beneath those big gray clouds. This particular storm passed by quickly. But other storms and more wind came again during the night. It was a very restless night!
In the morning we were greeted with sunshine, blue skies, and somewhat cooler temperatures. As I headed a few miles south toward Willcox and Chiricahua, I wondered what more Mother Nature could bring my way.
Jonathon Griffith photo @ http://www.alpineexposures.com/
What had my heart singing with glee though was the pool area. There is a fish shaped pool. There is a pool that has the baby pool built into one end so you can watch your little one play while being in the deeper end yourself. There is a splash zone. And there is my all time favorite water park feature: a lazy river. I think I spent three or four heavenly hours in this part of the campground. With an hour or so of that time including me reading a book while floating on the lazy river. I may want to stay here forever.
