Cape Cod Recommendations

[andyzee]

OK, things to do:

• See band in the park bandshell on a Friday's. Tip and a guy frum NYC may not understand this: Take a blanket and lay it out Friday morning to reserve your spot. Believe me it will be there at night when you go to see the band
• Check out Coast Guard Beech at night, just sit on the beech and hang out. It's peacefull and the light from the light house is great.
• If you feel adventurous, take a ride to Provincetown, this place makes San Fransico look totaly straight! It's a fun place for tourists.
• If you're into biking, try on the Provincetown dunes, great sites.
• Take you time and checkout the other towns and beaches on the Cape

 

[Grassi21]

OK, things to do:

• See band in the park bandshell on a Friday's. Tip and a guy frum NYC may not understand this: Take a blanket and lay it out Friday morning to reserve your spot. Believe me it will be there at night when you go to see the band
• Check out Coast Guard Beech at night, just sit on the beech and hang out. It's peacefull and the light from the light house is great.
• If you feel adventurous, take a ride to Provincetown, this place makes San Fransico look totaly straight! It's a fun place for tourists.
• If you're into biking, try on the Provincetown dunes, great sites.
• Take you time and checkout the other towns and beaches on the Cape

The dunes up in Provincetown are great. Art's Dune Tours are great, especially the sunset one. You can even bring a cooler of libations if you so choose. As for the bike trails up there, andyzee is right. We just discovered them over 4th of July weekend. If you follow the signs for Race Point you will find a visitors center and tons of parking. P-Town is great if you remember you are on their turf. I've been hit-on a number of times in front of my wife. Take it as a compliment. P-Town also has some outstanding restaurants.

I can't remember when you are going, but the Cape League wraps up in a couple of weeks. Its a great opportunity to see some up and coming ball players. If you do get a chance to see a game the same blanket rule andyzee mentioned applies. My wives family doesn't miss a game and they always go out of there way to drop off their chairs. Its kinda funny to see the grass covered in chairs and blankets with no game going on.

 

[andyzee]

Plenty of good theater in CC as well, Chatam has a nice theater for more mainstream stuff. There's one in Wellfleet, that's less mainstream. Going there to see a play next week, it's got nudity and sexual situations sounds interesting. http://www.what.org/

 

[ChileMass]

Beano -

Check out the Olde Sea Pines Inn in Brewster. My brother got married there last summer, it's a great location (right on 6A in the middle of the Cape), it's a beautiful 1850 building, etc etc. My whole family stayed there and some friends and we had a blast for 4 days. As I recall it was about $150/night, but I could be wrong.

Daytrips/Notes -

Marconi Beach in Wellfleet is my favorite part of the National Seashore.
Kettle ponds all over the Cape for fresh water swimming.
Ocean water at south-facing beaches will be 6-10*F warmer than east-facing beaches.
The Cape Cod Bike Trail runs 25 miles from Dennis thru all the little towns up to Wellfleet and was just re-paved.
Paine's Creek beach in Brewster - low tide goes out about 4 miles. It's incredible.
Kate's seafood - clam fritters right on Paine's Creek Road in Brewster.
The Brewster General Store - 150 years old and has the longest candy counter in Mass.
Cape Cod League baseball at night. Free Americana.
The Woodshed on 6A in Brewster - leave the kids home and rock all night.
Take the ferry to the Vineyard for the day. Rent mopeds and ride past "Jaws Beach".
Then ride the carousel in Oak Bluffs.
The Vineyard is great for a daytrip (IMHO). If you're under 60, stay on the Cape for much more fun, and if you go to MV to rip it up, avoid Vineyard Haven because it's a dry town.
Go on a whalewatch in P-town. Come back and sit on Commercial Street and people-watch.
Play 9 holes of golf at Highland Links in North Truro. Perched on a cliff 125 feet above the Atlantic, I'll bet it's the only course in America with a lighthouse just off the 8th fairway.
Get a yummy and cheap lobster at Captain Elmer's in Orleans. You can overpay anywhere.
And finally - The world-famous, fabulous Beachcomber in Wellfleet (overlooking Cahoon Hollow beach). For some reason, Sunday is THE day to go to the Beachcomber, but any afternoon/evening after 4PM should do. Great reggae and other types of music, lots of good-looking , suntanned people to look at, cheap drinks and big fun. I wish I could still go there......

Have fun. If I think up anything else, I'll let you know.

 

[BeanoNYC]

Beano -

Check out the Olde Sea Pines Inn in Brewster. MY brother got married there last summer, it's a great location (right on 6A in the middle of the Cape), it's a beautiful 1850 building, etc etc. My whole family stayed there and some friends and we had a blast for 4 days. As I recall it was about $150/night, but I could be wrong.

Daytrips -

Marconi Beach in Wellfleet is my favorite.
Kettle ponds all over the Cape for fresh water swimming.
The Cape Cod Bike Trail runs 25 miles from Dennis thru all the little towns up to Wellfleet and was just re-paved.
Paine's Creek beach in Brewster - low tide goes out about 4 miles. It's incredible.
Kate's seafood - clam fritters right on Paine's Creek Road in Brewster.
The Brewster General Store - 150 years old and has the longest candy counter in Mass.
Cape Cod League baseball at night. Free Americana.
The Woodshed on 6A in Brewster - leave the kids home and rock all night.
Take the ferry to the Vineyard for the day. Rent mopeds and ride past "Jaws Beach".
Then ride the carousel in Oak Bluffs.
The Vineyard is great for a daytrip (IMHO). If you're under 60, stay on the Cape for much more fun, and if you go to MV to rip it up, avoid Vineyard haven because it's a dry town.
Go on a whalewatch in P-town. Come back and sit on Commercial Street and people-watch.
Play 9 holes of golf at Highland Links in North Truro. Perched on a cliff 125 feet above the Atlantic, I'll bet it's the only course in America with a lighthouse just off the 8th fairway.
Get a yummy and cheap lobster at Captain Elmer's in Orleans. You can overpay anywhere.

If I think up anything else, I'll let you know.

OMG.....so much good info, folks. Thanks so much! Olde Sea Pines sounds like the Publik House in Sturbridge Mass. We had a slanted room, the whole 9 yards. This is the kinda stuff we're looking for.

 

[ALLSKIING]

Block Island is a great place to go during the summer..http://www.blockisland.com/
Beano...Why not hit the Hamptons?Its like an hour and a half drive from you?

 

[andyzee]

A few of my favorite things:

Biking on the Provincetown Dunes
Hanging with the wife in Wellfleet Harbor, nice art galleries in this town
Lobster feast at our campsite
And the last two are me and my wife parasailing

 

[andyzee]

And some more:

Sunset over Ptown
Hanging on beach in Truro with wife and friend
Romantic moment on Truro beach
Wife and friend on Truro beach
Eh, some of the crazies in Ptown.

 

[andyzee]

Beano -
Get a yummy and cheap lobster at Captain Elmer's in Orleans. You can overpay anywhere.

Some great suggestions from ChileMass, I've done a number of them. With regards to the lobster, I just purchase it in a seafood store, most will cook it for you. This may not be practical for all, but works for me since we always camp out. Just buy lobsters, have the store cook them, bring them back to the camp site, and dump them on the picnic table and eat. Once we're done, hose off table . Years ago me and my wife, would split a 5 pounder for lunch, a 10 pounder for dinner :lol: . You could see a pic one of our feasts above. I don't know what all the fuss is about Maine lobster, never had one that tasted as good as a Cape Cod lobster.

 

[Grassi21]

Some great suggestions from ChileMass, I've done a number of them. With regards to the lobster, I just purchase it in a seafood store, most will cook it for you. This may not be practical for all, but works for me since we always camp out. Just buy lobsters, have the store cook them, bring them back to the camp site, and dump them on the picnic table and eat. Once we're done, hose off table . Years ago me and my wife, would split a 5 pounder for lunch, a 10 pounder for dinner :lol: . You could see a pic of the above. I don't know what all the fuss is about Maine lobster, never had one that tasted as good as a Cape Cod lobster.

I second that. Good stuff Chile. The Old Sea Pines is a great place to stay as well. It was one of the places we considered for our wedding. If it could fit 25 more people we would have had the reception there. We ended up at Captain Linenell House. Cap. Linnell was recently voted most romantic dinner spot for their area of the Cape. Excellent food!

We do the cooked lobsters from the fish market also. The money you save by not going to a restaurant can be invested back into your lobster!

 

[BeanoNYC]

Block Island is a great place to go during the summer..http://www.blockisland.com/
Beano...Why not hit the Hamptons?Its like an hour and a half drive from you?

I was thinking of Block Island too. As for the Hamptons, we really don't dig what the scene has become nowadays. We prefer the North Fork and Shelter Island and we were just there last week with my wife's family. (Tangers, Wine Tasting, Stops at the farm stands, Beer at Claudios, Through Shelter Island, Dinner at B.Smiths in Sag Harbor, Back Home!) ....oh and yes, I did look for you and Mrs. ALLSKIING while out on 25.

 

[Greg]

7 days....

 

[andyzee]

2 days :lol:

 

[ALLSKIING]

I was thinking of Block Island too. As for the Hamptons, we really don't dig what the scene has become nowadays. We prefer the North Fork and Shelter Island and we were just there last week with my wife's family. (Tangers, Wine Tasting, Stops at the farm stands, Beer at Claudios, Through Shelter Island, Dinner at B.Smiths in Sag Harbor, Back Home!) ....oh and yes, I did look for you and Mrs. ALLSKIING while out on 25.

Sweet...I was at Claudios last Sat..:blink:

 

[2knees]

If any of these are repeats i apologize. i saw the title but i dont have time right now to read the whole thing.

If the cape is the destination check out
Cahoon Hollow beach aka the Beach Comber in wellfleet Great beach, crappy hike back up. Only restaurant/bar that i know of on the beach.
Woodshed in brewster. Best bar on the cape hands down.
Cape Cod baseball. Great talent comes through there.
Marconi Beach/Lighthouse Beach are nice
First Encounter on the bay side in Eastham is good for warmer water.

I got nothing for restaurants or places to stay, we always stay at our aunts place and generally cook for ourselves. Although, Arnolds on rt 6 in eastham is very relaxed and does offer great food, imho. But we dont typically go out looking for anything formal. Vacations, for us, are for kickin back.

 

[Grassi21]

14 days for me. 8)

 

[BeanoNYC]

Ok, we're all set for Aug 6th-10th in Chatham. On Grassi's suggestion, we're staying at The Chatham Wayside Inn. We looked at the Chatham Bars Inn, but we figured we wont be spending too much time at the hotel and we could save a few bucks for other things. In addition, we liked the reviews on Tripadvisor for the Wayside better.
Now .... my wife is dead set on Whale Watching. Is it worth it? Any suggestions for the best way to get there? I'm thinking I95 to I195.

 

[Greg]

Any suggestions for the best way to get there? I'm thinking I95 to I195.

For you? Yeah, 95 to 195. We'll be getting to the house in Dennisport on the 9th. Not sure if we'll do the Chatham shops thing before you leave, but you never know. The girls will probably want to head there at some point so I'll keep an eye out for you if we do. Say hi if you see me (probably a big group - heading up with the in-laws)..

 

[ChileMass]

....Now .... my wife is dead set on Whale Watching. Is it worth it?...

Oh, yes - whalewatching is incredibly cool. If it's a beautiful sunny day and the ocean is like a millpond, you'll have a great time, plus a friend just told me yesterday that for whatever reason, this summer is one of the best in a long time for the number of whales off the MA coast. Out of P-town, take the Portuguese Princess or the Dolphin Fleet from the main wharf at the end of Commercial St.

One serious word of caution - if you go on a day that is rough, be sure to take some Bonine or other non-drowsy motion-sickness medication an hour before the boat leaves or you will be sorry. If an amusement park roller coaster makes you sick, or you have any concerns about your stomach, take the drugs cuz once you are on the boat there's no getting off it. I took a whalewatch cruise out of Gloucester several years ago and once we cleared the harbor we were in 8-12 foot swells for 2.5 hours out and 2.5 hours back. Of the 100 people on the boat, probably 75 were puking over the side, including me. It was the most miserable 5 hours of my life.

But - the last whalewatch I went on (Port. Princess) was 2 years ago on a clear, gorgeous day with humpbacks leaping and breaching all over, a bunch of Minkes and a couple of Finbacks cruising by silently and even a big (20') basking shark who was green and eerie. Hot day, cold beer, cool whales and a great day. You'll have a lot of fun.

 

[bvibert]

Now .... my wife is dead set on Whale Watching. Is it worth it?

Yes, do it. Chile gave good advice, so I won't bother repeating too much. The only thing I'll repeat is the recommendation to go out of P-Town. We went on a whale watching cruise from somewere else on the Cape and it seemed like we spent more time getting to the spots where the whales were then when we left out of P-Town.