chapter 484
9/27/2017
Thing of Beauty
let there be joy
A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER, as my Grandpa used to say. Googled it and it turns out he was quoting a John Keats 1818 poem. He was mostly referring to nature's balm to soothe the soul. Otsego Lake here on a my second shakedown cruise is such a beauty. But I am more enthralled by the beauty of my bike.
This is the site of Council Rock where the Iroquois used to gather and make decisions. Funny thing is, it was just a few chapters ago when we met with a few friends at Council Rock Brewery and I swore up and down I was done with motorcycles. But then I rode the Indian Scout on a free factory demo ride, as I am always thrilled to do. I found I could now ride without much pain. Don't get me wrong, it still hurts just to get out of bed. Went to Craig List and came up with this cheap old 2003 Victory Vegas that I had also demo rode back in 2002 when I got my free Victory T shirt. The Godfather of custom bikes Arlen Ness and his son Cory collaborated with Polaris when they designed this model. It speaks for itself to those who are in tune.
Although I've been riding cycles for nearly 60 years I'm sort of redefining my brand. On this ride I reconnected with a college Cranberry Lake cabin room mate and a DEC survey partner retiree. It's a good thing. Now I'm planning on recreating all my past rides and inventing some new ones...Put on a thousand miles in 2 weeks.
link to Cape Cod 2017 pictures
Our first morning on Cape Cod I was awakened with a sliver of light coming thru the drapes. Our balcony overlooked the eastern sky and the harbor was coming alive with light and ever present birds. I don't normally get up during the golden hour of photography but here it was a special place. The sky lighting at this tip of the Cape Cod peninsula is spectacular and inspiring creating many beautiful seascapes. It called for the hundred artistic photos in my album above. A reasonable person could say there are way too many similar looking sunrise shots but I didn't have the heart to cull them out. Oh yes, there is an allure to the area.
Again from our balcony it was hard to resist taking many photos of Provincetown in the rapidly changing light and atmospheric conditions. At first light the city was visible, then a little fog, as the sun rose the whole bay was fogged in, then burned off as the sun rose with blue skies. The cornerstone for this Pilgrim Tower was laid by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1907 to commemorate the first landing of the Mayflower before it went on to the mainland.
Race Point Beach a mile from the hotel is a favorite of ours at the north end of the Cape. If you like your vacation uncrowded and relaxing then this time of year can be a bonus. We lucked out with gorgeous weather just after the rain and wind effects from Hurricane Jose.
While waiting for Colleen browsing thru the Marine Specialties shop in quaint Provincetown, I preferred to just sit in the street side chair and shoot some random shots experimenting with exposure. As an artist colony there are many art shops and this Cortile Gallery caters to high end customers.
link to my P-town Inn Don Aikens paintings
Staying at the Provincetown Inn is like dropping back in time and staying in a museum. After the fine dinner experience last year there, we had to book lodging for this year. It is filled with 40 some room sized Don Aikens paintings like the one above when new ownership took over. The Provincetown Inn was built around 1930 and Aikens captured scenes from earlier turn of the century days. Some murals are three dimensional and integrated into the rooms so that you feel a part of the scenery. Would like to arrange for a family gathering here, but who knows...
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