« Last Post: The Central Band Of The Royal British Legion
»

“What shall you do all your vacation?’, asked Amy. “I shall lie abed and do nothing”, replied Meg.”

Today, according to the paper, will be a warm one, in the 70’s. I, however, am a bit skeptical as the clouds have obscured the sun, and there is a stiff breeze. My list is long today. I have several places to go. Yesterday I bought herbs and perennials and a few tomatoes. I wanted more veggies, but there were none, all had been sold. I’ll try a couple of other garden centers hoping to find my snap peas.

Lots of people were down for the weekend. The line to go off cape was miles long, but the wait was not unexpected. It happens every Sunday and turnover Saturdays until Labor Day. The sun and surf carry a big price.

I never cared whether or not we went on vacation. Saturday night was usually the drive-in and Sunday the beach. We went to Maine a few times and stayed at my father’s friend’s cottage, the tiniest place ever. Beds were build-in wherever there was space so the place could sleep 10 or 12 people. On both sides of the cottage, the nearest neighbors were within spitting distance. The water was too cold for swimming. There was really nothing for me to do. It was my least favorite vacation spot, but it was free so I was stuck.

We never came down the cape. We went north. I remember seeing the Old Man of the Mountain, now gone, the flume and the top of Mount Washington. My dad drove our car up he mountain on what I thought was a really narrow road. We were on the outside and there were no rails. I could see right down the mountain, but what I remember most is how cold it was on the top of Mount Washington ever though it was summer. I think we did that trip in a day.

There was a lake we went to which had a slide into the water, a regular slide, nothing fancy, and a zip line you held onto with both hands. I don’t remember the name of the lake, but we it was always a day trip. I liked lake water. It was always warm, and if I happened to swallow some water, it wasn’t gross like salt water. We would swim almost for the whole day stopping only for lunch and then the hour wait so we wouldn’t die of cramps.

It never occurred to me that we seldom went away. Summers always seemed busy. We had that one huge trip to Niagara Falls, but that was it. I still remember every stop on that trip. It must have taken my parents a long time to save enough money. I remember it as my first visit to a foreign country.

Explore posts in the same categories: Musings

This entry was posted on May 26, 2015 at 10:26 am and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Both comments and pings are currently closed.

10 Comments on ““What shall you do all your vacation?’, asked Amy. “I shall lie abed and do nothing”, replied Meg.””

  1. Christer.'s avatar olof1 Says:

    May 26, 2015 at 2:13 pm

    Mostly warm and sunny here today but rain and thunder have passed by too..

    We never went away either. We had our little summer cottage if we wanted to go there and I always went with my best friend to their summer cottage by the ocean. I’ve always preferred the ocean befor a lake but I was happy as long as I could bathe naywhere 🙂

    I went to our cottage by mnyself when I was a bit older, it took me a few hours by bike and I’ve never been afraid of being alone or the dark, even if the occasional moose passing by the bedroom window did scare the crapout of me a few times 🙂

    Good luck in the vegetable hunt!

    Have a great day!
    Christer.

    • katry's avatar katry Says:

      May 26, 2015 at 4:10 pm

      Hi Christer,
      It is chilly here with a heavy wind, and it’s cloudy. The sun was in and out for a while. I got more plants, herbs and a few veggies ad went to two flower shops to find what I wanted.

      I wasn’t ever afraid of the dark either but seldom had a chance to be alone. I would have enjoyed that.

      Have a great evening!

  2. Caryn's avatar Caryn Says:

    May 26, 2015 at 2:34 pm

    Hi Kat,
    We never went to the Cape either. We went north to Maine or New Hampshire. We did the Kancamagus a couple of times so my father could tell us how he built the road when he was with the CCC and he got lost on Mt Chocorua for three days. I don’t know if that part is true. My dad was a good story teller. 🙂
    In Maine we stayed on a friend’s farm and did a lot of the work. That was fun even though it was hard. There were animals to care for and a truck garden as well. There was no place to swim but there were acres and acres of forest to explore.
    In New Hampshire we usually stayed with a relative that had a lakeside cottage. Later on as my parents had more money, they rented a cottage next door. The lake was small but connected to another, larger lake. There were row boats we could use and motor boats that the adults would use. We could water ski and swim. It was nice.
    Here it is 80 with partly sunny skies and a nice breeze. If the clouds clear up more, it will be really hot but right now it’s pleasant.

    Enjoy the day.

    • katry's avatar katry Says:

      May 26, 2015 at 4:16 pm

      Hi Caryn,
      I wonder why it is we went north instead of to the cape. We also did the Kancamagus, a beautiful ride. Once my mother and I went for a ride and ended up in North Conway. My dad, who stayed home with the dog, wondered why we were gone so long.

      I’m not so sure I’d enjoy farm work for a vacation though I do like animals.

      That lakeside cottage sounds perfect. I loved to swim and row. That would have been the spot I’d choose.

      It was 72 when I started my errands, but I think it is much cooler with the clouds and the wind.

      Have a great evening!

  3. Bob's avatar Bob Says:

    May 26, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    When I we were living in NYC in the early 1950s we would rent a bungalow in a bungalow colony in Monticello NY in the Catskills. That area was known as the Borscht Belt. We would move up their from July 4th through Labor Day. My father would spend his vacation with us and the drive back to the city to work during the week and drive back up on the weekends.

    When we moved to Dallas we would drive to NYC to visit the relatives and then drive back via Miami Beach were we would spend our vacation. In the summer of 1955 we drove out to LA and went to Disney Land the first year it opened. We came back via Las Vegas.

    More rain again tonight. It has rained for 24 out of the last 30 days. Flooding is the major hazard followed by wind, tornado and heavy rain.

    • katry's avatar katry Says:

      May 26, 2015 at 8:47 pm

      Bob,
      I haven’t ever been to the Catskills, but I knew it was called the Borscht Belt. The idea of having a place for the whole summer was way out of our reach. Going away vacations were rare for us. Staycation as they have come known were more likely, but we did have a great time at the beach, museums, historic spots and around Boston. It was lots of fun doing different things ever day.

      That was a whole lot of driving. We’d have been whining and fighting.

      Still no rain here-everything is really dry.

      • Bob's avatar Bob Says:

        May 26, 2015 at 9:21 pm

        Of course my mother had to still cook, shop, clean and take care of my sister and I. However, it was cooler than staying in the city and they either had a pool or they were located on a lake. Usually my aunt and cousin would rent a bungalow in the same place.

        In the 1950s gasoline was cheap and airfare was very expensive. It was the beginning of the Interstate system and we got to see a lot of the country. My sister and I didn’t fight too much in the car because we would lose our swimming privileges at the motel that evening.

      • katry's avatar katry Says:

        May 26, 2015 at 10:18 pm

        Bob,
        If there had only been two of us, there probably wouldn’t have been fighting but we were four, and each of us claimed a certain amount of territory in the car. My brother and I, being older than my two sisters, claimed the windows.

        My mother used to say everyone got a vacation except her as everything she did at home she did on vacation.

        We stayed on the east coast and ventured only as far as Canada.


Comments are closed.