It's not that we planned it this way. Sue's brother in law lives on Cape Cod and invited us to visit when we could. The year has been pretty incessantly busy (quilting, gardening, travelling, speaking), and the prospect of two weeks in Eastham sounded perfect. We'd been looking forward to the trip for months - and now it is over, and I wanted to share a few stories and pictures from a really enjoyable, memorable time.

What we didn't plan - or at least I didn't thoroughly consider - was the power of returning home. For Sue, who has suffered many family losses in such a short period of time, it was a chance to heal and spend time with family. For me, it brought me back to a place of many vacations of my childhood. For both of us, New England is where we were born, grew up, went to college, met, romanced, and were married. Though we've lived elsewhere - Washington, Pennsylvania, and for the last 24 years, North Carolina, New England still represents home.

Our two weeks were so full of experiences. A laundry list of impressions: long drives, a regrettable choice for an off-route 95 hotel en route, charming Wickford Rhode Island with clam cakes and lobster bisque.... reunion with family, long walks on many beaches, lots of dogs, great food, lots of ice cream (too much ice cream), a long bike ride, dinner at a garden friend's house.....two great airbnbs, breathtaking foliage, talking tomatoes with Cape Cod Master Gardeners, great local coffee shops. And dogs, dogs everywhere!