Exploring the Cape

One of the requirements of vacationing with me is that we eat breakfast. One of the perks of having a hubby that has platinum status with Starwood hotels is free breakfast. These things work well together!

I made sure that Rhonda and I were up and moving early enough to get our breakfast before the 10:30am cutoff. We pretty much rolled out of bed at 9:45am and rushed through showers to make it on time. Of course, for two girls who can get ready in twenty minutes flat to catch a train to Boston this wasn't much of a feat! I was impressed with breakfast our first day at the hotel. It was cooked to order, which is always a nice surprise! I had french toast and Rhonda had pancakes. With a definite carb overload we were prepared for the day!

Our first adventure was to do a little geocaching in Eastham. Our first find of the day was the Lady Slipper Trail Cache. Nice little hiking trail that led to some AMAZING ponds! We soon found the Cape Cod Kettle Ponds cache and the Where's Widow Harding cache. We saw so many beautiful things! We even ran into a couple gathering mushrooms for their dinner. The one thing we didn't see was wildlife. No squirrels, no deer, not even a lowly skunk, thank goodness! It was surprising that we didn't see more animals in such a wooded, lovely area, but it was still an amazing place to visit.


We wanted to walk around more and see more of the trails, but, alas, my broken pinky toe had other ideas. I was already limping, so I didn't want to push it so early in the day. We did get a few pictures of the area. I can honestly say, though, that the pictures don't do justice to the beauty of the area. I've never seen water as clear as those ponds...




After leaving the kettle ponds we headed into Eastham to find another cache. This one was the Eastham Windmill cache. It was a little difficult to get to this one because there were muggles EVERYWHERE, but we were patient and found the prize! The scenery was amazing, too.



Here is a little information about the Eastham Windmill. You can find more information about the windmill and other activities in Eastham at this site: http://www.easthamchamber.com/Activities.cfm

THE EASTHAM WINDMILL, located on the green in the center of town, was built in Plymouth about 1680. It was moved to Truro in the 1770s and then to Eastham in 1793, first to where the National Seashore Salt Pond Visitor Center is now located, and then to its present site in 1808. Lovingly restored and maintained, it is both the oldest and and last working gristmill on the Cape. Owned and maintained by the Town of Eastham, the mill is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during July and August; 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

After roaming around and looking at the windmill, Rhonda and I were in definite need of some serious caffeine in the shape of a Coca-Cola bottle and a bit of chocolate. We headed across the street to the Eastham Superette. Who knew those were still around! Being inside the Superette made me think about going to the grocery store with my Papaw when I was a little girl. It smelled the same! They had everything you might need for a day at the beach or for cooking at home. There was fresh produce, a deli counter, and of course, COKES! Those were our saving grace!

After visiting the windmill and the Superette, we decided to head on up to Provincetown. And that, my friends, is a post that is all it's own!

Checking in & Checking things out

After our stop in Sandwich, the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. We made it to our hotel, the Sheraton Four Points in Eastham, MA. Upon arrival, we could tell that it wasn't a new hotel, but it looked pretty good from the outside. Check in was easy and efficient, and the clerk even gave me a choice of three different rooms. We chose room #129 and headed that way. When we entered the hallway leading to our room I was a little disturbed. The carpets were dingy and the walls were scuffed. I even told Rhonda that I was afraid I was going to be disappointed with our room. Thankfully, I was wrong! Our room was big and nice. The bathroom was small, but very clean. We had a fridge and two armchairs to relax in. I was pleasantly surprised! It was a little dark, but when we opened the drapes the whole room lit up.



We ditched our bags and got ready to head out on our first adventure in Eastham. We had come to see the National Seashore, so that was our first stop. I was not prepared for the raw beauty of the ocean in the Northeast. I've been to the beach in the Southern states, but this was a totally different experience.

First, it was COLD! I am sure that for a local the 63 degree temperature with 40mph winds would be nothing. For a Southern girl used to temperatures in the 80s in September it was cold!

Second, the beaches were so steep! There were no rolling dunes where we were walking, just a cliff that dropped off into the sand and then the edge of the ocean.

Third, this beach just looked so powerful! There were surf advisories the whole time we were in Cape Cod that warned of 6-8 foot waves. They were amazing to see up close.

I cannot describe the stark, amazing attraction of the beach at Eastham. I'll just have to let the photographs speak for themselves.





After our visit to the seashore we were ready for more food. We wanted something nearby, so we decided to try Messina. Once again we were treated with the infamous Northeastern hospitality. We walked in the front door of the restaurant and saw a hostess stand, so we stopped there. There was a gentelman standing there chatting with another man. We assumed he was the owner. We waited. And we waited. Finally, after about five minutes of standing there looking awkward, we were acknowledged and seated. This was only after he had finished his conversation with his friend. The service was good, but not excellent. We ordered an artichoke dip for an appetizer and we both had shrimp scampi as our meal. Both dishes were excellent, but we waited at least 20 minutes just to get our appetizer. Our food took a long time, too. I enjoyed my dinner, but I'm not sure I would return. There are so many other places to see!

After dinner we headed to our room and crashed... For two old women, we'd had a pretty full day! It started out in Providence, Rhode Island, and ended up in Eastham, Massachusetts. What a trip! We can't wait to start tomorrow!

New England Hospitality

We stopped in Sandwich for lunch at the British Beer Company. We had only eaten granola bars for breakfast, so we were starving! This place looked like just the thing.

BRITISH BEER COMPANY
The interior of this restaurant was all dark and publike. It was great! We ordered a local drink called Real City Soda since they didn't have Coca Cola and surprisingly liked it a lot! We both ordered pastys, and liked them, too. I had the Chicken & Leek Pasty and Rhonda had the New England Pasty. They were awesome and cured our rumbling tummies right away.

We drove around in Sandwich for just a bit to try to find a place to buy a phone charger. In my rush to leave home I left behind one on my most important things! We had a hard time finding ANY stores because they all look like houses! The funny thing is, all the houses look alike, too!

STORES
SUPER STOP & SHOP

SUPER STOP & SHOP

CVS PHARMACY


HOUSES





We ended up finding a Super Stop & Shop and got our first dose of New England hospitality. We walked around the store looking for cell phone chargers. We didn't find any, so we decided to ask about them at the customer service desk. We had to wait a moment for another customer to exchange some coffee, then it was our turn. When I took my place at the counter the woman behind the desk looked at me. I waited for her to speak, but she never did! I finally asked her if they had any cell phone chargers in the store. She looked at me again, this time like I'd grown a third eyeball or something, and said, "No." That's it. OOOO-KAAAY! This was like pulling teeth! I then asked her where the nearest place to get a charger might be, and after a minute she said, "You can check in Hyannis or Falmouth." I waited. She said nothing else. Being from Arkansas I had NO IDEA exactly where Hyannis or Falmouth were, but I didn't think I'd get any more out of her, so we left.

Right outside, in the Super Stop & Shop parking lot, to be exact, we spotted a CVS drug store. We decided we had nothing to lose, so we went in to check it out. It took us about three minutes to find an iPhone charger. Thankfully, the customer service at the CVS was better, too. I got in the car, plugged in my phone, and we were finally on our way!