I love NY, but every year I have a fling (or two) with Massachusetts. We just returned from our third annual Plymouth trip. Happy to be home, but I always miss it.
It's so easy to unwind when you can wake up in the morning and just step into the ocean. Not that I need any more, but I always find beautiful rocks and shells to bring home. We brought Bandit along this year, and he seemed to really like wading and walking on the beach. He tried to drink the water once, but he learned quickly.
We really enjoy Plymouth, but one of the real perks is its proximity to the Cape. Our two favorite towns are Sandwich and Chatham. We love to bike the
CCRT from Dennis into Chatham which we did on Monday and Friday (when it was about 90 outside- yuck!). We found a nice place for lunch where Dan was able to create his own sandwich. When the waiter brought it to our table, he asked to watch Dan take the first bite because he'd "never seen anything like that before". Being vegetarian has brought out his inner artist- he's very creative with food. This sandwich is made up of hummus, cranberry chipotle relish, provolone cheese, sprouts, roasted red peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and Granny Smith apples. Fortunately, it was better than it sounds. I have a rule when we go out to eat- he has to order first. I sometimes like to steal his ideas. But not this time.
I stuck with something right off the menu- grilled portobello mushroom and sundried tomato sandwich.
Then we headed out to the Chatham Fish market where we could watch the harbor seals from the pier.
We try to do something new each time we visit the Cape. This time we decided to try out a boat tour in Hyannis. It had been raining that day, and there was no one in line for anything but the Pirate Adventure which was mostly parents with little kids. We ended up getting a private tour on a big catamaran out to a lighthouse and the Kennedy compound! I highly recommend the
Bay Spirit Tours- lots of fun and the father and son that run the tours were great to talk to. And apparently, even if you're the only people in line, they'll take you out anyway!
So, like I said, we brought the dog with us this time. This was my biggest concern about the trip this year. I can't bring myself to board him while we're away and understandably, it's not easy to find people that want to spend a week of their summer living at someone else's house. But here is where I have to say, hats off to you, Massachusetts. You really know how it's done. You may have some serious traffic problems getting on and off the Cape, and yes, you had a few sharks on the beaches this year. But you have towns connected by bike trails with little cafes and ice cream shops along the way! Your cars stop for pedestrians! You let dogs into your stores! But MOST of all... you had a
pet resort where I could leave my dog from 8-6 for $14.50 per day where he stayed in air conditioned comfort or under shaded tents in the play yard. The groomers did the best grooming job on him that I have ever seen, and he now insists on being referred to as MR. Bandit.
Usually when we ask if he wants to go home, Mr. Bandit will jump around, barking happily. This was not the case on Sunday morning. Maybe he was just tired, or maybe he was too hot, but now when I see those paws wiggling away when he dreams, I'm pretty sure he's running on the beach behind closed eyes.
