Marc and Geri have a full day planned with washer & dryer installation, a closet guy, and preparations for a dinner party tonight for 14. It's still only day 4 of their move into the new house.
We'll just get out of their hair and go for a ride around a few of my favorite spots in Chatham today. The weather is gorgeous today, in the mid-70s which is better than I dared to hope for.
My childhood memories of Chatham go back to family camping trips starting when I was in third or fourth grade. We camped nearby in Brewster and spent a lot of time playing at the Chatham beaches with our Paradis family cousins and catching hermit crabs in the coves. If we were lucky we'd get to go for a sail on Uncle Ray's Hobie Cat.
The Cape Cod vacation tradition faded for awhile after my family moved to St. Louis in the 70s. Then in 1982 after my first husband Tim and I both finished grad school and got real jobs, we brought our two girls here and camped at the same place in Brewster. We hung out with Uncle Ray and Aunt Anita, took the girls to a Friday night Chatham band concert and rode our bikes on the Cape Cod Rail Trail that had just opened the year before.
With my daughter Abby in 1982 at the Cape Cod National Seashore. Apparently bicycle helmets weren't standard at the time. It looks like we're riding on sand, a dicey proposition with those skinny road tires.
After we got home and filled my parents in on the trip, they decided to round up the troops for a family reunion in Chatham two years later. That turned out to be the first "Ici Le Paradis" gathering that I wrote about in this journal almost two months ago in To Melbourne FL: Ici Le Paradis. (Long post; scroll down a ways if you want to skip ahead to the family story.)
Since that first reunion we've come back here every other year with our own kids, my brother, sisters and their kids at various times. I have more favorite spots than we usually get to in a week, let alone a day ride, but we can cover quite a few today on the bikes. We'll start at Jackknife Beach, less than a mile from the start.
Jackknife Beach on Pleasant Bay, a beautiful spot to launch a kayak or paddleboard.
The Chatham Fish Pier market has the best bang for your buck on lobster. The bigger ones are cheaper by the pound. They have more meat and the market will steam it for you.
Flashback to my parents Leo and Julia Paradis in 2002. These "lobos" from the fish market look like four-pounders at least. We must have been expecting a big crowd that night.
On Lighthouse Beach there's a drop-in yoga class here every morning in the summertime. You can listen to the birds and the waves while you hang out in Savasana pose.
My daughter Abby pulled my grandson Ronan on the trail to White Pond a couple years ago. She was the little nugget on the bike seat with me in the 1982 pic above.
These are some of the scenes that play in my head as we cruise around Chatham. We'll go by a few more favorites tomorrow on our ride to Provincetown. I want to leave some time this afternoon to chill out back at the house, starting with the outdoor shower.
When we get back to the house the "For Sale" sign out front is gone, laundry is up and running, food is prepped and tables are set for dinner. All is serene. By 4:00 Geri is hanging out in the yard, looking relaxed and ready for company while Marc sets up the bar. I'm awestruck. I have never been ready two hours early, or even 20 minutes before a party at our house. These two just want everyone to be comfortable. Their easy-going way sure puts us at ease.
Uncle Ray and Aunt Anita moved from their home in Chatham six years ago to be closer to their children. It's wonderful to see Marc and Geri settling in back here, strengthening the magnetic field that has drawn us here for so long. We have a great afternoon catching up and a fun evening getting to know some of their friends here.
Geri introduced me to Caprese Salad years ago. This version with basil dressing is next level, yummy with the flank steak Marc grilled for dinner tonight.
