My Weekend Away: Where I Stayed

For my birthday last year (technically it was two weeks before my birthday), I enjoyed a two-night, one-day half-weekend to myself at a lovely bed and breakfast on the Cape. It may seem weird to stay at a place on the Cape when I already have a place of my own that was less than fifteen minutes away, but it really is nice to have a solitary escape from regular life every once in awhile.

The place I stayed was The Inn at Yarmouth Port. It's a place I've passed hundreds of times over the years on one of my favorite roads on the Cape, Route 6A. It had new owners who had renovated it and made it into something very classy and beautiful while still retaining its history and old-fashioned charm. I highly recommend this inn (if you don't want to rent our Cape house, that is 😉).

I stayed in the "Salt Pond" room. It was lovely and welcoming. The bed linens were Frette and they were extremely comfortable. I slept very well there. 😴

The owners are Kathleen and her husband Chuck. They were so nice. Kathleen is a wonderful cook and she made these freshly baked chocolate chip-cranberry cookies that were waiting for me in my room. They were delicious! 

The furnishings were classy and elegant and were a nice contrast with the historical features of the house. I'm glad they kept the old wide-plank pine floors. The house dates back to 1843 and is on the National Register of Historic Homes.

That bathrobe was super-comfy too!

A nice intersection of three different types of floors/floor coverings. 

I really liked the old-fashioned bathroom with the claw-foot tub. I took a lovely bath both nights with the curtains drawn all around. I loved it!

The room keys were old-fashioned too. What a refreshing change from hotel key cards!

I had both of my breakfasts outside. They were FANTASTIC. Kathleen uses fresh and local ingredients and she's a fabulous cook. I'd stay there again for the breakfasts (and cookies!) alone.

My view into the backyard during breakfast. 😍

The front of the inn.

Inside there were snacks left out all day for guests--including those wonderful cookies! 😋

When I left on Sunday morning, Kathleen came out of the back office and gave me a big genuine hug. I'm not a big hugger but this hug was so surprisingly nice and it stayed with me in the weeks to come. I truly felt like a welcomed guest and that they enjoyed my being there as much as I enjoyed being there. I will definitely stay at The Inn at Yarmouth Port again. 💙

Whale Watch

Last July the four of us went on a whale watch with Hyannis Whale Watcher Cruises. Peter and John had never gone on one before, and Sam had done one with me when he was almost five but he didn't really remember it. (This is the link to that one five years ago.) So it was time to go for a family whale watch!

The views were pretty on the way out of the harbor. I really do love the Cape!

I wore this same shirt on my whale watch five years ago! It's perfect because it has a little pink and white whale print and it's lightweight but also provides good coverage from the sun. 

(Sam wasn't out on the deck with us at the time.)

 It's fascinating to me that a whole world exists under the water that we can't see. That's partly why it's so thrilling to see whales (and dolphins...but not sharks!) surface above the water. It's like seeing into another dimension of life on the planet earth.

We saw one whale that day but we saw her multiple times. She was very active. Her name was Diablo, and she put on quite a show for everyone! This was our first glimpse of her from afar.

Another whale-watching boat came over to (what else?) watch the whale. 

Here she was spouting out. 🐳 You could see it and hear it and it was almost like you could feel it.

An extremely fancy yacht sailed over to get in on the action. All three boats were good about not crowding the whale. Good sea creature etiquette was practiced all around.

I was impressed by the yacht--I wondered who owned it and what their life was like to be able to afford it. 

But I will hasten to add that I was genuinely more impressed by the whale! 

Here she was in the process of doing a deep dive. This "pose" always makes me think of the Loch Ness Monster! 😄

Wait for it...

I love seeing the whale's tail above the water like this with the water trailing off of it. 😍

She resurfaced a few minutes later. She did several dives and resurfacings while we were there.

That light green glow in the water is the white part under her mouth. It's so cool when you can see them just under the water like that.

Diving down again...

😍🙌😍🙌😍

(The yacht was still there. 😄)

Adios Diablo! Thank you for letting us see you so much! We really enjoyed it! 

I hope it won't be another five years until my next whale watch! Maybe I'll see her again! 🐳

Three's (Not) a Crowd

The boys and I had a pleasant, peaceful week after everyone left after the Fourth of July weekend.

On Sunday evening we walked to the beach for some fresh sea air.

All three of us are in this one without it being a selfie or taken by someone else! The magic of shadows.

This picture turned out to be a winner! It made it onto the Christmas card.

He's still got it!

I sometimes feel inordinately proud of having a child who can walk on their hands. 🤷

I took some pictures of pretty things on our walk home.

On Monday we went out to lunch at Seafood Sam's. I've always liked that place, and not just because of the name. It has great food and an easy casual atmosphere where you order your food at the counter.

😍😍😍

On Tuesday after ninja practice (at the ninja gym the boys go to on the Cape), we went to the mall for their annual ride on the carousel, which they've both done every summer of their lives.

They always go on this thing now instead of the horses so that they can spin around as fast as possible. 🤮

On Wednesday while the boys were at ninja practice, I went and got a pedicure. I liked how the color turned out and it lasted for weeks. This is one of the reasons I like getting pedicures more than manicures. 

On Thursday after dinner we went to Bayview Beach, which is one of our favorite local beaches.

Sam's legs curled up like this remind me of when he was a baby!

I love how this photo turned out. You get some really pretty views at this beach.

The eyebrows were looking good!

It was a nice week!