"Offseason in Truro," Cape Cod, January 2011

Left behind, originally uploaded by DC Products.

As a vacation destination, Cape Cod gets its share of visitors from Memorial Day through Labor Day. But it's a different scene in the middle of winter. Cottages are boarded up, stores are closed for the season, roads are empty and the restaurants that are open are more than happy to see you.

Sometimes you just have to get away, and with a friend housesitting in the woods on the outer Cape this month, my wife and I were more than happy to visit her on a cold January weekend. The signs in front of these North Truro cottages said "See you in May!" and the beach was empty, the waves lapping at the steps that lead down to the water and the wind leaving the sand flat and undisturbed.

Day 39 of 365

Late night ticket counter

I went to pick up Casey at Newark Airport late Sunday night, when the normally hectic airport was eerily quiet. That's not a new revelation, but I'd forgotten just how much things slow down in the late-night hours, when the only flights are those coming in -- either scheduled to arrive late, or delayed in their departures en route to New Jersey.

As I walked in from the parking garage, she called to tell me they had landed and were on their way to the gate. Yet when I checked the monitors inside to find out exactly which gate, they still listed the flight as "landing." As I wandered the airport trying to guess which of the two checkpoints she'd emerge from, I ended up on the deserted check-in level, where the long banks of kiosks stood alone, awaiting the early-morning hours when departures would resume and passengers would arrive, ready to travel once again.