With the cool August sunsets come early turning leaves. The end of summer is near and if you happen to be in New England, it couldn’t be more relevant. With the seaside towns shops changing their hours back to off season times, sales on pool floaties and sunscreens flood the small streets with beckoning tourists. Many people refer to this regrettably deep and persistent feeling as “the Cape time blues”. Each family and community have their own annual traditions to ring in the new year, with kids going back to school and parents returning to work with summer Fridays disappearing until the following year.
My family finds itself on the southern shore of Boston, halfway between the the metropolitan city and the Cape. We strive to work remotely the last weeks of summer and others who aren’t so lucky, opt for the commuter rail with a quick 40 minute ride into South Station. Waking up to the fresh sea breeze with a cold brew in hand is hard to beat. One of my favorite activities in the morning is to take my dog Howard on a walk along the beach. Being located on the South Shore, you will find the beaches go from smooth sands to a rocky shore.
Here I never leave the house without my Natives. Simple rubber shoes meant for the water to protect your delicate feet from any piercing pebble. I also find them to be so comfortable, I have been known to wear them out about town. Getting this walk in before the high mid-day sun helps both Howard and I out. One thing I can’t go without is my S’well bottle. I have had my 17oz container for over a year now and found it so handy I purchased a second one this summer, being a 25oz vessel holding up to a bottle of wine! This is perfect for your white wines or summer rose. Note* No public beaches on the coast of Massachusetts allow open containers, but my friends and I are fortunate enough to be walking distance to a private neighborhood beach! Do a little research before you pop open that rose, and check out this list boston.com put together for best beaches in MA.
Ending the last few days of summer with long dinners full of friends and family, we constantly find ourselves eating lobster, clams, and well, more lobster! The prices at this time of year are affordable, a true New Englander can’t pass up the chance to eat as much of the tasty shellfish as possible.
One of my favorite experiences this summer happened in late July. While on a boating excursion with a couple of friends, we came across a lobsterman, we see his boat daily from the shore and even created a nickname for said lobster boat! As we approached the boat, our friend boldly asked if we could buy some lobsters for market price (this is totally illegal but done by locals occasionally) he agreed and we exchanged cash for two dozen lobsters! We returned home victorious and had a feast set for kings. I don’t think you can get anything fresher than we ate that evening. Take that, WholeFoods (note* I truly love WholeFoods)
Next summer my sister and I have a plan to register for a few lobster traps, now to decide upon bouie color and shape! Looking forward to posting about this endeavor next spring. And here I find myself planning ahead for new adventures for another summer, getting my mind off of the seasonal depression that is creeping in, I hope you do the same. Cheers and Happy Labor Day!
