“When I was a boy, just about every summer we’d take a vacation. And you know, in 18 years, we never had fun.”
Lots of rain last night, and it’s still a damp day with a sky full of clouds, but it seems to be getting lighter so I think the sun will be making an appearance shortly. The weatherman says thundershowers tonight and maybe tomorrow. For the first time in a long while, I stayed inside to read the papers. Everything outside was still too wet. I missed the companionship of my birds, the sound of the fountain and the rustle of the leaves.
I got a chuckle from the paper this morning, a few chuckles actually, but a picture’s caption gave me the biggest laugh. The picture showed a street in downtown Pittsfield with two bicyclists riding on the sidewalk. The caption said, “Pedestrians biked down the revitalized North Street.”
My dance card is empty this weekend except for tonight’s deck movie so I’m hoping those showers will come late. On cloudy days like today I stay home and let the tourists have the roads. This is changeover week in the cottages so the mid-cape will be busy, coming and going.
When I was a kid, I don’t ever remember going to the cape for vacation. If we went away, we went north, usually to Maine where the water was far too cold to enjoy. My father’s friend had a cottage in Ogunquit, and that’s where we generally went. As I got older, into my teens, the last place I wanted to be was on a family vacation. I begged and pleaded to stay with friends at home, but I never won that argument; instead, I was crammed in a car filled with six people, bags of food and a few pieces of luggage which didn’t fit into the trunk. The car was stifling, and I sometimes got car sick. Add my annoyance to all that, and you can imagine how pleasant I was.
The last trip we made as a whole family was to Niagara Falls. It was my favorite of all the trips we ever made. It was during the summer I turned fifteen. We left for the falls after a weekend in Ogunquit. We saw so much on that trip even I wasn’t bored. I remember staying in a motel for the first time, skipping stones on Lake Ontario, the wonder of the Eisenhower Locks, crossing into another country, the falls under the lights at night and my father talking to the wax cashier at Madame Tussauds. One of my memory drawers keeps that trip close, and I get to go back every now and then.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
July 24, 2010 at 11:47 am
We had a cold morning and the temperatures had no energy to move much higher during the day. But I drove in to Skara early this morning (phpto´s can be seen in my blog) and after that i cleaned up most of my home. Perhaps I should have visitors comming here more often 🙂 🙂
I also almost ordered a new camera on the web. But changed my mind at the last second 🙂 It´s better to drive to Lidköping on Monday to the store and look what it is I almost ordered before buying it. It´ll cost a couple of dollars more in the store but I think it´s woth it. Then I can take some photo´s too 🙂
Have a great day now! What movie will You look at?
July 24, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Christer,
The rain came, and I got sweaty sitting here and typing. The humidity should start disappearing, but I won’t believe it until I feel it.
The rain made us postpone movie night. We will see Birdcage tomorrow.
I love playing with my new camera.
July 24, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Would you believe – that will ALL of that rain that fell on you, we got absolutely zilch up here? I mean, I’m only 30 minutes in to Maine for frick’s sake!
I watched the damn radar all day long … south, south, south … we finally had a trace (it was more like fog).
We need the rain here. Funny to say after the Spring flooding, but we need rain.
s
July 24, 2010 at 9:37 pm
S,
I hope you got some of today’s rain.
We didn’t get any until the cold front, supposed to be here on Monday, pushed it our way. Maybe the same weather will work its way to you.
July 24, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Christer,
what kind of camera are you looking at?
I love my local camera store (well, one of the two – the other store sucks) and I am always treated well by them. Even if they really don’t know me that well, they act as though they do. That’s much better than the BigBox stores who, even though they don’t know me from Adam, act as though I was the best friend they’ve ever had.
The English Language has a perfect word for that, “unctuous”. I’m sure you Swedes have a good one too.
July 25, 2010 at 12:38 am
Hi John!
I have my eyes on a Nikon D3000 18-55VR. I know there are some good Cannons too, but I took a look at this one and read the info (of wich I understood silch 🙂 🙂 ) and fell in love 🙂 Our local stores has mostly closed down so I´ll have to go to the town Lidköping and buy it. Unfortunally they doesn´t seem to have any in storage but I do hope they have one that we customers can look at and try there. I´ll phone them today. Now it seemes I can´t get that camera out of my head 🙂 🙂
Have a great day now!
Christer.
July 24, 2010 at 3:37 pm
I love Niagra Falls. Loved watching the huge steamers load into the locks. And across from the Falls is Crystal Beach where we spent the week. We also stayed in a hotel the last night driving back from Canada which had a window that looked out at the Falls and we stared at it for hours. They light it up at night so it was even more impressive. Made me wonder about the beauty of this planet and how sad it would be if no humans inhabitated it. No one around to see such beauty. That was a good memory. Thanks!
July 24, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Z&Me,
I still remember being in awe of the water under the lights and I think I stood there watching for a long time.
The boats getting close to the bottom of the falls were fun to watch.
That one vacation dwarfs all others in my memories.
July 24, 2010 at 4:55 pm
First time I was there, I went with friends from Toronto in ’80, so I was viewing it from that side. I loved standing on the wall with a railing RIGHT where the edge of the rushing water and the falls met the wall I was standing on. I had my photo taken there. I still replay that thrill, as well as the other time I went there not long after my wedding 15 years ago.
That first time, I went to a local orange soda company’s presentation on a new drink and received an orange SMELLING near-Frisbee. I also bought a Niagara Falls commemorative Frisbee. One collects the strangest things on vacations! For years, every time I’d take that near-Frisbee out of the box, I could still smell the fading odor of orange soda. Those two still survive in a box of Frisbee-based collectibles.
July 24, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Rick,
It was only that one time I saw the falls, but I can still close my eyes and see them. I remember getting wet, despite the raincoats, when we walked through the falls. That was a thrill.
It is funny what we buy or collect as souvenirs. When I was a kid, it was stones and shells. Since then, anything which strikes my fancy.