Vacation Faves

The first Friday of August!

And only 1 more month of vacation for me and my youngest daughter!  School begins in just 6 more weeks from yesterday!

We spent from last Wednesday until this past Wednesday at the beach house on Cape Cod, so most of my faves will be from our family vacation time.  It was a very relaxed vacation, partly because of the issue with my back/leg but we made the most of it and God blessed us with some faves......join in with those of us participating in this fun exercise by linking up with Susanne from Living to Tell the Story

FIVE FAVES

• PEACEFUL REST!  This was what greeted us the afternoon the girls and I arrived at the house. This is a quiet part of Buzzards Bay. The weather was absolutely perfect.  Over the weekend it became grey and cool with some rain but the first 3 days were rather nice.  Monday was just gorgeous like in this picture and Tuesday started out nice but ended up with a downpour and cool temps!  But the peace by the water is constant.  And we all needed that!! It is so important to re-charge and get some refreshing, relaxing moments....our lives are so busy and God wants us to be still at times!! It is good for our bodies, minds, and souls!

• WALKS ON BEACH!  This is from our 2nd evening at the beach house. Dave didn't join us until Friday evening but the girls and I walked in the morning, afternoons, and most evenings. Here they are collecting sea glass and pottery. We have a large container in our dining room to hold sea glass collected from our times on the cape. This shot is around the point and to the side of the beach house. Since this part of the peninsula is for home owners only, and only 2 homes had occupants while we were there, it was nice and quiet! 

image taken from Middleboro Gazette, MA

SUNDAY AFTERNOON THEATRE AND DINNER!  Sunday was my husband's birthday so my father-in-law bought 6 tickets for the play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" written by Steve Martin. It was held in Middleboro which is about 30 minutes from the beach house. OH MY GOODNESS! It was a hoot! (it was about Einstein meeting Picasso)  Here is the link about the company.  We really enjoyed this afternoon performance and the fact that it was set in Paris just made me and Courtney's day!  Dave likes Italian food and it just so happened that a Middleboro restaurant was giving discounts to people who had attended the show!  The surprise and total blessing for us was that my father-in-law insisted on paying for the entire thing......and my husband had a very relaxing and fun birthday!

• DADDY DAUGHTER/MOM-DAUGHTER DATES! Dave, being from the Boston area, has always been a Red Sox fan. I am a fan because I'm married to him. Of course the girls are fans.  Claire, our youngest had never been to Fenway, so when Dave was given (ANOTHER BLESSING!) tickets from a co-worker for the day after his birthday, he decided to take Claire. Here they are Monday afternoon before leaving for the T station.  (and yes, the Red Sox won that night!).  Meanwhile, Courtney and I went out to dinner at this local tavern.  It's only about 5 minutes from the beach house and we had never been there!! We had outdoor seats and the food was really good!!  The best part? Spending time talking with her about my testimony, some earlier times in my life, and hearing her heart on some spiritual things.  Dates with our daughters is always a special blessing!

Courtney, age 19, at the Gateway Tavern

• HYANNIS!  We had planned on going out further on the cape than the girls had ever been so we took Tuesday, which was overcast, to travel out to Hyannis, the hub of Cape Cod. I like to say that Hyannis is to the cape what Lake George is to the Adirondacks, without all the cheesiness.  It IS touristy and kitschy and loads of fun to explore.  There are so many shops!  On the drive out, I happened to notice this charming cottage painted Courtney's fave color.  It was this bookstore! and oh, what a find!! We spent a little over an hour in there. I ended up buying my father-in-law a book for Christmas (yes, I'm shopping early this year!), and Claire found an antiquated copy of Little Women and a Harry Potter book that was gently used. The Little Women book was from the 1940s! And Courtney found exactly what she had been searching for all summer:  old, antiquated copies of The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas. It was in 2 volumes and only cost her $10!! That is the beauty of bookstores that sell old books!  Dave found an old copy of an old classic called Arundel. He is most pleased!  We then drove on to Hyannis where we all purchased clothing items with NO sales tax (VERY different from NYS!). I bought a new maxi dress that was only $29 but would have been close to $60 in Albany! Courtney and I bought matching tunics (different colors) and Claire and Dave bought sweatshirts.  Courtney also bought some sweats for life in the dorm.  We walked all over the downtown and when it began to really rain and become late in the day,  we decided to save the other touristy things, like the JFK Museum for a future date. Exploring new towns is always a fave for the 4 of us...and we really needed this family time. God is good to give us time together to just have fun!!

Sculpture made from recycled metal
Downtown Hyannis, MA

So...that wraps up a relaxing week. It's back to the reality of Physical Therapy appointments for me (they have pretty much decided I have sciatica pain due to a herniated disk and say I will be fine in a few weeks....let's pray so!) dental and doctor appointments for the girls, and back-to-school-supply shopping.  Tomorrow we have a trip out to my sister Hope's and her husband's place in the woods of Central NY for a family BBQ.  It will be good to see all of my sisters and their families.  And Sunday we will be back in our church to worship....how I've missed it!!!

What do you have planned for the weekend??

Do you have a fave blessing from the past week?  Please share one in the comment box or head over to Susanne's to link up a post!

HAPPY WEEKEND!