Try Something New

For many summers we spent a week or two on Cape Cod, dealing with the traffic, eating ice cream, and following the Sharktivity app (we rented a place in Chatham which is pretty much ground zero for great white sharks in New England.)

With our kids’ work schedules it was difficult to make 4th of July plans as a family this year. That and the fact that Molly and Pete had better offers to hang out with their friends for the weekend. However, Martha and I spent the weekend with some neighbors who have a place in Scituate, outside of Boston on the south shore. Activities included going to the beach, playing pickleball, and checking out sandcastles at the town 4th of July festival. Which sounds suspiciously similar to what we would do on the Cape, but without the extra couple of hours of traffic crossing the Sagamore bridge. So, while it was familiar in many ways the experience still felt very different.

Weekends like this get me thinking about how we (or at least I) get comfortable with a specific location or type of vacation. The first year we went to Chatham we had a wonderful time. The next year, summer was rapidly approaching so the obvious solution for vacation planning was to go back to the Cape. We had a good time the previous year, there were activities we enjoyed, and restaurants we knew we liked. It was easy. So, while there is something to be said for knowing what to expect, this weekend will hopefully reinforce for me the merits of trying something different now and again.

The summer season is short, so we hope you have a chance to relax with family and friends.