Look like this.

That’s right, we are on vacation, enjoying a week on Cape Cod with Hannah, Jessica and Patrick. I’m hoping for glorious beach days and lots of reading and relaxing. I’ll still be checking in with you all, though, throughout the week.

In the meantime, I’m hoping to enjoy the solar eclipse from this particular spot at our beach. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.

Someone over the weekend happened to mention to me that I never finished sharing all of our Charleston trip photos and stories. And I realized – wow! I haven’t. And then I was glad because, hullo, something to blog about.

On our last day in Charleston all I really wanted to do was just take the big camera and walk around the city. And that’s just what we did.

We visited The Battery and White Point Gardens.

We wandered up and down the cobble stone streets.

We saw (and splashed in!) the Pineapple Fountain.

We walked by Rainbow Row.

And up Church Street.

It was no accident that late afternoon found us back at Husk.

We had bourbon and fabulous burgers.

And then we were tuckered out and we headed back to our air bnb for one last night. It was a great way to recap and revisit the things we had seen and done over the week and looking back at these photos reminds me of what a truly awesome trip it was.

I have some photos of our last few days of vacation to show you today. I hope it’s not getting boring, this same old food, drink and beach thing . . .

Thursday

Oh, here we go. Not food or drink or beach but Mason. He loves our vacation house and makes himself right at home. We’re so lucky to be able to bring him with us.

We had a beautiful afternoon at the beach on Thursday. As I was watching Dale, Jess and Hannah in the water I was going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to go in myself. I finally decided, hell, there’s only so many swims left this summer, get on in there. And I did and it was wonderful.

I never get tired of this sky.

Or this one.

Friday

Oooh, look. It’s Mason again. As you can see, he’s fairly comfortable.

No beach photos today but we did go for a while and it was fantastic. Not as breezy as it had been and the water was beautiful. Truly, the water was fabulous for the entire two weeks. Anyway. We came back and I knit for a while. With wine, of course. I’m making progress on that shawl.

We treated ourselves to oysters that night. Dale has learned to shuck them and we tried Wellfleet Oysters for the first time and they were fabulous. Really really good. The martini wasn’t bad either.

We ended our evening with Phase 10. I love those nights where we listen to music and play a game and just enjoy being together. No TV is the key.

Saturday

Saturday was another glorious beach day. We made the most of the afternoon there, swimming and reading and people-watching.

In the evening I cleaned out the fridge for some snacks. Luckily there were good things left and we had a nice time snacking and chatting. We played Bananagrams until it got too dark to see out there!

Sunday

On Sunday morning I was able to sneak away to the beach for a bit. I did my chores early and Dale drove me down for a luxurious 90 minutes while he packed. Yes, I know I’m lucky.

We headed for home at 2:30 and hit practically no traffic. Hooray! We were greeted by a fabulous welcome home basket from Sean, complete with wine and a salad and fabulous tomato tart.

After Dale headed off to sing with the band I had a shower and some of that salad and tomato tart along with a glass of wine in one of my new fish wineglasses. I started to feel human again after the hustle and bustle of unpacking and then I sat down to write this post for you all.

Looking back I can say that this, our 10th time renting this house, was one of our best times yet. Thanks for allowing me to share it with you!

I think it’s high time for me to share some more photos and memories of our vacation, don’t you? When last we met we were beaching, eating, and drinking. And well, frankly, not much has changed and I couldn’t be happier about that.

Here’s a play-by-play or our day-to-day activities.

Thursday.

Beach knitting. I’ve been knitting these socks for-ev-er but they are finally getting close to being finished.

Burrata with our homegrown tomatoes and basil. So delicious and the perfect appetizer for . . .

Lobster! We had a lobster feast with Kim and her family. Messy and delicious and the perfect summer evening meal.

Friday.

Hannah, Jess, Eryk and Patrick arrived!

Saturday.

We attended a beautiful wedding. My friend Tracy’s son got married (conveniently) on Cape Cod and it was a gorgeous affair. The bride and groom sailed out on this boat for photos. It doesn’t get more scenic than that.

Sunday.

Snacks and cocktails.

And games. Our favorite is still Quiddler but we also love playing Bananagrams and Pass the Pigs and Phase 10.

Monday.

Fried dough for breakfast thanks to Chef Dale.

And knitting at the kitchen table. Yes, I have actually worked on the shawl I started back in May.

The flies at the main beach were brutal so I took myself to the associastion beach at the end of our road. It was peaceful (I was the only one there!) and lovely and I read the afternoon away.

Dale snorkeled. He loves to float along and look for sea creatures.

We had dinner out with the kids. This is us toasting Kym and Tom from across the miles for their 35th wedding anniversary.

Tuesday.

A visit to a local farm stand for fresh corn. It’s a beautiful spot.

An afternoon at the beach. Abita Strawberry Lager made it extra special.

I call this one, stand back, girls, he’s all mine.

And evening snacks. This was followed by steaks on the grill accompanied by corn on the cob and baked potatoes. It’s almost as classic as lobster.

Wednesday.

A day of shopping in Hyannis accompanied by my dear friend Doreen.

And it culminated with dinner at the Raw Bar for lobster roll number 2.

And Dale singing a couple of songs with the local talent. So fun!

The week is slipping away from us but I’m going to hold on to these last days with all my might!

Hey there! As I hinted, I decided to blog a bit during vacation. The reason? WiFi at our rental house for the first time ever! Woot! So, here are a lot of photos and a few words about the way we’ve been spending our time.

Saturday.

A solo martini and snack plate for me since Dale had to go work with the band. I managed just fine, though. I had a Louise Penny book to read and a beautiful setting. I also had the cat and the Olympics.

Sunday

Sausage and eggs for breakfast. Yes, on paper plates because no dishwasher.

A beautiful afternoon at the beach.

Snacks on the deck, this time with Dale. It’s much nicer with my true companion there.

A ride to the resident’s beach to watch the sunset.

It was cloudy but stunning nevertheless.

Moon rise behind our bikes.

Monday.

A drive to Wood’s Hole for lunch at The Landfall.

The view is spectacular and the beer is cold and delicious.

It’s a classic Cape Cod restaurant and I’m glad we finally went.

Not pictured on this day: an afternoon nap, drinks and snacks on the deck with Kim and her family.

Tuesday.

Lunch at Anejo, the closest we get to feeling like we’re in Mexico.

Dale had tacos. Yummmm.

And I had a gigantic chimichanga. So good and the leftovers came home with me.

Not pictured that day: drinks, snacks and games at Kim’s house. Lots and lots of laughing.

Wednesday.

Art journaling and coffee on the deck.

A bike ride around our neighborhood with this colorful dude.

Finding a Little Library and borrowing a mystery set on Martha’s Vineyard.

Knitting. Yes, my friends, I actually knitted!

Dinner at The Raw Bar for the best lobster roll in the world. And Cape Cod Beer, too.

Listening to a musician sing lots and lots of Jimmy Buffett. He was really very good and it soothed our pain on missing Buffett this year.

And Kim in her new hat.

So, as you can see, it’s been a fantastic vacation so far. The weather has been hot, humid and sunny. The company has been excellent. And the food and drink – well – you know me, it’s a big part of our plans every day!

The kids arrive tomorrow for a week and that will change some of our plans but not by much. And, as Dale said yesterday, it’s still about joy, just a different kind of joy.