The End

Thursday 7/21

How can it be Thursday already? We just got here! But we’ve clearly been vacationing for a while, because we pretty much stopped taking pictures. Fortunately Ben took some.

For your CAH.

Our morning hike was the D. Isabel Smith Monomoy River Conservation Lands Trail, a long name for a fairly short (1.8) mile hike along Muddy Creek. It was much less buggy and undulating than the Barclay Pond hike, and it had a section that ran along the power line clearing. It was only a mile or so from the Pleasant Bay Woodlands trail that we did on Tuesday, which also had a section on the power line clearing. So we wondered…

Our next adventure was a drive up to Provincetown. Bubby had come over for a rust-free shower in the fabulous outdoor spa and to do some laundry, and we decided to take the trip. On the way she got lunch recommendations and she also brought her parking karma, so when we got to P’town there was a public lot right next to the restaurant and it had someone pulling out. We parked and did a little shopping (2 dresses) and then had lunch at Pepe’s, where the views and the food finally matched in quality – both excellent. I had my lobster roll, which was a little dry until I put coleslaw on it, much to Bubby’s horror. I also had raw littlenecks and should have had them earlier and more often.

After lunch we walked around a bit more and then drove up to Race Point, and because Dave had his permanent park pass with him we were able to park for just a short time (nobody wants to pay for a 5 minute visit, but free is an excellent price) and see the ocean and the beach, which both looked excellent. I was hoping we’d see some whale spouts, since we were just off of race point on our fabulous trip, but no such luck.

When we got back we stopped at CVS for a new battery for Bubby’s car key, where we saw the fantastic decal, then went and installed it and had some good pond time. I haven’t mentioned yet that Avery and Hannah are both completely at home in the water and lots of fun to play with.  

Dinner was pizza at the cape cod league ball game, unfortunately the girls were both really tired so we didn’t stay long. The pizza was excellent though. We think the sauce didn’t have sugar in it, which I really like. When we got home Ben and Joan put the girls to bed and we sent them out for ice cream. I made an amazing snack discovery, that you can microwave Milano cookies for about 15 seconds, then slide them apart and use them to make an ice cream sandwich. You’re welcome.

 

Friday 7/22

On our last day we put two hikes together, starting from our house and walking to Pleasant Bay Woodlands, taking that trail to the powerline and connecting to the Isabel D Smith (etc.) hike, walking around that loop, and then coming back – 3.4 miles. Along the powerline clearing there’s something called the Forest Garden Walking Commons, where they’ve planted native berry bushes that anybody can pick from. Sadly, most of them weren’t ripe yet. It was an excellent hike and gave us a good feeling of closure to have connected the two places.

Then it was time for some exceptional ponding, where everyone was in the water with noodles and splashing around. Before everyone got there Dave and I took the peddleboat which had beached itself by Bubby’s house and moved it to a beach across the pond, and then swam back. It was a challenge to power the boat because the seatbacks had been removed, so we had to hang on with our hands to keep from slipping backwards while we peddled. Wedging noodles underneath our bums helped a little. 

The evening got kind of bumpy. We’d planned to go to the Chatham Band concert with Ben and Joan and the girls, but first to have a final dinner with Bubby. We forgot to make the dinner reservations though, and by the time we called all they had was 7:30. It turned out that the restaurant was right next to the concert venue, so I figured I would just pop out between courses. But when we got there the restaurant was super crowded and noisy, and we didn’t feel comfortable eating inside there. So we ended up making an omelet dinner at the big house which turned out to be fun, but I was really disappointed to miss the band concert and wished I’d realized earlier how much I wanted to be there.
We did get to see some videos, and the girls put on a brief performance when they got home. It was late by the time we went to bed.

Here are the videos:

Saturday 7/23

I woke up early and went over to the pond for a half hour morning swim all by myself, which was lovely. I saw lots of birds. By the time I got home everyone was up and packing, so I had a shower and some breakfast and joined the workforce. I threw my wet clothes in the dryer, which performed its logic-defying feat of leaving one item undried. Seriously, how does it do that? In a large load of assorted laundry, one piece comes out still very damp.Everyone was packed up by 9, so Ben and Joan and the girls headed off to stay with Joan’s parents for a few days. 

We hung out in the big, cool, quiet house until 10, and then went to Bubby’s and sat under the trees in the shade for a couple hours to let traffic die down. There were geese in the pond! We ate a mediocre lunch at the Sea Dog Brew Pub in South Yarmouth, and got to the car rental return place at 3. We could probably have left later and/or eaten closer to Boston. We settled in at a gate and I started writing this whole story, took a break for dinner and boarding, and am now finishing it almost 6 hours later. Note to self: don’t sit for 3 hours before a 5 hour flight! Get up and move around!

We arrived home safely and without any adventures. I’ve enjoyed posting these blogs and reliving our wonderful times. Thanks for joining us!