That Old Cape Magic

 I read the last of the four books Kristina sent me last fall, Richard Russo's That Old Cape Magic which was published in 2009. Russo is a Pulitzer Prize winner (for Empire Falls in 2002), so that coupled with the fact that it was one of Kristina's reads, made me expect a very good novel. It took me awhile to get into the story. I was probably more than half way through the book before I actually started liking it.
For Jack Griffin, all paths, all memories, converge on Cape Cod where he took his childhood summer vacations and where he and his wife, Joy, honeymooned. It was the dream of his parents to own a home on the cape, which they never managed to do. It was their last wishes to have their remains scattered in the waters of the cape which became Jack's duty. At times the book was funny, but it was mostly an examination of Griffin's relationship with his parents (and their hold on him) and with his wife of 30 years.

Cynthia Riggs, a thirteenth-generation Islander, lives on Martha's Vineyard in her family homestead, which she runs as a bed-and-breakfast catering to poets and writers. Deadly Nightshade is her first novel and features a feisty 92-year-old sleuth. The book's descriptions of the island and the characterizations of its inhabitants was good but the writing left a lot to be desired. Transitions between scenes and chapters were pretty choppy.

For me, the best part of both these books were the memories they brought back of my own trip to the area in the mid '70's.

September is the best time to visit Cape Cod and the Islands - the summer hubbub is over yet the weather is still lovely. Driving from Logan Airport in Boston down to Sagamore Bridge and onto the Cape was an easy trip. Once you're there, it is a succession of one small town after another...Sandwich, East Sandwich, West Barnstable, Barnstable, Dennis, East Dennis, Brewster, East Brewster, South Wellfleet, Wellfleet, Truro, North Truro.....all the way to Provincetown. But once you're in Provincetown, you feel that old cape magic.
I often wonder how I would feel about a place if I went back now. Would I even recognize anything? Being on Cape Cod was my first ocean experience. One of my favourite memories is of walking way out into Cape Cod Bay when the tide went out - amazing.

I did not go to Martha's Vineyard, but rather to Nantucket. The ferry ride over to the island was pretty rough and even though I got sea sick, I tried to pay attention to everything about the journey - the sea gulls following the ship, the light houses out on the points, the harbor as we docked and the cars began driving off the ferry and on to the island.
The best way to get around the town of Nantucket was by bicycle. Mine had what I came to think of as a Jessica Fletcher basket on the handle bars - which may be why I still have to have a basket and a bell on my bike to this day.
I loved looking at all the old homes. The widow's walks atop them were fascinating. Imagine your husband's whaling ship due back in port and it wasn't in yet. Those platforms on the roofs were where the wife would go to pace and keep a look out. When the ship didn't return, the look out became a widow's walk.

The sad thing about color photos taken 35+ years ago is that they fade and lose their vibrancy. The blues of the ocean and sky are no longer as sharp as they once were. Even though this photo has been in an album, the edges have begun deteriorating.

These shoppes may be new buildings made to look old or they may actually be old, original buildings. Downstairs in one of them was a restaurant where I ate my first quahog clam chowder and drank my first Ramos gin fizz. I've had many clam chowders since, but not as good as quahog. And even though I talked the bartender out of a list of ingredients for the Ramos Fizz and tried making them many times, mine never tasted quite as good as the ones on Nantucket. Even the New Orleans version wasn't as good and that is where they originated. Perhaps it was the ambiance. Perhaps it was because it was a first time experience - or maybe it was all a part of That Old Cape Magic.