Our Cape Cod vacation.

We are back from our vacation!   Spending  twelve straight days with my three favorite people in the world is never perfect but it is always exactly what I need.

Here's a look into our trip.

We left on Wednesday evening when Dan got home from work.  We stop for chicken from Dodge's for Peter and took it to Chick-Fil-A in Rocky Mount where the rest of us ate.  Peter loves Dodge's (delicious gas station chicken - it really is delicious) but there's no seating and the rest of us would prefer CFA. 

 

We spent the night in Hagerstown, MD and got up bright and early.  We left the hotel before 7:00 AM and made it to the Cape by 4:00 on Thursday afternoon.  Just in time greet Aunt Cathy and Great Uncle Bob who were waiting on us.

We ordered pizza and then headed to the beach to watch the 4th of July fireworks over Lewis Bay.

Friday was a work day.  We spent the entire day tearing out old carpet in the living room.  It was hard work but the old wood floor underneath the 1970's carpet are still beautiful so it was very worth it. 

We also rearranged some furniture and got rid of the 1970s couch as well.  But not before taking a very redneck photo!

Saturday was spent taking the old carpet and couch to the dump but we managed some beach time and we went to Veteran's Memorial Park in Hyannis.

On Sunday we went to Mass and then headed to lunch at Captain Parker's.  It's not a trip to the Cape without a bowl of their clam chowder!

St. Francis Xavier - the Kennedy's church.  We always park and go in the back so this side view isn't the best shot.

And then we spent the afternoon on the beach.

On Monday, we went kayaking in the Bass River!  I'm not going to lie - kayaking sounds like a lot of fun and it is but it is also a lot of work!  We were all pretty tired at the end of our session.

Dan and I were in a tandem kayak and the kids had their own.

An ospry (sea hawk) in her nest.

We paddled to this /beach.

We also took a walk on the beach at sunset.

On Tuesday we drove to Boston and picked up Dan's uncle (who left the Cape on Sunday) and we took him to Gloucester and picked up Uncle Ron and went to lunch.  Then we took Uncle Bob back to Boston and headed to Cambridge.  Peter discovered a metal store there two years ago and now we go every year.  He went to the store and Dan and Sarah and I enjoyed a drink at The Charles Hotel.

When Peter was done, Sarah and I walked to Anthropologie and the boys headed to Harvard to check out the football stadium. Sarah and I, who are both directionally challenged were struggling to read the map on my phone while we were walking.  Because I wasn't paying attention, I proceeded to fall flat on my face (tripped over the curb) so I spent my time in Anthrolopogie with  a bloody knee and a bruised ego.

No pictures of the bruised ego/bloody knee but here are a couple of pictures of Peter on the Harvard football field.

After Cambridge we met Dick, Jennifer, and Jillian for dinner in Dedham.  And sadly, I don't have any pictures of our time together. It's always great fun catching up with them!

Tuesday was a long day so we slept in  on Wednesday and then we loaded up the bikes and drove to Falmouth and unloaded them and then biked the Shining Sea Bikeway to Woods Hole.  Last year, at one of the crossings I fell of my bike and this year I was determined NOT to do it again. 

I am not a very skilled biker.  I always feel like I'm going to fall off.  I ride really slow and I'm always the last one in the pack.  This year was no different but I had made it to the last street we needed to cross and their was a family behind me breathing down my neck.

In  an attempt to dismount quickly so I could walk my bike across the street, I didn't get my bike stopped fully and fell off again.  Just exactly like last year.  I ended up with quite a few bruises on my legs.  AND I messed up my bike so Dan had to bike back to the car and grab some tools so he could repair my bike and then we were able to continue on our way.

So it wasn't the pleasant bike ride we've had in previous years, but the view was as beautiful as ever and my kids have a great story to tell about their clumsy mother.

And the fish tacos and beer helped me forget all about my injuries!

On Thursday we took a tour of the Cape Cod Canal.  It was a great day for a boat ride and we got a lot of scenic views of the canal.

This is the Cape Cod Canal Rail Road Bridge.  It lowers when a train needs to cross the canal.

This is me below deck looking up at Dan!

After the cruise, we had a picnic lunch near the railroad bridge.

Later that afternoon we spent some time on the beach

And I tried to take some panoramic shots without much success.

And later that evening we had dinner with a view.

On Friday we woke up to lots of rain (our first bad weather on the trip) and slept in.  Then we spent the morning doing laundry, cleaning the house, packing, etc.  By afternoon though, the clouds parted and we spent the rest of the day on the beach.

This book was excellent!

We had ice cream every night while we were on the Cape.  Every night!  So, it's no wonder I had gained SEVEN pounds when I stepped on the scale on Monday morning.  Here is the only picture we took eating ice cream.

We were on the road Saturday morning by 6:30 and made it to Winchester, VA in time for Mass and then had dinner out in their cute old town section.And on Sunday we were up and on the road by 8:30 and made it home by 2:00!

And that was our trip in pictures!