Cape Cod Day 8

I am feeling sad this morning. The week went by way too quickly. It feels like we just got here. Like I was just bursting with excitement to be here with mom. And now it’s time to leave. It is harder than leaving Alaska. Alaska was fun and I had a great time exploring but it was a trip. Cape Cod is a place I am happy just being here. It’s a place where I could live happily. I feel at home here. So it’s not just that the vacation is ending. It’s that I am leaving a place where I am happy for one where I am not happy.

I got up early for one last hike. I will miss piney salty smell in the air. Air that smells fresh and clean and rejuvenating. My hike was short, only an hour. I hiked on the piney sandy trails by the house. My intention had been to hike to White Crest Beach but when I woke up Mom told me my brother was cooking breakfast. We need to be out of the house by 10:30. Breakfast was not part of my plan. I had told my mother last night I was going to walk then help pack up. I don’t like when my plans change last minute especially when the change means cutting something I wanted to do. But it was either cutting my walk to an hour or not being able to help as much. I didn’t think not helping would be right. Still a short hike to end on was better than no hike. I enjoyed the early morning solitude out on the trail, listening to the birds and nothing else.

I could have walked longer. My brother didn’t want help. He pushed us all out of the kitchen and insisted on doing much of the clean up and packing himself. But it was nice to sit on the deck with mom to eat breakfast and G3 and I got to play two more games of ping pong, winning one each.

I am now back in Jersey. The traffic was awful—even worse than I expected and I expected it to be bad. But G3 didn’t complain too much about my music so at least I had that as I was inching along through the traffic. After a week of thinking, I think my plan for September is to see if I can find a job writing. If I can blend it with travel that would be awesome, but I am a realist, and I don’t expect the perfect job to drop into my lap—though I would not object if it did. I might also apply to the National Parks Service. With my background as a teacher, maybe I can get a job as a ranger. There are certainly worse jobs, but again, it’s not a question of whether or not I can do the job, it’s a question of what’s available and whether or not someone will choose me over every other applicant. I generally don’t have the best luck, nor am I skilled at convincing anyone that I would be the best person for anything. But I really would be fantastic travel writer.