Summer Recap. Part Two: The Last Few Days in Cape Cod.

(Posted on Wordpress, September 23rd, 2014)

The kids, by far, enjoyed Coast Guard Beach the most. I must say that their mom did, too, despite having had her ass handed to her by the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes getting smacked in back of the head by a large wave, causing your ears to ring and your vision to blur for a few moments is just what you need to start feeling alive again.

August 7th:

On the way to Coast Guard Beach

Beach evacuation due to incoming storm.

On our last full day in Cape Cod, we boarded a ferry at Hyannis and headed for Martha's Vineyard. Moments after disembarking, I was in love and vowed to return soon. We visited Historic Edgartown; I drank a most potent Bloody Mary so heavily garnished, it served as both aperitif and appetizer, I bought my now-favourite pair of sunglasses and some Black Dog tavern shirts for my daughter and I, we savoured homemade ice cream, thrifted a few fun pieces and we visited the Edgartwon Lighthouse.

August 8th:

Hyannis Port

Leaving Hyannis

Leaving Hyannis

One of the Black Dog shops

The infamous bridge featured in Jaws.

The Drink. The Seafood Shanty does not fuck around when pouring alcohol.

At the Seafood Shanty

Edgartown

Hisotric Edgartown.

Hisotric Edgartown.

Edgartown Lighthouse.

Edgartown Lighthouse.

It was with mixed emotion that I packed up my belongings and readied myself for the journey home. I had managed to sit still and breathe deep and, in doing so, had been flooded with inspiration for my aw15 collection. One morning, I sat out on the deck, the variety of birds lighting upon the feeders around me my only companions, and sketched out the last pieces for the collection. So, I felt accomplished and ready to move forward but I also felt like I really could have used another week to really center myself and continue connecting with my children and sister. Either way, it was time to go home and face my desk job, my messy apartment and my unfinished ss15 samples.

August 9th:

Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge.

Le Pont Champlain

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Summer Recap. Part One: The First Few Days in Cape Cod.

(Posted on Wordpress on September 23rd, 2014)

All of the days in July that lead up to its final days, when I dashed about, prepping for our ad campaign shoot, feel like the One Long Day of July 2014, when I think about them: Get up. Quickly shower. Put on summer attire that I all but loathe. Moisturize but pass on make-up, to avoid looking like I came out of the loins of a raccoon that mated with Alice Cooper before I even reach the office. Board the crowded bus and stand next to the woman I know will soon get off. Take her warm spot and proceed to mouth-breath all the way to work because people already stink. Get off the bus, walk passed the same everything I've been walking by for almost two years, looking up at and inside of buildings, hoping to glimpse something, anything, new. Enter the frigid glass tower. Shiver. Go up to the ninth floor. Look at walls or my computer screen because there are no windows where my desk is. Get up to deliver things, put groceries away, collect paper at the printer or put something in the storage room. Eat lunch at my desk because getting an hour off for lunch is not worth losing that hour in sleep. More of the same. Down nine floors, outside and walking through the warm soup that is Montreal's July air. Back on the bus but people smell evenmore and now they're pissed off. Home. Dinner with the kids. Sew, sew, sew. Maybe some TV with the kids. Everyone goes to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat. A snowless fucking Groundhog Day with only a slight variation in outfits.

Then we shot the ad campaign. Then I realized I was about to burn out. Luckily for me, we left for Cape Cod two days after the shoot and, for the first time since I went to Jamaica, in 2012, I got to spend an entire nine days not thinking about my day job or about the apartment I had been neglecting to thoroughly clean, let alone decorate.

In my life, I am blessed to have someone who is part mentor, part parent, part friend, part supporter and sometimes I feel like I have a fairy godmother. She's been there for me more than my own parents have and I love her dearly. She is my daughter's grandmother and she, along with her best friend, who has also been in my corner and a great source of wisdom, is the one who invited me to stay at her friend's house in East Sandwich, Massachusetts.

On the way down:

Near the border.

Pit stop.

Driving through Boston.

One rainy day, in East Sandwich:

 

Sandy Neck Beach:

Provincetown, August 5th:

Race Point Beach, August 5th:

It was around this time that I finally began to relax. I took cat naps, ate whatever I wanted to, read more than a few pages ata time, partook in excellent conversations, played Scrabble and swam. Luckily, I still had half the trip to go.

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My Birthday Trip to Nevada and Arizona. Day Three.

On our third and last full day in the American Southwest, Dad and I hit up RA Sushi, in Las Vegas. It was so delicious and surprisingly well priced that we took my friends back there for dinner that same night. 

Noon is not too early for saké, when you're on vacation.

Within hours of heading out on the first day, I added driving all over this area on an old Triumph or Harley to my bucket list. 

Near Blue Diamond, NV.

We headed West, past Red Rock Canyon at first. I guess I still harbored hope we'd make it to Los Angeles but it was not meant to be this time around!

And then back to Red Rock Canyon we went.

Dad.

That night, after more sushi, Dad went back to our room to work on an assignment and the guys and I went to Frankie's Tiki Room, where I drank more than anyone should the night before flying.

Circus Circus.

My dad, who is an unbelievably potent lady magnet, grabbing a bite to eat before our flight to Washington DC.

Flying over the Rockies.

Over Washington DC, heading back to Montreal.

Some of the goodies I brought back.

I hadn't been back twenty-four hours when I began planning my next trip to the Southwest and, even though I have two smaller trips and a big trip to Scotland coming up before I get to return, I feel a pull from that general direction on a daily basis. I'll be returning with my kids and a friend, this winter, but I'm already planning on spending several months to a year in that general area, some time within the next few years.

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