A Mini Summer Vacation: Cape Cod
…and on the last day, we had sun ☀️
Summers have looked very different since Covid began. In the years leading up to the pandemic, I was lucky enough to take an extended trip abroad with my parents. These adventures created memories, opened my eyes, and established deep bonds between my parents and myself. In fact, I credit these trips for our transition to all being adults in our relationship and the reason why we were able to live together so easily for 7+ months in 2020. This summer, with wedding planning in full swing, time was at a premium. Still, we managed to fit in a few days in Cape Cod. I had been to the Cape once before as part of a trip weekend at a summer program in high school. That said, I knew very little, remembering only the massive waffle cone of Cookie Dough ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s and that we saw a really fun drag show and a less fun poetry reading.
We certainly didn’t explore everything, having only 4 full days, most of which were rainy, but we had wonderful beach walks and discovered some great restaurants. More than anything, the time away was a good reset and a true break from my normal routine. To wake up and have the beach right there is a privilege and nothing feels more summery to me.
I hope to visit again, with more sun and more time to explore the other towns. Still, we found and were referred to some great spots (with the weather as it was our adventures were pretty much all for meals, with our days spent around the house or on beach walks when the rain let up)! Our favorites were:
Mattakeese Wharf Waterfront Seafood: Casual waterfront dining (all indoors). They don’t take reservations but we were lucky and got a table within 15 minutes. The valet gave us a warning about the wait so that we could make a call before committing which was really nice.
Seafood Sam’s: A chain but very good! We ended up doing take-out and eating at home.
Moonakis Cafe: A diner that does a great breakfast and lunch. Get everything and anything. They have great sweatshirts and hats too if you want a souvenir.
Rory’s: A women-owned market/food shop. I had the Paleo Breakfast Bowl sans bacon and omg whatever the sauce was used should be bottled and sold for millions.
Kilwin’s: A long-standing favorite in our family. Their fudge and brittles can’t be beat. They have great ice cream and chocolates as well.
Kandy Korner: This is the candy store your heart desires. They have ice cream, fudge, fresh-pulled taffy, and an entire gift shop too!
Mashpee Commons: Shops/restuarants — sort of an outdoor mall
The fruits of our labor. They didn’t all make the cut to come home, but many did.
Have you been to Cape Cod? What are your favorite spots?