Tomorrow, I'll be flying out of the flyover states, heading to the East Coast. The plan is to spend a few days on Cape Cod, followed by a few days in Boston working a trade show. Everything about the Cape is lovely this time of year - the trees changing colors as Fall descends, beautiful beaches returning to long flat plains of deserted sand as the Summer tourist season ends, lighthouses flashing along the coastline. The only drawback to the place is the people.
... and I used to think New Yorkers were rude. Well, they've got nothing on the Cape Codders. What a passel of grumps and curmudgeons! Last year when two friends and I rented a place on the beach in Orleans (a freaking gorgeous town), the dashing Christopher and I got yelled at by the rental's owner for picking up fallen branches from the backyard of our own cottage. Later, Chris' spouse, the ravishing Marisa, got a tongue lashing (and not in the good way) from a local who was upset that she had tagged along on a free tour, and was taking pictures of a lighthouse. Finally, the three of us got hissed at by an angry queen for walking across a parking lot in Provincetown. If I'd met him in a bar, we'd probably have gone home together; but cut across his restaurant's parking lot and look out, because this cat's not declawed. It was all a bit disconcerting. By the time we left, we were actually looking forward to our arrival in Boston so that we might experience a level of civility (a characteristic not generally associated with that city).
As I stated earlier, Cape Cod is lovely this time of year, so we're heading back for more. Now that I know which parking lot to avoid (seriously not even a toe will cross that property line), we three have rented a pretty little place in Provincetown. I'm really looking forward to visiting the array of excellent art galleries on (or near) Commercial Street. There is good biking, running, OK dining, decent clubs/bars (so I hear) and views to die for. We've got wheels, so we'll be able to hit some of the other towns (I love Wellfleet, Hyannis, and Chatham).
Then it's on to Beantown - a city I'm beginning to like.
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This will probably be the last posting for the next week or so. I don't know when I'll have time to write. House-sitters and kitty watchers have been hired (if one can call dumping one's cat at the parents' house 'hiring'). We're ready to go.
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One final note: Apparently a senator from Mississippi has introduced legislation to allow passengers to have guns in checked luggage on Amtrak. The guns must be in a hard case, unloaded, and be declared by the passenger (much like with airlines today). If Amtrak doesn't comply with the bill when it becomes law, the railroad will lose federal funding. What makes this bill even dumber than the usual Mississippi-stupid, is that I can't recall a time when riding Amtrak where any bag (checked or carry-on) was even given a glance by an Amtrak employee. So it seems pretty meaningless and very costly as Amtrak will have to implement new procedures and hire and train new staff to comply. It seems that the senator, you guessed it, a Republican, is defacto expanding a federal program needlessly and thereby creating more government spending. But, on second thought, maybe he's right. We all know how well guns and trains have mixed historically. Why I can barely think of trains (or cars, or boats, bicycles, and Segways) without thinking of guns...
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