3 fantastic days on the outer Cape

As I sat on the deck on only the second Monday of my summer break, I was feeling kind of astounded by how much I’ve done already…I worked a couple of nights at The Aviary, drove to Wellfleet where I enjoyed 3 full days of activity, spent the day poolside at Victoria Pool as the ultimate DMB pre-game, attended a family party with N, visited MASS MoCA, dined at an awesome pop up in North Adam’s Airport Rooms and hiked a trail to a waterfall for a dip, Jeter included.

Not a terrible week, eh?

But, I’m here to share some of my favorites from this year’s first trip of the season to Cape Cod. My first positive play was to commit to Monday-Thursday as the ideal time for me to join my friend at her rental-with-an-extra-bed situation. Driving on Cape on a Monday early afternoon gave me a straight shot to Wellfleet, sans traffic. My departure, mid morning on Independence Day, also was a good choice. From what I understand, traffic getting off Cape on Saturday (the most typical rental property turnover day), 7/6, was an absolute bear.

Unlike last year when I arrived in Wellfleet only to find myself in the back of an ambulance going to the hospital in Hyannis a short while later, (due to one of my fainting spells), this year we instead went to the Beachcomber for a late lunch. We scored parking in the Comber lot and made use of our $30 parking voucher reimbursement on a dynamite meal of sea scallops. Of course, I couldn’t resist opening with a few oysters and they were, as always, clean, delicious and perfectly briny.

Following lunch we headed down the dune and enjoyed a walk on the beach. It was a nice enough day, but not hot enough to tempt me to actually go in the water. Especially not with signs like this:

All in all, a lovely reentry to a favorite area of Cape Cod.

The plan for Tuesday was some biking. I reserved a bike for two day ($70) from Idle Times opting to pick my rental up (they offer drop off/pick up service) in Orleans since we had to take care of something there anyway. We were at the shop when they opened and were on the Cape Cod Rail Trail a short while later, helmets on and ready to roll. I eventually covered about 45 miles that day and it really was a delight. The scenery, shade and the smell of the air were all absolutely lovely on this particular day and I couldn’t get enough of it! I broke up the ride back to Wellfleet with a quick swim in Seymour Pond, followed by the briefest of naps in the sun. The water was invigorating and just what I needed to muscle through the last 15 or so miles.

Our evening was equally pleasant – sunset and drinks with friends who were renting a wonderful house with an excellent view of Wellfleet’s harbor. Friends, margaritas and sunsets are one of my favorite trifectas and I always love hanging out with friends from home when we’re all overlapping in an area we each love. Looking forward to more of that late next month!

Wednesday was our intended beach day and the weather really delivered – it was beautiful. The plan was to meet at Race Point and I happily hopped on “my” bike at 10:00 and headed out to Provincetown. Unfortunately, much of this route is on the shoulder/designated bike lane on Route 6, but I’m a cautiously fearless rider and was pretty comfortable for my ride. I loved biking up Commercial Street, from the East End to the West, particularly after a refreshing stop for a malted at Lewis Brothers. I’m sure I’ve never paid $10 for a milkshake before, but I have zero regrets. Like the colorful P’town scenery, it was delicious.

I made my way to my friends’ and their spot at the beach and enjoyed a snooze and a very quick dip into the cold ocean. I’m honestly not much of a swimmer, especially when the water is cold, but I know I would have regretted not getting in when I had my chance. Hoping that the water will come up a little in temperature before we’re back in August.

Our evening was spent at Herring Cove Beach where they have concerts and food available on Wednesday nights in the summer. The band, Sarah Swain & the Oh Boys was fun and I completely enjoyed the fish sandwich I bought. It was such a good time that I’m going to try to catch the last show of the season when we’re back in the area. If you go, bring cash. You’ll need it for the concessions.

The night ended with ice cream sundaes at PJ’s, kind of the perfect coda to what had been a great day spent mostly outdoors. I think I’ve visited Cape Cod just about every year since the late 90s and it just never gets old to me. The smell of salt water and sunsets are two of my favorite things to experience during summer and I’m so happy (and lucky!) to have had this opportunity to get a quick taste of both. See you again next month, Cape Cod.