Cape Cod is a wonderful place! We are parked at the Elk’s Lodge in Hyannis, MA. These little towns are upscale with quaint little downtown areas full of shops, restaurants and coffee shops. On the main highway, of course, is suburbia, but the good news is that I found a Trader Joes! First one since we got back. Bad news - they don’t sell wine in most of Mass. TJs. :-(

Before we left Boston, Tammy gave me an article from the Boston Globe about oysters, one of my culinary passions. The restaurant with the cheapest raw oysters in the state just happens to be the Oyster Company in Dennisport, just 10 miles down the road from Winnie. Every night from 4-7, the oysters are 95 cents a piece, compared to up to $2.25 in other places. So, the first night here, we high tailed it over there. It’s a great little place, and since then we have become regulars. To add to the fun, they had live jazz on Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons.

Hyannis is, of course, Kennedy country, so we went to see the museum and memorial, and did our best to get a view of the famous compound, where we found out later Teddy was recovering from his heart bypass. Another day we spent biking on a beautiful path that goes for miles through the center of the peninsula. On Sunday, we drove to the end of the peninsula, to Provincetown. It was a beautiful day and the crowds were out, but it was fun to walk up and down mainstreet with all its shops and restaurants. And we still made it back in time for oysters and jazz!!

Friends, Joe and Linda Chamrad in Mystic, CT. were next on our list. They were friends from Houston days, and we hadn't seen them in several years. Linda grew up in Mystic, and she and Joe have built a beautiful home right next to her mother's house. Since it was Halloween, Linda and I went trick or treating with their daughter, Julie, who was a much cuter witch than her older companions.

We left Mystic, CT, and not a minute too soon, since I am told that the next day the interstate was closed and the day after that Hurricane Noel came through – whew!! To avoid NYC at all costs, we went west through PA. What an absolutely beautiful drive – huge hills and valleys and colors were still quite pretty. We stayed at an Elks Lodge in Hazleton, PA. When we went in the lodge to check in, a friendly ol’ boy convinced us to have a drink. Meanwhile, the treasurer of the lodge, a very outgoing sort, came in and continued buying drinks – he called his wife, and she came to join as well. From the conversation, I sort of figured that we probably wouldn’t agree on many social issues, so stayed away from them. My suspicions were confirmed when the Treasurer’s wife told me that their mayor is the guy who recently got national publicity for announcing that he would revoke the business license of any company employing illegal workers, and fine any landlord renting to them. That explained some of the bumper stickers I saw as we drove through town. Nevertheless, they were very nice to us.