'Tis the (Off) Season to Be Jolly

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach--waiting for a gift from the sea.

-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The greatest gift from the sea, in my humble opinion, is free access to it.  And, as most of you know, that free access is hard to come by. 

UNLESS...it's the off-season--that magical, if somewhat arbitrarily designated, grouping of dates that encompasses three-fourths of the calendar year.  My sermon to you:  Take advantage of that ginormously expansive and--just to reiterate--FREE window, my friends.

Spending parts of every summer on Cape Cod since before I had hair, I'm understandably partial to the curling peninsula's sandy getaways.  (But to justify my bias, I found that I'm not the only one who loves Cape beaches).

Most people prefer the ostentation and roar of the ocean side.  It's perfect for stormgazing, but I personally recommend the quietude of the bay beaches for post-Memorial Day bronzing and general dawdling.

My favorite coastal haven on Cape Cod Bay is Campground Beach, with a parking lot that holds ten times the number of off-season cars it sees and doesn't involve any embarrassingly exhausting dune climbing. 

And I don't think I can say this enough:  It's all FREE every Fall to Spring. 

Indeed, the sea "does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient."  So be flexible and find solace in the passing of summer--you'll be amazed how many perfect beach days the fall and winter (yes, winter) will surprise you with, and you'll see the conventional summer destinations in a way most people don't even realize they're missing out on.

There are more people at sunset than at noon; everyone
watches the sun dip down, as if the sky were some giant
projector screen.  Sometimes there are even applause after
the grand finale.