Beach Bummed

Once again, Pete and I are thwarted, and the summer comes to an end without a beach day.

We have a very short summer. It is shorter in the years when it rains through half of it. Friday's day off was planned for about a month, and this is always a gamble, but my plan was...unless otherwise impossible, I would spend that day off on the beach.

So guess what.

I convinced Pete to come with me -- she had the day off as well, and except for a trip to the vet's, no other obligations. It is hard enough to take 1 cat to the vet, much more so 2, so I said I would help cart cats and then we would go to the beach. Though we are middle-aged ladies, we are not yet at an age where we will get up for shell-walking and beach before lunch. When we arose to a 57 degree morning, I shot her a quick note that said no to fear. Partly sunny and 72 was expected. Not a perfect beach day, but serviceable. Cats, lunch, beach.

We walked into the restaurant under blue skies and puffy clouds. We walked out into a rain-spattered parking lot. And yes, the chick-sand was worth it. We scanned the horizon and consulted. We had the car packed, we were in our bathing suits, I had 12 weeks' worth of Economist magazines that needed reading. So we went.

We like Cape Cod beaches, because Pete is a South Shore girl and we are already closer. I do enjoy Manchester, but North shore is best during the heat wave, which had already passed. (by that we mean 3 days at 90 degrees or more. We do get 3 of them, and we get them together, and then the leaves turn and everyone makes cider donuts) Either cape is far from where I live, so off to the bridge we went.

There is a Hurricane coming (get happy) so there is already a little vacation traffic trying to get ahead of it. Pete insists that the sky is brightening up over there (and there and there) and if I would put my sunglasses on I would see it too. We encouraged each other like workout buddies to get all the way to Scusset, even negotiating what we would do if they were still charging an entry fee (they weren't) or if it wasn't "actually" raining (it was). Other parties were arriving, and we took their cue as permission to continue. We identified my beach umbrella as potential shelter. We walked down the boardwalk to get the lay of the land.

So very sad. Too dark, too cold, too wet to enjoy. Even Twizzlers and the CVS off-brand Pringles would not make this a true beach day. Defeated and pouty, in our needless bathing suits like little girls who wear their Halloween costumes all day, we returned to the car.

The tropical rains have arrived today. True Cape vacations are a total wash, and the cottages with board games and reception of the Kennedy funeral will survive the boredom. Here in Del Boca Vista, I am pausing in a houseclean. I have read one of the magazines (from June: Iranian elections and the President's speech in Cairo). I have made a list of all the indoor things I could do before Monday. I won't complete most of them either.

Time to buy the rock salt.