maurarousseausieller posted: " The Siellers are fresh off of our trip to Cape Cod and let me tell you, no one is happier to be home than Elvis. I wish I could tell you what that big goon is thinking, but every time we go away from home he refuses to eat until we cave and offer him pop"
The Siellers are fresh off of our trip to Cape Cod and let me tell you, no one is happier to be home than Elvis. I wish I could tell you what that big goon is thinking, but every time we go away from home he refuses to eat until we cave and offer him popcorn, pumpkin, or really any kind of non-healthy human food. Now that we are home, the hunger strike is over and he's back to jumping in the bed for his morning cuddles.
Before I plop down on the couch to catch up on all the Bravo I have been missing, I thought I would share an update with some insights from our little getaway.
Born and raised in Massachusetts this wasn't my first rodeo at The Cape, but it certainly felt much different with two kids and a dog in tow. My husband and I decided sort of last minute, and by last minute I mean months ago, to plan this trip and with Elvis we didn't have a ton of options on Airbnb, so we landed on Hyannis where we had stayed many moons ago (pre-kids/dog). Since our last visit I don't think Hyannis has changed so much as I have. When we first stayed there we were living in Brighton, so it was customary to be awoken many a night by drunken college kids screaming outside of our windows and after a few years of noise pollution everything included the train rumbling by our apartment had faded into the background. Now that we live in the country, or by comparison the country, of Massachusetts the hustle and bustle of Hyannis felt like so much more than I remembered. Being in a more built up location definitely had it perks such as no shortage of shopping, grocery stores, and plenty of options for things to do, but if you're looking for a sleepy beach town this ain't it.
I like to think I willed the weather to give us a good week since we most certainly deserved it after a month of rain. Lucky for us, every day was a beach day. Craigville Beach in Barnstable was only 10 minutes from our rental and was our go-to morning spot. The bathrooms and beach were clean. The first day when we arrived at 8 a.m. we were the second people to park. As the week went on, and we sunk further and further into vacation mode, we started arriving later and later, but it never got super crowded until around 11 a.m.
Another perk of this particular beach was The Barnacle restaurant across the street, which, as far as I am concerned, had incredibly reasonable priced food. We packed lunch everyday, but it was nice to be able to take a walk across the street for a fountain Coke and popsicles and honestly all I want in life is to sit by myself in a chair at the beach while sipping a fountain soda.
The beach pass was only $25 a day and we could come and go as much as we wanted. It also worked at all the other Barnstable public beaches. If you are more on top of your game than I am, you can order a week-long pass through the town website and have it mailed to your house. I, of course, discovered this information a day before we left, so we just ended up getting day passes.
We were so happy going to Craigville that the only other beach we made it to was the Sandwich Boardwalk. If you're looking for a Dawson's Creek moment, this is it. I could practically hear Paula Cole singing as we crossed the marsh, or maybe that was just my Instagram story. Either way, this was the perfect place for a late afternoon stop. After 4 p.m. it is free to park. Layla ran around in the tide pools and Marissa cried as we pushed her across the boardwalk in the stroller. Afterwards we headed a mile up the road to Seafood Sam's, which was the perfect place to let the kids run around outside while we waited for what would be one of many fried seafood dinners we ate that week.
Another place so nice we stopped there twice was Spanky's, which is right on the harbor in Hyannis. Coloring and seal spotting were the perfect activities to keep the kids happy until dinner arrived. Both visits we were seated immediately and our food came out very quickly.
There's no shortage of mini golf places on the Cape, but honestly we could have taken the kids on an African safari and they wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as they did this place. The kids went bananas for the animal statues at every turn, we (mostly Will) attempted to teach the kids the basics of putting, and we all learned that Marissa is a giant cheater. Yelling was minimal and fun was at a 10.
I had heard this place was good. Many a friend had told me to check it out, but I really didn't expect to like it as much as we all did. We went on a sunny Friday morning before we had to pack up and head home and it was the ideal sand-free activity to cap off our trip. The cost was $10 per person and it was a bargain. We stayed for about an hour because that's all we really had time for, but we easily could have killed another hour there. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but it was so nice to have this open space with a million activities in it where it was also easy to keep track of the kids. Don't sleep on this stop.
If you don't like Summer Catch, then honestly I feel sorry for you. The only thing that comes second to Dawson's Creek is Summer Catch and if you want to recreate a bit of that magic, then you need to go to a game. The cost of admission is a donation, there's a concession stand, and you can bring your dog. If you don't care about baseball, surely you like hot dogs, so there are no losers here. Don't forget. "If you want big rewards, you gotta take big risks."
Playgrounds
Luke's Love Boundless Playground, Barnstable- This place was really well done. It's a playground, so you know the deal, but it was modern and clean and great for the littles to burn off some energy.
Centerville Playground- Great playground for the kiddos to run around. Across the street there is 1856 Country Store where you can do some tourist shopping and pick up candy. A trip to the playground and 50 cents worth of Blow Pops and you'll be a hero.
Shopping
Main Street Hyannis has a little something for everyone. When we stayed in Hyannis years ago there used to be an arcade and a carousel, which sadly is no more. There is a restaurant/bar/arcade, which helps to fill that void, so if pin ball machines are your jam then you gotta stop at Flashback Retro Arcade Bar and Grill. Kandy Korner makes for the perfect place to fill a basket with more candy than you need and Alberto's Ristorante was our first dinner stop when we rolled into town and needed an outdoor covered spot to grab some dinner. Being next to Ben & Jerry's didn't hurt either.
One last little pearl of wisdom I will leave you with is to download the mPay2Park app and get your account all set up before your trip. All the public parking in Hyannis requires you to use this app to pay. It is incredibly easy, but no one wants to stand in a parking lot with two kids running around while trying to enter your credit card info to pay $2 for parking. It's me....I was standing in the parking lot cursing trying to verify my account.
All in all it was a great trip filled with laughter, crying, whining, and a touch of sunburns, but memories I will surely hold over the kids heads when they complain that we never do anything fun.
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