A Foggy Afternoon At The Beach (A Cape Cod Story)

Yeah, Another Blogger

Well, the time has arrived for me to add yet another story about Cape Cod to this publication’s contents. And why not? Cape Cod is one of my happy places, as it is for my wife Sandy. We’ve vacationed on the Cape nearly every year since 1998. We feel at home there, at peace. We never get tired of it.

Sixty-five miles in length and surrounded by endless waters on three sides, hook-shaped Cape Cod lies within the boundaries of the state of Massachusetts, USA. The Cape has a lot going for it, such as natural beauty, a good arts scene, and slews of restaurants. Sandy and I are into all of that, in spades. Thus, as usual, we had a fine time and were active as can be during our just-ended two-and-a-half-week stay. If I were to write an account of all we did, this essay would go on for 10,000 more words. The hell with that. So, as is my wont, I’ll keep things on the concise side.

For me, the one aspect of Cape Cod that stands out above the others is its Atlantic Ocean coastline, which runs north and south for about 40 miles on the Cape’s eastern border. Man, it is breathtaking. And, importantly, is undeveloped. There are no commercial enterprises or boardwalks directly on the Cape’s Atlantic coast. Unadulterated beach, sand dunes, ocean and sky are what you get. And, in a long section, massive sand cliffs too. The sand cliffs astound me. They sit at the back of the beach, eroding and receding slowly year after year due to the punishment delivered by ocean storms, yet remaining defiant. They stare straight ahead stoically, their grit undeniable.

Late afternoon two Fridays ago, my better half and I found ourselves on Marconi Beach, a spectacular stretch of the ocean coast in the township of Wellfleet. Talk about cliffs! Marconi’s are enormous, possibly taller than their siblings elsewhere on the Cape’s Atlantic beaches. By my estimation they are roughly 100 feet in height. Walking along Marconi’s sands while gazing at the cliffs is a humbling experience.

What made this particular walk extra special, however, was not the cliffs. They are a given. No, it was dense fog, whose presence surprised the heck out of me. The rocking and rolling ocean, noisy as a crowded tavern, was heavily obscured. Swaths of vapors hugged the cliffs. I love walking the Cape’s beaches when the Sun is shining, the skies are blue and all seems well with the world. But I dug Marconi Beach no end that foggy afternoon. Variety damn well is the spice of life.

Sandy and I were pretty well bundled up at Marconi, as the temperature was not exactly warm. And the beach was uncrowded, just the way I like it. We saw only 25 or thereabouts individuals while we were there.

Two of our fellow beach visitors blew my mind: teenage girls frolicking in the surf. Holy shit, the waters were rough! I worried for the lasses. But they must have been experienced at this kind of thing, and clearly were having the times of their lives. Here’s the amazing part: The girls were as naked as when they were born, having left their clothes hanging on one of the many sculptures (human-made assemblages of driftwood) that graced the sands.

I toyed with the idea of snapping a picture of the young ladies, from a distance of course. But the possibility of them noticing me, then chasing after me, then catching me and beating the crap out of me, wasn’t appealing. Anyway, I’m an old man, not a dirty old man. I think.

Getting back to driftwood sculptures: I saw plenty of them on one beach or another during our Cape vacation. Marconi Beach contained an unusually large number. Do people have an innate urge at beaches to make arrangements of pieces of wood? I know that I do at times. I did just that once or twice while on the Cape this trip. Not at Marconi, though, despite driftwood abounding there. I guess I had other things on my mind. The fog, for one. And maybe the unclothed girls!

(The photos are from Marconi Beach)

139 thoughts on “A Foggy Afternoon At The Beach (A Cape Cod Story)”

      • jimreyno2013 October 31, 2023 / 3:27 pm

        I figured you’d say that. Haha! That’s amazing! I had no idea they played there. I only have Salty Dog by them, honestly don’t go back to it too much. Probably something I should listen more closely to.

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  3. judyrutrider October 31, 2023 / 1:00 am

    Is there anything more wonderful than a landscape devoid of people you don’t know? Except for naked youngsters, I mean.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger October 31, 2023 / 1:50 pm

      Many Cape Cod beaches are very crowded in summer. That’s why my wife and I don’t go to CC in the summer.

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  4. Lynette d'Arty-Cross October 31, 2023 / 1:15 am

    Maybe people like to leave the driftwood sculptures because they provide a bit of control, no matter how temporary, in a wild land/seascape.
    Your photos are beautiful. I love a foggy beach; it certainly communicates nature’s power pretty effectively.
    Thanks for sharing your holiday with us.

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  5. johnlmalone October 31, 2023 / 1:28 am

    100’cliffs, naked teenage girls frollicking in the surf, dense fog, an ocean noisy as a crowded tavern, a little ribald humor to close it off: this post has it all ! enjoyed this, Neil 🙂

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  6. Paddy Tobin October 31, 2023 / 3:17 am

    It’s a great place for your holidays; certainly, an away from it all place. Glad you enjoyed it.

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  7. Anonymous October 31, 2023 / 3:31 am

    This story makes me smile inside. I love etherial liminal spaces and your experience is something like that. The risque play in the possible undertow of the sea adds just the perfect spice to the mix.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger October 31, 2023 / 2:01 pm

      Hi. There were plenty of driftwood sculptures at Marconi. The best sculpture I saw during the trip was about 15 miles north of Marconi — it was amazingly complex and elaborate.

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  10. gabychops October 31, 2023 / 7:41 am

    Your story about the Cape Cod beach, Neil, reminded me about The Outermost House written by Henry Beston after he spent a year living in a cabin at Eastham Beach on a Cape Cod. He described the roaring surf with such beauty and accuracy as can be possible in prose. Thank you.

    Joanna

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  11. Anonymous October 31, 2023 / 8:05 am

    We have our two weeks August, Orleans. Add 3 days going up and back, so we see some of the CT or MA coast. We need to do a fall trip some year.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger October 31, 2023 / 2:04 pm

      I’m pretty sure that it’s Vincent who wrote this comment. Vincent, you’d enjoy the Cape in autumn. It’s much less crowded than it is in summer.

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  12. rivertoprambles October 31, 2023 / 8:41 am

    Great timing at Marconi: autumn hours at the sand cliff dreamy solitude (spiced with nubile mermaids, naturally) & the overall foggy beauty of the cape. Well done!

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  13. Debra October 31, 2023 / 8:59 am

    Are you sure this isn’t what you wished for when you blew out your birthday candles: Naked young women frolicking in the Cape Cod surf?

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  14. tylerus October 31, 2023 / 9:10 am

    Lovely pics. I do love Cape Cod. It’s been way too long since I’ve been there. Maybe next year. And thanks, as always, for an entertaining post.

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  16. Dave October 31, 2023 / 9:26 am

    Wonderful post, Neil. Makes me realize our one-and-only day trip to the Cape came up woefully unfulfilled. I only remember Arnold’s for lunch (not the best choice I’m sure, but plenty of locals seemed to be there with us), the “colorful” scene in Provincetown, and the charming area of Chatham. Go figure, we didn’t take ten minutes to stop at a beach and admire the coastal beauty you’ve presented here.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger October 31, 2023 / 2:09 pm

      The ocean beaches are amazing. And the beaches on Cape Cod Bay are real good too. If you ever go back to CC, you might want to allow at least 5 days for your visit. There’s a lot to see and do, most of it in a kind of low–key way.

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  17. Anonymous October 31, 2023 / 9:45 am

    Was beginning to worry at October’s end that there was no Cape story…..thank goodness, you didn’t let us down. Wonderful observations, as always. Now go have some clam chowder for me! Bucks Barb

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger October 31, 2023 / 2:10 pm

      Hi Barbara. Amazingly, we didn’t have clam chowder during the trip. But we had a bunch of really good meals nonetheless.

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  18. shoreacres October 31, 2023 / 9:47 am

    I love fog; our relatively pedestrian Galveston beaches improve in the fog. Your descriptions are wonderful, and make me wish for a few days at the Cape myself. I especially enjoyed seeing the driftwood sculptures. We’re a little short on driftwood; seaweed’s more likely, and it doesn’t sculpt so easily. The thought of cliffs is interesting. Are they truly cliffs, or overgrown sand dunes that have developed over time?

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  19. Deb October 31, 2023 / 9:51 am

    Crazy teenagers! Makes me wish for a young body and mind again…. 🙂

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  20. Jacqui Murray October 31, 2023 / 10:37 am

    I think you wrote about your trip last year and I came away with the same feeling–how few places we-all can go to escape from life anymore, and how this seems like one.

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  21. Mike and Kellye Hefner October 31, 2023 / 11:13 am

    Marconi Beach sounds wonderfully scenic and beautiful – even in the fog. We haven’t been to that part of the cape, but the parts we have seen were amazing. Maybe it’s time to book a trip to Wellfleet. Thanks for sharing your trip, and have a good week.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger October 31, 2023 / 2:16 pm

      Hi there. The beaches/sand cliffs/dunes are great in Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown. Those four townships comprise the “Outer Cape,” which is my favorite section of Cape Cod for natural beauty.

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  22. Bitchy After 60 October 31, 2023 / 11:28 am

    Reminds me of here. Here being Nova Scotia. My home province has over 13,000 km of coastline. All are a wonderful experience even it the fog. I think I would like Cape Cod.

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  23. Ally Bean October 31, 2023 / 12:25 pm

    I think people do have an innate need to arrange driftwood into impromptu sculptures and to put shells into mosaics. I am amazed, like you were, that the girls were in their birthday suits in the cold ocean. I suppose they’re young and it’ll be a story for them to tell forever. 🥶

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  24. JT Twissel October 31, 2023 / 12:50 pm

    I can’t imagine going into the ocean naked although I have a lot of crazy friends who have.

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  25. Ann Coleman October 31, 2023 / 12:51 pm

    Few things are more beautiful than unspoiled and undeveloped beaches! No wonder you love the Cape so much. As for those young women, all I can say is they’re much braver than me. And I’m not just talking about the naked part. How anyone can enjoy being in frigid cold water is beyond me!

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  28. Paula B October 31, 2023 / 1:50 pm

    Variety is indeed the spice of life; as a longtime San Franciscan I am used to daily doses of coastal fog and am happy when the sun makes a rare appearance and we can see for miles out on the Pacific! Thank you for a Cape Cod tour that included a spicy variety of elements.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger October 31, 2023 / 3:28 pm

      Thanks for your comments, Paula. I kind of miss San Fran. I’ve spent a fair number of days there as a visitor, but none in recent years.

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  29. Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter October 31, 2023 / 2:14 pm

    I’m sure I’ve said before that we’ve been a couple of times and if we lived nearer would certainly go some more. I could feel my mother rising up in me with the instinct to tell those girls to get dressed or “you’ll catch your death of cold”.

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  31. Rosaliene Bacchus October 31, 2023 / 3:02 pm

    To each his own, Neil. Being caught in a fog is no fun for me, worse still when on the beach. Give me bright sunshine any day 🙂 Rising out of the fog, the driftwood sculpture looks quite spooky.

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  32. Suzanne October 31, 2023 / 4:11 pm

    Well, Neil, being at peace in life must be the ultimate goal for us all? I enjoy your posts about Cape Cod as I have never been and most probably unlikely to venture there. The beach is my peaceful place, good for the soul and the feet.

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  33. The Coastal Crone October 31, 2023 / 4:51 pm

    I agree that a walk on the beach in fog or cold can be peaceful. Love the driftwood sculptures. Perhaps we have a need to leave something behind to prove we were there. It is wonderful that we still have some clean quiet beaches. Not sure what to make of the nudes frolicking.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger October 31, 2023 / 5:48 pm

      Hi there. Many of the Cape Cod beaches are crowded in summer. But in the other seasons you can experience a good degree of solitude on them.

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  35. Anonymous October 31, 2023 / 11:04 pm

    Beautiful pictures.

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  36. Michael Graeme November 1, 2023 / 6:53 am

    Wonderful, Neil. This looks like my kind of place. This and your previous writings on it really bring it alive. I had a lady of senior years rise, naked and proud, from the waters of a remote beach in Wales, once. I didn’t know where to look, and she didn’t care. It’s great your young ladies felt they could do as they pleased without getting hassled.

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  37. Yvonne Beumkes November 1, 2023 / 9:08 am

    Cape Cod sounds marvelous. Your description of Marconi Beach is so vivid; those cliffs seem to have their own personality. Thanks for sharing this very special travelogue.

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  38. Kim Smith November 1, 2023 / 9:27 am

    This brought back memories of my trip to the coast of Maine several years ago. I fell in love with the fog and the sound of buoy bells in the distance. I really should go back soon.

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  40. annieasksyou November 1, 2023 / 5:27 pm

    At a quick glance, I thought the driftwood was a neat clothes hanger for the lovely mermaids.

    It’s great that you and Sandy have a place relatively nearby that you both love and enjoy revisiting.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger November 1, 2023 / 10:30 pm

      Neither of us used to think that there might be a place we’d want to return to again and again. But it happened.

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  41. Little Old World November 1, 2023 / 6:16 pm

    Between the fog and the driftwood sculptures, Cape Cod looks quite eerie here – a beautiful eerie.

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  43. George November 2, 2023 / 1:45 am

    Wonderful account, Neil. The cliffs, fog, and driftwood sculptures make for a very atmospheric evocation of Marconi. Wise decision re photographing the girls. What am sure were wholly artistic motives might easily have been misconstrued 🙂

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  44. kegarland November 2, 2023 / 4:16 pm

    Ha! Seems you got a bit distracted there, Neil lol

    I’m really glad you were able to visit Cape Cod this year. I know it was something you seemed to have missed dearly while we were on lockdown.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger November 2, 2023 / 7:43 pm

      Hi there, Kathy. It was a really good vacation. Sandy and I did a wide variety of things. We’re much more active on Cape Cod than at home. At home, I rack up way too many hours of sitting on the sofa.

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  45. Anonymous November 2, 2023 / 7:31 pm

    Hi Hope all is well with you. I got home yesterday after spending months in hospital after breaking bones. Nice to be here again, Cheers, Muriel

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger November 2, 2023 / 8:28 pm

      I’m really sorry to hear about your hospital stay. I hope you’ve healed well. How do you feel right now? Is someone staying with you? All the best. Neil

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  47. andrewcferguson November 4, 2023 / 6:40 pm

    Very evocative post, Neil. And, as others have said, right call on not photographing the mermaids!

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  48. Anonymous November 5, 2023 / 8:20 am

    The driftwood sculptures are super cool. It sounds like a great place to visit.

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    • Yeah, Another Blogger November 5, 2023 / 11:14 am

      Hello there. My wife and I never get tired of Cape Cod’s beaches, or of Cape Cod in general.

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  49. ckennedy November 5, 2023 / 10:09 am

    Great photos! Cape Cod sounds wonderful–I’ve always enjoyed beach landscapes, in any weather–any time of the year. Cheers!

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  50. rkrontheroad November 5, 2023 / 2:24 pm

    Great descriptions of the beaches and dunes. It’s one of my happy places too.

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