Cape Cod mini-vacation II

Joe, Katie, me and Ben at Race Point

in Provincetown, waiting for the sunset.

Going...

Going...

Almost gone.

Joe, Katie, Ben and Meghan

on the walk along the harbor.

The kids and me in the same spot

Sorry to have been absent for a while.

Last week was busy. We left for Cape Cod Wednesday afternoon, and before that I ran errands, took the usual dog walks, had physical therapy and met some friends for coffee. It took me a while to get organized and to pack. I know, it was a short stay, but still...I'm famous for being slow.

This year's mini-vacation was a planning puzzle with the pieces being moved several times. We kept changing weeks. As the kids grow up, it gets harder and harder to coordinate schedules. I finally managed to get all three and Ben's girlfriend together for four short but sweet days.We stayed at my sister and brother-in-law's beautiful new house in Wellfleet and squeezed in as many of our favorite things as possible.

These included dinner at the Beachcomber, a lively restaurant at the beach; a visit to a calm bay beach where you could get in the water; a few hours at an ocean beach with frigid water but a glorious shoreline perfect for a long walk; a stroll along the harbor and a swim in Great Pond. One afternoon the kids went to a Cape Cod Baseball League game. I stayed behind and read on the deck. The house is in the woods but close to many beaches. With the branches gently swaying in the breeze, you feel like you're in a tree house.

For the opposite effect, we walked through jam-packed Provincetown at night. The crowd ranged from tourists to drag queens. Before that, we drove to Race Point, at the tip of Provincetown, and watched the sun set.

I enjoyed my morning routine of going out for muffins and newspapers, and then, in my mother's mode, making a large bowl of fruit salad.

Our diet was not very well-rounded. (When we got home, I served a large plate of broccoli with our meal.) I, for one, devoured multiple meals of fish and chips. I figured I would get a good return in my sodium going up. (As I've written before, since I like to do things differently, my sodium is low while for many others it's too high.)

Out on the Cape, you can burn through a 20-dollar bill in a breeze. Back at home, I drove to a farm stand and got half a dozen ears of corn, a tomato, a few apples and a yellow squash and a zucchini. Cost: Around $4.

"I guess I'm not in Wellfleet anymore," I said to myself.

Vacation is wonderful, but coming home isn't so bad.