Now that's something you don't see every day

Bridge to Lieutenants Island, Wellfleet
(yes, that tiny thing out there is a bridge.
The snow everywhere is actually the ocean. Yup.
The Atlantic Ocean, frozen.)

Frozen ocean

Lieutenant Island - If you choose to live on this "adorable" island,  I would imagine you'd have to be a sailor or at least tide savvy.  Because the tides dictates how, when and if you come/go over the bridge. Once the tide rolls in, your car will become a submarine.  So you will sink, swim, or become stuck on or off.  The photo on the left and below show the bridge and the island currently in February.
The frozen ocean surrounding a tiny 1-car bridge.
Scary or totally cool?  If you're claustrophobic, you'll probably want to stick to the Bahamas or BVI's. This tiny speck of paradise might not be for you.




    "Toto, I've a feeling we aren't in Atlanta anymore!"  Once a day I come across something that is peculiarly different, interesting here. Whether it's a new concept, a word, thing, or crazy circumstance just plain crazy to me, that is completely standard for Cape Codders.  Here are a few idiosyncrasies I have happened upon.  I'll keep adding as I experience more in the months to come.

                                                                                  ENJOY

Ship Bell chimes are heard on certain radio staitons every day.  (These chimes mark the changing of the ship "watches" which are every 4 hours.  8 chimes mark the end of a shift) Cool huh?

Ash Wednesday at Dunkin Donuts   Yes, that's exactly what happened. I walked up to the Dunkin Donuts in Harwichport and was greeted by a priest and her 2 clergyman.   "Would you like a blessing today?" I of course accepted, and she neatly blessed me 2 steps from the door where I then purchased a donut and coffees.  Wow! Crazy, but undeniably convenient. God Bless!

Fish eu de toilette:  If you work near, in, or on the ocean, you're going to smell like it,  like hot fish tails. When I worked at a local shop in late summer, flip flops and beach cover ups were a daily occurrence of vacationers and locals coming to shop straight from the beach. But it wasn't he smell of cocoa butter or Ban de Soleil that I am referring.  It was a very friendly boatman/sailor/fisherman who had come to shop straight off his shift. I thought maybe he had forgotten a fish stuffed in his pockets somewhere.  Nope, it was just potent sailor perfume.  Kind of like when I left some seashells in my car all day. Mmmmm, not the new car smell anymore.  That scent would be called, Seashore fresh!!

From December until, I'm guessing March, if you live on the Cape your wardrobe consists of North Face, Columbia and/or Uggs or Sorrels, gloves, hat, scarf and something with some fur or faux fur attached. You won't find high heels of any size here.  So take back your Manolo Blahniks and Louboutins. Rugged comfort is chic here, year round.

Foxes are the Cape's deer.  Running beside you on the highway, crossing in front of you on the side roads, they're everywhere you don't want them to be.  A darting fluffy orange hazard for vehicles.

Beach permits and Jeeps =  Georgia's Suburbans and ALTA stickers.

The Dump!  What? No trash pick up at the end of your driveway?! Nope.  You have the pleasure of dumping  your own dumpage. And recycling too.  It is a thorough and cleansing feeling after you leave the Tansfer Station, no pun intended.  I have grown to enjoy taking my weekly trip to the dump.  It is very well run and efficient.  A bonus is that with my recycled items, I actually feel it's going to be recycled.  How can you trust a 1 big truck labelled "Recycling"?  Back in Georgia, it was questionable.

Dark at 4:00 pm.   Boo-hiss!  This is an unwelcome and annoying fact of life.  It gets dark in the afternoon from November until March.  Dark as in, the sun is gone, and you need your lights on dark. At 4:00 in the afternoon. Sigh.  I don't know about you, but when it is dark, my productivity has vanished.  Dark = pjs and bedtime.

A snow pile higher than a car.  They can serve as barricades, homes for eskimos, arctic foxes, cold loving mammals.  Most of these are located beside parking lots. It's like a parking lot snow fortress. These ice walls do not melt easily and will still be seen weeks after the blizzard that produced them.

Eagles and Seagulls - You know you're at the beach when you see and hear seagulls. Seeing them fly over my house is the coolest thing. Because I basically live at the beach!! (still exciting to say).  But to see an eagle soar over you, well, you would imagine this would only happen in a nature preserve.   While running the other day, I caught sight of one of these majestic creatures soaring over me.  I had to stop and really look.  I mean could that really be a bald eagle??  Well it certainly looked like one. When I got home, I had to look it up.  And indeed,  they live here too! (Fun fact:  Bald comes from the Old English term balde, meaning white. Thus bald eagle.)