Cape Cod, My Relaxation Vacation

I have been going to Cape Cod for the past 5 years and I absolutely love it. It's relaxing and can be easy on your wallet if you work it. I use to go with a friend and we stayed in her grandparents' cottage for free but since I went this past summer with my fiance we had to pay for a hotel. We stayed at the KingFisher Lodging in the town of Dennis. We payed $420 for 6 days. This is how we did it. Four days were considered off season, which were the last 4 days in June and 2 days in season which were the first 2 days in July. The wasn't bad. There was a mini refrigerator, color tv, coffee maker, air conditioning, and wifi. My fiance and I saved money keeping food in the fridge rather than eating out everyday for every meal.

This motel is only 5 minutes from 2 beaches and it's only 10 minutes from my favorite, Corporation beach. Corporation is my favorite because it's in the bay so sharks are not a real issue. If you go to Corporation very early in the morning around 6:30 am the tide is usually so far out you can walk behind the rock wall and search for crabs, horseshoe crabs, seahorses, and starfish. It's takes me back to childhood when I go and find a starfish. Another reason this beach is great is that the water is always full of hermit crabs, they are more afraid of you than you are of them and they don't bite. It's a lot of fun looking for the biggest or smallest hermie, as I like to call them.

The 2 other beaches which are on the same road are Chapan Beach and Mayflower Beach. Mayflower Beach has beautiful silver sand and it's great for finding sand dollars. Chapan Beach is the best beach to watch the sunset. The tide goes out about a half mile every evening and the sunsets are breath taking.

There is also a great beach in West Dennis called West Dennis Beach and it's great for flying kites. It becomes so windy in the evening that you sometimes see people wind surfing with parachutes. I don't enjoy swimming there because there is lots of seaweed and it's in the sound. There have been sharks reported to have been within a half mile of the beach, "non-harmful" as the lifeguard put it, but it still makes me nervous.

A great tip that saved me over $100. Get to the beach before 7am. The lifeguards get to the beach parking lots at 7am and the fee to park at the beach is $20 a day.

I personally love to just go to the beach and the rest of the time I am in a comatose state but occasionally I venture out. So here are some family friendly activities for anyone to enjoy.

Cartwheels of Cape Cod in South Dennis has an arcade, go-carts, mini golf and batting cages. I won for the first time ever in the arcade. I won 1000 tickets on the ticket wheel. That made my day. I felt so confident I felt I could do well at the batting cages. Let's just say I did okay.

Next to this arcade is a Pirate's Cove miniature golf course which is really interesting and fun.

There are also museums, movie theaters and aquariums to try.

I mentioned that the motel where I stayed had a refrigerator. But you can not stay in Cape Cod without having experienced the restaurants. Down the road is a restaurant names Grumpy's. People from all over Cape Cod drive to have breakfast at Grumpy's. They have a wide selection of foods. I love their french toast and omelets. They also sell home-made muffins that are out of this world.

Dining alfresco is a fantastic way to end an evening. Sesuit Harbor Cafe in Dennis serves all of your favorite comfort food. Give your order, find a table and keep an ear out for your order to be called. Feel free to save a few dollars by bringing your own drinks. But be sure to bring cash or your check book because cards are not accepted.

I highly recommend you try the clam chowder. Every year I think the best clam chowder in the area is from a different restaurant. The 3 best places I like clam chowder from the Dennis area are Captain Parkers located in West Yarmouth on Route 28, Longfellow's Pub in South Yarmouth on Old Townhouse Road, and Marathon in West Dennis on Route 28. There are many other great restaurants to have a great meal, but those 3 have great clam chowder.

Ice cream is a big deal in Cape Cod as well. There are not many chain ice cream parlors. Most are privately owned and boast the best home-made ice cream in the area. To be honest all of them are fantastic. If you see a privately owned ice cream parlor and you have a hankering for ice cream stop in and have a scoop.

There are many more fantastic places to eat. And giving all those places away takes the fun out of exploring Cape Cod.

There are many Christmas Tree Shops. I do not have one close to where I live so I stock up on inexpensive household good at these shops. If one Christmas Tree Shop doesn't have what you're lookng for, chances are the next one will.

If you stay in Cape Cod you will absolutely see most of the tourists wearing Cape Cod labeled clothing. The place to go is Cuffy's. I have gone to other "knock-off" places and their clothes fall apart easily but Cuffy's offers clothes for a good price for the quality. Every year I tell myself I'm not going to buy anything from Cuffy's because I have so much already, but I just can't help myself. New styles come out every year and they're always attractive.

There are charming antique and hand-made furniture shops that tempt me. I'm able to reign myself in because I don't own a home and therefore really have no place to put any of those items. But if you have your own home, god speed my friends and I hope you have room in your vehicle to transport it all home.

Provincetown is a very exciting and eccentric place. And what's great about it is you only need to stay on Commercial St. to get the whole experience. Though you really need to dedicate an entire day to visiting P-town as many people call it. Also, this town is , to put it mildly for those of you who don't know, very gay friendly. I hope you have an open mind because the variety of shops and entertainment is truly something to be held.

Parking in P-town can seem like it would be a problem. But every year I get a space on the MacMillian Pier. You will need to bring cash to pay for your spot and I advise you go early as spots can run out.

During the day, you see an occasional drag queen riding their bike around town or advertising their show for later that night. There are many local artists based there which always have their galleries open. When I say there are a variety of shops, prepare yourself, especially if you bring children. There are shops to buy beautiful ocean objects turned into decorations, jewelry, clothing, furniture, novelty items, hand-made cigars, air brushing tattoos and then there are x-rated shops. I've had lots of laughs in the x-rated shops. I hope you will too. I also highly recommend you go on a whale watch. P-town is at the very tip of Massachusetts. The boat takes you over an hour out which really means you are out in the Atlantic. The whale watch I went on was my first and we saw dozens of whales. And they came very close to the boat.

At night, get yourself some dinner. I loved the Lobster Pot. They have great clam chowder in a bread bowl. The restaurant across the street, Governor Bradford Restaurant, often has Drag Queen Karaoke. The Bare Naked Lads put on a great show, just know the name means exactly that so no pictures. I once saw Randy Roberts, a hilarious drag queen, she sings, dances, tells jokes and even answers questions from the audience. If these options don't appeal to you there is an events board on Commercial St. that shows you everything playing in town.

If you do indeed leave before sunset I encourage you to visit Race Point. It's a beach in the sound. The water is unusually cold. I think it's because there are no land masses near by at all. It's just ocean. Knowing this made it a very memorable experience for me.

I hope you have as much of an enjoyable time as I do.