End of summer (by one metric)

My first visit to Cape Cod was not auspicious.  Paul and I were new to the area (and newly married) and we decided to take a long weekend to visit Martha’s Vineyard and the Cape.  Off we went to Hyannis, where we hopped on the ferry.  A beautiful day on the Vineyard awaited us, so we rented bicycles, checked into our B&B, and headed out for a ride.  Half an our later, the skies opened.  Two days later, we gave up and ferried back to Hyannis, toting our bags of rain-soaked clothing.  It took us nearly ten years to commit ourselves again to more than a day on the Cape or the islands.

Bad weather still exists, of course, but I have come to love Cape Cod.  And earlier this month, I had a week of beautiful days in Eastham, gateway to the Cape Cod National Seashore  We were accompanied by a flotilla of relatives from the UK, all here in search of warmth and sun, which we managed to provide in abundance.

Fletcher students are busy people, but I still encourage a little Cape Cod exploration while you’re here.  Reaching the Cape is easy enough by car or public transportation (ferry to Provincetown or train to Hyannis, with an on-Cape network of buses to take you from town to town).  As for what to do when you’re there, you can plan a spring/summer/fall weekend and enjoy a beach and a sunset.

Or you can visit in October, and check out the cranberry harvest.

There’s something to do on a nice day in any season.  Put it on your mental to-do list for when you’re at Fletcher.

Meanwhile, today marks the end of summer, by at least one definition.  The Admissions staff is wrapping up the quiet days of completing projects in the absence of students, and we’re getting ready for the arrival of 250 (more or less) new Fletcherites on Monday!  Orientation activities will keep them plenty busy for the week while continuing students trickle back into town.  With other offices managing Orientation, we’re needed only for relatively few sessions — a break-in week before we really kick the semester into gear.

Depending on your perspective and your work, summer has several different end dates.  Though I’ll continue to fit summery activities in before autumn officially begins in September, the start of Orientation is when Fletcher abandons summer and gets back to the business of an international affairs professional school.  Time to wrap up my final projects and get ready!