Last chance weekend getaway

At 34 weeks we decided to go for a little mini-holiday, our last one before making the shift from duo to trio. Also, we always stay in B&Bs, but we have never stayed in one where children under 16 could stay, so we needed to say goodbye to that tradition before becoming strictly hotel people. (Actually, the host where we stayed this weekend did tell us that he loves when little ones come and it has never been a problem; he even keeps a pack 'n' play and a highchair in storage--just in case.) We needed to go somewhere close to home because I certainly wasn't up for a long trip in the car, and we decided to go down Cape to Sandwich, which is just at the start of the Cape and is the oldest town on Cape Cod.

By looking at this picture--looking past the people swimming, you can faintly see the rest of the Cape in the distance, curving around. (We did not get in the water, though we we did test the temperature. The air temp. was 70, and the water is actually as warm as it generally gets, putting it roughly at still "too damn cold.")

The Sandwich boardwalk

We didn't have the best weather, even though it was fairly warm still. The forecast called for straight rain all weekend. We were lucky enough to have occasional breaks in the rain, but it was still wet and overcast the majority of the time. We were pleased to have the occasion to head down to the beach though. Even though we live by the beach, we don't have dunes on the North Shore.

The Hoxie House, the oldest standing house on Cape Cod, dated 1637 and inhabited (without plumbing, heat, or electricity) until the 1950s when the town purchased it.

The oldest cemetery on Cape Cod.

The still-working Dexter Grist Mill in central Sandwich.
A handsome man on the beach
and his wife--

his very pregnant wife, who can't see her toes.

When we first got into town, we sat down with the host of the B&B to talk about what to do while in Sandwich, as we had made no plans before coming down. He was telling us about things to see within walking distance and one of his first comments was: "I don't know if you know what an Artesian well is..." Ha ha. (For those who don't know, we grew up in Martinsville, Indiana: Home of Artesian Mineral Water. In school we were the Martinsville Artesians, and our mascot was a well.) Below is a picture of David drinking from an Artesian fountain.

The next thing that he said to us was: "You're probably not Elvis fans." (We clearly look like people without taste.) We quickly informed him that not only was the CD currently playing in our car a collection of Elvis's #1 hits, but our first trip we ever took together was to Graceland. He explained to us that the First Church of Sandwich was chosen by Elvis to grace the cover of his album How Great Thou Art.

The main attraction in Sandwich is the Sandwich Glass Museum dedicated to the glass trade of Sandwich.

During a glass blowing presentation, David volunteered to help with pressing a glass suncatcher. (The picture didn't exactly turn out.) When he was done with his duties, he got to keep the piece made yesterday, which had fully cooled, as a souvenir.
While we were on Cape, it was the annual CLASH festival (Cape Land and Sea Harvest) where you can participate in all sorts of harvest activities (sheep sheering, bog flooding, lobster trapping, etc.) The weather wasn't cooperative enough for some of the festival's activities, but we were able to go to a few tastings. (We were very sad to have missed the lecture series on raising chickens at home.) One of the tastings we went to was held at a nature preserve founded by the author of the Peter Cottontail stories, where they had a jam kitchen operating in the same manor as during 1908. We were able to taste all sorts of cranberry preserves, sauces, jams, and relishes. In one of their display areas, they had this above sign that read: "Hail to the Hoosier." I didn't realize that David wasn't looking at the display when I asked him, "What do you think a Hoosier is?" To which he replied, "By now, you should know that no one knows." Smart ass.
We were sad that we didn't get the opportunity to tour a flooded bog being harvested, but for those who have never seen one, the above picture is of a dry cranberry bog.

Despite the weather, we had a great time and were pleased to get the opportunity for a weekend trip before the birth of the baby. On our way home, we even stopped by the Adams National Historic Site in Quincy for U.S. Citizens Day, when everyone can tour for free. And David saw for the first time the birthplace of Despite the weather, we had a great time and were pleased to get the opportunity for a weekend trip before the birth of the baby. On our way home, we even stopped by the Adams National Historic Site in Quincy for U.S. Citizens Day, when everyone can tour for free. And David saw for the first time the birthplace of John Adams, the birthplace of John Quincy Adams, and the home of four generations of the Adams family.