When we set out in June we had a few goals we wanted to accomplish. One of them was to reach the east coast and go to Cape Cod to visit one of my roommates from college and Phi Mu sister, Barb, who has been living and working there for over twenty years.
I have to admit that there were times when I thought we would not make it. After our struggle to reach the Cape Cod Bay, we finally arrived on a beautiful Thursday morning after an overnight passage from Portland Maine. As we came through the Cape Cod Canal, we marveled at how beautiful it was. The leaves had taken on the hues of fall in reds, yellows and still a little green.
The view was simply breathtaking. We entered a well-protected harbor through a field of mooring buoys with the most beautiful sailboats we've seen. We settled in to recover from our overnight passage with showers and naps and waited for my friend to arrive.
Barb is Barbara now, a mother with two sons- a marine and a first year university student. She has also been identified as one the
top twelve people to watch on the Cape. The first thing you notice about her is her natural beauty which is immediately followed by how smart and witty she is. She arrived at Big Frisky laden with local treats for us to enjoy and our mail from the last month. She joined us for cocktails, appetizers and catching up.
After dinner, the captain retired early, leaving us girls to our own devices. We laughed till our stomachs hurt at old stories and new. Perhaps it is because we became friends in such a formative time in our lives, our first time away from our parents and figuring out who we were and what we were going to be, that we have remained so close.
Over the years there have been times that we fell out of touch for a while, but whenever we are reunited we pick right back up where we left off. Throughout the evening, we mourned the loss of those who are no longer with us and realized how blessed we are to have such a friendship. As we waxed philosophical towards the end of the night, noticing how much we had changed but even more how much we haven't, Barb posed a thoughtful question, "If you could write a letter from your 50 year old self to your 20 year old self, what would you say?" I was quiet for a long time, thinking over my life in the last 30 years. At last I had an answer, "Don't wear those white pants to the party. You will regret it."
The following day was filled with sightseeing including historic
Highfield Hall and Gardens which Barb-ara renovated, restored and recovered in her role as Executive Director. From there it was on to Woods Hole where you may very well see a Kennedy strolling along the sidewalk next to you. Woods Hole is home to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution http://www.whoi.edu/ which is dedicated to research and education to advance understanding of the ocean and its interaction with the Earth system, and to communicating this understanding for the benefit of society. Barb keeps her boat in Woods Hole and goes in and out through the country's smallest drawbridge which opens on the hour.
Barb arranged for us to use her son's truck for errands while we in town which Kurt used to full advantage , going to the ATT store to replace my Ipad and picked up essentials from the store. We all met back up at the Big Frisky with Barb's friend Peter joining us for a bottle of wine we brought from Halifax.
They took us out to dinner at one of their local favorites, The Lobster Trap, where they knew or were related to almost everybody and introduced us to most of them. They also introduced us to local favorites like fried belly clams. We were even fortunate enough to hear "Born to Run" for old times sake in the bar after dinner and apparently we still know all the words and motions.
The following morning was tense aboard Big Frisky. We weren't sure what our next destination would be. We are coming through late and marinas were closing for the season faster than we could get to there. We were also, dare I say, a little hungover from our night out. But worst of all, we were already missing Barb and Peter, their generosity, humor and friendship. Thankfully, Barb showed up mid morning to retrieve her car, check on us and invite us to Peter's for breakfast. We secured a destination across Buzzards Bay just a three hour sail away. We drove our borrowed truck to Peter's house where he made us eggs, bacon and toast and we had fun rehashing our evening together. We were very sad to leave our friends and we vowed to return next summer.
Parting with friends is always hard, especially when you don't know exactly when you will see them again. But the thing about "forever friends" is that you know they will always be there for you, just a text or phone call away and when you see them again, you will take up, right where you left off. In the meantime, Barb slipped me some amazing organic Irish lip balm for luscious lips and I think of her every time I put it on. Until we meet again...