Who couldn't wake up to the scene from my deck and not realize how lucky they are?

Marveling at the Marblehead morning :)

That having been said, I felt less than full of life this morning. Despite having slept well, I felt weak and lacking in energy. I struggled through a set of exercises instead of going for the run along Marblehead Neck I'd been looking forward to.

A fan

I've been trying to figure out where to go next. Because of the cost of accomodation in the Tanglewood area, I'd already decided to spend an extra night in Marblehead to replace one in Lenox. But not only were there two alternative routes I had to choose from in order to get to Lenox, but there were also flat alternatives, such as exploring further North up the Massachussets and Maine coasts. After getting some advice from the unexpectedly warm Carol, who, with her husband Bob, owns the house where I'm staying, I finally decided on spending tomorrow morning on Cape Anne, before taking the long and scenic Route 2 through Northern Massachussets to Williamstown and then down to Lenox. To my surprise, over the phone this morning, I somehow managed to score a reservation for a motel room in Lenox for only $65.00.

Chatting with Carol, my host.

Dana picked me up at noon, and I followed his car to Salem to meet David for lunch. After lunch, I took a quick look around the Peabody/Essex Museum, before navigating randomly around Salem until I hit on the Marblehead road. I felt very tired and weak, and crawled into bed around 2.30 p.m. I snoozed off and on all afternoon, dimly conscious of the sounds of the harbor stealing through the screened open door.

When I finally got up, around 5.00, powder-white clouds had hidden the blue sky and dimmed all the colors. Of the sounds that played here yesterday, the fluttering of flags now dominated. The view from my deck was one of those that couldn't help but look beautiful under any type of weather condition, and as I sat out there, and felt the cool, grey, fitful sea-breeze linger on my bare chest, I felt deliciously, sensuously at ease.