Vacation Ideas… Cape Cod (Take 2!)

A few years ago, I planned a summer family vacation to beautiful Cape Cod, Massachusetts. We enjoyed our week long stay so much, that we decided to return back to the small town of New Seabury (Mashpee, MA) this summer for a second go round…with new and exciting places to explore throughout Cape Cod! You can view our last Cape Cod adventure in my blog post, click here Start Planning Your Summer Vacation : Explore Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard With Your Family

Cape Cod is a perfect location for a fall, spring or summer getaway! Continue reading for more fun and exciting tips in planning your next weekend getaway or vacation to Cape Cod. Here in New England, we have been experiencing summer weather even in mid-September!

Cape Cod … Take 2!

• Explore the quaint town of Provincetown. Take a drive up the National Seashore to Provincetown. Take your time strolling through the town and visit local shops, the public library, art galleries, and The Pilgrim Monument (Did you know that the pilgrims first landed in Provincetown before settling in Plymouth?). Enjoy excellent crab cakes, lobster rolls and harbor views at Pepe’s Wharf Restaurant. Visit The Donut Experiment for a unique way to order a donut…fill out your order form and watch your donuts being made right in front of you! Provincetown is very pet friendly – dogs are welcomed in many of the shops, restaurants, and beaches. Make sure to visit the Pilgrim Bark Park before you head home !
• Enjoy a wine tasting at Truro Vineyards… kids and dogs are welcome! On our way to Provincetown, we took a pit stop at Truro Vineyards and made time for a wine tasting and tour of the facility. They allowed both our dog and children to hang out with us while we sampled their unique local vineyard. (Please drink responsibly.)
• Try something new… Paddleboarding Lessons in Mashpee. The last time we vacationed on the Cape, my son and I kayaked in Ockway Bay, while my daughter and husband paddle boarded. This vacation, we all signed up for paddle boarding lessons and took a guided 1 -hour tour of Ockway Bay in Mashpee! Rentals and lessons available at Mocean Cape Cod located in Mashpee Commons.
• Take on the beautiful views while playing 9 holes of golf in East Falmouth. Cape Cod offers many  beautiful public golf courses. Cape Cod Country Club offers free golf for children after 3 pm and discounted rates for adults after 2pm.
• Tennis anyone? Pack your tennis rackets for a family-friendly tennis match. Check out the local high school courts in Falmouth or any local town for availability.
• Family Bike rides (with dog in tow) to Popponessett Marketplace. We chose to stay in New Seabury again, which was a perfect location for our family. It was near shopping, restaurants, beaches, bike paths, tennis, golfing, and entertainment. It was located near a small town of Popponessett. Riding bikes through the town and on the bike paths would lead us to cafes, shops, entertainment and mini golf. To learn more about vacation rentals in New Seabury, visit http://www.newseaburyrentals.com.
• Visit lighthouses on the National Seashore. Check out the lighthouse photo below, look familiar? It is the Nauset Lighthouse, which is pictured on all bags of Cape Cod Chips! Cape Cod has many historical lighthouses, we visited a few while driving up to Provincetown. (Tip: We took a tour of Cape Cod Chips Factory on our last visit, visit http://www.capecodchips.com for hours and directions for this free tour in Hyannis.)
• You’ll never run out of Ice Cream and Food options. Using the Yelp App, we discovered many ice cream shops and restaurants while visiting Cape Cod. We were never disappointed on this vacation and on our last trip to Cape Cod. Here are a few suggestions from our most recent trip. For breakfast or coffee: Cape Cod Coffee (Mashpee), Moonakis Cafe (East Falmouth), Coffee Table (Popponesset). For lunch or dinner:  Siena (Mashpee), Pepe’s Wharf Restaurant (Provincetown), Wicked Restaurant and Wine Bar (Mashpee), Sesuit Harbour Cafe (Dennis), The Black Cat (Hyannis), Burger Shack at Corporation Beach (Dennis), Bobby Byrnes (Mashpee), Trevi Cafe and Wine Bar (Mashpee).  For ice cream: Polar Cave (Mashpee), Emack & Bolio (Popponesset), Ice Cream Smuggler (Dennis) , Cape Cod Creamery (East Yarmouth).
• Beach hopping, and seal searching!  Cape Cod has many great kid-friendly beaches to offer. Each one was unique in what it offered, from finding starfish and sand dollars, to seeing seals swim so close to shore, lighthouses to tour, to great waves for boogie boarding… Here are a few beaches that we visited and enjoyed: Corporation Beach (Dennis), Mayflower Beach (Dennis), South Cape Beach (Mashpee), Nauset Lighthouse Beach (Eastham).

 

Start Planning Your Summer Vacation : Explore Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard With Your Family

One of the best summer destinations in New England is Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. It is a vacation destination for many, and we are very fortunate to live only a short drive away! We have visited both destinations with our children and enjoyed every day we were able to visit! Check out our suggestions for a visit to Cape Code and Martha’s Vineyard in the coastal state of Massachusetts! Click links below.

Cape Cod Summer Vacation Ideas : Explore Cape Cod

Martha’s Vineyard What a Day on Martha’s Vineyard!

Day Trips with Kids in Massachusetts

Fun and adventure is a must on our day to day summer adventures with my kids. I keep everyday a “secret” until the day of the event. This year we were able to take a few local day trips to nearby Massachusetts. Here is a list I put together for the other adventurous parents out there (or families visiting the New England area this summer or fall!) Have fun!

10 Family Fun Day Trips in Massachusetts

1. Purgatory Chasm Sutton, MA – Take a hike on rocks, boulders and trails in this natural challenge! Pack a picnic lunch, visit the playground and stop for an ice cream treat at West End Creamery (before getting back on the highway).
2. Plimouth Plantations, Mayflower II and Plymouth Rock Plymouth, MA – Visit a replica of where the first colonists and Native Americans lived. A great educational experience! Tips : 1. Make sure to stop by the bakery to pick up a loaf of fresh baked bread! 2. Visit Plantations first, then drive over to the Grist Mill (free parking) and walk along the river to experience the Mayflower II and Plymouth Rock. Ice cream and cupcake treats available along a serene town. (And yes, Plimouth Plantations is spelled differently than Plymouth, MA – even Moms learn something new everyday!) Visit http://www.plimoth.org
3. Fenway Park (Stadium Tour and Red Sox Game) Boston, MA – A fun experience to watch the Boston Red Sox play ball and a memorable tour of this historical landmark. Visit http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/ballpark/tour.jsp
4. Boston Museum of Science Boston, MA – A great science museum for all ages. Be sure to check out the lightening show, planetarium and a cool roller coaster simulation ride (additional fees required).
5. Great Wolf Lodge Fitchburg, MA  -Ok, so this is not a day trip… But…  A perfect “vacation” any time of the year. Unfortunately, GWL requires an overnight stay in order to use their water park, but the kids (and parents) won’t be disappointed. There are many activities in addition to the water play, my kids enjoyed the ropes course the most! If you are looking for a day trip option, consider CoCoKey Indoor Water Park in Danvers, MA. Visit https://www.greatwolf.com/new-england or http://www.cocokeyboston.com
6. An Unlikely Story Plainville, MA  Visit this quaint book store located inside a refurbished general store in a quaint little town. Owned and operated by my son’s favorite author, Jeff Kinney from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. Autographed books available for sale. There is also a cafe located inside the book store for a quick lunch or treat! If you are lucky, maybe you will bump into Mr. Kinney himself! Located down the street from Wrentham Village Outlets. Visit http://www.anunlikelystory.com
7. Boston Duck Tours Boston, MA – A fun and unique way to tour this harbor city. The tour guides are hilarious and guide you through many parts of Boston, both on land and in water!  Tours can be picked up at the Boston Museum of Science. Visit http://www.bostonducktours.com/mobile-home/
8. Gilette Stadium (New England Patriots Training Camp and Fan Zone) Foxboro, MA – Come and cheer on the New England Patriots in an exclusive opportunity to watch them practice before the football season starts! Arrive early for front row seats to experience all of the action! A Fan Zone is also set up for more excitement, meet the cheerleaders and mascot, inflatables, food, treats, games and many prize opportunities. Take a walk over to Patriots Place for more food, shopping and events. Visit http://www.patriots.com/trainingcamp
9. Corporation Beach Dennis, Cape Cod, MA – This is my family’s family beach in Cape Cod. It is family-friendly with a food shack and facilities, a great place to swim and explore in the sand bars during low tide for hermit crabs. Visit http://www.town.dennis.ma.us/Pages/index
10. Southwick Zoo Mendon, MA – A great day out with the family to visit a wide variety of animal species. Our favorite is the rhino! Visit http://southwickszoo.com

Summer Vacation Ideas : Explore Cape Cod

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A memorable vacation indeed, Cape Cod, MA will not disappoint anyone for a truly wonderful family vacation destination!

We usually take two vacations during school vacation every summer. I plan an “amusement” vacation and a “relaxing” vacation. We recently rented a condo in New Seabury on Cape Cod and it was truly a relaxing home away from home vacation. Living so close, we did not need flights, which is always a wonderful savings (and since we are traveling with my van, I get to overpack!)

Cape Cod has so much to offer families who want to relax on the beach or by the pool, try out a new activity, take bike rides, explore other islands, golf, and explore nature. Our vacation was one week, but there is so much more to explore, Cape Cod is definitely a destination we will be returning to in the future.

Choose an area for accommodations. Cape Cod is divided into small towns and communities. After researching the various areas, we decided to stay in a town called Mashpee, in a small community called New Seabury.  This area consisted of homes and condos surrounding a beautiful golf course. It was a 5-minute drive to a state beach, to quaint little area called Popponessett, and to two shopping areas, with markets and restaurants. We found our rental condo by googling New Seabury rentals online and located our rental agent at http://www.newseaburyre.com/ .  Also visit http://popponessetmarketplace.com  for stores, dining and events.

Try stand up paddle boarding or kayaking. My husband and daughter had been wanting to try stand up paddle boarding for a while. We came upon a store in the Mashpee Commons that offered rentals called Mocean. The owner gave us recommendations of a cove to try out, which would spill us into the ocean (if we choose to continue on!) Since it was our first attempt, we decided to stay in the cove and had a fun, peaceful and scenic experience. My son and I rented a double kayak and my husband and daughter rented SUP boards.  Visit http://moceancapecod.com for more information.

Visit seals in Chatham. If you take a ride to Chatham by 3:30-4 PM, your kids will be able to see the seals swim up to the docks. Why? The fisherman are arriving back from their day at sea. A wonderful sight to see the seals in their natural habitat. Don’t forget to grab a lobster roll, clam cakes and clam chowder at Chatham’s Pier Fish Market, visit http://chathampierfishmarket.com/m/ for menu and directions (the seals swim up to this dock location).

Catch a baseball game! Good old fashioned American fun. Cape Cod has it’s own league. Visit http://capecodbaseball.org for game schedule. There are teams in various towns.

Take a family bike ride! Cape Cod has wonderful bike paths. Check out http://www.capecodbikeguide.com/canal.asp to find a bike path near your hotel or rental. We rode for miles in Woods Hole and also right near New Seabury in Mashpee.

Search for starfish in Dennis.  We found out about Mayflower Beach through a gentleman in a store. He told us to visit the beach after 4pm (or when the tides goes in.) He said starfish would be left behind. We drove over from New Seabury and were amazed at how the tide went in so far, miles long! Tide pools were left behind and the kids searched for starfish, hermit crabs, crabs and fish, and what an amazing secluded beach for miles! After we finished exploring at Mayflower Beach, we took a short ride over to Corporation Beach for dinner on the beach at a beach shack. Great burgers, fries and shakes to end a beautiful summer day at the beach! Corporation Beach had swings, public facilities, a food shack, parking and a large beach with tide pools and marsh for the kids to explore all day long.

Tour a potato chip factory!  I guess I never realized Cape Cod Potato Chips were actually still made in Cape Cod! We heard about free tours at their plant and stopped in on our way to other events on Hyannis one day.  You can also enjoy a free bag of chips at the end of your tour. The tour is self-guided with windows to see the operators at work. Visit http://www.affordable-cape-cod-vacations.com/cape-cod-potato-chip-factory.html

Bounce around at an inflatable park! If your kids are looking for some extra amusement other than the relaxing beach or pool, spend part of the day at Cape Cod’s Inflatable Park! Visit http://capecodinflatablepark.com Also located down the road from the park is a Pirates Cove Mini Golf (on the list for our next visit!) More information can be found at http://www.piratescove.net/south-yarmouth

Have a special treat (every night!) When we are on vacation, we indulge in treats practically every night. Here are a few fun ice cream and treat shops we enjoyed. For ice cream, check out Cape Cod Creamery (and beautiful Adirondack chairs …) http://m.capecodcreamery.com/ , Polar Cave Ice Cream Parlour http://www.polarcave.com  or fancy cupcakes at Cupcake Charlie’s http://www.cupcakecharlies.com/locations.html (my daughter’s choice since she loves to be inspired for new cupcake designs and flavors).

Visit the islands for a day!  Take a ferry ride to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket. We have visited both islands on separate trips, without the kids, and hope to add them to our next Cape Cod vacation agenda. Ferries available from various locations  including Hyannis and Woods Hole. View locations and schedule at https://m.steamshipauthority.com

There are so many more exciting activities and events for families on Cape Cod during the summer months, too many to fit into a one week vacation… We will be back to visit again soon!

These opinions are all my own and I was not reimbursed by any of these companies mentioned above to write this post.