Camping in Sandwich

The last week of June was a big week for us. Monday was Maura’s first visit to Fenway. Tuesday we all headed to Sandwich, on the upper part of Cape Cod, for a camping trip. After we had discovered that our luggage rack wouldn’t fit the car we bought in December and then fixing the problem after a quick run to REI for a part we packed up and headed out on our trip. We arrived at our campsite in Shawme-Crowell State Forest in mid-afternoon and had just enough time to get camp set up before the first of several thunder storms hit. Fortunately there was little wind and our tent was snug and waterproof, as was our picnic shelter once we threw a tarp over the top. Heavy rain made it hard to get a fire started and once we retreated to the car because of nearby lightning but the storm finally passed. We were able to enjoy our dinner and eventually s’mores around the campfire.

Wednesday was our day in and around Sandwich. We visited the Sandwich Fish Hatchery where Maura fed the trout being raised there for stocking the ponds and rivers of Massachusetts. It was fun to watch the fish swarm to the food scattered on the water.

From the Fish Hatchery we drove to Long Pasture Audubon Sanctuary in Barnstable. While I was changing into my boots a titmouse landed on my hat. Later as we hiked along the beach the same bird visited all three of us as we walked on the sand, pecking around our feet and landing on my shoulder and again on my hat. We later learned that the bird was a fledgling. He hadn’t yet learned to stay away from humans and to avoid being caught in the open. With luck he will learn the lesson before he is eaten by a hawk. On our trip to the Audubon Sanctuary we also saw crabs and mud snails, as well as two musk turtles basking on a log in a fresh water pond. Honeysuckle was in bloom and it filled the air with the sweet scent of its flowers.

After our visit to the Audubon sanctuary we headed back into Sandwich. We stopped at the Greenbrier Jam Kitchen and bought some spicy fall fruit jam, then drove down to the Cape Cod Canal to have a picnic. After lunch we visited two historic buildings in Sandwich. The Hoxie House was built ca. 1675 and once housed the family of Sandwich’s minister. We had a very nice tour from the friendly docents in the house, though I’m not sure of the accuracy of all the information that they gave us. After the Hoxie House we visited the gristmill at the other end of Lower Shawme Pond. It is a working reproduction of one built on the site in the 1650s which operated there from the 17th century until the late 19th century. It was interesting to see how flour was made before modern flour mills.

After the visit to the grist mill we headed back to camp for another evening by the fire. We had another enjoyable night in camp, this one without rain. We cooked in the open fire, had s’mores for desert again, and read stories aloud around the campfire until it was dark (and then finished the story by flashlight). The next morning after breakfast we packed up and headed home. Everyone had a good time and we returned energized and rested, but covered with mosquito bites.

Heritage Gardens and Museums in the Spring

This week is Maura’s spring break from school and we’re taking advantage of it, especially since the weather has so far been very pleasant. Yesterday we drove from Weymouth the Williamsburg, Virginia, but we’ve seen little except the very charming bed and breakfast where we are staying so I’ll save that trip for next week. Monday we did some more local travel so that Maura wouldn’t miss her skating lesson. We drove down to Sandwich on Cape Cod to show Jennifer, and my parents who are visiting from Indiana, the Heritage Gardens and Museums.

We had a very nice day, though it was hot for April. I never saw a weather report for Cape Cod but in Weymouth the temperature was reported to have hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit, though I was never uncomfortable. It was dry and there was a nice breeze. We left early and stopped for breakfast at Persy’s Place, in Kingston. They claim to have the largest breakfast menu in New England and I find no reason to doubt them. We don’t go there often because Kingston is a bit far to go for breakfast but I like the place a lot. It is the only restaurant I know of anywhere near where we live that has hash browns, which are my favorite breakfast potatoes.

After breakfast we drove on down to Sandwich. The gardens were beautiful though not yet in their full glory. There were many blooming daffodils and a few of the hundreds of rhododendrons had started to bloom. Some day we will have to visit in May, when they are in full flower. The crowds were not as oppressive as they had been when Maura were there before, on Free Museum Friday, and we walked the labyrinth almost undisturbed. Maura and I rode the carousel while my parents and Jennifer watched from a bench. I felt like a little kid and a proud dad all at once.

At the antique automobile museum we had a chance to enjoy the air conditioning while we had a leisurely look at the collection. Maura and I sat in the model T Ford that is the only one of the cars in the museum that you are allowed to touch. I imagined what a ride must have been like back then. The seats were remarkably comfortable but the car wasn’t moving so there was no way to know how good the springs were.

After the visit to the gardens we drove to the Thornton Burgess Society’s Greenbriar Preserve not far away. We went to visit the jam kitchen. The kitchen was a popular stop on the Cape before World War Two and hasn't changed much since then. We bought two jars as souvenirs and to enjoy later. I let Maura pick out a jar of orange cranberry rhubarb relish. Jennifer and I agreed on a jar of rhubarb ginger preserves.

Afterwards we rode home in comfort for a short rest before skating and a fine dinner at Stockholders, a Weymouth restaurant we had long been wanting to try. We were not disappointed and everyone agreed that the food and the service were excellent.

Cape Cod Road Trip, Sunday August 10th, 2008

This Sunday the whole family got into the car and headed for Cape Cod to visit some old friends who had invited us to a barbecue at there home. My wife Jennifer and I shared the driving and Maura came along for the ride.

It was great for the adults to see old friends and Maura had a wonderful time meeting new people. She always does. She got into a game of touch football and she and I had a good time trying to play horseshoes. I managed a few ringers but Maura never to get the hang of it. I'm uncertain whether she is big enough to pitch the horseshoe the whole distance but she enjoyed trying, not the least because her daddy was trying with her. It didn't really matter to either of us whether she could ever hit a ringer.

We were lucky with the weather. It's been rainy on Cape Cod this summer as it has been in the rest of Massachusetts. It didn't rain on the barbecue though. We did hear a storm in the distance that made Maura nervous and we drove past another on our way home as I negotiated the Sunday traffic heading back towards Boston from the Cape.