Cape Cod Day 7: Hyannis

After three straight days at the beach, we spent our final day on Cape Cod away from the sun, soaking up the sites in Hyannis instead. After poking around the shops for a little while, we grabbed one last fried fish lunch before heading back toward Main Street. The girls got to pick out some sweets at the candy store (they chose chocolate-covered pretzels). And, just like we did last year, we finished our trip with a ride on the carousel. 

  

When we rode on the Hyannis carousel last year, it was Gwen's first ride. Now she's a year older and an experienced jockey of carousel horses. But she flashed the same smile she did 12 months ago.

Sadly, our summer vacation was finally over. 7 days. 3 beaches. 3 fried seafood platters. 4 trips to the ice cream stand. And countless new experiences that we're glad we were able to share with the Bonsteels and Chiaverinis. Can't wait to do it again next year.

Cape Cod Day 6: Sunset Photo Shoot

Earlier in the week, Lina, Lance and Lucas discovered the beautiful sunsets at nearby Millway Beach. So on Thursday night, Lina offered to take family photos for each of us as the sun dipped over the horizon. The very awesome results are below. 

[Early note to Santa Claus: Andy would really, really like a sweet SLR camera like Lina's -- preferably one with a fancy portrait lens like the one she used to snap these pictures. Thanks, Santa.]

  

  

While Lina was snapping these great photos, Andy shot this doozy of Jeff. We figure it'll make a great campaign poster if Jeff ever runs for Congress ("I'm Jeff Bonsteel and I approved this message") or if he decides to license his image for pharmaceutical advertising ("I'm Jeff Bonsteel and I'm living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome"). Either way, it's a keeper. 

Cape Cod Day 6: Scusset Beach

After two days of splashing in the surf, we decided to mix it up a little bit. Scusset Beach is located at the eastern end of the Cape, right along the Cape Cod Canal. At the entrance of the canal, there's a long rock jetty that shoots out into the canal. The jetty is home to all sorts of sea critters -- sea stars, snails, and crabs -- which gave the kids a fun place to explore. 

By the time we reached the jetty, some kids had already collected a bucket full of sea stars. They were nice enough to share a couple with the kids. Morgan liked the way it wiggled around in her hand. 

  
Ariella and Morgan joined Jeff and Cooper climbing the rocks all the way down to the end of the jetty. Meanwhile, Andy and Gwen headed back toward the beach blankets. Along the way, Gwen ran into a sea gull and couldn't resist the temptation to chase him down. (She did the same thing last year when she was just barely walking.)

 

Despite our explanations why it was a bad idea, Morgan insisted on brining her sea stars back to the house with us. Luckily, she ask where they had disappeared to when we left the house Saturday morning. (She probably wouldn't have liked that explanation either.)

Cape Cod Day 5: Mayflower Beach

Wednesday was our best beach day -- weather-wise and beach-wise. We arrived at Mayflower Beach as the tide was at its lowest  point. When the tide goes out that far out, it leaves behind plenty of tidal pools to splash in and sticky sand to play with. It was perfect for the kids. The little ones spent most of the morning building sloppy sand castles and digging rivers in the tidal pools (Gwen tried boogie-boarding, with little success). Meanwhile, Morgan and Cooper waded far out into the water, which (thanks to the low tide) never got over their heads.

 
When the tide came back in, it came back fast, and quickly washed away the tidal pools. Luckily, we had left our stuff safely on dry land, but there were lots of families who had picked a spot closer to the water who had to scramble to grab all their things before they were swept out to sea.

In the afternoon, the kids had fun exploring the beach, and swimming in the (now deep) water. The water was just one way to cool off, though. After Morgan discovered how the cool sand felt on her feet, it was just a matter of time before all five kids were buried to their waists in sand.

By 3:00, everyone was wiped out. We headed back to the house to clean up and rest up before heading back out for dinner at Seafood Sam's -- one of our favorite fish-fry joints from our vacation last summer.

Amazingly, we got all five kids to pose together for a photo. Needless to say, it's amazing how much they've all grown since our Cape Cod vacation last summer.

We finished off another busy day on the Cape with a pitstop for ice cream. Morgan discovered that "funnelling" through the bottom of the cone is pretty cool way to get those last few drops of chocolate.

Cape Cod Day 4: Sandy Neck Beach

By Tuesday, the weather on the Cape was finally beach-worthy. So we packed up our family trucksters (all three of them) and headed to Sandy Neck Beach. As advertised, Sandy Neck Beach was sandy. So the kids immediately set out to build a sandcastle. After 45 minutes, their masterpiece was complete -- including a dinosaur-filled moat, yellow and pink snakes, and Fisher-Price Little People. 

Morgan and Cooper spent a lot of time in the water. As the tide rolled in, Morgan loved bobbing up and down in the waves. She squealed (and I quote), "I'm going up and down so much I'm going to shoot my cookies."



After lunch, Cate and Gwen decided (on their own) to take a break from the sun and sand. Apparently, the felt like they needed a little "girl" time to chill out in the tent and blow bubbles.

Sandy Neck Beach is obviously sandy. But, as Morgan and Cooper discovered, it's also rocky. So while the little kids played, the two big kids explored up and down the beach, looking for colorful rocks to bring home for their collections.

After a long, hot day at the beach, we cooled off with ice cream at Smitty's in Barnstable.