Monday, August 16

Today it is really cloudy but it is supposed to get nice after lunch. So if it does get sunny then we will go to the beach.

Kate just went off outside without telling mommy where she was going. Mommy was worried sick. Turned out she was in mommy’s car the whole time. But the car was in the garage with the car doors closed and the garage doors were closed. Then I found her.

Well, Lebron, you’ve probably figured out that we’re messing with you a little bit here. The challenge is to figure out which parts of the Journal are written by Emma and which are written by me.

Today was atypical for this summer, at least as far as Westchester County weather is concerned. It was around 74 and cloudy, always threatening rain, but we finally decided to get off our asses and go to the beach, sky be damned.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. After the early morning eating exercising routine, the girls and I headed into town so they could get some gifts for their friends,(I got salt water taffy for Morgan) and so we could get a Swiffer to clean the floors allegedly cleaned by the cleaning service for our rental. The errand allowed us a nice little walk through the busy sidewalks of downtown Chatham, and as we drove home, we saw that the traffic was backed up for about a mile on route 28.

After lunch, once we were resolved to beach it, we headed for Hardings Beach. Good thing we didn’t waste this beach on a nice day. While it was gray and windy and the surf wasn’t body surfable, we were able to watch a seagull catch and eat a crab, which is always a spectator sport. None of us made it into the water, but that will all change tomorrow at Nauset Beach.

Speaking of Orleans, that’s where we headed to pick up a Blackberry charger (come on, you didn’t think anybody is ever really on vacation, did you?) and a wireless mouse so the kids can play games on daddy’s sacred laptop. Of course, we had to stop at the Red Balloon Toy Shop so Kate could pick up some nifty night vision spy goggles. Then, it was off to Joe’s at the Barley Neck Inn for dinner, which Kate enjoyed with her new goggles firmly affixed to her blonde head. After dinner, the girls were so enamored of the bandana napkins that they had to buy their own bandanas. Emma selected a cute little pink bandana; Kate went for the camo.

We continued then a little farther down Beach Ave. to Nauset Beach, hoping that the waves would be what we’re looking for for tomorrow. And they are. Hopefully we’ll have a successful beach day to report for tomorrow, and a successful whale watch on Wednesday, which may be a good title for Mary Pope Osborne’s next Magic Tree House book.

Sayonara until manana.


Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Here are some important observations glossed over in the previous days’ entries: 1. Hawks don’t play well with one another; 2. People get really excited about jumping out of airplanes.

Well it is pouring now but I was just informed that it will get nicer this afternoon. So if it does than we will definitely go to nauset beach and go in the water.

I’m not sure if the weather will get nicer today because cape cod has its own weather pattern.

If you guessed that that was Emma who refuses to capitalize place names, Lebron, then you’ve won. Go buy yourself a nice low-fat latte and put it on my tab. And if you guessed that the weather didn’t really change for the better, despite the insistent and repeatedly refreshed prognostications of weather.com, then treat yourself to a scone, also on my dime.

So after a morning of waiting and hoping, some part of which was spent by the ladies of the fam down at the Black Dog doing what females of the species love so well to do, we decided to head on up to Provincetown, because you’re never too young to be exposed to P-Town. It should be noted, however, that before said trip commenced, Emma and Kate both wolfed down two hot dogs at lunch. Two! Just take the number of championships you’ve won and add two, and you’ll see how many hot dogs they each had. That’s pretty impressive.

So on we went, through Orleans, through Eastham, through Wellfleet, through Truro. Our destination: the Pilgrim Monument, because we like to climb high places when we’re on vacation. Once we do the picture transfer from Emma’s camera, you’ll see what I’m talkin bout.
After the climb, and a bit of gift shop shopping, we headed down to the pier. Kate kept insisting that I take my shirt off because all the other men had their shirts off. I tried to explain to her that I couldn’t because I have body hair, but she was undaunted. I think our favorite character was the man dressed as Lady Gaga, because while I have to confirm much of my lameness by confessing that I wouldn’t recognize Lady Gaga on the street, it’s pretty easy to pick out a dude who’s dressed like her.

We took a little bit of a detour from the pageantry to walk down the pier and then have an early dinner at the Lobster Pot. Yum, especially the chowder. I wonder how much the children noticed that I don’t think we’d ever really want them to notice, but we took them to Provincetown, so whatever questions or curiosities we have to answer, we have to answer.

Last activity of the day was a little dusk swimming in the little complex pool. It was Kate’s first foray into the water since her spill, and she was a-ok, all healthy and healed.

Tomorrow is the scheduled whale watching day. Watch it be the perfect beach day. Oh, listen to me playing the pessimist. Enjoy your latte, Lebron.