"Bless my red cotton socks what a simply splendid time I’m having exploring the cape and staying at all these wonderful inns. I do hope Beth realizes that I’m getting rather used to all this pampering, relaxation and service and that she’s already busy making the appropriate plans for my return home! Maybe I should hint that now that I’m a seasoned traveler with a growing fan club (oh yes did I mention that I have my own website! – not bad for someone whose school reports always said “Supportive personality but will never rise above the bottom of others”) that once I complete my “P-Town and Back” tour that I should Go West and explore more of this great nation. Well if you don’t ask, you don’t get and bed & breakfasts are a Better Way to Stay for sure, although I have to say that if I keep eating these scrumptious, gourmet breakfasts I’m going to be waking up to find I’ve gained some unwanted upholstery around my seat!
Anyhoo I’ve moved on from charming Chatham to heavenly Harwich and arrived at The Platinum Pebble. I’ve been a bit nervous as it’s described as a “Boutique Inn” (I guess they must have a large gift shop) and is a contemporary cape cod bed and breakfast so I’m hoping that an old-un like me won’t feel out of place. I needn’t have worried, I’m welcomed with a glass of wine, red of course, and shown to an exquisite room that is appointed in such a way that I fit in immediately.
Anyhoo I’ve moved on from charming Chatham to heavenly Harwich and arrived at The Platinum Pebble. I’ve been a bit nervous as it’s described as a “Boutique Inn” (I guess they must have a large gift shop) and is a contemporary cape cod bed and breakfast so I’m hoping that an old-un like me won’t feel out of place. I needn’t have worried, I’m welcomed with a glass of wine, red of course, and shown to an exquisite room that is appointed in such a way that I fit in immediately.
"What a perfect fit this room is for me!"
After a blissful night’s sleep I awake and make the executive decision to head-out for some early morning exercise at the Yoga & Pilates studio, Reaching Heart, located behind The Platinum Pebble. I’ve always wondered whether Pilates was a medical condition brought on by drinking too many of those trendy milky coffees, so I’m going to play safe and give the Yoga a try. To get to the studio there’s a winding path cut through the woods and as I start my stroll I bump into a large, saxophone playing red ant called Vince. He tells me he performs regularly at an underground jazz club. I tell him I’m skeptical of how seriously people will take an ant playing a saxophone until he rightly reminds me that the same was said about a couple of beetles who picked up guitars back in the ‘60s in Liverpool. Vince is taking a short cut through the woods to the bus stop so that he can catch the bus to the hardware store. He wants to get some tick repellant as apparently Cape Cod is well-known for its ant-ticks, you can pick them up on the corner of nearly every street he tells me.
"Do you know the way to The Platinum Pebble? No, but you hum it and I’ll play it"
Yoga with Melissa at the studio allows me time for some reflection on my trip thus far. It also allows me to try out some new yoga poses – the downward facing dog and, my particular favorite, the forward facing chair.
"Show off – now try it with four legs in the air”)
Sticking with a healthy theme (well this year is Healthy in Harwich), The Platinum Pebble had kindly arranged for the rest of my morning to be a tour of one of the famous Harwich cranberry bogs. Harwich is the original home of cranberry farming and the beautiful crimson colors flood the landscape during the harvest season. As I stand here a solitary red chair surrounded by a field of red cranberry vines, I think it’s apt that in so many world cultures red is a symbol of good fortune and joy, both words that perfectly describe my emotions and my trip.
"Oh I can almost feel the Ocean Spray"
All this yoga and wandering in fields taking in the fresh Cape Cod air has left me a wee bit peckish. So after heading back I grab a packed lunch from the inn (Annabelle & Simon had asked my dietary preference in advance – I’d told them I was always happy with Polish food as it helps to keep my complexion shiny) and hitch a ride with Simon down to the nearby conservation area at Bell’s Neck. This is so peaceful, sitting by the edge of the lake watching for ospreys, cormorants and swans. It is still amazing me that there are so many hidden places on Cape Cod that offer such serenity and solitude. The tranquility of the area has a very Zen feel, although the way lead-foot Simon drove down the bumpy track getting here it could well have been Zen & the Art of Chair Maintenance!
“maybe life is a picnic."
Fully re-energized after lunch I’ve been invited to throw the first pitch at Spring training at the Harwich Mariners baseball game. Our family’s sporting tradition was more inclined to soccer, where we had a history of producing some impressive wing backs but I was more than willing to take the hot seat on the pitching mound at the home of the current champions of the Cape Cod baseball league. The Cape Cod league is one if the few remaining amateur leagues that, like the professional leagues, use wooden baseball bats so they clearly understand the benefits of working with a quality material. What’s more as the All-Stars game for this summer was moving from Fenway Park to Harwich it seemed only right that somebody with not two but four Red Sox was out there throwing down the first pitch.
“Pretty as a pitcher”
Checking the time I realize I have to dash over to Harwich Junior Theatre where I’m auditioning for a possible role this summer in an armchair thriller they’re producing. If I do get the role I’ll be filling the four shoes of my actor grand-father who had a supporting role under Henry Fonda in “Twelve Angry Men” and my great-uncle who gave an electrifying performance that left Jimmy Cagney for dead in “Angels with Dirty Faces”. It is fun being on the stage, my red coat gleaming in the bright glare of the spotlight. I manage some time to also chat to a couple of other chairs positioned next to the wings. I think they must just be extras and not competition for my role as their acting is decidedly wooden.
"Yes, it's all about me..."
Hard to believe but it’s time for food again and I’m off to the end of the road to experience one of the premier dining spots on Cape Cod, The Ocean House restaurant. They’ve saved me a window table so that I can look out across the blue waters of Nantucket Sound and catch the sun setting on another perfect day on my red chair travels.
“Red is the new black"
After dinner and having returned to The Platinum Pebble, I briefly chat with a couple of French chairs, Louis and his twin Louis. They witter on about philosophy, Sartre and existentialism, but I can see right through these two poseurs. So I excuse myself and head for bed.
“A rose between 2 thorns"
Morning arrives and it’s time to leave Harwich and head to the Outer Cape. As the Cape Cod Rail Trail passes right by the inn, I decide to join a couple of new friends and cycle along the trail winding our way through the kettle ponds and cranberry bogs of Harwich and up to Wellfleet and then to my next inn-stop in Truro. So I bid farewell to The Platinum Pebble and ride off into the sun.
"Faster, Faster"
As The Platinum Pebble subscribes to the Cape Cod Islands & Green initiative, we have tried where possible to use only recycled jokes in the writing of this blog. Many thanks to Harwich Junior Theater, The Ocean House Restaurant, Harwich Chamber of Commerce, Harwich Mariners, Reaching Heart Studio and Gingras Cranberry Farms for supporting the Red Chair on its travels.
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