I just got back got back from a very grey and blustery walk to the Sandwich Marina. Very high tide tody. It might just be because of the wind direction. But on the other hand it might be because of the coastoal erosion that has widened the mouth of the Sandwich Harbor near the Town Beach. It does seem that that ordinary tides are much higher than they’ve ever been before.

I really don’t fee like being outside today so I’m going to my favorite independent film movie place the Cape  Cinema, which is on the grounds of the Cape Cod Museum of Art. I’m going to an afternoon showing of the movie Sunshine Cleaning. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt play two sisters who start a cleaning company - a crime scene cleaning company. Amy Adams character, plays a single mother who want to send her son to private school. Emily Blunt’s character - a very unreliable sister agrees to help. That sounds like a very funny premise to me and I’m looking forward to it. Oh Alan Arkin is also in it.

I go here so often, I’m getting to recognize my fellow movie goers.

I just wanted to report back on the movie Cherry Blossoms now showing at the Cape Cinema. Both Leo and I loved it! It’s in German and Japanese with English subtitles. Sooo, if you’re not into foreign films it might be a tough one for you.

It’s the story of a Rudi, a contented German man, who loves his life and its routines and doesn’t want anything to change. But then it changes in the worst possible way - his wife dies. She loved - butoh - a type of Japanese dance. When Rudi realizes that he never really knew his wife, he decides that experiencing butoh - in Japan - would be a way to finally know her. So he and his son go to Japan.

The cherry blossom blooms briliantly for just a short time and then dies. In the movie it becomes a symbol of how we should appreciate the moment and accept change.

As you can tell, I’m not in any way a professional critic, but Cherry Blossoms is a beautiful mov1e to experience and you feel like you’ve been on your own Japanese vacation. Leo and I both continue to be grateful for living in a place that supports films like this. The 4:30 showing was packed.

The Cape Cinema is Cape Cod’s Most Historic Movie Theater and a leader in Showing Independent Films

It is a blustery and cold day on Cape Cod. But don’t worry if you had decided to come here for an early Spring getaway there is more than just the beach. Today for example Leo and I are going to a 4:30 showing of  Cherry Blossoms at the Cape Cinema. From the Cape Cinema email we received a few days ago, this is what it’s about.

From German director Doris Dorrie. this beautiful and moving film follows an older married couple through love and adversity, encompassing an extraordinary spiritual transformation which occurs on a journey to Japan.The Cape Cinema is a leader in showing independent and offbeat film that you don’t get a chance to see many other places. It has a history of innovation. It was built in 1930 by Raymond Moore, who oversaw a team of talented architects and artists to spearhead modern arts and theater on Cape Cod. Learn more about the Cape Cinema.

We also love to combine an outing to the Cape Cinema with pizza at the Center Stage Restaurant, which is located right next door to the Cape Cinema, the Cape Cod Museum of Art.

It is a chilly, windy, grey morning in Sandwich Village on Cape Cod. But that doesn’t stop the signs of Spring. Everywhere I looked little purple and white crocuses are up and blooming. There’s buds on all the trees, and the bright red cardinals are darting around.

The great news for me was that the newly installed couch at Paul’s Bean and Bagel was free. So I got a real comfy seat while I drank my hot cocoa and listened to the Jarves Street gossip. The Spotted Cod has moved to Main Street next to the Brown Jug Gourmet Store. But there’s a new store moving right in. (That’s great news in this economy.) I’m not sure of the name, but it’s featuring beautiful jewelry and all kinds of artsy stuff. All Things Remembered, the shop beside it has been closed for a few weeks, but will be opening shortly. Heidi’s Gem has all sorts of new products from local crafters. (My sister is one of them.) And everyone is wondering if the tourists will come.

Quite frankly, this is what business people on Cape Cod wonder (worry?) about every year, but this year the worry seems to be more pervasive. Tourists just don’t drive to Sandwich, but they pop in on the Cape Cod Railroad. It’s an antique train that gives rides through Cape Cod and serves food. There’s a train stop at the end of Jarves Street and it brings in a lot of foot traffic during the summer.

We now have two wine stores within walking distance from my house. How civilized can one little Cape Cod town get! One is located at the corner of Jarves and Main Street is operated by the same folks that own the Brown Jug gourmet store. They have wine tastings every Friday at 5. The other store, on Route 6A hasn’t opened yet. I hope they have wine tastings. I have started to keep a wine log and learn about different wines. Especially those made locally. I also have a birder’s log, where I keep track of the birds I see. It’s easier to update the wine log.

Bowling, Irish Music, and Books on Falmouth Main Street

Leo and I have found that it’s important as we age (we are in our early 50’s) to make sure that we have a lot of daily physical activity. But we try to vary it and make it as much fun as possible. So we’ll be walking around Main Street, Falmouth and bowling tomorrow night. Of course we’ll work up an appetite and stop in at Liam Maguires.

Bowling at the Leary Family Amusement Center So tomorrow night we are going bowling at Leary Family Amusements. From 7 to 11 pm they have the Cosmic Bowling Music and Light Show. The cost is only $5 per person per game. It’s a great show, and we like it because it starts earlier than some of the bowling light shows on Cape Cod that start at midnight - which is usually way too late for us! There’s also a game room where we might hang out for a bit. We’ll see folks we know and get caught up on the local scene, while others do some bowling.

Liam Maguires Irish Pub We haven’t decided if we’ll eat before or after bowling. But we’ll probably stop in at Liam’s and have some dinner and stay for some singing.

The Inkwell Bookstore is located between bowling and food, so there’s a very good chance we’ll stop in if they’re open. I don’t know what their winter night hours are. So we may have to make it our first stop and go late in the afternoon.

Anyways that’s what we’ll be doing tomorrow night!

Wow, were the locals charged up about a proposal to charge tolls to non-Cape Cod residents at the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges. All I wanted was a cup of steamy and hot clam chowder on a raw day at the Marshland Restaurant. Something soothing and calming after running errands all morning.

But instead there was a major dustup. On one side were the residents who thought this is a great idea. Let the non-residents from around the world who quadruple our population every summer and use our roads, help pay for them. On the other side were the business people who fear that it will stymie tourism in a soft economy. And that will mean less taxes and fewer season jobs.

Of course this wouldn’t just affect nameless tourists. I have lots of friends who live on the other side of the bridges. Does this mean that I would have to visit them, because they would have to pay to come see me?

There would be no toll collectors, just cameras taking a picture of your license plate and then some computer would mail you a bill. This week we found out that the MassPike Authority, which uses Speed Passes and a similar process, had overcharged thousands of drivers. And known about it for a long time. And that despite this, it is the driver’s responsibility to prove they were wronged.

I think part of the problem is that they are calling this proposal “Congestion Pricing.” Does anyone think a bridge toll is going to keep most people from taking their summer vacations here, thus reducing any real congestion. They should call it what it is - new fee.

Last week Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced that our state gas tax could increase about 19 cents, making it the highest in the nation. This was in response to an incredible toll increase proposed at the Ted Williams Tunnel.

So mix up all these issues together and throw in some rather interesting conspiracies, and the joint was jumpin’! Living at the beach isn’t as simple as it used to be…

This time of year I often get emails from friends who have spent their summers on Cape Cod since they were children. They all miss the Cape and wish they were here. Now, when they’re “Capesick” they can click on a webcam and check out the scene in realtime. When they get really “Capesick” sometimes I go to a webcam and wave to them at a pre-arranged time. Sometimes silliness is good for the soul!

When Leo and I travel around the world, we try to find a webcam that our little neighbors can click on and we arrange a time and wave to them. We give clues and they need to look in an atlas and find out where we are. When it’s dark in one place and light in another, it’s really a good way to teach little guys about timezones.

So there’s a great Chatham webcam. And several more at OnCapeWebcams. Enjoy!

The general scutlebutt with the shopkeepers and restaurant owners is that last week’s school vacation was a pretty good start to the 2009 Cape Cod tourist season.

We gradually ramp up for the summer tourist season on Cape Cod with the February and April school vacation weeks. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, Easter Weekend, and Patriot’s Day all contribute to our early Spring tourist pop as well. But during this time, we become a sleepy little region immediately thereafter.

So if you want a quieter Cape Cod and don’t have children, you might want plan your visit for times other than the above. If you do, you’ll find lots of parking spaces, little traffic, and never have to stand in line!

The Sandwich House of Pizza is between the Kate McGarry concert at the Cape Cod Musem of Art and our house. So we decided to call ahead and order our favorite pizza - sausage & chicken, with olives, onion and green peppers. We were so hungry, it was great when we walked in and our dinner was waiting. We decided that we’d eat it there and socialize abit. They have beer on tap so Leo could enjoy a few brews with his half. Watching their large screen tv, we got caught up on Boston sports and local gossip at the same time!

Our after pizza tradition is to go next door to Erin’s Video Rental and pick out a movie. This is especially important on nights like tonight when there’s a big sporting event or awards show. You know everything else will be reruns. The same family owns both the Sandwich House of Pizza and Erin’s Video Rental, we like them and we like to support them. I think they’ve been there about 20 years. So we will be watching Dark Knight and SlumDog.

It is a cold and rainy night here. The warmth of the McGarry concert and the tasty friendliness of the Sandwich Pizza House kept the chill away though.

Living on Cape Cod has its practical side. 

Falmouth Laundromat. This afternoon, I went to the Falmouth Self-Service Laundry on Scranton Ave, in Falmouth to wash our bed comforters and scatter rugs. All the big stuff.  We have a washer and dryer, but they aren’t big enough to do the larger household items. I like the Falmouth Self-Service Laundry because it always has the nicest staff on duty. They are usually older men that Leo and I have gotten to know. Having someone there all the time makes me feel safe. It is more efficient to go during the weekday when more people are at work. The weekends and nights can be quite busy!

On the way home I stopped off at Wal-Mart on Route 28 in Falmouth. It is the only Wal-Mart on Cape Cod.  No we don’t have a Target on Cape Cod yet. I purchased our household stuff. Then on to the Christmas Tree Shop at the Bourne Bridge. I needed candles and placemats. If you haven’t heard about or been to the Crhistmas Tree Shops, you should stop in if you drive by one. There’s one right by the Bourne Bridge  on the Cape Cod side, that’s the one I usually go to. Their motto is “Don’t you just love a bargain!” If I need holiday decorations and tableware that’s usually where I go.

Grocery shopping was done at the Stop and Shop in Sandwich and then on to Joe’s Fish Market overlooking the Cape Cod Canal.