Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

... as the Go-Gos so famously put it. This week's SP12 questions have to do with vacation (one of my favorite things!). Oh, ok, you caught me... it's actually last week's question (the new one will probably be up today) but once I got into that vacation mindset, things just kind of slo-o-wed down for me (or maybe those Margueritas had something to do with it...)



1) Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday?

For my money, there has to be a beach. I have amazingly fair skin for an Italian gal (you'd swear I was Irish) so you'd think I'd avoid the sun, but I can't help myself when there's a beach involved. Something about the rhythmic crash of waves on a beach, the smell of the salt air, the sound of the gulls... it takes my blood pressure down to nothing, and I could lie there and listen all day (with appropriate sun screen, of course).

I've enjoyed lots of beaches in my day. We grew up going to the Jersey shore, since my mom is from Jersey City. Mostly Seaside Heights or Seaside Park (although I can remember Atlantic City before there were casinos .... ) I've also had the opportunity to enjoy the Southern California beaches, where the Pacific is absolutely stunning. And, I've enjoyed several trips over the years to Bermuda and to the Caribbean. But, I'm Massachusetts born and bred myself, so that means my favorite vacation spot has got to be Cape Cod.

The beaches on the Cape are very different from the other places I've been. Lots of beach grass and dunes, and very different personalities, depending on where you are. You probably know that the Cape is shaped like a bent arm. The "inside" edge of the arm curls around Massachusetts Bay, and the bay side beaches are all warm, calm water and flat. The tide goes out literally for miles, and the beaches are great for kids, or those who actually like to swim. The beaches along the "outside" edge of the arm along the bicep (you know, that part that develops "bat wings" as you get older) is buffered by a sound, since Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island are a little ways out. So you get a little bit of wave action and a little bit colder water, but nothing extreme.

My personal favorite beaches are along the outside edge of the "forearm". This is called the Outer Cape, and the towns out there are my favorites -- Orleans, Eastham, Truro, Wellfleet and Provincetown. This section of beaches has no protection, and it's actually open water pretty much across to England. The waves are big (by east coast standards) and the water is icy cold. Nothing we like better than going down to Nauset Beach after dinner, when the beach is pretty empty and flying kites with the kids.

2) Where is one place you’d like to go?

I love to travel, so it's hard to pick just one, but I think I'd really like to see Italy one of these days. Ideally, I'd like to rent a little apartment somewhere for a few months so I could really get to know the place and the people. Maybe once we get the kids grown and educated that will be a retirement trip for hubby and me...


Well, now that I'm totally thinking of vacation and beaches, it's going to be a real drag to go to work, but I suppose that if I don't, they'll stop paying me, so I'll say bye for now.