I couldn’t believe it but I realized I hadn’t been in the U.S. over a full month in an entire year! July was the first month in a good while and it seemed appropriate that it was the Americana month of July. I kicked off my domestic stint with a long weekend in New York, visiting a friend, Courtney, who I met on my tour of South Africa and attending the wedding of my cousin, Curtis. Courtney lives on Long Island, and despite spending fair amount of time in New York, I had never made it there myself, so visiting Courtney was the perfect excuse! Meeting Courtney in South Africa was like meeting someone you feel like you already know. She recalls the first night of our tour, when she made a quip at my expense to which my response was “You don’t know me well enough to give me shit yet.” That was when I knew we would definitely be friends.
My Long Island experience was everything I hoped for and more. Courtney really provided the experience package. Just check out her stocked fridge (a plethora of beer options that you can’t see behind the yogurt) and sunblock buffet (as in every type you could imagine. That little travel bottle to the right is my sad SPF 15)
She also has a most fantastic condo, RIGHT on the beach. Meaning that she can hear and even see the waves crashing onto the beach from her window or balcony. Whenever she wants. And walk there in about two minutes. Yes, she can be HERE in two minutes.
This is just about the best thing ever in my book and I think I commented something along those lines about 25 times during my two-day visit! Also, I really think Courtney’s building could be the basis of a reality TV show. I thought my building in DC had an eclectic population but it doesn’t hold a candle to the entertainment value Courtney’s building provides. Everyone knows everyone, of course, and everyone has the best Long Island accent (usually spoken loudly or yelled). Not only does everyone know everyone but everyone knows everything about everyone (or thinks they do at least). Courtney told me about the time she stopped to chat with an elderly neighbor in the lobby one day and a week later learned that the whole building thought were dating. There’s also not a lot of boundaries at play, and at one point we ended up on an involuntary tour of a new neighbor’s apartment (we were literally dragged in from the hallway)- a tour given by the neighbor’s friend while the neighbor (and resident) wasn’t even home! But, there’s also so many benefits from this communal approach. For example.one night we sat on her balcony one night, catching up with neighbor-friend Donna (via yelling from balcony to balcony) and the next day Donna randomly yelled over that she had extra avocados if I wanted to take any with me. What a fantastic offer! That would never happen in my building.
I was sad to have to leave Courtney’s after just a few days, as neighbor friends had conjured up fun sounding plans for the rest of the weekend. And, to the honest, I could just sit in the lobby of her building and be completely entertained for days. Alas, it was onto the train to travel from Long Island to Westchester, NY, where cousin Curtis was tying the knot with the lovely Corrine. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding, featuring two beautiful human beings and with fantastic family members (and also great food and music and dancing!!).
My parents both hailed from the Westcester area so I spent one day driving around with them (me in the backseat, like when I was a little kid) and looking at their respective childhood homes, schools, and various haunting grounds (despite growing up in nearby towns they met when they were 18 and working at the same summer camp, and got married at the ripe old age of 20).
I did find it interesting that (despite meeting at such a young age) they both pointed out multiple homes of past boyfriends and girlfriends. Plus my Dad was shipped off to a prep school and wasn’t even in that town for much of his high school years! I would make comments to this effect from the back seat, trying to incite some jealous drama between my parents…and was mostly ignored. I guess after 45 years of marriage it’s kind of a moot point.
So, two weeks of my Americana month were spent at my Happy Place, Cape Cod. Yes, the Cape has hung onto this title throughout my travels over the past year! That’s how much I love it. I’m admittedly biased as I was born at Hyannis hospital, so it’s actually in my blood and I feel preprogrammed to release endorphins as I cross the Sagamore bridge. The past few years, though, I’ve updated my mode of travel to the Cape and have given up the 8-10 hour drive from DC or flight to Boston followed a long, traffic-filled drive. This is because I discovered a little known (and, strangely inexpensive) flight from DC to the tiny Nantucket airport (ACK) which is just a short ferry ride from Cape Cod. I must say, it’s a very civilized way to travel and I sense more than a smidge of envy from my two siblings as I arrive for our vacation, refreshed from the boat ride and having had enjoyed a delicious lunch and stroll around beautiful Nantucket. In contrast, my siblings look a combination of frazzled and exhausted as they emerged from their respective mini-vans, that each hold three adorable (and loud) children DYING to know if they are there yet. [Okay, so I feel a little bad for them but also get some sick satisfaction from the whole thing]. Anyways, this year we spent two glorious weeks at the Cape and it was amazing how quickly the days flew by. To say things were fast-paced is an understatement- it’s a good thing I like things fast paced.
And, with six kids for the first time this year (my sister’s youngest is seven months old) the adult-to-child ratio was tipped dangerously close to what would require a man-to-man defense. But having little Theodore was so much fun, especially so for his cousins meeting them him for the first time. He was our trusty vacation mascot, for sure!
Ok, so that last photo is from our World Cup Finals viewing, where we watched the poor Croatians get squashed by elitist French (us Americans were rooting for the underdog and my Dutch brother-in-law was pulling for what he thought was the “better team.” And I guess he was correct. So annoying). You can now understand why Teddy is focusing his attention on that cup!
Bottom line is that we had a LOT of fun on the Cape. A TON of fun!
A few other Cape highlights (in no particular order)-
Turkish contingent- Cape Cod isn’t exactly known for being the diverse of locations, or so I thought. One morning our gang rallied to ride bikes to a coffee shop (which also sells lemonade and candy, which is how we convinced the kiddos to go). Felix wore a t-shirt I’d brought him from Turkey and we were surprised when a coffee shop employee excitedly ran out from behind the counter to greet us. Turns out that the Cape hosts a lot of Turkish students, as part of a university program! This Turk must have been disappointed to learn we weren’t from his homeland and didn’t speak Turkish, but he hid it well and just seemed happy I had been. He even wanted to take pictures with Felix to show his friends.
Felix seemed a little confused about the whole thing and Ella was just a little bit jealous that Felix was being treated like a celebrity. A few days later we rallied (aka bribed) the troops for another such bike ride and Ella looked frantically for her Turkey t-shirt to wear. Well, our friend was not there, but another Turk was, who reacted with equal enthusiasm to our Turkey-adorned crew.
When in Turkey I found the people extremely friendly and welcoming, and this experience extended to the students I met at Cape Cod. I was glad my nieces and nephews had a better understanding of what the thing on the t-shirts I gave them means, and even have people to associate the country with now. Turkey will always have a special place in my heart.
Orleans Firebirds Storytime. In case you aren’t familiar with the Cape Cod league, it’s a prestigious summer league for college baseball players (the only summer league that uses wooden bats and for this reason it attracts many pro scouts). I grew up going to these games- idolozing the players as a child, and then having massive crushes on them as a teenager. Anyways, a few years ago I saw a sign for Storytime at the library with members of the local team, the Orleans Cardinals, and thought it sounded like a great activity for our tribe. As we mini-vanned there, Ella asked if they should be sure to be sure to call me as AUNTIE Teha at Storytime again this year (okay, so I may have made this request in the past. Just wanted to avoid any confusion and sometimes they drop the formality!) I responded that the players were probably too young for me but that it wouldn’t hurt to call me by my proper title anyways (I mean, look at the age difference between the President of France and his wife!) So, following the reading of the story the players opened the floor for questions. After several Cape-league obsessed adults got their questions out-of-the-way, a child finally raised their hand! The librarian looked pleased and gestured to Ella, in the front row, who inquired “How old are all of you?” That’s my girl! Looking out for her Auntie! [They were only 19, btw, which is a bit of a deal-breaker. Except, now Storytime has become an annual tradition so we’ll be there next year. We’re pretty much locked in for life].
Capt Curley’s Sunset Sail. My parents kindly offered to babysit one night and sent “the big kids” on a sunset sailing trip out of Wellfleet harbor. We happily left the chaos of the house for the serenity of the water, joining “Capt Curly” on his vessel and taking in stunning sunset views from the sea. But then…disaster at sea! The trouble began when I joined the First Mate on the bow (sounding dramatic already!) to take photos and then rested my phone on a wooden ledge. A few moments later a gust of wind tipped the boat in a way where I felt like I was in the America’s Cup and I grabbed a rope with my hand and a metal rail with my toes to brace myself and stay on the boat. The First Mate complimented my hanging on skills and, of course, my siblings commented how funny it would have been if I’d fallen in and it was too bad I hadn’t, etc, etc. Laughs all around! A few minutes later I went to take another picture and was no longer laughing when I realized my phone was not where I had left it! Capt Curley thought maybe it was somewhere in the boat but I was pretty certain it had plunged overboard (which the “Find My Device” feature later confirmed).
Despite this travesty, I do highly recommend Capt Curley’s cruise out of Wellfleet. Just consider leaving your phone on-shore. (This was taken with someone else’s camera, btw. Aren’t you impressed I’m still smiling?)
And, lucky for me the phone was only a month old and was still covered under purchase protection, so all’s well that ends well. And, for those inquiring minds, of which I know for a fact there are several… this would be my third new phone in a year. The other two were victims of whitewater kayaking in Croatia and a toilet in a campground in Namibia. At least I have good stories!
The rest of the month was spent mostly in DC and it was wonderful to see and spend time with the friends I’ve missed terribly. I also had some administrivia to tend to, such as procuring a new phone, license (lost with the phone), and passport (unrelated to the phone but needed to turn in that temporary emergency passport from Zimbabwe). I did zoom up to New Hampshire for a long weekend and helped celebrate my fabulous Aunt Lindi’s 70th (doesn’t she look amazing?!) as well as catch up with some of my favorite New England people and places.
Many thanks to cousiin Kate’s husband, Nick, for providing quite the Fenway experience package. It was a far cry from the bleachers where I enjoyed games as a kid (wearing my glove, of course). I also enjoyed more QT with my sister and her tribe- a few weeks of a break had brought my stamina back with the kiddos.
Ah, what a month it was! A HUGE thanks to everyone for being so accommodating and helping me to make the most of my time stateside! I do realize I’m not the easiest human being to make plans with these days.
And, suddenly there I was packing for another series of adventures! (I mean it’s already been a year so why stop now??) Teaser: heading south towards the equator and beyond!
As always I loved reading about your ambitious adventures. Loved seeing the great family pictures! Looking forward to reading about your future travels. Love, Patti