It feels like everyone is on vacation this week, or maybe it’s just the people in my Instagram feed. Either way, I find myself daydreaming about being near the beach or in another country, or both, multiple times a day between zoom calls. In years past, I spent the last two weeks of August on the Cape in a little cottage right on the bay. I never took for granted that we were able to get away for that long a period of time, or in that most special place, but I suppose I never really thought the day would come that the family would really sell the house.
That day came three years ago, and we’ve bounced around other rentals ever since, nothing feeling like “the one”, either due to location or cost. I am astounded what vacation rentals costs nowadays and wonder where normal families are supposed to go for some time to relax at a reasonable cost.
About 20 years ago we had the chance to buy a tiny cottage down the road from where we used to stay but with our first child on the way, Mikey was too financially conservative to take on a second mortgage even though I’d done all the math to show summer rentals would pay the mortgage for the entire year. He’s probably tired of hearing be bring this up even in the after life, and for the record a few years later said he regretted not listening to me as we watched real estate prices soar.
We had a 15 year run at that rental cottage in North Truro, and the house has memories steeped in its foundation, even if the new owners and new renters know nothing about the Perillo family. While most people use vacation as an excuse to step away from the stove, I cooked most of our meals on vacation. Whether it was a batch of muffins to bring to sunrise, a jar of peach jam made with the bounty found at the Truro farmers’ market or the 1000th batch of crispy baked eggplant, I loved the lingering meals enjoyed while watching sunset from the deck, as pictured above.
Memories are a funny thing. You know they belong to you but as time grows between then and now, memories feel less your own and more a movie you once watched–is it just me, or does that hold true for any of you?
I’ve been working my way through a batch of eggplant caponata I made recently, and excited to share the recipe soon, hopefully this weekend when I can rest my mind from my day job. In the meantime, I’ll be listening to Pet Sounds and dreaming up some more escapes that may or may not happen, but hey–dreaming is free.
Be well, and remember to be kind. –xo, j.
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Earlier in our marriage ( 40 years) we couldn’t afford pricey vacations...so we camped! I live just off Cape Cod and for years we camped for a few days at the North of Highland Camping Area in north Truro...loved it. Then for many years we camped in Maine, at an ocean front campground that no longer exists, sad to say. We don’t camp any more because my husband is now disabled, but I’d go in a heartbeat!