The week is too long and too photogenic for only one post!
On the Wednesday of our second annual great Cape Cod adventure, we rented bikes at Dennis Cycle Center and headed out on the Cape Cod Rail Trail, heading east. It's a fantastic trail, and on a weekday, it wasn't super crowded. We stopped at this little info sign about the Herring River just as we crossed over into Harwich. Everyone must learn about rivers!
It was a beautiful day and the CCRT wasn't super crowded.
Ahhh, we live in (near) one of the prettiest places on earth!
At one point, you go through a metal tube tunnel that is kind of bumpy, so this is the picture I took, trying to steer with one hand. You should see the video!
Grant taking a break by some cranberry bogs. These bogs will look very different in the fall!
Me and my bike at the Pleasant Lake Pizza Shark and General Store.
The kids had pizza. The adults weren't very hungry.
So instead we played with this little tiny worm ha ha.
There was a little beach on Seymour Pond that was actually full of people! There was a public bathroom here, so we stopped for a break.
Across the street from Seymour Pond on 124 was this awesome sign, that I REALLY REALLY WANT!
The best thing about the Cape Cod Rail Trail is that it's mostly surrounded by trees and there isn't a lot of direct sun hitting you. We turned around shortly after this - we made it all the way to Brewster!
Natalie pointed this out to me and I had to take a picture. I feel like someone did this on purpose! This is on the trail by Sequattom Road.
Todd and Grant led the way for the 11 plus miles that we biked.
I stayed behind Natalie as we made our way back through the tunnel that goes under Main Street in Harwich. They should consider one of these as a replacement for the big overpass that goes over Route 6 because that hill was no joke!
I finally caught up to Todd so we could take a picture together!
Heading back through Harwich under the shady trees.
Even though their headquarters are in Middleborough, I think this used to be one of the Ocean Spray warehouses. There are a LOT of cranberry bogs around these parts. (Side note: Google Street View does not show this Ocean Spray sign on the side of this building, which is located on Depot Street in Harwich.)
Todd has an Apple Watch, which gives better (read: more accurate) stats than my FitBit - I think we had a pretty successful day of bike riding! (Todd's heart rate though ha ha! Did he put forth any effort? I guess he didn't need to since he was riding with the rest of us! This ain't no assault bike!)
Here was our route - out and back from the red dot in Dennis. I absolutely want to do this again, and wish we had a great trail like this (paved) where we lived because I would totally get a bike if that were the case. We have the Upper Charles trail which is ok, but it's inconsistent in the paving.
We headed back to the house and relaxed on the beach for a bit after our awesome bike ride.
Todd didn't feel like setting up the fire pit on this particular night, so he made the kids make s'mores on the stove HA HA. I don't think they minded!
The next day, we hopped on a boat down in Woods Hole and headed down to the Vineyard for the day.
Todd and I on the boat to Oak Bluffs. Natalie said, "Is this the only life boat???"
Todd and the kids looking for wildlife on the ferry to Oak Bluffs. We told them they could take their masks off because we were outside, but they must have forgotten.
Motoring past the Oak Bluffs Harbor on our way to the docks.
Our first stop was the Flying Horses before it got super crowded. I sadly did not pull the brass ring this year. Note to self: Grab a smaller horse on the inside! We all randomly wanted tall horses (which I really don't recommend if you're wearing a dress!) My horse's name was John Tully!
Grant seems displeased but Natalie is ready to go!
After we rode the Flying Horses (America's oldest carousel!), we hopped the #13 bus at Ocean Park and headed down to Edgartown.
On the bus ride down, you pass over the "Jaws Bridge" from the movie Jaws. It's located on Beach Road right where Oak Bluffs and Edgartown meet, and although they're not technically supposed to, you'll always find people jumping off of this bridge in the summer! I just happened to catch this girl standing up on the railing before she jumped!
We finally made it to Edgartown and everyone was hungry, so we went directly to The Seafood Shanty for an early lunch.
And cocktails. Of course we need those. This was called the "Ocean Berry Booze" and they described it as, "An aggressive, yet light blend of Van Gogh Acai-Blueberry vodka and refreshing pink lemonade." Well that reminds me of Mandy's snark juice that we always drink on the beach together so I'm definitely ordering THAT!
The highlight was the lobster dip - everyone liked this. Lots of cheese and huge chunks of lobster. YUM.
My boys at lunch. Grant is playing this game called GeoGuessr where you have to try to guess where you are in the world based on the Google Map Street Views they provide you.
Todd and I both had the fish tacos and they were outstanding!
After lunch, I went down to the docks and took some pictures. There were a lot of small boats going in and out of here when we were eating, including some kids who we thought might be lifeguards in training.
Rainbow bikes!
We decided to take a walk along Water Street, which is lined with impressive large, old New England style homes.
Wouldn't you love to do a parade of homes on this street? I'd love to see how they are decorated on the inside.
The hydrangea aren't even at their peak yet, so I imagine this house will really be beautiful in a few weeks. And I always wanted a white picket fence! (Dumb, I know!) The Zillow estimate on this one says it was built in 1840 and is now worth just shy of $20 million (gulp!)
At the end of Water Street, there is a path out to Lighthouse Beach and the Edgartown Lighthouse. From the pathway, you can look back and see the iconic Harbor View Hotel. It's been around more than 130 years, and weirdly... it looks like they're growing corn in front of it? Maybe those are cattails but they certainly look like corn!
Following the kids down the path to the Edgartown Lighthouse.
I love all of the boats anchored here between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick.
Grant really wanted to see a lighthouse - but not just to see one (there are a lot of lighthouses up here). He wanted to go IN a lighthouse! And you can do that at the Edgartown Lighthouse in the summer for a mere $5 per person.
Me and my buddy at the Edgartown Lighthouse.
We went up to the top but there were a bunch of people outside on the deck (with a sign that said: "Capacity 8 people on the deck") so we waited near the solar powered red plastic lens.
Tell me if you can find Natalie in this picture. She was hot and wanted to dip her feet into the water, so she decided not to come with us to see the lighthouse. Interestingly, you can see the stone paver causeway that was laid down way back in the late 1930s when the current lighthouse was built (or re-built, as there was a wooden lighthouse built here in 1828) after the Hurricane of 1938.
This lighthouse was actually built on an island with the stone paver causeway installed so they could walk to the lighthouse, and a boat would not be required. Over time, the sand accreted around the causeway and the lighthouse and Lighthouse Beach was formed.
Todd totally looks like Batman here.
This is the little square opening that you have to get through to get out onto the deck of the Edgartown Lighthouse. Not so difficult for a small person like me, but it wasn't easy for Todd!
We walked back down Water Street past the pretty houses but everyone was hot and ready to head back to Oak Bluffs. Yes. It looks like Grant is taller than me here, but I really am still about 1 cm taller than him!
Todd said, "I really liked this house." Ok fine, I'll let you buy it for me, sheesh... Zillow says this one is only worth about $15 million.
Ah, you know I love a good north arrow. Helps me keep my bearings.
We hopped back on the bus to Oak Bluffs and of course, as we went over the Jaws Bridge, we saw a ton of people ready to jump!
Back in Oak Bluffs, the kids wanted ice cream. I love this sign with the island of Martha's Vineyard as the scoop of ice cream!
We also went for a quick stroll through the Gingerbread Houses although we couldn't spend a lot of time here because our ferry back to Woods Hole was leaving soon.
Grant really liked these houses last year, and requested that we see them again!
Ahhh, so pretty!
I don't know that anything is as pretty as bright blue-purple (pinkish?) hydrangea though!
I love the curved roof on this Gingerbread House. It looks like it's right out of a Disney movie. Natalie is trying to read the building permit they have in the front window.
Alas, we hopped on the ferry back to Woods Hole.
Grant, Todd and I went up to the upper deck, while Natalie stayed in the lower level where she enjoyed the air conditioning.
Cruising back into Woods Hole, I saw this beauty. The research vessel (R/V) Atlantis is used by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute for any kind of research they do with Alvin, the deep submergence vessel that has been all over the world inspecting the ocean floor, and even spent a bit of time at the Titanic site. Even the Woods Hole website says this ship is RARELY seen in Woods Hole!
The kids were wiped out - but we old people were not done with the adventures of the day! Since I was a kid, I have always wanted to go to a Cape Cod Baseball League game - so Todd and I went to Hyannis for a game. This is totally something I wish I could have done with my Dad because I know he would have LOVED this.
We got to see the Hyannis Harbor Hawks take on the Harwich Mariners.
And in true Bill Swales fashion, he always manages to show up at the funniest times! When Todd went to try to find me a program, he spotted THIS guy over by the concessions. For real? From the Polo shirt and khaki shorts, right down to the brown boat shoes (without socks!), this guy looked just like my Dad! Todd said, "The only thing that would have made this more real was if he was wearing a Gators hat!"
My (weirdly) favorite thing about McKeon field is the stand that they put up on one of the light poles to entice an osprey (aka: a Harbor Hawk) to build a nest. Which it did. And of course, during the National Anthem, the osprey came sweeping majestically into it's nest. Then this conversation ensued:
Me: What happens if they hit the osprey nest that’s up on the light pole?
Todd: The osprey sits on the baseball like it’s her baby, and it hatches, and another baseball player is born. That’s how Manny Ramirez was hatched.
I was dying!!!!!
It was super fun watching this game at our niece Madison's former high school ha ha. That's where they play- at free high school stadiums. Admission is free, too. All of the players are at the college level, so it's a pretty good game. Pitchers were regularly in the low 90s!
It was a great game, and in the end, the Hyannis Harbor Hawks beat the Harwich Mariners 2-0 in front of a crowd of 1,374 fans!
We knew Friday was going to be the hottest day of the week, so we planned for that to be a beach day.
When it's hot, my kids don't last very long. They crash hard, as they have proven all week.
The kids even packed it up and went back to the house by mid afternoon, but Todd and I hung out for a little while longer, trying to salvage what was left of the trip.
Thankfully, as we were packing up to leave on Saturday, the skies looked like this, so it made it much easier to leave! Sunny skies and warm temperatures would have made it much harder!
Until next summer, Hyannis!
