Open for the Season

And suddenly it is June and that time of year again when all the clam shacks and art galleries and guest houses that have been closed all winter are suddenly open with their blue and white flags flying in the breeze saying “Open”. One of the details of living in a vacation destination, as the travel brochures call it, is the distinctive difference between Tourist Season and the rest of the year. Suddenly, when I go downtown to run a few errands it takes twice as long because of the congested traffic. Suddenly those of us who live here have to think twice about where to go for a quick lunch or dinner because now there will be lines.

Now, when I stop by Mark’s house to visit, the parking lot is full of cars. Mark and his mother have a guest house right on the beach. During the winter it is quiet out there — only a couple of winter rentals. But now people are coming and going and the phone rings constantly. We won’t go to the Causeway for dinner again until November — the lines will be that long. Our Tuesday night dinner club at Valentino’s will continue to meet until they are finally so busy that there is no place to park and no tables are readily available. The locals stay home — the tourists own the town.

The art association is open for the year. That is a good thing. I went out yesterday to see all the changes that were made over the winter. Somehow, when I am in that building in the off-season, it never seems as grand as it does when the walls are covered in paintings, there are flowers everywhere inside and out, and people come in steady streams to wander the galleries and admire the work.

Exhibition One is hung and it is a beauty. I love seeing what the artists I know year round have done over the winter. Lennie Strohmeier, who startled me with a portrait she painted of me last year, has chosen a much better subject this time around, a beautiful young girl named “Olivia”. Darlene Robyn, whose works never fail to make me smile, has a prize winner — another in her line of Geisha paintings. Caleb Stone painted a main street in Newburyport. Arnold Knauth has a wonderful painting of a house in Lanesville. Betty Lou chose Flowers by the Sea. Two of my favorite artists, Veronica Morgan and Jeff Weaver, painted familiar scenes. Veronica lives across the cemetery from me and she did a painting from the top of her house. Jeff, who loves Gloucester more than I do if that is possible, did another of his still, silent paintings of the Paint Factory. It is a beautiful exhibition.

One of the things that always delights me at the art association is seeing how new artists interpret familiar scenes. Having lived here for 12 years now, there aren’t many spots I haven’t seen painted but somehow artists always find ways to present familiar themes with fresh eyes.

So Gloucester is once again Open for the Season. For me things will take more time and some things will have to wait until fall but that is okay because I get to live here all year round. When I see folks standing out along the back shore photographing the waves, or crowding the parking lot at Eastern Point Light to watch birds, or standing in line to have breakfast at LonstaLand I remind myself that they are paying big bucks to be here for a few days. I don’t have to leave and go home. I am home.

Thanks for reading.