''A man may stand there and put all America behind him.'' ~ Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was writing about the beach out here at the end of America: Provincetown. Yes, I wrote "out here" because this is where Atticus and I are for the week.

We've come to the tip of the Cape for some quiet writing time. It's not like one has to escape from Jackson, New Hampshire all that often but today marks the start of February vacation and Jackson will be filled with our former Massachusetts brethren. That's reason enough to go to a more peaceful place. Hence Provincetown in mid winter.

We will spend our days walking the dunes and writing. As for our nights, we'll do what we are doing now, lounging in the living room in front of the fireplace of our perfect little rented condo (thank you homeaway.com). We've just finished dinner, which was prepared in a great kitchenette. (Let me tell you, this place we're staying in is wonderful. It has everything and we could quite happily live in this space.)

I haven't been to Provincetown in 15 years and as soon as we arrived I wondered why it had been so long. We pulled into town just before sunset and our first stop was Race Point to walk on the beach. It was warm and comfortable and the scent of the sea filled our lungs. Atticus romped on the sand and as we walked towards the sinking sun I realized this is our first time out of the White Mountains in the past two and a half years (other than quick trips to Newburyport.)