Dark and Stormy

It's 5:30 am, I'm wide awake and ready for my coffee. I tiptoe downstairs and to my surprise, Jane is up too. She came down for the sunrise and just happened to catch a small glimpse of it as well as a few quick pictures. . It's rather quiet outside, no noise except for the waves crashing against the shore. The skies are getting dark and stormy, it's a bit damp and actually a little chilly. Welcome to the Cape and our first day in Provincetown. The ritual of my morning coffee routine is one of my favorite parts of the day...everyday...whether I'm working or on vacation or whether I'm home or somewhere else on my travels. Most of the time I brew my own which I patiently wait to drink. I love a strong cup of java. This experience is my first pleasure each day. I breathe deep as I take in the aroma of the beans when I open the bag and scoop the grounds into the coffee pot. The stillness of the morning and only the sound of the coffee perking is enjoyable to me. As I pour the hot, dark liquid into my favorite cup, the steam escapes and releases that wonderful aroma which permeates the air....well what can I say but...good morning! I sit in a favorite spot and peruse my surroundings...wherever they may be. Warming my hands around my cup of coffee, taking that first sip and inhaling that wonderful scent....ahh, heavenly. I become one with the process...and the affect...a "zen" thing. It is the same routine this morning. Jane and I start chatting and as time marches on we realize that today, our Cape Cod day, will be a dark and stormy one. No problem, it's a great day to go to Wellfleet and do some treasure hunting...or in other words...shopping.

We all have a favorite place in Wellfleet that we call our own. For Jane, it's a fabulous shop called Off Center. Hannah is a boutique which Jo favors, Bevie's is Eccentricity, I like Francis, Francis, Off Center, Eccentricity AND Hannah! Ricky frequents the hardware store and the recycling center, Dougie, the book store ... Dennis likes to sit on every bench in town. We shop til we drop today and all of us are totally happy with our purchases. We all love Left Bank Gallery, a unique artists gallery where I especially had to go to purchase a fish sculpture for my garden that I have been eyeing for the past two years. I have finally found an appropriate spot amongst the flora for this piece and it only took two years to justify the purchase. I love it.

After all this retail therapy, we've worked up quite the appetite and head to Pearl, a local restaurant for lunch. A few cocktails, glasses of wine, ice teas...salads,.cheeseburgers, salmon burgers, fish tacos and oyster tacos later..we waddle out of the place, bellies full and head for home, We are pooped.

As we sit around in the house, telling tales and laughing ourselves silly, we can feel the vibration of the waves crashing against the sea wall under the house. They are hitting hard and we can hear the clapping and spraying sounds as they hit and recede. I feel a sense of tranquility in this as well....I could almost fall asleep. Most of the group has decided to chill for the night. I definitely don't want to miss a moment of any part of this day and opt in with Jane and Denny for ride into Ptown tonight. The threat of rain is still looming but we'll take our chances. This vacation comes once a year and we are going to miss...nothing...not a moment of this precious week. Not a beach day, as I said...but a good day was had by all of us...no matter how dark...no matter how stormy.