CapeCodToday Blog Chowder

Johnathan - I couldn't agree more... I have a small place just a stone's throw from Old Wharf Rd and in the last few years have seen several of the quaint little cottages torn down to be replaced by oversized year-round homes that are too large for their lots - complete with landscaping, asphalt drives and underground sprinklers. Oh -and a variance because they are non-conforming since the lot isn't big enough. The whole charm of Dennisport is in the cottage community. These people just don't get it...

Congrats on your 5th!
The first car I rode to the Cape in was my Dad's 1954 Olds - a 2-tone green model. That was followed by a Green 1964 Olds - he designed a wooden box that fit on the top of a board frame with suction cups mounted on the bottom that he stuck on the roof - then that contraption got strapped on with clamps that held onto the door frames. Weird but it worked. He painted it green to match the cars.

We took my mother there several years ago during the height of the season and had an extraordinary experience - our waiter was an impeccable British gent who took his profession seriously, giving us a level of service par excellence. The food was superb and beautifully presented - it couldn't have been better in any 5 star restaurant. However, two subsequent visits in the Fall and Spring were disappointing. The food was mediocre and the service, well, suffice it to say, it was lacking. Maybe they are at their peak in the summer months. Worth a try, anyway.

I would add the Chatham fish pier to your list - it's free and if you're lucky enough to get there when the fishing boats are unloading, there's plenty of entertainment. Not to mention the view, which is always entertaining. In season, the fish market next door is open - best fish and chips anywhere.

The last time we drove by the Harwichport house (a couple of weeks ago) it still looked like it was being maintained on the outside - I had been wondering how this could be possible. Maybe Daddy's footing this bill too. Or maybe Jeanine has found a way to pay for it all herself.... not that I'm suggesting anything but it does make you wonder if the Feds found ALL of the embezzled assets. It's got to cost a bundle to keep that place going.

I was born in New England and have lived here my whole life except for 5 years I spent in the Colorado Rockies. Tonic was strictly an "adult" drink, in my experience. Meant to go with Vodka and lime (gin for those who know no better). Soda was for kids - but I was never allowed Coke as that was what Dad used in the basement to take the rust off of nails and THAT certainly was not fit for consumption. I didn't even taste Coke until I was old enough to have babysitting money and could buy my own bottle from the vending machine in the basement of the Methodist Church. Your Lobster Newberg recipe is exactly like the one my Mom used to make. I didn't like it as a kid because of the Sherry, but sure appreciate it now.

I can spend hours looking for shells (and have) and when I was a child I'd pick up anything that caught my eye and bring it home. But I think now since I've matured I have become more discriminate - I only collect orange jingle shells, sea glass (it has to be properly smoothed and shaped by the sea), conch shells and wampum. Although I am still seduced by the perfect scallop or moon shell. Or a perfectly pink slipper shell.... or a cockle shell that is bleached so white it hurts my eyes... Oh, what the heck - I still love them all....

Glee, indeed. I too volunteered for Obama by driving voters to the polls - I had the pleasure of watching as one middle-aged woman who was voting for the first time in her life, proudly smiled as she stuck her "I voted today" sticker on her lapel. How great is that?

How about a fact check: In the fall of 2005, Congress stopped the "earmark" for the bridge project but left it up to Alaska to decide which other transportation projects to spend it on. ie. Alaska was no longer required to build the bridge. Alaska got the money and spent it elsewhere so Sarah Palin didn't exactly say "thanks but no thanks" to Congress - Makes a good line in her speech but that's about it.

For more details on the Facts, go to Politifact.com

Thanks for the update on the power outage, Tim. I had gotten an emergency call from the gal who manages my rental cottage in Dennisport that when the power came on, the cottage didn't so needed an electrician out there pronto. No time to chat on the phone but I knew I could get the details from your Blog. Thanks again.

Congratulations on your 25th Anniversary! And thanks for another good recipe to add to my cottage cookbook "Beverages" section - along with the other Cape themed libations. Here's a toast to 25 more!

A wise man does not denigrate another's love.

Cape Driver
2 oz vodka
2 oz cranberry juice
2 oz orange juice
Over Ice
If you drive anywhere on the Cape after drinking this, you'll be sure to get ticketed for DUI so put your feet up and relax.

Your article reminded me of an old meadow in back of my cousin's house, which was once part of a farm in CT. When we were kids there was a row of grape vines of an old variety that had been planted along a tall wood and wire fence. The grapes had a deep purple skins with a very tart green fruit inside
but the juice between the skin and the inside was just like Welch's. We would harvest them in the fall then my mother boiled them into grape juice, which she bottled in quart sized canning jars and we drank it all winter. I can still remember the aroma in that sunny kitchen while she was canning and how much fun it was to be with my family picking a bushel of sweet-smelling grapes in a meadow full of wild asters and goldenrod. Thanks for the memory.

Rockhopper - glad to hear you won't stop writing - yours is one of the few Blogs I read religiously and the only one I've felt inspired enough to comment on - but take care of your family. Sail on, Sail on.....

Wolfram - you want to know where do the sailors go? To their castles in the clouds.... wherever the dreams that fill their sails will take them.....

Don't give up hope and don't stop writing.... I've been dreaming of the same rose-covered cottage on the Cape for years and years and after many years of scrimping and saving, finally bought one this past Spring. Well, OK - it's not exactly rose-covered but it is a cottage and it's on the Cape and only a quick walk from the beach. So, where there's a will, there's a way. Keep dreaming and someday you'll be Where the Sailors Go......