Cape Cod Vacation | Part One + A Little Film

We have just returned from  another happy week in Cape Cod.  Filled with morning walks to feed the sea gulls, afternoons beaching or biking, picnic dinners, family board game competitions, daily ice cream breaks, bubbly afternoon cocktails and a bevy of spectacular sunsets.  As much as I want to discover new places and experience new things, I feel such a draw every summer to return to that little corner of Massachusetts that holds such special memories for our family.  If you've read my blog for a while you know my love affair with New England runs long and deep.  We always manage to discover new beaches, restaurants and activities with each visit, as well as frequent all our favorites.  It makes me happy that our boys love it as much as we do and I hope they carry the memories made here in their hearts throughout their lives.

You can read about lasts year's vacation here.  This summer was much of the same except this time there was more biking and a visit to Nantucket. We skipped the day camp for Andrew this year and I think he missed it, but I was happy to have him with us all day instead.  We did a lot of biking both on Cape Cod and Nantucket and the boys did amazing.  So impressed!! We walked many miles too and there were very few grumbles, if any, about it.  I was feeling like we were quite the sporty family (except I biked in dresses and skirts, so not all that sporty after all! :) )  We took so many photos and iPhone video that I'm going to break up it up into two posts (Can you say over documentation?!!).  Narrowing down which of my 258 favorites (out of 589) to share was tough, so tag along if you like, or tune back in when it's back to recipes and house stuff and less rambling blog posts.

^^ Our mornings began with thick slices of buttered toast and fresh fruit from Satucket Farm (they sell bread from Pain D'Avignon which is the BEST bread on the Cape, possibly in Massachusetts.) Afterwards we walked to the beach, armed with any left over stale bread from the day before to feed the sea gulls.  Sometimes it was just me and the kiddos, once just Jimmy and I (with an almost 12 year old we have a built in babysitter for very short, close to home jaunts.  It's nice!!) and sometimes all 4 of us.  As we walked past pine trees and cranberry bogs, the boys would stop to pick me wildflowers. ^^

^^ The bay side beaches are my favorite when the tide is out because you can walk for miles and explore so much sea life in the tide pools.^^

^^ A little corner of my cutting garden for the week! ^^

^^ We enforced a strict no iPads after 9:30 AM rule (and even that was just so Jimmy and I could sleep in a little now and then).  It's amazing what happens when there are no electronics at their disposal.  I'll admit though, when I saw them way up high in a tree I worried for a sec if maybe screens were safer.  Haha!^^

^^Our garden had apple and pear trees, my climbers picked these for me. :) ^^

^^ Biking the Rail Trail in Cape Cod on an overcast day.  We did get stuck in a 5 minute downpour, it was the only time we saw rain all week, so we could hardly complain.  Such a fun day! ^^

^^Cahoon Hollow Beach, Wellfleet.  One of my favorite things about Cape Cod is the variety of beaches.  When we plan to spend an entire day at the beach we prefer those on the Outer Cape, along the National Seashore.  The waves are big, the dunes are enormous, everything is very dramatic and breath taking.  They are more challenging for young swimmers though, so we tend spend more time playing tag with the waves rather than swimming in them. ^^

^^They challenged the waves with their boogie boards and the waves won.  Uh-oh.^^

^^ This one is a beach l-o-v-e-r, just like his Mama.  He could easily spend 10 hours a day in the sun and surf.^^

^^Occasionally he attempted a snuggle and snooze.  Never lasted for long though! (think I sprayed my lens with sunscreen, sorry a few pics are a bit blurry)^^

^^ Lots of loving from my boys. Lots of squinty eyes too.  Someone get this family some shades! :) ^^

^^ Coffee Oreo from Sundae School - my fave!^^

^^ As close as he gets to shell fish.^^

^^Jimmy and I on the other hand, can't get enough...^^

With each visit it becomes a little harder to return home.  I see us moving back to the northeast one day, it just needs to be the right opportunity for Jimmy and in the best interest of our family.  Till then, I'm grateful for our annual visits where I try to bottle up enough memories to tie me over till we return!

Here is a little 4 min video that captures a few highlights (Nantucket pictures coming tomorrow!).  Thanks to Jimmy, he was the primary videographer on this trip.  I hadn't planned on doing another film but now I'm so glad he encouraged me to.  Amazing to look back and see how much the boys have grown since last summer!  Thanks for reading and letting me share!! 

Cape Cod Summer 2014 from tessa on Vimeo.