Having already been to the Cape numerous times, I knew this would be a trip full of relaxation and rejuvenation. This was EXACTLY what we were both looking for, aside from the obvious introduction of Isabella to the ocean and beaches. :)
Usually we stay in East Falmouth, Ma- Upper Cape. There is a fantastic little inn that is pet friendly (we do NOT leave home without Paisley and Pugsley) and they are just the nicest family ever- they always remember us. Who am I kidding?? They remember the Pugs. East Falmouth is about 20 minutes out onto the Cape via Rt. 28.
This trip we decided that we wanted to stay further out the Cape. We went all out and stayed at an inn that is situated in the Cape Cod National Seashore- more on this later. By choosing to stay in the CCNS, that added about an hour and a half to our trip.
First, I should preface the entire trip by saying that we are adventurous folks. We will give anything a shot once...note: once. You will undoubtedly be asking whether or not we will do certain aspects of this trip ever again by the end of this post! ;)
Alright, so having stated the previous disclaimer, we had decided to cook our own meals. Gasp. I know. Vacations are not for cooking. I disagree.
So here is how a typical vacation looks: wake up, search for breakfast (pay a lot for a floppy, dry pancake- if luck is shining down on you), do a couple site-seeing items on the agenda, oops hungry again, food search starts again, settling for a quick bite (usually unhealthy since there are other plans for the day and it needs to be quick), some more site-seeing (perhaps seeing the back of the eyelids during a nap??), and then topped off by a gigantic meal and at overpriced local eatery. This eatery is not just any eatery, it is the one that overpaid for over-advertising in a local "must do/see/eat" publication/website (which upon further inspection doesn't list the BEST, opting instead to list those businesses that PAY for space...). This eatery is the same place that serves a gigantic plate full of unhealthy grub that is just mediocre at best. Harsh, you say? Yes. Reality is harsh.
Eat, sleep, repeat for the rest of the vacation.
No wonder why people come back from vacation exhausted! I digress. I think that example is more than enough to explain our attempt to cook our own meals. :) Remember that relaxation and rejuvenation thing I mentioned before???
So, we decided we would take some staples: peanut butter (for sandwiches, etc), bread, crackers, bananas, black berries (they looked great at the local market!), strawberries, Chobani yogurts (don't leave home without them!), and the utensils. The rest we planned on purchasing locally, once we arrived, so it would be fresh and we could truly eat our way through Cape Cuisine! We also took a small portable (propane) grill along, so that we would have a variety of cooking methods. Coleman sells one that is small, flat and uber useful- this one is similar to the one we had.
The traveling day always seems rather mundane and boring to me, however, the more I think about it, the more interesting it becomes.
We were out the door in great time- aside from having to stop at my Sister-in-Law's house to pick up my cell phone (a quick 5 minute detour)- everything was right on track. Our driving journey would bring us to the Cape around 3:30 pm...nice timing as check-in is at 3.
Well, if you travel as much as we do, then you will know the next statement is true: it has to be Newton's Law 5,623 that SOMETHING will go wrong on a trip. I will say, however, that my daughter has "lightened the load" so to speak. Oddly, enough, I don't stress about hardly ANYTHING anymore. It is what it is, life goes on, don't sweat the small stuff.
New York quickly came upon us, and unusually enough we made it through at the correct time (10:30-11ish) to not have to sit in the perpetual exhaust cloud that I-78 becomes when riding through the Bronx. Tolls. Wow. I forgot that NYDOT has to be swimming in Benjamins. There is no other way to explain the obscenity known as the George Washington Bridge Toll (See picture for full obnoxious viewing pleasure). This toll came after already handing the grand state of New Jersey $1.50 to ride for approximately 30 minutes.Connecticut is one of those oddly interesting states. Isabella needed a diaper change, so we quickly zipped into a McDonald's (I needed a sweet tea, what can I say??). First, I have to tell you that I have NEVER encountered a McDonald's that does NOT have a drive-thru! Well, there is a first time for everything. This McDonald's didn't have a drive-thru. So, we parked and Matt ran into the establishment for the all important sweet tea while I changed Belle. Well, out comes Matt with a large tea...notice I didn't say "large sweet tea." Apparently at this awesome McDonald's they don't even serve sweet tea! Sacre bleu. The world has officially ended. It is not enough that I have resorted to McDonald's (of all places) to get my sugary, goodness fix better known in the South as sweet tea, but this one (in the land of Connecticut nowhere) doesn't serve sweet tea. To add insult to injury, this particular establishment also did not adhere to the optional $1 any drink during the summer, so Matt paid $2.69 for UNSWEET TEA! Blasphemy. Only a Northerner would do such a thing. Good thing I don't sweat the small things, or perhaps I would have divorced the man.
So, for the next couple hours I sipped my tea like a true Southern Lady...by sip I mean, perhaps, if one were OVER estimating I drank 1/4 a inch of a large tea cup. Nothing. I couldn't do it. I cannot bring myself to dishonor my sweet tea heritage.
We drove without incident all the way to the Cape. We had already planned on stopping at a new Target we had found the last time we were up (of course, being new it is not in the GPS). Well, we couldn't find it, so we ended up plugging in the local Wal-Mart. This drive took us 45 minutes. Ugh. To get from I-195 to the Wal-Mart in Plymouth. I thought Plymouth was a lot closer the last time we visited and toured the town. Guess not.
We picked up the propane and last minute odd ball gadgets we thought we might need and headed onto the Cape. From Plymouth direction, we actually ended up on Rt. 6, rather than Rt. 28, a quicker way to get to the Outer Cape! See, there are positives in something negative.
The drive, like I previously said, was going to be about an hour and a half longer than our typical trip because we changed where we were staying. What I didn't realize was that the 4 lane highway (speed limit 50) was going to merge into a 2 lane highway with a student driver in front of us...Yes, that's right folks, we got stuck behind a student driver. And we ALL know how they drive. ;) Below the speed limit. Anyhow, we made it, fine and dandy, thanks to the student driver moderating the pace for the 20 some odd cars I counted behind us! ;)
Once we found our lodging: Outer Reach Resort- again, I will elaborate more on the establishment later- we carried all of our things in quickly- surprisingly, we traveling exceptionally light (all items were stowed in the back of my CRV) which made for again, a stress-less carrying session. I quickly got all of our food out and arranged on the spacious counter, then I began to prepare our food (I should say that we stopped at a market and picked up shrimp for the first night). I also said that I would quickly get all of the grill gear together for Matt (in the interest of time). Well...problem.
I tried to screw the propane tank (one of those small handheld versions) onto the grill. It just didn't fit. I thought it was just the operator, so I waited on Matt to see if he could get it to fit. Nope. No can do. Doesn't fit. Well. Isn't that a bummer? So, Matt hastily heads out to the local Stop-N-Shop to see if he can have any luck there. Reminder: Stop-N-Shop is a local grocer. No high hopes there, for good reason. He couldn't find anything that would work. He did determine however that we were missing some sort of regulator valve from the grill. So, we ended up having pasta (there was a microwave in the room) shrimp (it was precooked) and corn. All in all, not a bad meal, but kinda funny now that we look back on it! :) At the time, I just wanted something to eat.
About our lodging: Outer Reach Resort. First, if you have ever visited the Cape, then you know that many of the inns are 50s and 60s style bungalows, unless you stay at a bed and breakfast, or you want to pay +$400 for a resort. Well, we prefer the lodging that is true to the Cape, so we stayed in a bungalow. The room had a king size bed, a true refrigerator, microwave, and a huge kitchen/sink area. The deck was lovely. I could see the ocean from our deck and I must say the sunset on our first night was probably the best we have experienced in all our visits to the Cape. Also, the week we visited the Cape was the week before peak Summer rates, so we got the room for a fabulous rate. I read a lot of reviews online for lodging before we choose where we want to stay for vacations, however, I take what people say with a grain of salt. Sometimes, people have 1. unrealistic expectations, 2. a chip on their shoulder, 3. suppressed emotions that go beyond their review. I know this sounds all very psychological, however, this is truly something I have learned about people and travelers. My expectations are becoming more true to the locale I am visiting. I am not going to expect the Taj Mahal in the middle of the Cape Cod National Seashore. That thought would be unrealistic and untrue to a true traveling spirit.
You are probably wondering why this post didn't go up on June 20th...Well, the room we were in had WIFI, however, it didn't seem to be Mac support friendly, (one negative about the inn) so we had trouble getting the IPad to connect to their wireless server. Thus, the reasoning for my publishing this after I returned home. Hey, who am I kidding? I just want to relive our vacation to the Cape for a few more days! ;) Enjoy.
Be Blessed.
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